Dundela

Full name	Dundela Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Duns
Founded	1895
Ground	Wilgar Park, Belfast
Capacity	1,200
Manager	Stephen Gourley
League	NIFL Championship
2022–23	NIFL Championship, 4th
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Dundela Football Club, nicknamed "The Duns" is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club from Belfast, currently playing in the NIFL Championship, and plays its home matches at Wilgar Park. The club's colours are green and white. The home kit has green shirts, green shorts and green socks, whilst the away kit is all red.

History

Dundela Football Club was formed in 1895 from employees of a local dairy owned by the Agnew family and members of a local harriers' club.^[1] Wilgar Park has been the home to the club since 1900. The park lies in the heartland of east Belfast, in a suburb named Strandtown. Its capacity is approximately 1,200. The venue is nicknamed "The Hen Run".

The club's greatest achievement to date came in April 1955, when it defeated Glenavon by three goals to nil at Windsor Park, Belfast in the final of the Irish Cup.^[2] It was the first time a club form the Irish Alliance won the competition.^[3]

The club's darkest hour occurred on 25 August 1995, when team captain, Michael Goddard died during a game at Stangmore Park, home of Dungannon Swifts, after being struck on the chest with the ball.^[4]

Dundela's local rivals are Harland & Wolff Welders.^[5]

2017/18-Present

Dundela FC emerged victorious in the 2017/18 NIFL Premier Intermediate League, securing a notable accomplishment in the club's history.

In the subsequent 2018/19 NIFL Championship campaign, Dundela FC secured a commendable 4th-place finish. The Belfast-based football club continued to exhibit competitive prowess as it navigated the challenges of the Championship.

In the curtailed 2019/20 season The Duns finished sixth. The following season was cancelled due to the global pandemic.

NIFL Championship football returned after the pandemic in the 2021/22 campaign in which Dundela finished 8th.

In the 2022/23 campaign, Dundela exhibited improvement, climbing up the table to achieve 4th place.

In April 2023, Dundela winger Aodhan Gillen would die in a car accident, at the age of 22.^[6]

In 2023, the club appointed former player Stephen Gourley as manager, following the departure of Paul Harbinson. ^[7]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  NIR Dale McCreery 3 DF  IRL Ian Fletcher 4 DF  NIR Jay Magee (Captain) 5 DF  NIR Sam Dinu 6 DF  NIR Jaime McGovern 7 FW  NIR David McMaster 8 MF  NIR Andy Hall 9 FW  NIR Lee Rea 10 MF  NIR Anthony Burns 12 MF  NIR Jake Corbett

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF  NIR Charlie Dornan 15 MF  NIR Dylan Donaldson 16 DF  NIR Jake White (On loan from Glentoran u23s) 17 MF  NIR Ronan Kalla 18 DF  NIR William Faulkner 19 DF  NIR Michael Kerr 20 DF  NIR Matthew Munn 21 GK  NIR Lewis Hunter 22 FW  NIR Jordan Jenkins (On loan from Glentoran) TBA FW  NIR Casey Smyth (On loan from Glentoran)

Honours

Senior honours

• Irish Cup: 1
  • 1954–55

Intermediate honours

• Irish League B Division/Second Division: 11 (inc. one shared)
  • 1967–68, 1976–77 (shared), 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1999–00, 2000–01
• Irish Intermediate League: 5
  • 1921–22, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1950–51
• Irish Intermediate Cup: 10
  • 1946–47, 1954–55, 1965–66, 1974–75, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1992–93, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01
• George Wilson Cup: 4
  • 1964–65, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1974–75
• Steel & Sons Cup: 10
  • 1945–46, 1963–64, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1999–00, 2007–08, 2013–14
• B Division Knock-out Cup: 4
  • 1987–88, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95
• McElroy Cup: 1
  • 1945–46 (shared)

Notable former players

• David Lyner
• Eric McMordie
• Billy Caskey
• Matty Burrows
• Laurence Fyfe
• Jackie Vernon
• Johnny Geary