CHAIRMAN of Ardstraw Football Club, Aaron Hempton said he took great satisfaction and pride in what the club had achieved over the last 50 years.
On Saturday evening the great and the good gathered to celebrate the club’s milestone anniversary in the Silverbirch Hotel.
During the celebrations a presentation was made to one of the club’s founder members Harry Wilson while main speaker for the evening, Sam Dennison, President of the Fermanagh and Western League and IFA Board member, regaled the 170 attendees with a comprehensive and humorous history of the club.
Reflecting on the past 50 years, Hempton, said the club had experienced many highs and lows.
Ardstraw FC was formed in 1972 by Mr Wilson, Norman Porter and Monty Campbell and for the next few
years played at Ardstraw and Drumlegagh.
The club temporarily went out of business but came back bigger and better and in 1998, with the help of Drew Hempton and Gordon Kinloch, the grounds at Newtownstewart’s Vaughan’s Holm were purchased.
A new clubhouse was officially opened by Manchester United and NI goalkeeper Rory Carroll in 2003, the club subsequently joined the NI Intermediate League and after 12 years returned to the Fermanagh and Western League this season.
Perhaps one of the biggest events in the club’s history was the severe destruction and devastation caused to the club grounds by flooding in 2017.
“There were grown men with tears in their eyes that day,” recalled Mr Hempton.
“They were standing there looking at 20 years work gone down the drain.
“When the water subsided there was over 100 people down on the field, rolling their sleeves up and helping clear up the mess; that was overwhelming to be honest.
“The club has endured many highs and lows and hopefully we can look to the future with renewed optimism.”
Following the Covid pandemic, Ardstraw experienced another difficult period when, for one reason and another, they lost the services of a number of players.
The club subequently decided to return to it’s Fermanagh and Western roots and the long-serving chairman is hoping that Ardstraw will one day return to the top flight of the local game.
“In an ideal world it would be great to win divisions three and two and return to Division One,” he added.
“Of course, in football, things don’t always work how you hope.”
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