Coleraine

The original Coleraine Football Club was founded in June 1927 originally called Coleraine FC at a meeting in the local Orange hall. The club was formed out of a merger between two local sides: Coleraine Olympic and Coleraine Alexandra with John McCandless being one of the founders and original player / manager for the club. The original club colours were all white, hence the club's original nickname – the Lilywhites. The club played its first competitive match on 20 August 1927, defeating Cliftonville 4–1. The club secured its first trophy in the 1931–32 season, defeating Ballymena United 3–0 at Solitude to win the Gold Cup, watched by a crowd of approximately 10,000. In the 1932–33 season, centre-forward Davy Pringle set a still-standing club record by scoring 59 goals, and Coleraine recorded their biggest ever league victory, defeating Portadown 11–1.

Among the early players to pass through the club was Peter Doherty, who had a trial at Coleraine in the 1930–31 season before moving on. Doherty went on to become one of the greatest footballers of his generation and later managed Northern Ireland to the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

In 1948, Coleraine reached its first Irish Cup final, going down 3–0 to Linfield. 1953 brought another appearance in the final and another defeat, again to Linfield, this time by five goals to nil. The 1950s saw the City Cup won for the first time (1953–54) and a second triumph in the Gold Cup (1958).

In 1961, chairman Jack Doherty persuaded Bertie Peacock to sign for Coleraine after he left Celtic. It would prove to be one of the most important transfers in the club's history. In 1965, Coleraine won the Irish Cup for the first time, defeating Glenavon 2–1 at Windsor Park, with goals from Shaun Dunlop and Derek Irwin. Coleraine thus gained its first experience of European football, against Soviet outfit Dynamo Kiev, becoming the first football club from the United Kingdom to play behind the Iron Curtain. Forward Tony Curley scored Coleraine's first ever goal in European competition, netting against Dynamo Kyiv on 2 September 1965. Coleraine also won the first two Blaxnit all-Ireland cups in 1969 and 1970. In the 1969–70 season, Des Dickson scored 55 goals, winning both the Golden Boot and the Football Writers' Player of the Year award. Coleraine also faced Kilmarnock in the 1970–71 Fairs Cup, and after a 1–1 draw in the first leg, the Bannsiders pulled off an historic 3–2 victory in Scotland thanks to a Des Dickson hat-trick.

In 1972, the Irish Cup was won again, this time by beating Portadown 2–1, with goals from Des Dickson and Ivan Murray. The Holy Grail of the Gibson Cup was finally captured in 1974. Under the management of Bertie Peacock, the squad consisting of the likes of Des Dickson, Johnny McCurdy, Ivan Murray, Michael Guy and Vince Magee clinched the title ahead of Portadown. Ivan Murray was named Football Writers' Player of the Year for the 1973–74 season. Bertie Peacock resigned in 1974 and Ivan Murray and Johnny McCurdy took over the reins. Murray continued as manager until 1978 and during his spell in charge the Irish Cup was won twice more – both times against Linfield. In 1975, it took three games before a goal from Jim "Chang" Smith in the second replay proved decisive. The 1977 victory was more emphatic with Liam Beckett, Des Dickson, Frankie Moffatt and Michael Guy scoring to give Coleraine a 4–1 victory. It was to be the club's last major trophy for 26 years.

In the 1980s there were two more cup finals, in 1982 and 1986, ending in defeats to Linfield and Glentoran respectively. The ground attendance record at The Showgrounds was set on 15 September 1982 when over 10,000 supporters watched a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur under newly installed floodlights. In the mid-1980s the club finished second in the Irish League for three successive seasons. Winger Ray McCoy was the standout player of the era, scoring 21 goals in the 1986–87 season to win both the Ulster Footballer of the Year and the Northern Ireland PFA Player of the Year awards, earning his only senior international cap. Steve Lomas, who would later captain Northern Ireland, made his debut for Coleraine aged 15 during this period. In the first part of the 1990s Coleraine struggled. In 1995 they dropped into the First Division. Under Kenny Shiels, Coleraine won the inaugural First Division title and in its first season back in the top flight, won the Ulster Cup and came agonisingly close to the title, being pipped late on by Crusaders.

After a poor start to the 1999–00 season, Shiels resigned and was replaced by Marty Quinn, who rallied the team to finish second in the league behind Linfield and reach the Irish Cup semi-finals and the Coca-Cola Cup final. The next 2 seasons saw Coleraine finish fourth both times – potential title challenges being ruined by inconsistency. In 2002–03, Coleraine ended the season in third place and reached their first Irish Cup Final since 1986. In the final, they faced Glentoran as massive underdogs as the east Belfast side were looking to complete a clean sweep of trophies. After an early strike from Gareth McAuley was harshly ruled out, Coleraine kept going and scored through Jody Tolan. Despite increasing Glentoran pressure, Coleraine held on and the trophy famine was over. The following season saw the club reach the Irish Cup final again, but this time it was Glentoran who emerged triumphant.

The club's well-publicised financial problems had already overshadowed much of the 2003–04 season (despite a substantial donation from Cold Feet actor and Coleraine fan James Nesbitt) and at its end the club was forced to operate on a reduced budget, with several top players leaving. Despite this a top six finish was still achieved. The summer of 2005 saw more budget cuts and several big names leaving the Showgrounds, but this time the main concern for fans was the very future of the club. In August, the Inland Revenue filed for a winding-up order against Coleraine due to debts of £1.3 million. The Friends of Coleraine, worked tirelessly to persuade the High Court to postpone the hearing to allow them to put together a business plan to show that the club could be viably run. The club were liquidated on 9 August 2006 after they were allowed to enter administration, and a steering committee was set up to run the new club Calver Holdings Ltd.