Dalry Thistle (Scotland)

Dalry Thistle FC who were formed in 1920 are a Scottish football club from the small town of Dalry, which is located in the Garnock Valley in Ayrshire. Thistle were crowned Ayrshire League champions in 1933-34 as well as winning the Ayrshire Cup six years later. 

The club gave Ian Ure, Jim Leighton and Hugh Baird amongst others their first steps in their impressive careers. In 1960-61, Thistle lifted the Ayrshire Cup, with no more honours following until 2001-02, when the club won the Ayrshire League Third Division after being relegated a couple of seasons earlier.

When SJFA football was reorganised, Dalry were placed in the West Region Ayrshire League. The league title success of 2008-09 saw the club promoted to the First Division of the West of Scotland Super League as Darren Henderson took charge of the side. However, Thistle were relegated back to the Ayrshire District League at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Another Ayrshire League tile was secured in 2017-18 under manager Gavin Friels, which saw Thistle placed in the AJFA Western Region Championship following reorganisation of the league's. The worldwide pandemic created havoc, with Dalry sitting out the 2020-21 season after becoming a founder member of the SFA West of Scotland League.

Their performance in Conference B in 2021-22 saw the club placed in the Third Division the following season under manager Chris Wilson. The teams first three seasons at the this level saw gradual improvements each time leading to Thistle finishing seventh in 2024-25 in the nonth tier of Scottish football.

Dalry Thistle FC will compete in the West of Scotland League Third Division in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Monday 30th September 2013

Dalry Thistle had come to my attention a few years previously to me gathering any real knowledge about how non league and Junior football north of the border operated through reading of their exploits in the excellent fanzine ‘When Saturday Comes’.

Through remembering this I had to include them in any groundhopping trip in the area. The bus had deposited me just past their Merksworth Park home following a bus ride from Beith on a sunny early autumn morning.

I took some snaps from the yard of the adjoining supermarket before walking up Vennel Street into St Margaret Avenue, which is the grounds official address. Merksworth Park was a pretty basic venue, with one small cover down the far side and a changing room block towards the entrance. The rest of the ground was made up of a few steps of terracing and open grass.

I headed back into town and towards the station when my planning helped a couple visiting the town for a funeral. They were not sure of where they were, so I was able to hand on my used map as I was now sure of my location. Every little helps and it certainly improved my day helping others.