Get on the record

He’s charted almost 145 years of Cliftonville’s history but now the Club’s Heritage Development Officer needs your help to bridge some gaps in the archives.

In an open letter to Reds fans of all ages, Paul Treanor explains that any Club memorabilia in your possession – no matter how seemingly trivial or insignificant – forms an essential part of Cliftonville’s fabric and he would be appreciative of any donations or loans that contribute to painting a more fuller picture of the Club’s proud history.

Dear supporters,

As the Historian and Statistician of Ireland’s original Association Football Club, I have over the years gathered a wealth of information on our general history, results, players and much, much more.

I’m always open to answering queries from Cliftonville supporters/Club friends or others interested in Irish League football history that have anything to do with the Reds and I’m happy to appropriately share the information I have accumulated over the past few decades of research.

Over the years, however, much Club information has been lost, but what shouldn’t be forgotten is that there is almost always more information out there, forgotten or overlooked somewhere… sitting in a cupboard, under a bed,
in an old folder, etc. This might not seem important to you or your loved ones at this moment, but it might fill in an important gap in our Club’s history.

In the past few months alone, I have received a framed team group from our trip to the Isle of Man in 1951/52 – with the players sporting white shirts with a red shamrock badge (above) – as well as an extensive scrapbook of newspaper records of the Club’s epic 1978/79 season, compiled by a now sadly deceased supporter, which included copies of photos of a delighted John Flanagan when we scored against Glentoran (main image) and a close encounter between Peter McCusker and  Coleraine’s Liam Beckett (below). The accompanying caption reads that McCusker is heading the ball past Beckett – but you be the judge of how it looks!

Furthermore, I have received a record of the first 100 or so of those mainly from outside the Club who contributed to our crucial Survival Fund appeal when we were in danger of being shut down in 1987 – a list possibly surprising to some, including individual contributors, a few other domestic teams and several Linfield Supporters Clubs.

In recent times, I have also accepted Minute Books from 1900/01 – the earliest known to exist – and letters to the Club from 1887, including an apology from Rangers of Glasgow for being unable to visit us once again due to
financial constraints, but promising to return (we are still waiting, by the way).

So if you or someone you know has any Cliftonville related items – photos, reports,  records, minute books, ledgers, or scrapbooks – these and similar records from any era are important, so anything at all could be useful.

The biggest gaps, however, are from the pre-1978 era, when as a Club we were not doing so well, so anything anybody has from the 1940s to 1960s would be particularly welcome.

Finally, while donations are very acceptable, I am happy to receive items on loan to be digitally recorded and returned. Simply seek me out on matchdays.

Thank you in advance,
Paul Treanor
Cliftonville Heritage Development Officer