Castles in the sky

The very nature of maintaining records for a Football Club whose history straddles three centuries means the archives are always open for addition and revision as new tales and statistics are uncovered.

In that respect, Cliftonville Heritage Development Officer Paul Treanor’s work is never done and today marks the anniversary of a match that was for many years shrouded in mystery – until it emerged that it never actually took place!

Followers of our Twitter account are regaled with daily delves into the Club’s past, with May 31 annually referencing a 1969 encounter with Castletown on the Isle of Man, the result of which remained unknown for more than half a century.

Probative follower Sam Guthrie was quickly on the case and discovered that, owing to a clash with Castletown’s involvement in the Hospital Cup Final, the fixture did not go ahead as planned – which certainly explains why the score was never noted.

Both teams would, however, enjoy winning weekends with the Reds overcoming replacement opponents Douglas High School Old Boys 4-0, while Castletown lifted the Hospital Cup courtesy of a 5-2 victory over Peel.

All of which means the Cliftonville record books are now fully refreshed and up to date. For now…