Donegal Celtic F.C.

Donegal Celtic was formed in 1970 when a group of young men who had a huge interest in football decided to form a team in the Lenadoon district of west Belfast. With no facilities, kits, pitch or equipment, the first few years were spent playing friendlies and entering local summer competitions, which helped to enhance and promote their reputation and name. They registered their chosen name with the Irish Football League, taking the name from the area in which they were based; Lenadoon, Gweedore, Glenveagh are all local areas named after towns in County Donegal, with the Celtic part being taken on due to the massive local following for Scotland's Celtic and, until 1949, Belfast Celtic. The club has a youth setup, covering boys' age groups U10 – U18, and a girl's set-up at U14. Donegal Celtic Ladies senior side won the 'Belfast Cup' in 2004. The club's senior men's team has a chequered and colourful history. After continually applying for Irish League entry they were denied on several occasions and forced to play amateur football, along with County Armagh team Lurgan Celtic. A 1990 cup tie at Linfield involved ground unrest. With accusations of a sectarian selection process and with the threat of court action looming , both clubs finally gained entry into the Irish League 2nd Division for the 2002–03 season. The club managed to finish in 6th place in their first year in the Irish League proper, which due to a league shake-up was enough to earn promotion to the First…

Pat McAllister (May 2009 – June 2010) Marty Tabb (June 2010 – September 2010) Paddy Kelly (September 2010 – January 2012) Stephen Small (January 2012 – September 2012) Declan McGreevy (October 2012) Pat McAllister October 2012 – August 2013) Paul McAreavey (August 2013 – June 2014) Nicky Maye (June 2014 – October 2015) Gerry Bradley (November 2015 – December 2015) Stephen Hatfield (December 2015 – March 2018) Brendan Shannon (March 2018 - July 2018)

Intermediate honours

Irish Intermediate Cup: 2 2005–06, 2009–10 Steel & Sons Cup: 1 2003–04 Northern Ireland Intermediate League: 8 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–00; 2001–02 Northern Ireland Intermediate League Challenge Cup: 6 1988–89, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2001–02 Northern Ireland Intermediate League Cup: 7 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02 IFA Reserve League: 1 2007–08† † Won by Donegal Celtic Reserves