History
The history of Fairview Rangers, now spanning six decades, is a story of many people and events from the highs of national success to the lows of disappointment. What best encapsulates the club's spirit is the will to survive, superseded by a desire to remain at the top.
Founded in 1946 in humble surroundings, little was known back then that Fairview Rangers would develop into the most successful junior club in history. The first game, played against Tavern United, saw Fairview first play in a black and white quartered jersey, and indeed it was to be another 15 years until we first donned the famous Blue and Gold jersey. Incidentally the game finished 1-1!
The club saw little in the way of success in its infancy, collecting a few schoolboy and junior trophies along the way, but it was the late 1950's and early 1960's where people stood up and took notice. One schoolboy team in particular had blazed a trail through their age groups, and the minor level, and aided by some key signings such as Seamus McCarthy, and Christopher Carey, gradually started to make an assault, first at local level, and then nationally.
Two quarter final defeats in the early 1960's brought some much needed experience, and then in the glorious season of 1964/65, annexed the greatest trophy on offer, the FAI Junior Cup, with a replay victory over Cork Hibernians. This was supplemented by the winning of the second biggest prize on offer, the Munster Junior Cup.
The 1970's saw a spattering of trophies, including a second Munster Junior Cup, and four wins of the newly created Premier League. The 1980's saw a barren spell end in 1989 when we won our 5th League, and this sparked a period of dominance never before seen in the country.
1990/91 saw Dermot Finnan emerge as the new manager, and with it a dynasty was formed that would see an incredible 34 honours come to the club in a 14 year span. Three FAI Junior cups from 1997 to 1999 were backed up by another incredible three in a row from 2002 to 2004. Throw in another three in a row in the Munster Junior - 1998 to 2000, to supplement the 1992 win and you get an idea of the magnitude of the period of success. this is without mentioning the 8 league titles in the decade, including an incredible 4 in a row.
Inevitably, the late 2000's and early 2010's saw a slowdown in the success rate of the club, notwithstanding the club winning a record 7th Munster Junior Cup in 2009, and an unprecedented 8th FAI Junior Cup in 2010. In the 2010 the club finally got it's hands on the elusive FAI Minor Cup, the only trophy that had eluded them in their magnificent history
Founded in 1946 in humble surroundings, little was known back then that Fairview Rangers would develop into the most successful junior club in history. The first game, played against Tavern United, saw Fairview first play in a black and white quartered jersey, and indeed it was to be another 15 years until we first donned the famous Blue and Gold jersey. Incidentally the game finished 1-1!
The club saw little in the way of success in its infancy, collecting a few schoolboy and junior trophies along the way, but it was the late 1950's and early 1960's where people stood up and took notice. One schoolboy team in particular had blazed a trail through their age groups, and the minor level, and aided by some key signings such as Seamus McCarthy, and Christopher Carey, gradually started to make an assault, first at local level, and then nationally.
Two quarter final defeats in the early 1960's brought some much needed experience, and then in the glorious season of 1964/65, annexed the greatest trophy on offer, the FAI Junior Cup, with a replay victory over Cork Hibernians. This was supplemented by the winning of the second biggest prize on offer, the Munster Junior Cup.
The 1970's saw a spattering of trophies, including a second Munster Junior Cup, and four wins of the newly created Premier League. The 1980's saw a barren spell end in 1989 when we won our 5th League, and this sparked a period of dominance never before seen in the country.
1990/91 saw Dermot Finnan emerge as the new manager, and with it a dynasty was formed that would see an incredible 34 honours come to the club in a 14 year span. Three FAI Junior cups from 1997 to 1999 were backed up by another incredible three in a row from 2002 to 2004. Throw in another three in a row in the Munster Junior - 1998 to 2000, to supplement the 1992 win and you get an idea of the magnitude of the period of success. this is without mentioning the 8 league titles in the decade, including an incredible 4 in a row.
Inevitably, the late 2000's and early 2010's saw a slowdown in the success rate of the club, notwithstanding the club winning a record 7th Munster Junior Cup in 2009, and an unprecedented 8th FAI Junior Cup in 2010. In the 2010 the club finally got it's hands on the elusive FAI Minor Cup, the only trophy that had eluded them in their magnificent history
