Drogheda United FC - last updated on 21 April 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Drogheda United Football Club
Foundation: 1919
City: Drogheda
Colours: Burgundy and sky blue
Website: www.droghedaunited.ie
Honours:
FAI Premier Division - 1 (2007)
FAI Cup - 1 (2005)
FAI First Division - 4 (1988-89, 1990-91, 1998-99, 2001-02)
FAI League Cup - 1 (1983-84)
A bit of history:
Founded in 1919 the original Drogheda United were a non-league club for all of their early years of existence but in 1963 another Drogheda Club - Drogheda F.C. (founded in 1962) were elected to the League of Ireland when the league was expanded to include twelve teams rather than ten. In their first season there they finished tenth and also in each of the next three seasons finished in the bottom three. In the 1967-68 season they achieved a respectable fifth place finish and the following season finished in sixth place. When the league expanded to include fourteen teams the club dropped down the table again finishing in the bottom five in each of the next six seasons and also recording their heaviest league defeat 8-1 to Cork Hibernians in the 1970-71 season. They did, however, get to FAI Cup Final that season where they were beaten 3-0 by Limerick F.C..
In 1975 Drogheda F.C. amalgamated with Drogheda United to form Drogheda United F.C. and the 1975-76 season saw an improvement in fortunes on the field as they finished sixth in the league and they also reached the FAI Cup Final for the second time, this time losing 1-0 to Bohemians. For the next three seasons, quite the opposite at what had happened before, they finished in third place. During these seasons Drogheda United also achieved two club records - their biggest league victory (7-1 v Finn Harps) and Cathal Muckian scoring 21 league goals in a season. The club then endured another tough spell in the league finishing in the bottom half for the next five seasons bar the 1982-83 season when they managed to achieve their highest ever league placing of second place finishing sixteen points behind Athlone Town. They did win their first ever trophy during these seasons also, the League Cup in the 1983-84 season.
The 1984-85 season saw the introduction of the FAI First Division to begin the following season with Drogheda United among the four clubs who were relegated from the Premier Division but in this season also Drogheda United entered European Competition for the first time where they were destroyed against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup First Round 14-0 on aggregate. They remained in the First Division until the 1988-89 season when they went up as First Division Champions. Their joy was short-lived, however, as the following season they were relegated although this time they achieved promotion at the first time of asking. In the next two seasons Drogheda battled bravely against relegation surviving by one point and on goal difference in the respective seasons. However, they were relegated for the third time in the 1993-94 season.
Drogheda United were very much becoming a yo-yo club, swapping divisions every season between the 1993-94 and 2000-01 seasons when in 2000-01 they finished a disappointing ninth in the ten-team First Division. The following season they did achieve promotion back to the Premier Division and have remained there ever since and in recent seasons have achieved some success. They won their first FAI Cup in 2005 and won back-to-back Setanta Cups in 2006 and 2007. They also qualified for the UEFA Cup for the 2006-2007 season thanks to their 2005 FAI Cup success. They fared better this time than in their first foray into Europe as they defeated HJK Helsinki 4-2 on aggregate in the First Qualifying Round and were just eliminated on penalties in the next round against I.K. Start of Norway. They were also in the UEFA Cup Qualifying stages for the 2007-2008 campaign, losing to Helsingborgs in the second round. United made up of players mainly from Dublin finally won the League Of Ireland for the first time in 2007. They will now be competing in the Champions League Qualifiers for the first time in their history in the summer of 2008.
The crest of Drogheda United is an adaptation of the town's coat of arms, which feature a star and crescent above a shield depicting St. Lawrence's Gate, a ship, and three lions. The ship symbolises the town's port, and the three lions symbolise England - since the town was located within the English Pale during the 14th and 15th centuries. The star and crescent are the royal seal of King John, presented the town with its charter in 1194.
While Drogheda United share the same symbols and colours as Trabzonspor, in Turkey - both recently declared to be brother teams
- this has nothing to do with the Sultan of Turkey's attempted relief of the Irish during the Great Famine of the nineteenth century, as the town coat of arms pre-dates the Great Famine by almost eight hundred years.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Drogheda United FC -
Founded in 1919
