Ballyclare Comrades FC is seeking applications from individuals interested in becoming First Team Manager.
Candidates should be suitably qualified with a minimum of a UEFA B Licence. Experience at this level (PIL) or above preferred, along with a desire to develop and progress youth talent into first team.
Applicants should send their CV to Club Secretary Tim Duff no later than 5pm on Friday 20 March 2026. This should be sent to se*******@****************es.com
All applications will be considered, but not every application will result in an interview.
First Team Manager Barry Baggley has indicated to the board that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the season. His focus remains firmly on a promotion push, and has assured us that the levels will not drop by him, his coaching staff, or the players over the course of the remaining eight games.
Throughout the duration of his tenure, Barry has always operated with a high level of professionalism, and we have no reason to doubt that this will continue to be the case over the next couple of months.
We will begin our search for a new manager now, and will aim to have someone in place at the earliest opportunity.
We started our 12th Man initiative back in July, with a target of £5000 for the season, and we want to thank everyone who has contributed to it!
The season has been a bit up and down in terms of cup runs, but we currently sit top of the league, and our main objective of promotion is achievable. We’re into the business end of the season, and our competitors have been thrown the kitchen sink at trying to maximise their chances of going up to the Championship. We know this run in is going to be tough, but we’re the Comrades, and we’ve never shied away from the fight!
Our target for July – December 2025 was £3000, and for January – April 2026, £2000. We raised £2830 in the first half of the season which was a great feat, but means our total for the second half of the season is now £2170.
We now have a new incentive to get us over the line for the rest of the season:
One free entry into our £15,000 lotto for every £20 donation!
All you need to do is use the below payment method to donate, and enter your 4 numbers in the additional info box, and we’ll do the rest!
Or if you want to automatically donate £20/month for the next 4 months use the subscription form below
We are pleased to confirm the addition of two new players to our squad. Firstly we’ve added Oisin McAllister, a young goalkeeper from Larne Tech Old Boys. First team manager Barry Baggley had this to say about Oisin, “Oisin McAllister is a young Goalkeeper we have signed from Larne Tech who comes highly recommended by our GK coach Gérard McVeigh. We expect him to come in and push Lewis Deane despite his age and we feel he is an excellent prospect who we can help fulfil his potential.”
Secondly, winger Padraig McVicker has joined us from Lisburn Distillery. Barry was excited with the signing, “Padraig McVicker is someone we have had our eye for a while. We know Padraig well from his junior days at Cliftonville. He is technically excellent, wears his heart on his sleeve and tenacious. We feel he will be a good fit to the group and someone the fans will enjoy watching. He is young and hungry, fits the profile of players we are trying to bring to the club.”
Welcome to The Comrades Oisin and Padraig!
There have been a few departures as well this month, with Matty Sinclair returning to Greenisland, Corey McLaughlin heading to Dergview, Nathan Best going to Lisburn Distillery and Luis Finlay to Greenisland. We thank them all for their time and efforts with the club, and wish them well in their future footballing careers.
Chairman James Kirk has stepped down from his role at the club due to recent health concerns.
A clubman through and through, this decision was not an easy one to make, but was necessary at this time. James has both played for and managed the Comrades. He took up the role of Chairman in June 2023.
The club would like to place on record its appreciation for the work James did during his time at the helm, and hope that a return to better health comes soon.
The club would like to confirm the departure of former club Captain Cillin Gilmour.
Cillin had been a regular in his time at the club, and had shown great loyalty at a difficult time last season. Unfortunately a long term injury has curtailed his career. Both player and club have come to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.
Cillin had this message for supporters:
I want to thank everyone at the club for my time at Ballyclare. I met some of the best people I know. It’s a really special club with great people. The club did amazing to accommodate me through a tough period in my life, and again I cannot thank these people involved enough.
I loved my time at Ballyclare. It allowed me to enjoy playing football again. I’ve been struggling with a long term knee injury, with no sign of return as of now, so it’s the right decision to step away.
Thanks for the memories.
Cillin
Our Chairman, James Kirk added, “I was a long time admirer of Cillin and was pleased when he signed for the club. His aggressive combative style of midfield play was easy on the eye, and his eye for goal will be missed. I will personally miss him, but I would like to thank him for all his efforts at the club and wish him nothing but success for the future.”
We are delighted to announce the signing of Dylan O’Kane from H&W Welders. A versatile midfielder, Dylan will add more high level experience to our team, and hopefully a goal or two similar to that he scored against us last season!
First team manager Barry Baggley had this to say on the signing, “Delighted to get Dylan signed and over the line. We became aware of his availability early last week and felt he was someone who could add to our young squad with his experience having played at Premier and Championship level. He gives us further competition for places and feel he is someone who can drive the standards within the group.”
We are looking forward to seeing Dylan in a Ballyclare shirt, welcome Dylan!
We are delighted to announce the signing Deaglan Healy. He is the 3rd Healy brother to have played for Ballyclare Comrades, following in the footsteps of his brother Brian who was previously on loan at the club and Noel who recently signed.
First Team Manager Barry Baggley had this to say about our latest signing, “Deaglan is a really good prospect, he has come in over pre season and really stood out with his workrate and ability. We are delighted to get him signed and we think he’ll have a bigger future at the club.”
We are pleased to announce 3 more signings to strengthen the squad, and put us in a good position going into the season. Karter Bond joins us on loan from Crusaders. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Dundela, where he made 13 appearances, scoring one goal. Luis Finlay joins us from Greenisland where he made 23 league appearances last season. Finally, Robbie Mather has rejoined us, after a short spell with Carrick Rangers.
Here’s what manager Barry Baggley had to say about all three signings;
Karter Bond
“We’re delighted to secure the loan signing of Karter. He done really well against us when we played Crusaders in pre season and once we were alerted to his availability on loan we jumped at the chance. Karter ticks a lot of boxes for us and I think the fans will enjoy his work ethic this season.”
Luis Finlay
“Luis came in on day 1 of pre season and has done really well. He’s a young keeper with a lot of potential. We think with the work being done with our goalkeeping coach Gérard McVeigh that Luis will continue to go from strength to strength and will help us in the GK department.”
Robbie Mather
“Another young keeper with a lot of potential who is no stranger to the club having previously been here. He is someone Gérard really liked and we were disappointed to lose him to Carrick in January. It is great to get Robbie back and we now feel really comfortable with 3 excellent goalkeepers at the club.”
We are delighted to announce the signings of Noah Mitchell and Noel Healy. Noah is a centre midfielder, and joins us after making 3 appearances for H&W Welders last season. Noel is an experienced defender, making 166 league appearances for Newry.
Manager Barry Baggley had this to say about the two new signings:
“Noah has come in to preseason and really impressed the coaching staff with his work ethic and ability. He’s a box to box midfielder who gives us loads of energy in the middle of the park. Still only 20, we hope he has a long and successful future at Ballyclare, giving us further competition for places in that area of the pitch.
“Noel is one who we have been working on for a number of weeks. When we heard he was potentially available we jumped at the opportunity. He is an experienced player with over 100 games at Premier League level with Newry and we feel that experience will be invaluable in the PIL this season. He follows in the footsteps of his brother Brian who played for the club.
Two great additions and two lads we are looking forward to working with.”
