Kilkenny City A.F.C.
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| Full name | Kilkenny City Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Black Cats, The Cats, City |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Dissolved | 2008 |
| Ground | Buckley Park |
| Capacity | 6,000 (1,850 seats) |
| Chairman | Jim Rhatigan |
| Manager | Martin Brennan |
Kilkenny City Association Football Club was an Irish football club. The club played in the First Division of the League of Ireland until 18 January 2008 when they announced that they resigned their position in the league citing "lack of finance, poor results and paltry attendances".
The club hails from Kilkenny and used Buckley Park as their home pitch. Buckley Park has hosted many International under age soccer games. Kilkenny City will be entering the under 20 division this season which run co-currently with the schoolboy season (August to May).
In 1966 a group of Leaving Certificate students made the most of having a free class at the local Christian Brothers school. They debated the pros and cons, devised a plan and, finally, resolved to start a football club. The club was originally known as EMFA, becoming Kilkenny City in 1989. Jim Rhatigan was appointed as the club’s secretary a position he still holds and since then he has become closely associated with football in Kilkenny. EM stood for Emmett Street and FA for Fatima Place where Jim Rhatigan grew up.
Initially EMFA competed in the U18 Kilkenny and District Youth League under the management of Donie Butler. Donie Butler served as Commercial Manager of the FAI during the Jack Charlton years. The club was unable to afford a new set of jerseys and so agreed to play in an all white strip. The logic being that all the players had at least one white t-shirt or shirt they could wear. The club's colours changed to claret and blue before changing again to black and amber, coinciding with the renaming of the club.
EMFA graduated from junior football in 1971–72 season. Jim Rhatigan became their manager and the club remained in junior football until 1984. During this period the club purchased 5.7 acres (23,000 m2) of land from a local farmer by the name of Mick Murphy, owner of the adjacent Tennypark House, for £16,000 punts. They had previously played their home games at the Freshford Road grounds, St. James Park. The ground was originally called Tennypark and was later named Buckley Park in honour of Marty Buckley. A bid of One million was made for the club's grounds in the late eighties but was rejected in the favour of football.
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