Foundations...
Dundela Football Club was formed during the 1895-1896 season, although club sources available only date back to 1903. Even this early information is somewhat vague.
Players during the early 1900's included; Bob McAllister, Joe Cameron, Alex Lamont, Bob Cameron, Dan Lamont, R. Simpson, Davy Jamison & Jack Cully. Club Officials listed
for this period are; Hugh Connelly, Committee & Hugh Agnew, Groundsman.
It started through a Harriers club at the top end of Wilgar Street and the members consisted mainly of employees from the local dairy run by the father of Dr. Norman Agnew,
himself later to become Club President.
Irish Cup Glory...
Although having to survive in the shadows of our more illustrious
neighbours, Glentoran, Dundela continued to thrive and settled in nicely at Wilgar Park. We were always amongst the leaders in the 'B' Division*
and it was a very rare occasion to see our trophy cabinet empty.
Every team dreams of "an hour of glory" but few get the chance to reach a height achieved by the Duns in 1955, when we wrote our own piece of soccer history, beating
the highly-fancied Lurgan side, Glenavon by 3-0 to lift the Irish Cup under the captaincy of one Bobby McAuley.
What a wonderful day for everyone at the club. On the return journey every street corner saw people paying tribute to our greatest triumph and found East Belfast, truly a day
to remember.
Our Darkest Hour...
7.57 pm. on Friday 25th August 1995 at Stangmore Park, Dungannon will go down as the darkest hour in the history of Dundela Football Club. This was the tragic
death of Michael Goddard (on his 38th birthday) on the actual field of play.
In an amazing 10 year career with Dundela, Michael won everything going, and as the gaffer (Mervyn Bell) fittingly said, "Michael was a true professional in every sense of
the word, even though he was still an amateur".
A mirror, dedicated to Michael, hangs in the main room of the Social Club - a reminder of a man we will never forget.
Success At the Hen Run
...
Dundela are the most successful 2nd Division team in Northern Ireland and a look at the 'Honours
' page speaks volumes for our boys from Wilgar Park.
*
= Old name for the Irish League 2nd Division
|
Dundela Football Club - Online™
