COACHFORD 1993

THE COACHFORD STORY:




1969: Con Murphy, Sean Touhy, Tommy Stack, and Michael O'Callaghan,

got together on Good Friday and founded the club. John O'Keeffe was

the manager in the early years and the team became known as "Keffo's

Army".



1981/82: The club's first youth team, managed by Steve Wallace, had a

great season and finished second in the Second Division.



1982/83: Using quite a few of the previous season's youths, a team,

managed by Nick Martin and captained by Thady Delaney, succeeded in

bringing the first honour to Coachford: the title in League Three.

The same season, they lost on penalties to Corkbeg in the semi-final

of the President's Cup in Turner's Cross.



1984/85: A determined bid was mounted to take the pennant in League

2, the aim achieved much easier than expected. The successful side

was managed by Barry Murphy and captained by Mick Walsh.



1985/86: The success story continued. A new manager, John Hogan,

signed two ex Temple players - Frankie Thornton and goal poacher Dan

Greene - and led Coachford to the title in Division One. Not an easy

triumph this time, the title won after a play-off against Castleview,

the Coachford goals in a 2 - 1 victory provided by Timmy Buckley and

Micky Walsh.



1986/87: Hopes were high early on but real life intervened. Young

men left the area in search of work abroad and the panel was

decimated, no fewer than eight first choice players departing.

Relegation inevitably followed.



1989/90: The club's youths won their first ever trophy as they beat

Bosco's in the final of the Second Division Cup. That successful side

was managed by that great clubman Martin O'Mahony.



1990/91: A blend of youth and older players (some returned from

abroad) proved the perfect mix as Coachford bounced back to the

Premier League by once again winning the First Division. They came

very close indeed to making it a double but lost on penalties to

Leeside in the final of the County Cup.



1992/93: Coachford had appointed Finbarr Murphy as manager the

previous year when they finished third in the Premier and were

prominent in the cups. Confidence was high for this season and was

not misplaced as they went on, with Murphy again at the helm, to take

the AOH Cup, the most coveted trophy in Cork junior soccer.