Kildrum Tigers celebrate their last Ulster Senior League title win in 2008.
KILDRUM Tigers FC have put the Donegal Junior League on notice that they will be applying for re-entry to their ranks in time for the 2014/15 season.
Last Thursday night, the St Johnston club dropped the bombshell that they were withdrawing from the Ulster Senior League, thirteen years after they’d first climbed into the intermediate grade.
The decision by the club, three times USL champions, was made at an emergency meeting last Thursday night, on the eve of the close of the January transfer window. Confirmation of the decision was posted in a brief message on the club’s Facebook page and club officials have since contacted the Donegal League and formally served notice of their intention to apply for admission to next season’s league.
Kildrum had been hit with a raft of transfers at the end of last season, with players transferring to clubs in the Inishowen and Donegal junior leagues and in one instance they didn’t field for a game against Cockhill Celtic, although they managed to stave off the threat of expulsion by fulfilling their remaining games. Most of those players had not returned by this week and a hasty committee meeting was convened to discuss the matter.
Derry native Colm Cassidy had been appointed as the first team manager and the club had entered the 2014 USL. They were entered in the draw for the Donegal News USL Cup last Monday night, but their reversal means that the USL is now down to an eight-team division, with USL officials set to issue its clubs with a redrawn fixture list for the League and Cup.
Kildrum were members of the Donegal League since 2001, when, under Maurice Toland’s management, they won the Premier Division. As a former champion the Station Road Park outfit is entitled, provided the current rule is retained, to gain admittance to the Premier Division of the Donegal League again next season.
Kildrum have confirmed that this is their intention and the Foyleside club have set the wheels in motion with a new manager expected to be announced in the coming weeks with Cassidy no longer part of their future plans.
Since making the step up to the intermediate ranks, Kildrum won three USL titles, in 2004, 2007 and 2008 under Raymond McDaid, who also guided success in the League Cup in the 2006/07 season and victory in the Knockalla Caravans Cup in 2006/07 and 2010, while they reached the semi-final of the FAI Intermediate Cup in 2006/07.
Kildrum were founder members of the Donegal League and retained their interest in the Donegal League until they withdrew their team from the Saturday League (which they won in 2009) following the inception of the USL Division 1, in which their reserve team competed.
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