Getting Started

During the years 1907-1915 evidence of matches and match reports are scant, but despite some problems on the football front Kilcoo did not sever its links with the G.A.A. but interest was transferred to the Athletics Club, which flourished under the guidance of the G.AA. Indeed, the friendships and teamwork produced by the Athletics Club, undoubtedly contributed to the reformation of’ The Magpies’. When it was decided to form a new team on 25 November, 1915, other clubs in the county who had suffered similar problems began to re-emerge and the County Board was re-established. Registration fees were paid and a team was entered in the Championship. There was a great surge of enthusiasm on the football field for the remainder of that year. During that same year, the newly arrived parish priest Fr. Early began negotiations between the town land teams, the Moneyscalp Emmetts and the Kilcoo Owen Roes and a new blend of youthful and more experienced players combined to form a stronger Kilcoo team. In 1917 they hit the winning trail and won Kilcoo’s first ever Championship playing against Killyleagh in the final and winning by a single point. They were rewarded with a set of medals as the Championship Cup had been lost some years before. In this year, Kilcoo had its first ever representative on the Down County Team in the person of Paddy Mallon who played in the first round of the 1917 Ulster Championship against Antrim in Downpatrick.

Success continued into 1918 when Kilcoo won the Feis 5-a-side on Easter Sunday in Castlewellan. Competition was stiff with 19 teams taking part. Kilcoo beat Castlewellan in the final. However, before the end of 1918, the Championship winning team had split up with some members joining other clubs. The year 1920 was to begin a very successful period in the history of Kilcoo Owen Roes. It started off with the Moneyscalp Emmetts entering a Divisional League with teams from Liatroim, Cabra, Castlewellan and

Newcastle. The Moneyscalp Emmetts had four fixtures between the months of January and March. Late that year, the Emmetts were victorious against Liatroim in the final of a Championship Sports 5-a-side competition organised by the Down County Board. Towards the end of the year, the County Board decided that the county should be split into three areas for the Championship, namely Newry & Mourne, Castlewellan & Newcastle and East Down. The Owen Roes were in the Castlewellan & Newcastle section

and on 22 January, 1922, they took the field against Liatroim in the final of the Castlewellan & Newcastle District Championship. This match was once again a very closely contested affair and, in spite of being beaten by Liatroim in the League, this was a significant victory for Kilcoo, and another step towards the Down Senior Football Championship Final. The opposition on this occasion was Rossglass, and the match was played in

Newcastle on Easter Sunday 9 April before a large crowd. Although Kilcoo were victorious a replay was ordered as it appeared that both teams had failed to observe important regulations. Kilcoo reigned supreme in the replay on Sunday 30 April in Newcastle. ‘The Magpies’ received a magnificent reception on their return to the parish that night and the Kilcoo representation was soon increased on the County team. Success continued in 1923 with the winning of the Castlewellan & Newcastle District League against Liatroim in the final but Kilcoo lost out in the Championship final to Rossglass whom they had beaten the previous year by a two point margin.

In 1924, due to the earlier Championship and League victories, there was heightened interest in football within the parish and this led to the formation of a Junior team, known as the Kilcoo Kevin Barrys but, with emigration causing some problems, the Moneyscalp Emmetts amalgamated with the older Owen Roes body and the Junior teams were also brought under the same umbrella. This Junior side of 1924 was to prove to be the backbone of the future Senior Championship winning side.