Lisburn Distillery F.C.

Last updated

Lisburn Distillery
Distillery.png
Full nameLisburn Distillery Football Club
Nickname(s)The Whites
Founded1880;145 years ago (1880) (as Distillery)
Ground New Grosvenor Stadium
Capacity1,500 (790 seated)
ChairmanMrs Bobby Radcliffe
ManagerDr Steve Hughes
League NIFL Premier Intermediate League
2024–25 NIFL Premier Intermediate League, 10th of 14
Website lisburn-distillery.net
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, Lisburn. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club was simply known as Distillery Football Club from 1880 to 1999.

Contents

History

Distillery Football Club was formed in November 1880 after members of V. R. Distillery Cricket Club decided to form a football team to stay active during the winter months. The directors of Dunville's Whiskey Distillery filled in a waste pond at the back of the distillery for the team. They remained at this ground, called Daisy Hill, until 1882 when they moved to a larger ground called Broadway, based adjacent to Celtic Park. They remained there until 1887 when they moved to Grosvenor Park, based at Distillery Street off the Grosvenor Road, close to their old Daisy Hill ground and spiritual home. [1] [2]

In 1920, Dunville's decided the sell the Grosvenor Park ground, and while Distillery were able to play there during the 1920–21 season, during 1921–22 the club played all of its games away from home. For the start of the 1922–23 season, they secured a new ground called York Park on the Shore Road, Belfast, where they remained until 1927 when they returned to Grosvenor Park after Dunville's agreed to let them play there again, having not found the ground fit for their purposes. Distillery had been forced to look for a new ground after strong winds had blown down the main stand of their York Park ground. [3]

On 30 December 1952, the first full match played under floodlights, anywhere in Ireland, took place at Grosvenor Park. Distillery's opposition were English team Burnley. The first officially approved competitive match under floodlights in the British Isles took place at Grosvenor Park on 25 March 1953 when Distillery Seconds played Ballymena United Reserves in the George Wilson Cup and the first floodlight league game in the British Isles took place at Grosvenor Park on the 24th December 1953 when Distillery played Coleraine. [4]

Distillery remained at Grosvenor Park until 1971, when the Troubles directly affected the club. The area around the ground was situated in a flashpoint area, creating a security risk which had already caused the club to play matches elsewhere, but the deciding factor for the club to finally leave the area was the burning down of its money-making social club in August 1971. [2]

After sharing Skegoneill Avenue (Brantwood) and Seaview (Crusaders) for some years, the club moved in 1980 to a permanent new home at New Grosvenor Stadium, Ballyskeagh, County Antrim, on the southern outskirts of Belfast. The main stand at New Grosvenor Park is named after legendary player Bertie McMinn.

The club was known simply as Distillery from its foundation until 1999, when it changed its official name to 'Lisburn Distillery' to associate itself more closely with its adopted borough (now city) of Lisburn. However, the club is still colloquially referred to as "Distillery". The club colour is white. A founder member of the Irish League in 1890, the club remained at the top until 1995.

European record

Overview

CompetitionMatchesWDLGFGA
European Cup 201138
UEFA Europa League 2002111
European Cup Winners' Cup 200217
UEFA Intertoto Cup 400438
TOTAL10019834

Matches

SeasonCompetitionRoundOpponentHomeAway Aggregate
1963–64 European Cup PR Flag of Portugal (official).svg Benfica 3–30–53–8
1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona 1–30–41–7
2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R Flag of Lithuania.svg Žalgiris Vilnius 0–10–10–2
2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R Flag of Finland.svg TPS Turku 2–31–33–6
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 1QR Flag of Georgia.svg Zestaponi 1–50–61–11

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.NationPlayer
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Francis Brennan
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Justin Grattan
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Dean Lewis
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Dylan Whiteway
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Jonathan Angus
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR TJ Magill
GK Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Rhys Clougherty
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Adam McCart
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Aaron Cochrane
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Bradley Lyttle
No.Pos.NationPlayer
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Pearse McVarnock
DF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Breandan O'Neill
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Cieran Clougherty
FW Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Brendan Glackin
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Mark McKee
FW Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Joe Tully
GK Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Joe McConnellogue
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Josh Lynch
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Jack Kinner

Former players

Managerial history

Lisburn Distillery playing in August 2009. Drumbo Park - Pavilion - geograph-1445555.jpg
Lisburn Distillery playing in August 2009.

Honours

Senior honours

Intermediate honours

† Won by Distillery Rovers (reserve team)

‡ Won by Distillery II (reserve team)

ƒ Won by Distillery West End (reserve team)

Junior honours

‡ Won by Distillery II (reserve team)

References

  1. "Our favourite team's proud history". Distillery Supporter' Trust. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Whites say goodbye to Grosvenor Park". Belfast Telegraph. 17 August 1971. p. 16.
  3. "Grosvenor Park Again, Distillery Return To Old Home". Ireland's Saturday Night. 27 November 1926. p. 6.
  4. "The history of Distillery is brought to book". 19 December 2004.
  5. Sherrard, Chris (28 August 2019). "Lisburn Distillery manager Hatfield wants players to thrive under promotion pressure this season". Belfast Live. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. Haughey, Ronnie (23 June 2020). "New Whites boss Clapham happy to meet players at last". BelfastLive. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  7. "Johnny Clapham". Lisburn Distillery Football Club. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. "Raymond Alexander". Lisburn Distillery Football Club. 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. "Raymond Alexander". Lisburn Distillery Football Club. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. "Third Irish League managerial departure in matter of days as former Cliftonville star resigns with immediate effect". 10 March 2025.