Glasgow Irish AFC are back and ready for action

AFTER two years away, Glasgow Irish AFC are back! The amateur football club had eight great years of ups and downs, with silverware and cup finals won and lost, but at the start of the 2024/25 season the club took the devastating decision to fold with player recruitment being a big issue. With an aging team and no fresh players coming in it proved to be too difficult to continue.

While the club was down and out, the friendships and togetherness stayed true with almost all of the Irish lads staying in touch with the group chats continuing and some of the friendships became closer than ever.

Some of the players joined new teams to try and keep playing in some shape or form, but many of them were left feeling that nothing would come close to the feeling of pulling on the Glasgow Irish AFC jersey.

This feeling would always beg the question: “When we starting the Irish back up?’ However, it always seemed like a pipedream as player recruitment across amateur football is becoming worse and worse, with some well-run teams having to fold. Moreover, there are so many teams now but too few loyal players. For instance, if a player is not making the starting line-up or is subbed, they often decide to leave for pastures new and few teams will survive with this attitude.

After a few years of discussions about a potential return never amounting to anything, terrible news would befall Scottish amateur football, but none more so than Glasgow Irish.

A dear friend and long servant of the Irish—goalkeeper Sean Jones—sadly took his own life in October 2025. This devastated his former teammates. At the funeral of ‘Jonesy,’ there was an abundance of people to pay their respects and many of the Irish lads attended.

This put into perspective what Glasgow Irish was all about—getting everyone together and building upon the close friendships that the club had developed and realising that the players still had Irish in their hearts.

So, a group of the original members of Glasgow Irish AFC banded together to resurrect the club and are planning for it be stronger than ever.

The club has put a structure in place to make sure it stays strong financially and on the park. Recruitment has been improved and the club is determined to be competitive once again and even win some silverware too.

Pre-season training is well underway and for the first session, the club welcomed more than 24 confirmed players, which is brilliant start, but the club is looking to grow.

The first pre-season friendly took place late last month against Glasgow Villa at Park Villa Drumoyne and the Irish recorded an 8-7 win thanks to four goals from Jay Mathieson, a hat-trick from Dylan Murray and a goal from Jay McCann.

Glasgow Irish raced into a 5-0 lead early in the first-half, before Glasgow Villa hit back with two poorly conceded goals from an Irish perspective after a water-break. The Irish showed great determination to hit back with another two goals of their own to lead 7-2 at half-time.

A change in personnel in the second-half and the searing heat saw performance levels drop, as well as some poor decision making and questionable refereeing decisions seeing them lose five goals. However, the Irish hung on for the win on their return to action.

This was followed up by a 3-1 win over Inner City FC at the Firhill Complex, featuring two crucial goals from David Hunter.

The match was a well-contested affair with both teams trying to play football on a very poor surface.

The Irish were fairly comfortable throughout the whole match with the backline, in particular, turning in a solid performance.

The match threatened to boil over at times but the referee was on hand to defuse such situations and ensure that nobody was sent for an early bath.

Friendly number three was another win, this time by a scoreline of 7-2 against Glasgow Gladiators at Park Villa, with goals this time coming from Stephen Mulheron (2), David Hunter, Mark Paterson, Dylan Murray, Anthony Deveney and an OG.

In wet conditions, the Irish controlled the game from the start and led 3-1 at the break. A formation change and a whole host of substitutions allowed them to flex their muscles in the second half with a further four goals.

A sterner test was to come, however, in the club’s fourth pre-season match in the shape of Drumchapel United FC.

It was a day in which the Irish simply weren’t at the races, not pressing high or hard enough, leaving too many gaps, not tracking runners and making too many basic errors. as a result, the Irish lost the match 8-0—a result which they hope will serve as a wake-up call as they head into more competitive action.

However, the players, management and supporters will put this result behind them and look forward to trying to bring more success to the club.

If you would like to learn more about Glasgow Irish AFC or would be interested in sponsoring them, please visit their socials on Instagram and Facebook: @glasgowirishfc