CLUB HISTORY
Holywood Boys F.C. was formed in 1991 by Ray Alexander, now a County Performance Coach with the Irish Football Association. As the name suggests, it was originally an all boys youth football club, however recent years have seen an increasing number of girls at the club.
The figure on the club badge was ‘Johnny the Jig’, taken from the bronze statue of a youngster playing the accordion which stands in front of the children’s playground in Holywood High Street.
Due to the growing demand for more training and playing facilities, the club gradually migrated to Bangor but due to it’s established reputation, retained the name Holywood Boys.
Players who have played for the club include current Northern Ireland International Chris Brunt, Jamie Mulgrew (Linfield), James Bell (Bangor) and Mark Cooling (Disltillery).
In 2007 Eddie Irvine Sports approached Holywood Boys F.C. with a vision for local youth football resulting in Holywood Boys F.C. becoming Eddie Irvine Sports F.C. in February 2008.
The new club logo features Cuchulainn, the great Ulster hero whose exploits play a dominant role in the famous Ulster Cycle of tales. While dying of his wounds in battle, he straps himself to a pillar-stone so that he can fight to the last. His original name was Setanta and his boyhood deeds mark him out as destined to become a great fighter. He is a legendary ancestor of the Irvine family, who originated from Inishmore (the Great Island) in Strangford Lough in the early centuries of the Christian Era.
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