Killorglin AFC are a jewel of the KDL

THE beautiful game is enjoying big popularity on the banks of the Laune with Killorglin AFC coming on leaps and bounds over the past 48 years and now they have a club that has excellent facilities and teams that can hold their own with any club in the county.

The club started out as Callinafercy FC and over almost a three decade period climbed up the divisions of the KDL and got to play in the top flight of Kerry soccer bagging a league title along the way.

Then almost 30 years later in 1992 the decision was made to change the club name from Callinafercy to Killorglin AFC and the success story of the club continued after that. Callinafercy FC was founded on St Stephen Day 1972 when a few friends got together over a few pints and decided they were going to enter a team into the KDL.

Soccer enjoyed a very high profile at this time mainly due to the exposure of the 1970 World Cup, which was televised live with Champions Brazil captivating the minds of aspiring young soccer players who were fascinated at the skills of this brilliant South American side.

The founder members of the club were John P O’Sullivan, John Joe

O’Sullivan and Pat Twiss. They formed a committee to get the show up and running with Pat Twiss chairman, John P O’Sullivan Treasurer and Vincent Heffernan treasurer.

After a bit of time more people became involved which made running the club much easier. The early days were tough as they had no pitch to play in and there was no funds in the kitty either. However, they did not panic as the game in the area was enjoying increased popularity and the new club turned out to be a big attraction.

Gradually they began to find their feet in the KDL and started challenging for league titles. They hit the jackpot in a big way in 1979 when the club scaled enormous heights winning the league and cup double under team manager John Joe O’Sullivan

The squad that brought off the double were Peter Lyons, Mike (Dike) O’Sullivan, Jim Daley, Joe Flynn RIP, Tom Johnson RIP, Jack Reen, Tommy Woods, RIP, Raymond Murphy, Johnny ‘Porridge’ O’Connor, Mike Johnson, Jim Johnson, Phil Delaney, John P O’Sullivan, Ted Kennedy.

More success was to follow under managers John Joe O’Sullivan and John P O’Sullivan and they won the

Greyhound Bar Cup in 1986/87 and they won the Anchor Shield in 1988. As time progressed the club were looking at the bigger picture and they knew if they were to get their own grounds which was their ultimate objective and get major sponsors they would have to use the name of their hometown.

They sat down with their club officials and supporters and got the green light to rename the club Killorglin AFC. There might have been a few who did not agree with the change of name, but all this was forgotten in a short time and the club went on to grow and prosper at a rapid pace

The club had no permanent base at this time and they moved around on a frequent basis renting land in different locations. During this period their teams had to tog out on the side of the road and often came off the pitch after a game covered in mud and sometimes cow dung as well.

At that time the social aspect of the club was very important as all the players built up a great relationship and as time progressed they began to pick up silverware and then interest spiralled and the number of players joining the club increased significantly.

The team always met up after games for a few sociable drinks and ideas began to come on board to enhance the profile of the club and look after the people that were giving them such great commitment.

The one thing that had been keeping the club behind in the early years was the lack of a pitch locally that they could use as a base in the long term. Then their prayers were answered when local farmer Cormac Johnson agreed to donate a field on his farm to the club. His sons Tom, Mike and Jim were playing for the team and this field became the club’s home ground for a long period.

In the years that followed the club picked up silverware and were a match for every team in the top flight of Kerry soccer. There were some great people involved in the club at that time and they had a vision that the club should set their heights higher and make a big effort to purchase land and provide facilities that would secure the future of the game in the area.

They achieved this in 1996 and the club has flourished since. The first game at the new pitch was in 2003. Of course, a huge amount of effort were into completing this project and could not have been achieved except for the sacrifice of people on the ground, volunteers, the support of the local community and the sponsorship of local business people.

While the club have excellent facilities now they are not stopping at just this as plans are in train to further enhance their facilities in the coming years. The club are now very strong at under age level and their under 17 team are through to the semi-final of the FAI Under 17 Cup with a tie against Meath side Parkvilla United.

Jim Donna was the manager of the team for a number of years and he went on to become the vice- chairman of the KDL and had a lot of influence on the way the game was run in the county.

Like all clubs a good sponsor is required to ease the financial strain that a club that has so many teams and Killorglin’s main sponsor is Supervalu Killorglin.

ROLL OF HONOUR

Callinafercy, Division 1 (Top Div that time) 1979/80 Callinafercy, Greyhound Bar Cup 1979/80 Callinafercy, Greyhound Bar Cup 1986/87 Callinafercy, Anchor Shield 1988

Killorglin AFC Premier B Champions, 2009 and 2013 Killorglin AFC, Dominos Pizza Champions, 2009 and 2018 Killorglin AFC, Youths Cup Champions 2008.