Cliftonville (Northern Ireland)

Cliftonville Football and Athletic Club is a semi-professional football club from a district of the same name in North Belfast who were formed on September 20th 1879 by a local businessman, John McAlery who advertised for players to join his club.

Cliftonville were soon up and running and playing matches, initially at Cliftonville Cricket Club. McAlery was a visionary and in the space of a year he was behind the formation of the Irish FA and Irish Cup.

Cliftonville lost in the first final of the Irish Cup, 1-0 to Moyola Park in 1880-81 before going down to the only goal of the game against Queen's Island (1881) a year later. The club won the Cup for the first time in 1882-83 with a 5-0 victory over Ulster at a time when James Percy was a regular goalscorer.

The team ended as Cup losing finalists in 1886-87, going down 3-0 to Ulster prior to defeating Distillery 2-1 the following season. ‘The Reds’ also competed for a few seasons in the English FA Cup around the same time.

Cliftonville suffered further Irish Cup heartbreak when they lost 3-1 after a replay in 1888-89 to Gordon Highlanders before becoming founder members of the Irish League a few months later.

In 1896-97 Cliftonville lifted the Irish Cup for a third time when Sherwood Foresters were defeated 3-1. Further Cup triumphs followed in 1899-00 with a 2-1 victory over Bohemians and again the following season when a solitary goal saw off Freebooters.

In 1900 Cliftonville moved into their Solitude home. The ground staged eleven Ireland international games until Windsor Park and Dalymount Park in Dublin took over. Their first league title was lifted in 1905-06 which was shared with Distillery after Cliftonville had previously ended as runners-up on four occasions.

The 1906-07 campaign saw Cliftonville win a fifth Irish Cup after Shelbourne were beaten 1-0 after a replay before the trophy was retained in 1908-09 following a 2-1 repay victory against Bohemians.

The club won their second Irish League title in 1909-10 before being denied the double after a 1-0 defeat to Distillery in the Irish Cup final. Other clubs began to develop and catch up leading to many barren seasons for the Solitude faithful.

There was a 3-2 defeat to Ards in the 1926-27 Irish Cup final before further disappointment in the 1933-34 final when Linfield won 5-0. The team finished third in the Irish League season of 1954-55 which was as good as it got for several decades as they remained strictly amateur.

An eighth Irish Cup triumph was delivered in 1978-79 when Portadown were defeated 3-2, which can be viewed here, before a third place league finish was secured in 1983-84 before ending as losing League Cup finalists after penalties to Ards in 1994-95.

Cliftonville took up a position in the Premier Division in 1995-96 when the league split into two divisions. Twelve months later Cliftonville were defeated 1-0 in the Irish Cup final by Glenavon. A third Irish League title was lifted in 1997-98 under manager Marty Quinn.

Click here to see the incredible final day climax to the 1997-98 title win.

The club listed the League Cup in 2003-04 after victory on penalties against Larne under former skipper Marty Tabb before losing the 2006-07 final to Glentoran and ending third in the Irish Premier League, a position that was repeated the following season under manager Eddie Patterson. A 1-0 defeat to Crusaders followed in the 2008-09 Irish Cup final.

The 2009-10 league season ended with Cliftonville as runners-up as the forward partnership of George McMullan and Liam Boyce put away the goals. HNK Cibalia of Croatia were defeated in the second qualifying round of the Europa League the following campaign before CSKA Sofia ended dreams of further progress.

The goals of Jordan Owens helped the team to fourth place the same season. Cliftonville became IFA Premiership champions in 2012-13 as the duo of Boyce and Joe Gormley became regular scorers with Tommy Breslin managing the side. The season also saw Cliftonville go down 3-1 after extra time to Glentoran in the Irish Cup final.

However, a 4-0 win over Crusaders to lift what would be the first of four consecutive League Cup triumphs in an amazing resurgence at the club which saw the installation of an artificial pitch and new stands at Solitude.

Cliftonville were rewarded with a tie against Celtic in the second qualifying round of the Champions League in 2013-14. While that tie ended in defeat, the Reds went on to retain the League Cup as Crusaders were defeated on penalties as well as becoming league champions for a fifth time.

Gormley continued to put away the goals in 2014-15 as Ballymena United were defeated 3-2 in the League Cup final which was backed up with a 3-0 final win against Ards twelve months later with goals from Martin Donnelly, David McDaid and Stephen Garrett.

Gerard Lyttle came in as manager in September 2015, taking his side to fifth place in 2016-17 as Barry Gray replaced him before the seasons end. It was a same finish the following season with Jay Donnelly assisting the prolific Gormley as the team also lost 3-1 in the final of the Irish Cup to Coleraine.

Fifth place followed in 2018-19 which led to a place in the Europa League after a play-off win. Barry Town United were defeated before defeat to Haugesund in the First qualifying round. Cliftonville finished the aborted 2019-20 season in fourth place.

Cliftonville will play in the NIFL Premiership in the 2020-21 season.

My visits

Tuesday 2nd February 2010

I was in the Belfast area for a couple of days to take in some football and visit grounds. It was a very cold and blustery day. I had been on an open top city bus tour. I had paid the penalty for sitting upstairs but I did get some terrific photos. 

I tried to thaw out as I had a walk to the square next to the stunning City Hall and found the bus I required to visit Solitude, the home of Cliftonville in North West Belfast.

That was an easy task and after a few minutes walk I could see the imposing rear of the old Main Stand ahead of me., Unfortunately the ground was locked despite the team being at home to Institute later that evening. I looked for any way of seeing inside including a walk into the park that backed onto the far side, but to no avail.

A friendly neighbour told me that no-one usually appeared until 6.30pm. I explained what I was up to and the lady wished me a pleasant few days. I was warming to the people by the minute. I did see a groundsman working on the pitch through the side of a gate but could not attract his attention. 

It was a shame as it looked a good ground with a nice mixture of new stands behind each goal and a traditional mixture along the Main Stand side. The fourth side by the park looked like open terracing. Alas the security required in those troubled parts had defeated me.

I was cheered as I walked away as I saw the virtually extinct site of youngsters playing football in the street and using the gate to the ground as a goal. Let’s hope they become Reds fans and get to play on the proper side of the fence one day.

Cliftonville 0 Carrick Rangers 0 (Tuesday 3rd January 2017) Northern Ireland Premiership (Att: 918)

As I was down to work night shifts over New Year, I had treated myself to an overnight stay in Belfast, once my shifts were complete. I’d flown with Easy Jet from Gatwick around lunchtime and went into town by bus from International Airport.

I filled my afternoon with a quick visit to Windsor Park, where I managed to sneak inside for photos and an unintentionally long walk before taking a siesta and a warm in my excellent Ibis Hotel room on Castle Road in the city centre.

Google maps had given the information that I needed a 10a bus up the hill to Solitude from Castle Court. Once I’d eventually located the stop I was soon on board and out at the other end. While I’d been in worse areas, I was glad to see the comforting signs of fans wearing club colours.

I was rather hoping to find a club bar, but having presuming that it must have been inside, I went in a little earlier than planned. For £10 I had a choice of the big stand behind the goal or the paddock under the Main Stand. Movement was unrestricted.

Upstairs in the stand seemed to be closed, save for one or two club staff. Sadly the White House pavilion in the corner looked like it's seen its last match. The far side was closed to spectators. 

It was now a shallow grass band where I believe a covered terrace could have stood? The far end was a smaller seated stand than the home end, which occupied around fifty visiting fans.

After purchasing a programme for £2, and then chips with curry sauce and a tea for a further £4.20 I settled into a seat high up behind the goal with the cold beginning to bite as Cliftonville kicked off and took control of possession from the start. 

They looked like they would open the scoring any time they fancied it. There was a lack of clinical finishing despite it being like defence against attack for periods. Occasionally Rangers would break away without really looking like scoring. It was like watching an England match against one of the "smaller" countries.

As the game went on and on, the chances dried up. The home fans became increasingly frustrated as it became clear that it wasn't to be their night. Oh and it was getting even colder as I watched for a while stood up near the gates to try and warm up!

At full time I took the bus back into town. On the recommendation of a pal I visited the Duke of York in the Cathedral quarter. While the alcohol wasn't too exciting, although the Guinness was good, the display of sporting memorabilia certainly was. 

There is an amazing display of old programmes, with most of the best stuff from Distillery when they played at Grosvenor Park and some of their glory European nights including their European Cup tie with Benfica.

I took further beers in The John Hewitt Bar, where I helped a local couple find as they wanted to listen to the traditional music being played in a free gig; Bittles Bar which was just as interesting as in my previous visit while the excellent Garrick completed a great night.

I certainly slept well!