Athlone Town A.F.C.

1920s

Athlone first competed at a national level in the 1922–23 season. They became the first club from outside the capital city of Dublin to join the newly renamed Free State League.^[4] The club ended their maiden campaign in sixth place and made it to the final of the League of Ireland Shield.^[5][6]

In 1924, Athlone Town won the FAI Cup, their first domestic success, beating Fordsons. Dinny Hannon scored the only goal of the game, as Athlone went through the whole competition without conceding a goal.

Hannon was one of five Athlone Town players chosen to represent the Irish Free State at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. The other players were Tommy Muldoon, Frank Ghent, John Joe Dykes and Paddy O'Reilly.^[7] In 1926, Athlone Town moved into a new home at the Ranelagh Grounds. The Westmeath club remained in the League of Ireland until the end of the 1927–28 season when, following a poor season in which the team finished bottom of the table, they resigned from the league.^[8]

The club were also knocked out of FAI Cup in the first round after a 9–3 defeat to then non-league Drumcondra. Athlone, who were also in a perilous position financially, opted to return to provincial football and Drumcondra took their place in the league.

Athlone Town moved into their new home at St. Mel's Park in 1929 after two seasons spent at Ranelagh Gardens.^[9] Prior to then the club played at the town’s Sportsground.

In the 1950s, Athlone Town had a team competing in the Athletic Union League. They also entered a side into the FAI Junior Cup.^[10]

Intermediate football

Athlone Town were elected to the Intermediate-level League of Ireland B Division as founder members in 1964–65.^[10][11] The club reached the FAI Intermediate Cup final in 1967–68, losing 1–0 to Home Farm after a replay, but won the B Division's Castrol Trophy.^[10]

The Castrol Trophy was retained for the 1968–69 season and Athlone also won the league title's Blackthorn Trophy, finishing six points ahead of their closest rivals in the B Division; St. Patrick's Athletic. Athlone also reached the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup losing 0–1 to Bohemians.^[10]

League return and European competition

Athlone Town were elected back into the League of Ireland for the 1969–70 season. Although they finished tenth in the league, Athlone won the Leinster Senior Cup, beating Shelbourne 4–0 in the final.^[10] The club finished second in the league in the 1974–75 season, earning a place in the UEFA Cup, the first time they had ever qualified for European competition.^[10] Their first-round game was against Norwegian side Vålerenga who they beat 3–1 at home before drawing 1–1 in Oslo. Athlone's second round tie was against Italian side AC Milan, drawing 0–0 in the first leg at St. Mel's Park, setting a record attendance of 9,000 before losing the second leg at the San Siro 3–0.^[12][13] Athlone closed out the decade with a trophy when they beat St. Patrick's Athletic to win the League Cup for the first time in 1979–80.^[14][15]

New Stadium in Lissywollen

In 2007 the club moved from St Mel's Park to a new stadium, which was opened on 9 March when the home side hosted Kilkenny City in the opening game of the season. The new stadium features a single stand with a capacity of close to 2,000 seated spectators.

On 15 December 2008, the club held an emergency E.G.M. with supporters stating that they were in financial difficulties. Part finance had been raised and the club worked towards raising the rest. The club received funds through the patron scheme with over 350 fans contributing.

On 27 September 2013, Athlone clinched the First Division title with a 1–0 win over Waterford United.

In 2014, Athlone Town had a bad campaign in the Premier Division, finishing last in the championship, in the Leinster Senior Cup it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by St Patrick's Athletic, in the FAI Cup it was eliminated in the second round by Longford Town, and in the League Cup lost to Longford Town again in the first round. The club was relegated to the League of Ireland First Division.

In September 2017 the FAI banned goalkeeper Igors Labuts and midfielder Dragos Sfrijan for 12 months after a UEFA investigation found "clear and overwhelming betting evidence" of fixing of Athlone's 29 April match against Longford Town in the 2017 League of Ireland First Division.^[18] The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland said the decision was based on "half-baked innuendo".^[19]

In 2018, a dispute over ownership of Athlone Town Stadium arose.^[20][21][22]

In November 2020, Athlone Town lost 11–0 to Dundalk F.C. in the FAI Cup semi final, which set a new record for the biggest win by a team in the history of the competition.^[23]

There are many youth teams, ranging from u13 boys' to u17 women's team.

In February 2026, the club announced changes at board level with Nick Giannotti, a shareholder in Plymouth Argyle and Larne F.C., becoming club chairman.^[1][24]

Appearances

• Most appearances: Dennis Clarke (361)^[13]

European record

Matches

More information Season, Competition ...

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1975–76	UEFA Cup	1R	Vålerengen	3–1	1–1	4–2
		2R	Milan	0–0	0–3	0–3
1981–82	European Cup	1R	KB	2–2	1–1	3–3 (a)
1983–84	European Cup	1R	Standard Liège	2–3	2–8	4–11

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