Banbridge Town F.C.

Banbridge Town F.C.

Full name	Banbridge Town Football Club
Nickname	The Town
Founded	1947
Ground	Crystal Park
Capacity	1,000
Chairman	Dominic Downey
Manager	Robbie Rock
League	NIFL Premier Intermediate League
2024–25	NIFL Premier Intermediate League, 11th of 14
Home colours Away colours

Banbridge Town Football Club, referred to as Banbridge Town, is an intermediate football club from Northern Ireland playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. The club are nicknamed "The Town", and have played in the lower divisions of Northern Irish football for much of their existence. Banbridge Town are a part of the Mid-Ulster Football Association. ^[1] They compete in the Irish Cup.

Brief History

The club, founded in 1947, hails from Banbridge, County Down and plays its home matches at Crystal Park. Club colours are red and black. In 2014, the club merged with Banbridge A.F.C. ^[2] The 2016/17 season saw Banbridge Town's reserve team win the South Down Development League.

A high point of the clubs recent history came in 2018, when they defeated Dollingstown 4-0 to win the Bob Radcliffe Cup for the third time at Lakeview Park on Boxing Day. ^[3]

The club was managed by Frankie Wilson from 2021 until his death in 2022. ^[4] The club is currently managed by former Longford Town u20s manager Robbie Rock, following the resignation of David McCullough, owing to financial issues at the club.

The club has had many players go on to play in the top tier of football in Northern Ireland, including Paul Evans (Portadown), Roy Rea (Glentoran), Ryan Moffatt (Dungannon Swifts), Stephen Teggart (Glenavon & Portadown) and Barry Tumilty (Ballymena United). ^[5]

In 2025 the club would have a difficult spell in NIFL Premier Intermediate League, following the announcement of the club experiencing significant financial issues, as such recently appointed ex-Portadown midfielder David McCullough resigned as manager, and Dubliner Robbie Rock was appointed. ^[6]

During that season, whilst working with a young group of players, with many coming from the Dublin area, the Town would experience heavy defeats to Rathfriland Rangers and Dollingstown, losing 9-0 and 10-0 respectively. The club would also be given a 12 point deduction and a £1,000 fine from NIFL for undisclosed payments made to players. This means that the club is highly likely to drop into regional football for the first time since 2004. ^[7]

Current squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   NIR Adam Campbell 3 DF   NIR Conor Curran 11 FW   NIR Reece Doyle 12 DF   NIR Liam Vaughan 17 FW   NIR Andy Wilson 18 DF   NIR Dan Smith 19 DF   NIR Adam Hamilton 20 MF   NIR Josh Dennison 23 DF   NIR Ben McKeown 82 FW   NIR Matt Taylor

No. Pos. Nation Player 96 GK   NIR Ben Purvis — FW   IRL Ebuka Kewelele — MF   NIR Ryan Gourley — GK   IRL Sean Atano — MF   NIR Logan Sands — MF   NIR Sean McCaul — MF   NIR Sean Óg Gallagher — FW   NIR Alex Dillon — MF   BRA Bruno Valente

Honours

Senior honours

• Mid-Ulster Cup: 5
  • 1948–49, 1949–50 (shared), 1958–59, 1973–74, 1979–80

Intermediate honours

• Irish League B Division: 1
  • 1955–56
• Irish Intermediate Cup: 1
  • 1985–86
• George Wilson Cup: 1
  • 1976–77
• Louis Moore Cup: 2
  • 1955–56, 1967–68
• Bob Radcliffe Cup: 3
  • 1980–81, 2010–11, 2018–19
• Alan Wilson Memorial Cup: 1
  • 1986–87

References

1. "Mid Ulster Football Association". midulsterfa.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
2. Banbridge Town AFC are in Mid Ulster Reserve Championship. Banbridge Town AFC Reserves are in Mid Ulster Reserve 3 http://www.BTFC.club/ Archived 2014-12-22 at the Wayback Machine Banbridge Leader
3. "Bob Radcliffe Cup success for Banbridge Town after win over Dollingstown". Newsletter. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
4. "Tributes paid following sad passing of Banbridge Town FC manager Frankie Wilson". ArmaghI. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
5. "World Football:Banbridge Town". WorldFootball. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
6. "Irish League outfit reveal they are facing financial crisis that could threaten very existance of the club". Belfast Telegraph Sport. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
7. "NIFL Statement: October 13th 2025". NIFL Website. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.

External links

54°21′1.6″N6°15′52.8″W / 54.350444°N 6.264667°W / 54.350444; -6.264667