Kilmore get set for jubilee celebrations

Kilmore get set for jubilee celebrations

1 March 2017

KILMORE Rec will be celebrating their golden anniversary at a glittering night of celebration at Downpatrick Racecourse later in the year.

Formed back in 1967 by Denis Lennon and his friend Bobby McClure, the club has gone on to become a household name in junior football.

Denis and Bobby, who both lived in Kilmore village, just outside Crossgar, were heavily involved in local football, having played for Killyleagh YC and Ballynahinch Rec.

But inspired by England’s World Cup win in 1966, they decided to form a club of their own.

The first tentative steps were taken in the late summer of 1966 when the boys gathered a few mates to play a few friendly games on McCartan’s field on the Rockschapel Road.

After a few friendly games they called a meeting in April 1967 to form a club and as the majority of the players came from Kilmore, the name Kilmore United was chosen and the rest is history.

The first competitive games were in the Killyleagh Summer League before the club entered the Newcastle & District League in 1968–69. They played at Hamilton’s Field which was situated half way between Kilmore and Annacloy.

The club made it to the final of the prestigious Harry Clarke Cup in 1972, but they lost 2-0 to Annalong 2-0 in a replay.

It was at this time that Robert Adams and his good friend, Davy Harper, became involved at the club.

A name change to Kilmore Recreation and a move to the Monastery Ground in Crossgar preceded an application to join the Northern Ireland Amateur League in the mid 1970s.

The first game in the Amateur League was at home to Carreras in Division 2B. Two years later came promotion to Division 2A and the beginning of a successful six-year spell which would see intermediate status achieved.

They reached three successive Cochrane Corry Cup finals from 1977 to 1979, winning two of them, but losing the 1978 decider 3–2 to Annalong Swifts.

However, 1978 did bring silverware to the club in the shape of the Co Antrim Junior Shield after they beat 40th Old Boys 2–1 at Castlereagh Park, Newtownards.

The momentum was maintained and successive promotions took Kilmore to the top flight of the Amateur League in the 1980s.

They suffered relegation in the1989–90 season, but bounced straight back the following year by winning the Division 1B championship.

In 1991–92 the Amateur League created a Premier Section and set a new level of ground criteria for clubs desiring to be part of it. Kilmore met all the requirements and became founder members.

The upgrade in facilities enabled the club to host a senior Irish League club in the fifth round of the Irish Cup for the first time. Cliftonville were the visitors and they defeated Kilmore 1–0 on January 18, 1992, in front of a packed house.

1995–96 saw a Kilmore Rec U-18 team enter the Northern Ireland Youth Cup under the guidance of Billy Sloan.  The team became one of few Amateur League teams to win the cup when they defeated Portadown Boys 2–0 at Dixon Park, Ballyclare on April 22, 1996.

The late 1990s brought another relegation in 1996–97 and promotion in 1998–99 when they also reached the final of the Border  Cup, only to be disqualified for inadvertently fielding an ineligible player in their semi-final win over Dromara Village.

The following season they made it back to the Border Cup final, but lost 2–0 to deadly local rivals Killyleagh YC.

In 2003–4, following a disastrous start to the season, which brought them fewer than 10 points before Christmas, the team went unbeaten until the end of the season, winning all of their games and collecting the Clarence Cup with a 5-1 defeat of local rivals Downpatrick in the final.

The club also made it Border finals in 2006, 2008 and 2013, but lost all three to Dunmurry Rec, Sport & Leisure and Albert Foundry respectively.

Off the field there have been significant changes. A new perimeter wall, gates and small grandstand were completed in 2000. New changing facilities were officially opened on July 9, 2003, before the start of a friendly match against Glentoran after the Glens had completed the signing of Kilmore player Andrew Waterworth — a grandson of the legendary Noel McCarthy, who was an outstanding servant of the Oval club.

The ground was renamed Robert Adams Park in honour of the Kilmore stalwart, who gave his life to the club and who died in 1998 at the age of 47.

In 2005 Kilmore reached the semi-finals of the County Antrim Shield under the management of Donal Bell. 

They had seen off Irish Premier League opposition Ballymena United 1-0 in the first round and continued their giant-killing exploits with victory over Lisburn Distillery in the quarter-finals.

However, their run came to a halt in the last four when they lost 2-0 to Linfield at Seaview.

Kilmore were relegated from the Premier Section in May 2008, having gained 26 points from 26 games. They were level on points with Nortel at the end of the season, but Nortel stayed up thanks to their superior goal difference.

The 2008–9 season was one of mixed fortunes. They managed to make it to the Border Cup final for a third time, only to taste defeat once again when Sport & Leisure ran out 3–1 winners. 

Gary Kennedy got the Kilmore goal with a blistering free kick.

Unfortuntely, the cup run affected Kilmore’s league form and they missed out on promotion, eventually finishing fourth behind Abbey Villa, Ards Rangers and Sport & Leisure.

The 2009–10 season has been described as the most successful in Kilmore’s history. They were crowned champions of Division 1A and returned to the Premier Section after a two-year absence.

They also won the Steel and Sons Cup after beating local rivals Downpatrick FC 2–0 on a never-to-be-forgotten Christmas Day.

Since then, fortunes have ebbed and flowed. 

The club reached the Border Cup final yet agin in 2013, but on a dreadful day for football, they lost out to Albert Foundry. Relegation from the Premier Section followed in 2016.

The club is now in a transition period with new manager John Murray, who was a member of the club’s successful Steel & Sons Cup winning team, starting to build things up again.

He has a long way to go, but the club has a vibrant and successful youth section and structures are in place to put Kilmore back on the road to the Premier Section.