Everything about Finn Harps totally explained
Finn Harps Football Club (
Irish:
Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an
Irish football club playing in the
FAI Premier Division of the
FAI League of Ireland. The club were founded in
1954 and elected to the league in
1969. They hail from
Ballybofey,
County Donegal and play their home matches at
Finn Park. The club's colours are blue and white, and they go by the nickname
the Harps. The main successes of the club include winning an
FAI Cup in 1973–74 and the First Division title in 2004. Due to the regular frequency of the club's relegation from and promotion to the
FAI Premier Division, they've been labelled a "
yo-yo club".
Finn Harps share a local rivalry with
Derry City with whom they contest the
Northwest Derby. The club also work in close collaboration with
Letterkenny Rovers, often signing young players who have blossomed at the amateur club.
History
Finn Harps were formed in 1954 as a junior club. Their name derived from the river that runs through
Ballybofey — the
River Finn — and a traditional Irish symbol — the
harp. They first came to national prominence by winning the 1968
FAI Junior Cup. This enabled them to compete in the 1969
FAI Intermediate Cup. After they were knocked out of that competition, club directors
Fran Fields and
Patsy McGowan decided to apply to the
Football League of Ireland for membership. The club was admitted into the senior ranks in
May 1969 and played their first senior game against
Shamrock Rovers on
17 August,
1969. They lost the game 10–2. After initial worries that the club were not of sufficient standard and criticism of the league for accepting a Donegal team's application, the club became a considerable force during the 1970s.
Finn Harps won their first senior trophy, the
Dublin City Cup, in 1971–72, after a
Brendan Bradley goal defeated
Cork Hibernians at
Dalymount Park. Two years later, Dalymount Park was again the scene of the club's only
FAI Cup win. Two goals from Brendan Bradley and one by
Charlie Ferry saw off the challenge of
St. Patrick's Athletic. Finn Harps qualified for European competitions on four occasions during the 1970s. The appeared in the
UEFA Cup three times against
Aberdeen,
Derby County and
Everton respectively after finishing as runners-up in the league, and once in the
European Cup Winners Cup, where the played
Turkish Cup winners,
Bursaspor. The club were again runners-up in the
League Cup finals of 1974 and 1975 to
Waterford and
Bohemians respectively. Through the 1970s, the club never once finished in the bottom half of the table and were widely respected for their attractive and attacking football style.
In 1998–99, Finn Harps finished fourth in the Premier Division; one point behind
Shelbourne in third position and just missed out on Europe. They made it to the
FAI Cup final and after a number of replays against
Bray Wanderers they lost, leaving themselves with nothing to show, bar the
Irish News Cup, for what is considered to be one of their most impressive seasons. the club put all of their players up for sale due to financial difficulties and struggled in the lower half of the First Division while still trying to eradicate the debts that nearly left the club bankrupt a number of seasons earlier. In total, the ground's capacity accommodates approximately 8,000 spectators. The stadium has one covered stand, which also caters for 600 seated supporters. The pitch dimensions measure 110 yards in length by 80 yards in width. Sitting on the
banks of the
River Finn, Finn Park is prone to
waterlogging in times of wet weather.
There have been attempts to move the club to
Letterkenny as it's Donegal's largest town and has a bigger population with space to build a large stadium. However, the club have, instead, planned to move to a new covered 6,800 all-seater stadium just across the River Finn in
Stranorlar. The proposal will also feature an FAI Regional Development Centre. Club shareholders gave the club's board a mandate in 2005 to proceed with the stadium plans. Planning permission was obtained in mid 2005. Approval to proceed to tender was obtained from the
Football Association of Ireland in early 2006 and local developers, Joseph McMenamin and Sons, won the tender process and had their tender approved a year later. Finn Harps received funding of €750,000 in 2007 in order to commence works at the new stadium. A completion date of 2009 has been targeted.
Supporters
Finn Harps supporters share a friendly rivalry with their neighbours in the North-West,
Derry City F.C. The most exciting encounter between the two sides was perhaps the 2003 relegation play-off between the two sides. With a
Brandywell Stadium packed with both sets of fans and a Finn Harps managed by a former Derry manager in the form of
Noel King, it was a highly charged affair that finished 2-1 to Derry after an extra-time goal from Derry City favourite,
Liam Coyle. A friendly rivalry is maintained between the two clubs, yet both have encountered times of trouble in recent years. One team has often been helped by the other in this regard.
Phil Coulter, in particular, is known as a fan of both sides, and has been instrumental in keeping them as operational football clubs.
Current squad
Honours
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Finn Harps'.
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