Fivemiletown Football: 1898/99

 

1898 the year the club was established, or was it!

I have been involved with this club for a few years now and I am a strong believer that all aspects of the club should be documented for future generations, not only to learn how the club came about but enable the club to try and learn from its successes and failures.  

Having a record of what the club has done right & wrong can only make the club stronger.

After making extensive enquiries within the club as to the reason why 1898 was used as the year the club was established, I find I am no clearer as to why. 
You have to remember this decision was made some years ago and no records kept.

 

 

What did I find?

I have painstakingly searched through three newspapers of the day; The Impartial Reporter; The Fermanagh Times and the Tyrone Constitution, and the only reference I could find was a small article in the Fermanagh Times dated 29th December 1898, it said;

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY IN FIVEMILETOWN,

“The usual holiday was given on Monday.
The day was fine up till one o’clock when a mizzling of rain came down lasting for some hours. Bands attended from Clogher, Clabby, Killyfaddy and Grogey, and paraded the streets for some time.
A most interesting football match was played in a neighbouring field, composed of young men from Fivemiletown and Clogher.
Late in the evening the bands and people retired, satisfied with the day’s proceedings.”

I read this as a friendly kick-about, a bit of fun over the Christmas period and not a properly organised match.

Established...

So how did the club come up with 1898 as the starting date?
Whoever decided back in the day on that date either didn’t do enough research (if any) or more likely they just plucked the date out of the air, either way, they got it wrong.

I hope the information on this website will go some way to put the record straight.
Unless you know different...

 

1897/98  |  1898/99  |  1899/00