Dundela FC is a football club based in east Belfast. Dundela were formed in 1895 by employees of the Agnew Dairy and members of a local harriers club.
In 1900 ‘The Duns’ moved into their Wilgar Park home, which is located in the Strandtown suburb of the Northern Irish capital.
Dundela’s greatest season came in 1954-55 when they won the Irish Cup by beating Glenavon 3-0 in front of 10,000 fans at Windsor Park
Goals from Bobby Ervine, who netted twice and a late Jackie Greenwood strike proved decisive. The Dundela side was as follows: J Smyth, R Smyth, Stewart, McAuley, Lynch, Millar, Greenwood, Reid, Ervine, Kavanagh, Gourley
Dundela went on to become champions of the second tier Irish League B Division in 1967-68 and finished as joint champions with Carrick Rangers in 1976-77.
Further successes came in the renamed second level Irish League B Division Section 1 as the Duns won the title in 1981-82, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1993-94 in the days when the league didn’t carry a promotion and relegation system.
A new three tier system was introduced into Northern Irish football around 2010. Dundela were placed in the third level NIFL Premier Intermediate League, which they won in 2011-12 to be promoted to the NIFL Championship.
After two consecutive fourth place finishes the Duns finished bottom in 2014-15 and were relegated back to Intermediate football where they finished in lower mid table in 2015-16 and 20-16-17 under manager Steven Gourley.
Dundela FC will play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League in the 2017-18 season.
My visit
Wednesday 4th January 2017
It was the second and final day of my brief visit to Belfast and it was a sunny but cold lunchtime when I took the bus from City Hall to Strandtown where I alighted to walk up Dundela Avenue past the Harland & Wolff Staff Club to the ground.
I tried to see if any gates were open to no avail. I was pretty sure I saw a light in the social club that backed the ground on Wilgar Street, so I rung the bell.
A kind gentleman took me inside the club and through the other side to the arena so I could take my photos. He was a friendly chap who obviously took pride in his club and that someone could be bothered to visit them.
The ground was like an old style non-league venue in England before the ground graders had gone to work. The near side had the changing rooms and an enclosure with some seating. The entrance end was flat open standing, with the far side having a large grass bank. A smaller sloping expanse of turf stood behind the other goal and was backed by Dundela Infant School.
I tried to imagine the glory days and the Irish Cup run as I took my images. My pal told me gates could range anywhere between 60 and 250 depending on how the team was doing.
Having said my thank you I headed back over Holywood Road and onto the downward slope of Pims Avenue, which offered a fantastic distant view of Glentoran’s Oval and the two famous towering cranes of Harland & Wolff.
Best of all, I had visited the heart and sole of the community in a lovely warm city. That is worth a thousand tourist gimmicks in my book.
Best of all, I had visited the heart and sole of the community in a lovely warm city. That is worth a thousand tourist gimmicks in my book.
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