Benburb

Benburb Football Club is a Scottish football club, based in Govan, Glasgow. Formed in 1885, the club is a member of the Scottish Junior Football Association and currently competes in the West of Scotland Football League. Benburb's colours are blue and white.

The team have been managed since July 2015 by former Airdrie defender Paul Lovering. Paul succeeded his father Frank who had been in the job for the previous thirteen seasons.

History

The origins of the club name are not fully documented, although it has been suggested that the club's name indicates roots in Northern Ireland, with a village of the same name being located there, and a significant battle taking place there during the 1640s. The suggestion is that the club was formed by Northern Irish immigrants to Glasgow, but this is not clear. It appears the first team known as Benburb was formed in the Govanhill area of Glasgow (then a separate burgh) in about 1885. After an aborted merger with a Gorbals team, Crown Athletic, in 1895, a reformed Benburb FC played in the nearby Oatlands neighbourhood until June 1898, when its ground, Braehead Park, was taken over by Glasgow Corporation to be incorporated into the new Richmond Park. That team disbanded, but a 'new' Benburb FC played during the new season later that year and there is thought to be a strong connection between the two clubs.

The new Benburb FC eventually found its home in the Govan area, some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) miles to the north-west of Oatlands. Initially taking over Govandale Park (situated between the south bank of the River Clyde and Govan Old Parish Church) from the defunct Linthouse club in 1900, they moved south as the demands of industry for the land in central Govan increased, first in 1911 to a park on Broomloan Road owned by Govan Police Force, then in 1925 to an open plot at Craigton Park, Drumoyne, immediately north of the Inverclyde Line railway tracks.