HISTORY OF THE CLUB

This page provides some history of the Club which was founded in 2004.

This website was started in July 2005 and an annual log listing all the activities and the developments of the website is available by clicking on the year link below :

FORMATION

Bangor Northern Ireland Supporters Club was formed in the upstairs lounge of the Rose & Chandlers Bar at the corner of High Street and Bridge Street on Bangor's seafront, on Monday 2 February 2004.

Alan Ferris was elected as Chairman and the original intention was that the Club should be restricted to a maximum of 50. By the end of the evening, when all the application forms were collected, it was realised that the quota had been exceeded by 50%

2004 - SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR

The first year of the Club proved to be very successful and the highlight for most of the members was the away trip to Wales. Anyone who was at the match in the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff could not forget the experience, with the ecstasy of two early goals being followed by the tension as Wales chased a win against a 9 man Northern Ireland team who fell victim to some dodgy refereeing decisions.

The Rose & Chandlers unfortunately did not have the facilities to host the fledgling club, so the meetings were transferred to Pickie Bowling Club on Broadway (the Bangor version, not New York), and the meetings continue to be held there, usually on the first Monday of the month, except January and July.

2005 - FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

The 1st. A.G.M. was held on 7 February 2005 and amongst the many items on the Agenda was the election of Bangor-reared current international, Keith Gillespie, as Honorary President.The Club continueD to grow and develop, making it easier for fans to attend matches. For home matches , free bus transport to Windsor was provided for members and the Club began looking at ways of assisting members who wish to travel to away games.

During the 2005 Easter period, a large number of members from the Club travelled to Old Trafford for the match against England. Despite the result, a good time was had by all, one of the highlights being the barge trip from the centre of Manchester along the canal. A few days later, a sizeable number made their way to Warsaw for the Poland match. Once again, the result was disappointing and it was cold, but you should have seen the hotel the bulk of the travellers stayed (and the NI team) stayed in - better than First Class !

Before the 125th Anniversary match against Germany, the Club organised a barbeque to ensure that members were well fed and watered before the big game. This was was an example of the Social Events that the Club organise as part of it's development.

Early September saw a long awaited home victory against Azerbaijan, shortly followed by an unforgetable victory against England, when Northern Ireland won 1-0 against England, who conceded a goal and were unable to score and therefore were duffed by Our Wee Country.

Unfortunately, the result could not be repeated against Wales in October, and the campaign finished with another poor result on the banks of the Danube in Vienna. Another great trip was enjoyed by all and it confirmed the growing size of the GAWA in general and the Bangor contingent in particular.

The season ended with an impressive home draw in a friendly against Portugal.

2006 - A NEW CAMPAIGN BEGINS

This year started with a buy AGM and the first match as a friendly at a snow covered Windsor against Estonia. After the World Cup, NI started their European Championship campaign in September with a disastrous home defeat against Iceland.

Four days later, another day out in Belfast preceded the visit of Spain, a match which saw NI come from behind twice to achieve an unexpected 3-2 victory. October saw another unforgettable away trip in Denmark followed by a midweek victory over Latvia.

2007 - THE YEAR OF THE FIRST CLUB TRIP

Following the election of half a dozen new members at the meeting held on 15 January, the Club has reached a milestone in that it now had over 100 full members, including 4 overseas ones.