Youghal United AFC

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A potted history of Youghal United


IN THE BEGINNING:

The early days of soccer in Youghal were not documented adequately enough to portray the true stories in here. This was, after all, a time when soccer was not a very popular game in this country.
We will look back at the years that preceded Youghal United, and familiarise ourselves with the teams and characters associated with that period.

FIRST THERE WERE THREE:

Despite the fact that soccer wasn’t the most popular sport in Youghal, we still managed to field three junior soccer teams.
In the times before Youghal United; some people still talk of the teams of Youghal, Sars and St. Martins.

These three teams represented Youghal in the AUL and the Youghal lads also later took part in the old West Waterford League, "The Murphy League".

The three teams brought through a lot of players from Youghal and the surrounding areas. The teams played out of the same town but were very much separate clubs!

With the raising of much needed funds, the sharing of pitches, and the poaching of players from one team to another, one can only imagine the amount of bluffing that went on during these times.

From players to coaches and managers, there was an endless list of characters about whom many a story is told!

Each one as big a scamp as the next, the rivalry was fierce but the craic was mighty. There was many a hard fought match between the Youghal teams but, for the most part, everyone ended up as friends.

YOUGHAL:

Youghal, for the most part, were organised by Seamus Murphy and Willie "Wasp" Walsh.

Over the years the Youghal lads won several League and Cup trophies and were always regarded as one of the strongest sides in the League.

With so many junior players in the town, the Youghal team frequently changed its line-up, but the back bone of the team always included players such as Seamus Murphy, Maurice Kenneally, Chalkie Murphy, Mick Tracey, Frank and Joe Cooper - who many would consider as one of the best footballers ever to play for any Youghal team.

There were a lot of very fine players who wore the Youghal jersey for this team and all will have happy memories of very tough, physical games, as it was at a time when footballers were allowed to compete in the tackle.

The memories of hilly pitches, non-existent dressing rooms and mud up to your neck are not far from the mind, but that was the reality for junior teams back then. The commitment of the players never had to be questioned.

Not trying to make comparisons, but it would be nice to see the players from that era performing with the use of today’s facilities.

SARS:

Sars made up the second part of this threesome, and were also a very committed bunch of lads. The Sars were brought together by the football men of Sarsfield Terrace and Raheen Park.

Over the years they too changed personnel, but they had a back bone of guys like Billy Joyce, Christy and Stephen Hennessy, John “Badger” Keeffe, Maurice McCarthy and Danny Keeffe.

At the helm of The Sars during these years was the ever present John “Scobie” Heaphy. Over the years he was ably assisted by "Badger" Keeffe and Martin Hennessy. John went on after the Sars years to take part in the Youghal soccer scene as coach, manager, and also was Chairman of Youghal United.

Scobie is actually still involved right up to this day; schooling the youngsters in the Academy each Saturday afternoon!

ST.MARTINS:

The third team in Youghal during those years was St. Martins. This was an outfit brought together by Richard Leo, with the help of men like Sean DeLeCour and Ollie Kelleher.

Richard sought to bring in a less physical approach to the game and always encouraged his players to “play a bit of football”. This was due mainly to the fact that St. Martins were made up of mostly younger players like Peter Finch, Michael Durkin, Billy Swayne and Martin Cohen, to name a few.

However, they also had a back bone of more experienced players such as William Swayne, Kevin Kenneally, Donie McCarthy and Kevin Melly.

THREE BECOME ONE:

Whilst Youghal had these three teams, the goings on from week to week during the “coming together” would rival one of the long running soaps on TV!

The mind games and politics that were played out between the main men were as tactical and sometimes as fierce as the games on the pitch!

This all took place at a time when the out of season games, such as the Summer and Easter tournaments also came into the equation.

Soccer would never be out of the minds of all concerned, and it made for a very strong soccer tradition in the town.

The fact that the rivalry between the three clubs was so intense did not stand in the way of them coming together to form Youghal United.

This was surely because all concerned had one thing in common…..the pride in playing for Youghal.

This was again to be seen in the successes of the club in later years, and be assured that the contribution made to Youghal soccer by men like Richard Leo, Seamus Murphy and John Heaphy will be remembered.

Likewise, it would be remiss of us to ignore the contributions of Tommy Coleman Snr. who played for the club for many a year, and also served as Chairman for a while too. One of the big achievements during his reign at the helm was when the Seniors played against UCD in the FAI Senior Cup – and who could ever forget the goal scored in that game by Derek Murphy?

It is probably fair to say at this point, that had it not been for the hospitality and generosity of our Honorary President Noel Mackey, the club would have folded many years ago when times were really tough! Not only for the bail outs that he provided, but for the occupation of his house for many an arduous committee meeting!

Great credit is also due to various people who guided teams along the way such as Gerry Malone, Johnny Ryan, Johnny Crowley, Michael “Tasher” Murphy and Sean Kearns.

To tell of all the facts of the coming-together of the clubs would take a book in itself. Stories of who had the most funds and who had the best players will start to surface and then we are into a game of opinions.

One thing everyone seems to be in agreement about is the role that Tomas O’Connell played. Tomas chaired several meetings and, by all accounts, did so in a manner which was always helpful in the decision making process.

When every angle had been covered, Tomas closed the meeting and all the soccer men of Youghal were eventually under the same banner which proudly read Youghal United.

THE REST IS HISTORY:

Once formed, Youghal United set off to establish itself as one of the best clubs in the country. Over the next 30 years, the club set off on a journey that not only provided us with the fantastic facility that is Ardrath Park today, but football teams that we can all be very proud of.

With the experience of the men from the earlier years along with up and coming club men, Youghal Utd became a stable force in the Cork & Munster Soccer Leagues.

The club started to show great improvement in the underage section and picked up trophies along the way under the guidance of coaches like Seamus Murphy, Pat “Whack” McCarthy and Derek Kiely.

With the emergence of a strong schoolboy section, it would not be long before Youghal United would be making a name for themselves in the Senior ranks. This of course did not happen overnight, but took many years, and required some very hard work by a few very dedicated people.

The coaching of the teams was very important, and the various styles of coaches like Mike Durkin, Kevin Melly, Ray Frazer, Kevin Kenneally, Colm Mulcahy and Davy O’Brien all played a part in shaping the teams for the good years that were to follow.

Along with the coaches were a very dedicated line of committee people. No one will forget the importance of people like Davy O’Brien Snr, Chris Pierce, Billy Cotter, John Heaphy and Finbarr Walsh, to mention some who held position of Chairman and, of course, our “one and only” Chairlady Phil Mangan.

These really were great times for Youghal United, with Ireland starting to appear on the world stage having qualified for the World Cup in Germany 1988; Soccer was the game that kids wanted to play!

This was of great benefit to the club as it made for a constant supply of emerging talent. With this talent came a pride in the club which saw everyone within the club working together to make the club what it is today.

The Senior team reached their highest peak in 2009, when they brought the coveted Beamish Cup back to Youghal.

YOUGHAL UTD TODAY:

Our current set up is governed by Chairman Richard Lane, whose leadership and enthusiasm for our club has no bounds!

Backed up with an able and committed bunch of Officers & Committee members, we strive to provide the utmost in our facilities, pitches and coaching, to the community of Youghal in the realms of Soccer.

We have undertaken in recent years many projects to enhance our grounds and educate our coaches.

Some to mention would be the replacement and upgrade of our All Weather Pitch which is second to none!

From a coaching perspective, we have invested in all coaches, in having basic minimum qualifications such as KICK START 1 & KICK START 2; and for the right candidates - we have progressed to FAI Youth Badge Certification.

This coaching education can be seen as most rewarding, as our recently seen in the success of our Schoolboys league teams, u16 boys winning their Division 2 League and moving up to Division1, u15 boys winning their Division 2 League and moving up to Division1 and also having 2 of our teams u16's and u13's season 2021/2022 in the last 16 National cup and u16's reaching last 8 in the National Cup.

We as a club are looking to upgrade our facilities by working towards installing a 4G FAI approved full all weather pitch. We will be working towards multiple fundraisers.

All in all, this club would be nothing without the dedication of its members and the families attributed – so to all of you – in times of present and past – WE THANK YOU DEARLY!

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