| Full name | Dumfries Hibernians | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1897 | |
| Dissolved | 1901 | |
| Ground | Castledykes Park | |
Dumfries Hibernians Football Club, also referred to asDumfries Hibernian, was a short-lived football team based inDumfries, Scotland.
The club was founded in 1897 as a footballing side aimed at the Irish community in Dumfries, and immediately entered theScottish Cup, plus was brought into the Southern Counties League as a replacement forThornhill, who withdrew before the season started.[1] It had early patronage from two localMembers of Parliament,Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart andRobert Yerburgh, as well asLord Herries, theLord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright.[2]
The club's first match was a 5–5 draw against the1st Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in September 1897,[3] and its first competitive match was a 7–2 win overNewton Stewart Athletic in the first round of theScottish Qualifying Cup in1897–98.[4] Its first Cup entry was its most successful; by reaching the fourth round of the Qualifying Cup, the club qualified for the first round proper of the Cup itself. In the first round, the club was drawn at home toSt Mirren and took an early lead "before their opponents settled down", but went in at half-time 2–1 down, and by the time the Hibernians scored a late consolation goal, St Mirren had scored seven.[5]
The League season had not been so successful, the competition itself petering out with many fixtures unplayed, the Hibernians only having won one of their six matches. The Hibernians however had more success in the local cup competitions; it was twice a finalist in the Dumfries & Galloway Cup,[6] once a finalist in the Southern Counties Cup, and won the Southern Counties Consolation Cup in 1898, beatingDouglas Wanderers 2–1 in the final.[7] The club's biggest success was lifting the prestigious invitational Southern Counties Charity Cup at the end of its first season, beatingDumfries 2–1.[8]
The club entered the Scottish Cup for the next three seasons, but lost in its first match every time, the nadir being an 11–2 defeat at Dumfries in1900–01.[9] It was the club's final entry into the Scottish Cup; the final reported match was a 4–2 defeat by the same team in the final of the Dumfries and Galloway Cup at the end of the season, in a "mediocre" game.[10]
The club played in green shirts and white shorts.[11]
The club originally played at Castledykes Park. the club's third XI being called the Castledykes XI.[12] By 1898 the club was playing at least some matches atPalmerston Park,[13] including hosting a visit fromCeltic.[14]
In 1899 the club was playing at Cresswell Park[15] and from 1900 at Eastfield Park.[16]
