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Cobh Ramblers F.C.

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Cobh Ramblers
Cobh Ramblers FC crest
Full nameCobh Ramblers Football Club
Nickname(s)"Ramblers" or "The Rams" "The Claret and Blue Army"
Founded1922; 102 years ago (1922)
GroundSt Colman's Park, Cobh,
County Cork
Capacityc. 4,000[1]
ChairmanBill O'Leary
ManagerGary Hunt
LeagueLeague of Ireland First Division
2024League of Ireland First Division, 8th of 10
Websitehttp://cobhramblers.ie

Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC; Irish: Cumann Peile Chóstóirí Chóbh) is an Irish football club. The club, founded in 1922 and elected to the League of Ireland in 1985, hails from Cobh, County Cork and play their home matches at St. Colman's Park. The club's colours are claret and blue. The club was a founding member of the Cork Athletic Union League in 1947 and is the only one of the 14 founding clubs still in existence today.

History

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Cobh Ramblers F.C owes its formation in 1922 to the success of a challenge football match between two local field hockey clubs, 'Ramblers' and 'Cork Tramways'. Given the town's British connections at the time, hockey was relatively popular on Great Island.[citation needed] A desire to play football arose and the Laundry Field, at the rear of Cobh Hospital, was the venue. It was felt[by whom?] that an appetite existed for an official football club and preparations were made for such. At the subsequent meeting held in the Laundry, now the site of Park Road Day Centre, Cobh Ramblers A.F.C was formally established.[citation needed]

The Munster Football Association (M.F.A) had also been established in 1922 and the club became affiliated with the league shortly after inception. Ramblers were too late to enter the very first season, which was a short 'shield' format and ultimately won by Barrackton. The first full season of the MFA, 1922/23, saw a number of new arrivals including Ramblers, Blackrock Rovers and Shandon. The club was entered into both the South Munster Senior and Junior Leagues, one of only five clubs to feature at both levels. Matches were played at the Laundry Field and Ramblers were permitted to use the Laundry premises for dressing rooms and committee meetings. A first ever final appearance came in the form of the 1923 Munster Junior Cup, as Ramblers lost out to Barrackton in the decider.[citation needed]

The club first won the Munster Senior Cup in 1925.[2] Additional (provincial) Munster Senior Cup titles were captured in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1970s.[2]

At a national level, the club played in the 1976 FAI League Cup, reaching the semi-finals.[citation needed]

Cobh Ramblers joined the League of Ireland in 1985, after many years as a Munster Senior League side. One of the most successful of those teams was the team of 1983, who got to the semi-final of the FAI Cup defeating several senior clubs on the way.[citation needed] They met Sligo Rovers in the semi-final that year, drawing crowds of over 20,000 to Flower Lodge for the home games as St Colmans Park was too small. There were three replays until Sligo finally won 3–2 and went on to win the cup.[citation needed]

In 1985, the FAI announced that the League of Ireland would be expanding through the creation of a second league, the First Division. Ten teams were selected to join the inaugural First Division. Cobh, Bray Wanderers, Derry City, E.M.F.A (Kilkenny City) and Newcastle United (Newcastlewest) were elected to step up from intermediate football whilst Monaghan United stepped up from the League of Ireland B Division. These six teams were joined by the bottom four clubs from the 1984/85 League of Ireland campaign, Drogheda United, Finn Harps, Longford Town and Sligo Rovers.[citation needed]

Cobh won promotion to the Premier Division in 1988, after finishing First Division runners-up to Athlone Town. Lasting just one season in the top flight, they won promotion again at the end of the 1992–93 season, this time as runners-up to Galway United. A play-off win over Finn Harps saw Ramblers retain their Premier Division status at the end of the 1993–94 season, but the club were relegated in second-last place the following year.

With Ramblers having played all but four of their League of Ireland campaigns in the LOI First Division, and local rivals Cork City FC more frequently playing in the LOI Premier Division, the two clubs have historically only met in pre-season friendlies and cup matches. However, during the 2022 and 2024 League of Ireland First Division seasons, when Cork City were playing in the First Division, the two teams played in what some sources described as "derby" games.[3][4]

On 10 November 2007, Cobh Ramblers beat Athlone Town 1–0 in Lissywoollen to give the club their first piece of Senior Silverware and crowned them First Division Champions. During the 2007 season, they recorded a 27-game unbeaten run, keeping 22 clean sheets.[5] Their points tally of 77 points was also a record for the league.

However, after being relegated from the League of Ireland Premier Division, Ramblers subsequently failed to obtain a licence for the First Division due to financial constraints and so compete in the Newstalk A Championship (Ireland's third tier).

In 2010 Ramblers missed out on gaining promotion back to the League of Ireland losing to Salthill Devon in a play off.[6]

The club's most noted past player is former Irish international and Manchester United star Roy Keane,[7] while Irish international Stephen Ireland is a product of the Youth System. Westlife singer Nicky Byrne, who was also a footballer on the books at Leeds United, had a spell with the club too.[8]

On 18 March 2014, the club parted company with manager Dave Hill by mutual consent after five years. He was replaced by Martin Cambridge on an interim basis. In March 2015 Martin Cambridge tendered his resignation and Stephen Henderson returned to the club as first team manager. In Oct 2015 Stephen Henderson signed a new three-year contract with the club. In 2016, Henderson guided Ramblers to Munster Senior Cup victory and to a 3rd-place finish in the first division. Cobh Ramblers were the only side to defeat first division champions Limerick that season and this coincided with a run of 5 victories in their last 5 league games to reach the playoffs. They narrowly lost 3–2 on aggregate to Drogheda Utd despite overturning a 2–0 deficit in the return leg at United Park after only nine minutes.[citation needed]

In 2018, Ramblers reached the final of the EA Sports Cup Final. In the semi-final they defeated Dundalk 1–0 at home with striker Chris Hull scoring the winner. After defeating Dundalk, and denying the eventual champions a treble, Ramblers lost the final away to Derry City 3–1.

Having previously been a "member owned" club, in 2024 the club's members voted to accept a takeover by FC32,[9][10] an international investment group which also owns Swiss club AC Bellizona and Austrian club SKN St. Pölten.[11]

Stadium

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St Colman's Park, which has a capacity of over 4,000,[1] was redeveloped during the mid-2000s. Construction of a new changing facility and press office along with a new chairman's office was completed in 2006 along with new floodlights and a 900-seater stand replacing the old shed. The east stand, too has seen improvement with 450 new seats being installed. Plans for a new 900 seater stand adjacent to the existing stand have temporarily been put on hold due to minor financial difficulties at the club. A new slick surface was also added prior to the clubs admission to the Eircom/Airtricity League Premier Division in 2009.

The stadium has hosted international underage games including games in the 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Championship qualifiers.[citation needed] Munster Schools Senior Cup games have also been staged at the stadium including the final which was won by local Cobh school, Coláiste Muire in 2010.[citation needed]

Current squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Darragh Burke
2 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Michael McCarthy
3 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Cian Browne
4 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Justin Eguaibor
5 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Breandán Frahill
6 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Dean Larkin
7 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Beineon O'Brien-Whitmarsh
8 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Pierce Phillips
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Matthew McKevitt
10 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Jack Larkin
11 MF Republic of Ireland IRL James O'Leary
12 DF United States USA Nolan Evers
14 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Kervick
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF New Zealand NZL Dan McKay
16 MF Croatia CRO David Bošnjak
17 DF Italy ITA Alessandro De Sanctis
20 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Charlie O'Brien
22 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Ryan Delaney
27 FW Republic of Ireland IRL David Eguaibor
28 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Dale Holland
29 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Tiernan O'Brien
30 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Cathal O'Hanlon
37 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Dan Ryan
38 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Luka Le Bervet
39 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Jason Abbott

Youth teams

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Under-19s

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The National under-19 league was introduced in 2011, replacing the old A Championship. Cobh Ramblers won the Southern Division that year, gaining promotion to the Elite Division.[citation needed] During the 2022 season, the Cobh's under-19 team secured the LOI Tier 2 League title with a record of 14 wins and 4 draws from 18 games.[citation needed]

Under-17s

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Cobh Ramblers entered a team in the first ever League of Ireland under-17 season in 2015. The side was made up of players from across the county of Cork. As of 2020, the under-17 side was coached by former Cork City F.C. and Cardiff City defender, Darren Dennehy.[citation needed]

Supporters

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Cobh Ramblers' fanbase, sometimes known as the "Claret and Blue Army",[12][13] used to locate in the East stand, behind the goal. Nowadays they locate at the far end of the South stand.[citation needed] There is also a Cobh Ramblers Supporters Club, who are involved in fundraising for the club.

In 2019, Cobh Ramblers changed the ownership structure of the club and became a fully fan owned entity.[citation needed] This changed in 2024, when the club members voted to "pass [ownership] into the hands of international investors [..] the FC32 group".[9][10]

Honours

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Notable former managers

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Notable former players

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Cobh Ramblers land massive Dundalk home tie in cup semi-final". echolive.ie. The Echo. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2019. We have a 4,000 capacity in St Colman's Park — hopefully we could fill the place up
  2. ^ a b "Club History". cobhramblers.ie. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Cork City take huge step to First Division title with dramatic derby win over Cobh Ramblers". the42.ie. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Ruairí Keating grabs dramatic winner as Cork City break Cobh Ramblers hearts at St Colman's Park". echolive.ie. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Cobh boss praises promotion winners". RTÉ Sport. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Salthill Devon secure 1st Division Status". www.airtricityleague.ie. 6 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Memorable events in Keane's career". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Club History - Ramblers Celebrities". cobhramblers.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008.
  9. ^ a b "Cobh Ramblers no longer member owned as club say new US investors, FC32, will be 'transformative' for Cork outfit". Irish Independent. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Cobh Ramblers not immune to wider changes in Irish soccer as investment talks loom". echolive.ie. 11 March 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Cobh Ramblers announce financial takeover from FC32". echolive.ie. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Liffey Wanderers v Cobh Ramblers - Soccer". finalwhistle.ie. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Kerry FC To Kick Off Season With Munster Derby". traleetoday.ie. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Munster Football Association – Previous Winners". Munster Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.
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