Falcarragh CSC
Having had a long tradition of support for Celtic, going right back to the club’s foundation, the town of Falcarragh in the parish of Cloughaneely in north-west Donegal has had an official supporters club since 2000, its inception coinciding with the start of the Martin O’Neill era.
The club was founded in Shamrock Bar, one of the traditional convention centres in town for supporters, both local and on vacation, to gather to watch Celtic. It was originally known as Na Croisbhealaigh CSC, this being the Irish translation for ‘The Crossroads,’ which was the original name for their village.
The original committee was comprised of J.J. Curran as chairman, Terry Duggan as secretary, Denis Doohan as treasurer, and the sadly deceased and forever missed Joe Kelly. Present at the inaugural meeting were club stalwarts Pat Ban Gallagher and Hughie McCreadie. During the early years, the club organised a number of trips to Paradise, travelling with local bus operators such as John Sweeney and John Cannon. The outward journey was always more memorable than the long journey home.
As well as the Shamrock Bar, the club also used other pubs in the village like The Anchor, The Loft, and Biddy Jack’s as venues for meetings and fundraising events. The club famously had a table at a gala Celtic evening in Ostan na Rosann in Dungloe in 2001, where the club representatives rubbed shoulders with some of that season’s title-winning Celts, Neil Lennon, Johann Mjallby, and a young Shaun Maloney.
In 2003, the club was rebranded as Falcarragh CSC, and they enjoyed one of the busiest years in their history, organising the trip to Seville and later that year sending two full coachloads to see a Liam Miller-inspired Celtic hammer Hearts 6-2, with the Cork man scoring a brace that day.
They commandeered a full floor of Jury’s Hotel that weekend and were delighted in general with the surroundings, although some of their members bemoaned the lack of illumination in the bedrooms, only to find out on the bus home that their key cards were not just for opening the doors.
Over the years, a central focus of the club has also been organising charity fundraising events in the parish, whether through table quizzes, sponsorship cards, or raffles, supporting organisations such as the Cloughaneely Food Bank and the St Martin’s House Charity. Under the stewardship of current club chairman Hugh Sharkey and his hardworking committee, the club has established the annual Falcarragh Cup Astro 7-a-side competition in recent years in memory of two of their sadly deceased members, the aforementioned Joe Kelly and also John Harley.
This has proven to be a fantastic event and a fitting tribute to two great men, with all monies raised being designated for a particular charity. This year’s beneficiary is the Blue Stack Foundation. Commemorated and also fondly remembered at this time are club members John O’Brien and Dermot McMurrough.
An extract from Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs by David McIntyre ( Celtic Bars). Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs is out now and available in print and kindle versions HERE.
More from Football Without Fans tomorrow on The Celtic Star, the Celtic supporters website. Will it be your CSC that’s featured?
Just before Christmas, David McIntyre from Celtic Bars was interviewed by Celtic TV about his Football Without Fans book. Here’s the video on Celtic TV’s You Tube channel. You can order a copy in print or kindle from Amazon regardless of where you are in the world. Order your copy HERE.
