Connacht Senior League (association football)

Western League

The Connacht Football Association first established a provincial league in the 1930s. The Western League had a stop start history and was active up until the early 1970s. Galway, Sligo, Mayo and Roscommon organized their own qualifying rounds, using either a knock-out or round-robin format. The most successful team from this era was Galway Bohemians who were Western League champions on six occasions. Other participants in the Western League included Galway Rovers, Castlebar Celtic and Westport United.

1980s

In 1981–82 seven clubs – Mervue United, Sligo Rovers Reserves !Sligo Rovers Reserves, Castlerea Celtic, Salthill Devon, Ballina Rovers, Tuam Celtic and UCG – formed the Connacht Senior League. Sligo Rovers were the inaugural champions while Mervue United won their first title in 1982–83. At the end of the 1984–85 season Sligo Rovers withdrew after their senior team was relegated to the new League of Ireland First Division. The decision was blamed on cut backs at the club. In 1986 there was a proposal for the league to expand into a North West League. However this idea was abandoned following the emergence of the Ulster Senior League. Gentex of Athlone joined the league for the 1987–88 season but had to withdraw in the spring after it emerged their membership had not been sanctioned by the Leinster Football Association.

1990s

Sligo Rovers Reserves !Sligo Rovers Reserves rejoin the league after an attempt to join the Ulster Senior League was blocked by the Connacht Football Association. In 1990–91 Salthill Devon won the title and in 1991–92 they became the first CSL champions to be invited to play in the League of Ireland Cup. In 1992–93 Mervue United won a quartet, winning the league title, the Shield, the Connacht Senior Cup and the Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup. The 1994–95 season saw the league split into two groups. The two group winners, Straide & Foxford United and Castlebar Celtic, then met in a play-off final to decide the overall champions. Straide & Foxford United, in their first season in the league, emerged as champions after defeating Celtic 1–0. The 1995–96 season saw the league divided into two divisions – a Premiership and a First Division. The top three teams from the 1994–95 groups plus the winner of a play-off between the two fourth placed teams made up the Premiership. UCG won the Premiership while Ballinasloe Town were the First Division winners. However the two division format was abandoned and the 1996–97 season saw the league revert to a single division. Between 1996–97 and 1999–2000 Mervue United were league champions four times in a row. In its final season the league featured eight teams. The league disbanded when Mervue United and NUI Galway and opted to enter the League of Ireland U21 Division and Castlebar Celtic decided to return to the Mayo Association Football League.

Possible Revival

In April 2013 discussions involving John Delaney and the Football Association of Ireland were held regarding reviving the Connacht Senior League. Representatives of thirteen clubs were invited to a meeting hosted by the Connacht Football Association at the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris. The thirteen invited clubs included Westport United, Castlebar Celtic, Ballina Town, Salthill Devon, Mervue United, the Galway United Supporters’ Trust, NUI Galway, Sligo Rovers, St John's Athletic, Ballinsloe Town, Longford Town, Athlone Town and Willow Park. It was suggested that Salthill Devon and Mervue United would play in the new Connacht Senior League after they dropped out of the League of Ireland First Division to make way for the new Galway United. However, in June 2013 the Connacht Tribune reported that the plans were shelved due to a lack of sufficient interest from the clubs. The three League of Ireland clubs, Sligo Rovers, Athlone Town and Longford Town, favoured a summer league, while the organisers had proposed a September to May format.

Cup competitions

In addition to playing in the Connacht Senior League, clubs from the league were also eligible to play in a number of cup competitions. When the league was formed in 1981–82, the organizers also introduced two cup competitions. Mervue United defeated Sligo Rovers Reserves !Sligo Rovers Reserves in the final of the inaugural League Cup, a pre-season competition featuring two legs per round. In 1988–89 this competition was renamed the League Shield. The second cup competition was the Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup. This was played at the end of the season. Mervue United were the inaugural winners. In 1982–83 a third cup, the Incentive Cup, was introduced. It initially featured the two most improved sides who had failed to win another trophy. Tuam Celtic were the first winners. In 1989–90 the format was changed to include teams knocked out in the first round of the Challenge Cup. Castlebar Celtic became the first winners under the new format. In 1986–87 CSL teams, together with Ulster Senior League teams played in the one-off North West Cup. Galway United reached the final but lost to Derry City. Connacht Senior League teams also played in the Connacht Senior Cup and national cup competitions such as FAI Cup, the FAI Intermediate Cup and the FAI Junior Cup. From 1990–91 onwards, the CSL champions or best placed non-reserve team were also invited to play in the League of Ireland Cup. Salthill Devon, Castlebar Celtic and Mervue United all went on to play in this competition.

Representative team

In 1983–84 a Connacht Senior League representative team played a Munster Senior League XI and lost 2–1. In 1986–87 the representative team defeated Munster and a Leinster Senior League XI in an Interprovincial series. Between 1987–88 and 1990–91 the representative team played in the League of Ireland Cup. On all four occasions they played in a regional group that also included Galway United's first team, Limerick and Newcastle West.

Teams

Participating clubs included the reserve teams of three League of Ireland clubs – Sligo Rovers, Galway United and Longford Town. The league also featured three future members of the A Championship – Mervue United, Salthill Devon and Castlebar Celtic. The former two also played in the League of Ireland First Division. Nineteen different teams played in the league at one point or another. The majority came from Connacht but Leinster teams from bordering counties were also invited to join. The league's membership usually averaged between eight and ten clubs and peaked in the 1995–96 season when it featured fourteen clubs. Throughout its history the CSL suffered regularly from clubs dropping out and only two teams, Salthill Devon and UCG/NUI Galway featured every season.