Newstalk A Championship Spotlight - Castlebar Celtic
Credit:
Throughout the season, extratime.ie will be keeping you informed on how the newcomers to the A Championship are faring and the goals and ambitions they have as they begin their quest into League of Ireland football. This week we take a look at Mayo side Castlebar Celtic.
Mayo's first senior League of Ireland club have had a hectic start to life in the Newstalk A Championship. An historic first home match versus Derry City was quickly followed by a League Cup tie against Finn Harps, before the club travelled to Drogheda last Saturday for their first away fixture.
A narrow loss to the Candystripes preceded their exit from the League Cup thanks to some clinical finishing from Paul Hegarty's side in the final half hour. Little was then expected from this young side's third game in seven days, but Declan Kilkelly's team grabbed their first win at this level thanks to goals from Joseph O'Reilly and Declan Flynn. Next up for Celtic is an FAI Cup first round tie with Cork's Ringmahon Rangers on Saturday night at Celtic Park.
Castlebar were founded in the 1924 and have a proud history which was recently enhanced by the club's first national title, the FAI Youth Cup, in 2007. Eight of that team are now involved in Kilkelly's plans which are ambitious but not as far-fetched as they seem following Mervue United's ascension last year and their ability to deal with life in the First Division.
Speaking at the club's launch night a few weeks ago, Kilkelly outlined where he saw the clubs' future and how he feels it is the right decision and in the best interests of the club.
"This is a brave, brave, decision by the club to enter this competition. The decision was proved right by just looking at the number of lads we have got back from clubs like Galway United, Mervue United, and Sligo Rovers who are ready to do their part for the club in this exciting venture. Any players, whoever they are, want to play at the highest level they can and now we can offer our players who have come through our own underage system this chance to play League of Ireland football for Castlebar Celtic.
“We are working off a 25 man squad at the moment. You can only name 16 players on the day, with some lads playing different levels for the club, between Super League and the ‘A’ Championship. We’ve signed five players from various clubs throughout the county and we also have eight of the team who started the FAI Youth Cup Final of 2007 back at the club, and that’s great to see. The League of Ireland ‘A’ Championship is a great opportunity for players to test themselves."
“Fair play to everyone involved with the club, they’ve done a great job and have put all the structures in place. The conveyor belt of talent coming through the ranks is fantastic and certainly augurs well for the future of the club,” the manager added.
Club chairman Gerry Walsh was also in a positive frame of mind and spoke of the excitement in the town. "Entering the League of Ireland ‘A’ Championship is a major step-up, however, we are ready and looking forward to the challenge.”
“There is a good buzz around the town. There are some people who will miss the matches against Westport United and the local derbies against Snugboro in recent years. However, players want to play at a higher level, especially the younger players who are coming up through the ranks."
Kilkelly, who was in charge of the FAI Youth Cup winning side and took over the club's then junior team last year when Gavin Dykes departed, also outlined his own ambitious plans for the A championship side, and they do not include taking part and enjoying life in the third tier of Irish football for very long.
"Our main hope at the start of the season would be to win the Championship and gain promotion into the First Division. We’ll take every game as it comes and we’ll want to win every game that we play. I’m not naive enough to think that there won’t be highs and lows as the season progresses, but we’ll put everything in place and give it our best shot. Now we are on the map, first the A league then the First Division, the Premier, and then Europe. You’ve got to show ambition and we are doing that.”
Mayo's first senior League of Ireland club have had a hectic start to life in the Newstalk A Championship. An historic first home match versus Derry City was quickly followed by a League Cup tie against Finn Harps, before the club travelled to Drogheda last Saturday for their first away fixture.
A narrow loss to the Candystripes preceded their exit from the League Cup thanks to some clinical finishing from Paul Hegarty's side in the final half hour. Little was then expected from this young side's third game in seven days, but Declan Kilkelly's team grabbed their first win at this level thanks to goals from Joseph O'Reilly and Declan Flynn. Next up for Celtic is an FAI Cup first round tie with Cork's Ringmahon Rangers on Saturday night at Celtic Park.
Castlebar were founded in the 1924 and have a proud history which was recently enhanced by the club's first national title, the FAI Youth Cup, in 2007. Eight of that team are now involved in Kilkelly's plans which are ambitious but not as far-fetched as they seem following Mervue United's ascension last year and their ability to deal with life in the First Division.
Speaking at the club's launch night a few weeks ago, Kilkelly outlined where he saw the clubs' future and how he feels it is the right decision and in the best interests of the club.
"This is a brave, brave, decision by the club to enter this competition. The decision was proved right by just looking at the number of lads we have got back from clubs like Galway United, Mervue United, and Sligo Rovers who are ready to do their part for the club in this exciting venture. Any players, whoever they are, want to play at the highest level they can and now we can offer our players who have come through our own underage system this chance to play League of Ireland football for Castlebar Celtic.
“We are working off a 25 man squad at the moment. You can only name 16 players on the day, with some lads playing different levels for the club, between Super League and the ‘A’ Championship. We’ve signed five players from various clubs throughout the county and we also have eight of the team who started the FAI Youth Cup Final of 2007 back at the club, and that’s great to see. The League of Ireland ‘A’ Championship is a great opportunity for players to test themselves."
“Fair play to everyone involved with the club, they’ve done a great job and have put all the structures in place. The conveyor belt of talent coming through the ranks is fantastic and certainly augurs well for the future of the club,” the manager added.
Club chairman Gerry Walsh was also in a positive frame of mind and spoke of the excitement in the town. "Entering the League of Ireland ‘A’ Championship is a major step-up, however, we are ready and looking forward to the challenge.”
“There is a good buzz around the town. There are some people who will miss the matches against Westport United and the local derbies against Snugboro in recent years. However, players want to play at a higher level, especially the younger players who are coming up through the ranks."
Kilkelly, who was in charge of the FAI Youth Cup winning side and took over the club's then junior team last year when Gavin Dykes departed, also outlined his own ambitious plans for the A championship side, and they do not include taking part and enjoying life in the third tier of Irish football for very long.
"Our main hope at the start of the season would be to win the Championship and gain promotion into the First Division. We’ll take every game as it comes and we’ll want to win every game that we play. I’m not naive enough to think that there won’t be highs and lows as the season progresses, but we’ll put everything in place and give it our best shot. Now we are on the map, first the A league then the First Division, the Premier, and then Europe. You’ve got to show ambition and we are doing that.”
About Alan Dooley
is one of Extratime's longest serving contributors. Based in County Galway, Alan has been following the League of Ireland since the mid-1980s. His first memory of the drama of domestic football was Vinny Arkins, then … View Full Profile