Category: Club News

We’re thrilled to announce four additions to the squad as we prepare for the 2025/26 season.

Incoming are Corey McLaughlin, Kyle Calderwood, Eddie Shaw & Fiontan O’Boyle.

Corey came through the Coleraine youth system to make a solitary appearance in the Premiership for the Bannsiders, before making 41 appearances in the Championship for Dergview. He spent last season at Tobermore United.

Kyle Calderwood has been in the away changing rooms at Dixon Park many times in recent history with Ards, making 92 appearances after joining the North Down men from Crusaders.

Eddie Shaw is another addition with plenty of Championship experience having made 94 Championship appearances in spells at Dundela and Knockbreda. He spent last season at Ballymacash Rangers

Last, but by no means least, Fiontan O’Boyle joins us from Ballymena United where he made 15 Premiership appearances. The centre forward has an impressive record in the intermediate ranks in his time at Crumlin United, and spent last season on loan at Newington, notably scoring the equaliser for the ‘Ton at Dixon Park on Boxing Day.

Manager Barry Baggley had this to say on his new recruits:

Corey McLaughlin – Corey is someone we were made aware of through our scouting network. He has experience at Championship and PIL level and despite still being very young has played a lot of games at this level. He is very creative and we think he is one the fans will enjoy watching.

Eddie Shaw – Eddie is someone I have been aware of since his junior days at Glentoran. Again very experienced at this level and will give us a great option in the middle of the park. He is an industrious player who’s work ethic I’ve long admired and I’m looking forward to working with him.

Kyle Calderwood – As soon as we heard Kyle was available we got in touch immediately. Kyle is a leader and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is versatile, hard working and we are delighted to have him onboard ahead of the new season.

Fiontan O’Boyle – I’ve known of Fiontan since his Crumlin United days when I was manager of Rosario. He had a phenomenal time at Crumlin and deservedly got his move to Ballymena. He has experience at PIL with his loan spell at Coagh and most recently Championship experience from his time at Newington. He fits the profile of what we are trying to bring to club in that he’s young and hungry. We are delighted to secure his signature as other clubs were very keen.

Barry summed up the dealings so far in the window by saying, “I’m delighted with the business we have done so far, we have brought in people who want to come and help Ballyclare get back to where we belong. We intended getting our business done early and I would say we are 75 to 80% there with maybe a few more before the season starts.”

We are delighted to announce the signings of Jack Berry & Elliot McKim.

20 year old Berry, an exciting forward, joins us on a one year contract from FK BE1 in Lithuania, having spent most of the last five years at Cliftonville, making 15 appearances in the Sports Direct Premiership for the Reds, in addition to 18 appearances in the PIL while on loan at Lisburn Distillery.

Commanding centre-back McKim joins us for his third spell at Dixon Park having previously played for the Comrades between 2020-2022. He’s spent the last two years plying his trade in the PIL for Moyola Park & Knockbreda respectively, making 30 appearances for the east Belfast men last season.

Barry Baggley said, “We are delighted to secure the signings of Jack and Elliot. Both have expressed a real desire to join the club and be part of the plans for next season. Jack is an exciting player who we hope will get fans on the edge of their seats. Elliot has previously been at the Club so is no stranger to Dixon Park. Having previously played in the PIL he will give us vital experience and is also a real leader. We are thrilled to get these signings done and secured early as we look forward to pre season.”

Welcome to the Comrades lads!

 

We held our End of Season Awards presentation today at Dixon Park. These awards included Under 18s, Under 21s and Senior Men’s team.

The awards were as follows:

Under 18

U18 Top Goalscorer – Rhys McGinley & Jake Forsythe

U18 Most Improved – Nathan Campbell-Smyth

U18 Player’s Player of the Year – Rhys McGinley

U18 Player of the Year – Rhys McGinley

Under 21

Ryan Tweedie Trophy for U21 Top Goalscorer – Reece Paul

Raymond White Trophy for Most Improved U21 – Carl Coburn

Michael Irvine Trophy for U21 Player’s Player of the Year – Reece Paul

Pat McCourt Trophy for U21 Player of the Year – Reece Paul

First Team

Jackie Patterson Memorial Trophy for Goal of the Season – Michael Leetch

McMeekin Family Trophy for 1st Team Top Goalscorer – Brandon Doyle

Josh Beggs Trophy for Young Player of the Year – Jack Johnson

Kirk Family Trophy for Player’s Player of the Year – Brandon Doyle

Bobby Baird Trophy for Player of the Year – Lewis Tennant

Supporters Club Awards

The Arthurs Family Award Club Person of the Year – The Board

Supporters Club Player of the Year – Lewis Tennant

Special Award

The management team made a presentation to Andy Arthurs in recognition of his service to the team throughout the season. This was presented by manager Barry Baggley.

Click on the photos below to see the full gallery.

After a very disappointing season, we find ourselves relegated to the 3rd tier of Irish league football. As Chairman of the club I take full responsibility for this and can only apologise to all our loyal supporters who have travelled far and wide this season to cheer on our team throughout the campaign.

The Championship was the strongest it’s been in years, and even though we finished on 40 points, a total that would in any other year have seen us safe, we ended up in the promotion/relegation play-offs. Our season wasn’t good enough from Match Day 1, and with the well documented upheaval at the turn of the year, we were left with a total mess with 5 senior players remaining in early January.

Our new management team, to their credit, worked hard to get a squad put together in a notoriously difficult time to even sign a few players, the winter transfer window.

Hand on heart, it’s been the toughest season in my many years in football and it has certainly taken its toll on me and many others involved in the club. We weren’t good enough over the season, and have to regroup and rebuild for next season in the PIL.

We will sit down with the management and discuss how we move forward and stabilise.

On a positive note, I’d like to thank the many fans who attended the last couple of home games. The support was great, and hopefully many of you will become regular fans next season.

Your Chairman,

James Kirk.

We’re delighted to announce that Jack Johnston has signed his first professional contract until summer 2027, with the option to extend for a third year.

A product of our Boys Academy, JJ joined the Club at the age of 13 and has progressed through the ranks to cement his place as a first team regular in recent months.

JJ is another example of the opportunity provided by the player pathway at Ballyclare Comrades and we look forward to seeing him perform in a red shirt for years to come.

#JJ22
#COYC
#OneOfOurOwn

Ballyclare Comrades has recently celebrated 100 years as part of the Ballyclare Community, within the borough of Antrim and Newtownabbey. Home, since 1936, has been at Dixon Park, in the centre of town. The club has grown massively in the last few years with the creation of girls and boys academies accommodating over 500 junior players.Around 60 adult male players and 30 adult female players form the backbone of the senior teams. Dixon Park hastwo fully seated, covered stands, one combined seating and standing covered facility behind one goal and a covered standing facility behind the other goal. The capacity of the stadium is a testament to its allure, accommodating atotal of 3780 spectators. Among them, 3236 fans can stand, 538 can enjoy the comfort of seated areas, and sixdesignated bays are allocated for disabled spectators, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for all.

Recent investment in new LED floodlights and 3G synthetic pitch now enable the pitch facilities at Dixon Park to be used for approximately 35 hours per week. This enables the club to focus on the third element of its current strategic plan, replacing the existing single storey clubhouse with a new two-storey clubhouse having significantly increased floor space. It is envisaged that the bottom floor will house enhanced football team facilities whilst the top floor will having a flexible interior layout. providing the opportunity to have corporate activities for the clubcreate of a ‘health and wellbeing’ community hub that can serve as a catalyst for the holistic development of individuals within thecommunity. This envisioned hub could provide valuable support for the physical, social and psychological well-being of local residents. With easy access from local schools and commerce, together with the nearby transportation facilities, this facility could be a centerpiece feature in the regeneration of Ballyclare town centre.

In 2023, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council agreed to fund consultants to assess the economic justificationfor investment in such a facility. A case study with mixed method approach to data collection was undertaken.Qualitative research was used to conduct a variety of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from thefootball club, borough council and local area. All of the interviews were conducted via face-to-face meetings, phonecalls or Microsoft Teams. The semi structured interviews and focus group had predetermined themes and theinterviewer was able to guide the interviewee to explore different avenues depending on the interview, thisflexibility allowed participants the opportunity to address any necessary themes relating to this project.

The team also conducted quantitative research and questionnaires were created focusing on the key informationnecessary to extract the relevant information based on the objectives which were previously set out. The questionnaire contained a variety of closed and open questions and also asked the participant if they would bewilling to participate in any follow up conversations. Questionnaires were created using the online survey platformMicrosoft Forms and were distributed electronically by sharing a hyperlink, this allowed participants t0 answer themvia their phones, laptops or tablets. These were advertised by the borough council and the football club.

Public consultations were conducted at Dixon Park, having also been advertised through the council and the football club. During the consultations, participants were asked a serious of questions regarding their thoughts on thecurrent facilities at Dixon Park, what they believed the people of Ballyclare and the neighbouring community needed,what they would like to see at a potential community hub and more.

Participants commented on the growth of Ballyclare in recent years and the new housing estates that were beingbuilt locally and felt that the town needed investment to ensure there are facilities to suit the needs of the community.The feeling was that a community hub would have many health and wellbeing benefits and would provide moreopportunities for young people and older adults to socialise, instead of local bars or churches.

Consultees believed that there could be many social, economic and health benefits for Ballyclare if there was acommunity hub based at Dixon Park. The vast majority of people felt that Ballyclare, like many other areas, has beenhaving a lot of issues with mental health and wellbeing. Consultees were of the belief that a community hub wouldbenefit the community as it would be somewhere in town that would be able to host mental health awareness workshops, informational sessions and educational workshops.

Mental health and wellbeing for all age groups were the main themes coming out of the consultations. Subsequent engagement with mental health professionals indicated that the mix of indoor and outdoor facilities on the same site would be very attractive. Other professionals indicated the need for safe, controlled, outdoor space, particularly for both children and adults with varying levels of mobility and needs.

The club have therefore recently submitted a bid for funding to The Northern Ireland Football Fund. This fund supersedes the Sub Regional Stadia Program of £36.2M which was first muted in 2011 but never actually opened for applications. Initial design consultations estimate that a complete building project would cost in the region of £1.5M with the club required to contribute at least 5%, £75000 in this case.

We are delighted to announce that Club Captain Cillin Gilmour has signed an 18 month contract at Ballyclare Comrades running through to June 2026.

Cillin Gilmour, “I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to commit to the Club for the next 18 months. I think it’s a massive step in the right direction for both me personally, but also shows the ambitions that the Club have and shows that they want to commit to me as a player. I can’t wait to help drive this team forward over the next 18 months and see where we can take the Club to. It’s been well documented that we have a lot of new players in and now it’s time to get them all settled and I’m confident they’ll be able help us kick on.”

First team manager Barry Baggley had this to say, “Ciliin is our club captain and someone who leads by example on and off the pitch. He is well respected by all his teammates, he sets high standards in the changing room. We are delighted he has committed his future to the Club as we feel he is coming into his peak as a player and this can only benefit Ballyclare. It’s just reward for Cillin for his performances and a sign of intent from the club that we were keen to keep him as he had interest from other clubs.”

Chairman Jamesy Kirk also expressed his thoughts, “Cillin’s attitude and leadership during a really difficult period for the club these last 2 weeks has been highly commendable. Cillin will be instrumental in working to gel in all the new players to get this great club back on track. We had no hesitation in offering Cillin an extended professional contract for his commitment shown. The Club is delighted that Cillin has agreed to stay and lead us through at least the next 18 months.”

Welcome to Matthew Gorman and Gary Warwick as they add more depth and vital Playr-Fit Championship experience to our new look squad. (Pictured L-R: Matthew Gorman, Jonny Flynn and Gary Warwick)

27 year old centre back Gorman joins from Queens University, where he had moved to in the summer after making 53 appearances in the Championship in the previous two seasons at Ards and Newington.

33 year old striker Warwick joins from Lisburn Distillery and also brings a vast amount of Championship experience from spells at Ards, Portadown, Carrick Rangers, Knockbreda and Newington over the last ten years.

Meanwhile, Tomas Gilmour and Lee McGreevy both depart to join Newington. Tomas made 42 appearances for the Comrades scoring one goal, while Lee made 37 appearances scoring one goal on his debut against Strabane Athletic in last year’s Clearer Water Irish Cup. We thank both for their contributions to the Comrades and wish them well.

More good news as Barry Baggley has confirmed his backroom team.

Ryan Catney – Assistant Manager
Former Lisburn Distillery and Cliftonville player, where he twice picked up NIFL Premiership winners medals.

Jonny Flynn – First team coach
Former Northern Ireland U21 defender who played for clubs such as Blackburn Rovers, Ballymena United, Portadown and Ards.

Liam McStravick – Head of Player Recruitment
Ex Linfield Academy coach and Cliftonville elite coach.

Gerard McVeigh – GK coach
Gerard was at the Club under Stephen Small and remains as a key part of coaching staff.

Tanya Warwick will also remain as the Club Physio and Andy Arthurs will continue as our Kit Manager.

Thanks to Departing Staff

The Club would like to place on record our thanks to outgoing Assistant Manager Chris Ramsey and First Team attendant Michael Higgins for all of their efforts during their time in the dugout.