Sligo football since 1961.
Calry Bohemians brings underage boys and girls football, senior teams, Hazelwood facilities, historic honours and community support together in one long standing Sligo club.
Calry Bohs identity
Calry Bohemians Football Club, better known as Calry Bohs, is a Sligo club with a deep parish identity, a long junior football story and a modern base at Calry Community Park in Hazelwood.
The club is more than a single adult team. It connects boys teams, girls teams, senior men, senior women, reserves, volunteers, sponsors and families through one blue and white football identity.
Hazelwood home
Calry Community Park in Hazelwood is the modern home of the club. The ground gives Calry Bohs a recognisable base in County Sligo and places match day football close to the community that built the club.
For families and visiting teams, Hazelwood is the practical anchor. It is the address to check before travel, the venue to respect on match day and the point that ties the current club back to decades of local football effort.
Founded in 1961
The Calry Bohs story began in 1961 when football people in the rural parish of Calry set out to form a local team. At that time, junior football in the area was strongly centred on Sligo town, so a Calry team represented a major local step.
The first group was made up entirely of under 16 players and played a challenge match at St Anne’s Park. The match was lost, but the idea had taken hold. By 1962, Calry Bohemians had joined the junior soccer scene as a permanent club.
Mervyn Strain and the first volunteers
Mervyn Strain is central to the club foundation story. His enthusiasm helped turn the early idea into a lasting club, and he was joined by volunteers who were willing to build a team where one did not yet exist.
Pat Branley helped run the new club, and the early Bohs setup depended on people taking on many roles at once. That volunteer pattern still matters in local football, where progress is usually built by coaches, organisers, grounds people and parents working together.
The Pond and first seasons
The first home pitch was a field known as The Pond in Calry. The earliest league season was difficult, but the club kept going, which is often the difference between a short lived team and a club that becomes part of a community.
Those early years gave Calry Bohs a rural football identity. The club had to find players, organise games, secure places to play and keep interest alive in an area where junior soccer was still developing outside the town.
Early rural football breakthrough
Calry were among the early rural teams to develop a structured junior club in the Sligo area. As more county teams formed, local football changed from a town centred game into a wider county competition.
The club’s first major silverware came when Calry won the county league, beating Real Tubber 2 to 1 in the final. Johnny McMoreland scored the winning goal, giving Bohs the kind of early success that helped establish the badge.
FAI Junior Cup run
In 1968, Calry reached the last eight of the FAI Junior Cup and lost 4 to 3 to Westport United in front of a crowd of more than one thousand spectators. That campaign remains an important marker in the club’s early story.
A run like that showed that a rural Sligo club could travel into a national junior competition and compete with established opposition. It gave Bohs credibility, confidence and a wider football memory beyond local fixtures.
Hazelwood facilities
The move toward first class facilities at Hazelwood became possible through community support and the strong bond between Calry Bohs and Calry St Joseph’s. Land was purchased from the Land Commission in 1980, creating the base for a shared community park.
Over the years, major investment has gone into the grounds. That work changed the club from a team moving between fields into an organisation with a lasting home. Facilities matter because they allow training, matches, winter activity and community use to continue season after season.
Community park role
Calry Community Park is not only a football venue. It is part of a wider sports setting for the Calry area and reflects the cooperation between local sporting groups that helped develop Hazelwood.
That shared community role gives Calry Bohs a stronger foundation than football alone. When a club has a respected venue, local families can see the club as part of parish life, not just as a weekend match organiser.
Underage boys pathway
The current underage pathway includes boys teams from the youngest academy years through older teenage football. The team structure has included boys under 6 to under 8, under 10, under 11, under 12, under 13, under 14, under 15, under 16, under 17 and under 18 groups.
That spread gives boys a route through several stages of development. A young player can begin with basic movement and touches, then progress into larger sided football, more demanding team roles and older youth competition without leaving the club environment.
Girls pathway
Girls football is a clear part of the Calry Bohs structure. The club has listed girls teams from early age groups through older youth football, including girls under 8 to under 10, under 12, under 13, under 15 and under 18 groups.
That matters because a visible girls pathway helps families see that girls football is not an add on. It gives players a route to stay with the badge, develop with age group peers and move through the club with the same sense of belonging as the boys teams.
Adult teams
Calry Bohs also fields adult teams, including senior men, senior women and reserves. This gives the club a full football shape, with youth players able to see adult teams representing the same badge.
Adult teams matter for an underage club because they show what long term involvement can look like. Not every youth player will reach senior football, but the presence of adult teams gives players a local target and keeps older players connected to the club.
New players and families
Newcomers are welcome across the club’s football structure. Families should use the club contact route and include the player’s age, year of birth, previous football experience and the most suitable pathway question.
A clear enquiry helps the club respond quickly. Calry has many age groups and adult teams, so the right first message should make it easy to send the question to the current coach or club official.
From youth to senior football
Calry has long valued the movement of players from underage teams into adult football. The 1980s breakthrough period was especially satisfying for the club because several important senior players had come through the under 19 team.
That pathway is one of the strongest parts of a community club. When young players can see former underage players becoming senior players, coaches or volunteers, the club feels like a place to grow rather than a place to pass through.
Super League breakthrough
The big competitive breakthrough came in 1987 when Calry won the Super League for the first time. Jimmy Flynn and Vinny Fowley managed a squad that opened one of the strongest periods in the club’s history.
That first Super League title was not just one trophy. It signalled that Calry had moved from survival and local promise into sustained senior strength. It gave the club belief and helped launch a golden era for the Bohs badge.
Golden era honours
Calry went on to win seven Super League titles in ten years during a remarkable run. The same era brought Connacht Senior Cups, Michael O’Byrne Cups, FAI Sligo Area Cups, the MacSharry Foley Cup and the Bill Monaghan Cup.
Those honours give Calry Bohs one of the strongest historic resumes in Sligo junior football. For younger players, the trophy story shows that the club has not only existed for a long time but has also competed at a very high local and regional level.
Premier and cup double
The club added another major adult milestone by winning the Premier League and McSharry Foley Cup double in the 2011 to 2012 season. That keeps the honours story connected to the modern club era rather than only the early golden period.
A double matters because it shows consistency across league football and knockout football in the same season. It also gives current players and supporters a more recent landmark in the club’s competitive memory.
Club tours
Calry Bohs has a touring story that reaches well beyond Sligo. The club travelled to the United States in the mid 1970s and played against Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a club associated with famous names in world football.
Bohs also made trips to Liverpool, Manchester and Malta. Those tours gave players experiences that most local clubs never get, including games against representative teams, visits to major grounds and football memories that became part of the club’s identity.
International honours
Calry players Paul McGee, Keith Gilroy and Conor Griffin have all been connected with international honours. Paul McGee won senior international caps, Keith Gilroy represented successful Ireland underage teams, and Conor Griffin was part of an Ireland squad for UEFA Regions qualifiers.
That level of achievement gives the club a valuable pathway story. It shows young players that a small community club can still be part of a route to elite recognition when talent, commitment and opportunity come together.
League of Ireland pathway
Calry has also produced or developed players who moved into League of Ireland football. Players from the club have been connected with Sligo Rovers, Longford Town, Bohemians, Galway United and Finn Harps.
That matters because Sligo young players often look toward Sligo Rovers and senior football as the next level. Calry’s pathway story shows that the club has been part of that wider regional football ecosystem for decades.
Administration and service
The club has contributed to the administration of Sligo and Leitrim football through people who served the game beyond Calry itself. Names from the club have helped shape junior soccer through committee and association work.
That service is part of the club’s depth. Football in a region depends on volunteers who organise leagues, grounds, refereeing structures and club communication. Calry’s story includes that off pitch contribution as well as the teams on the grass.
Training and winter facilities
The development of an astro facility at the community park has been an important addition for training, especially during winter months. It helps the club keep players active when grass pitches are under pressure from weather and daylight.
For underage teams, reliable training space is essential. A club with better winter options can keep sessions moving, protect grass surfaces and give coaches more predictable planning across a long season.
Club lotto
The club lotto supports the present and future of Calry Bohs. Entries help fund pitch maintenance, training gear, kits, equipment, astro rental and youth development activity.
For a community football club, regular fundraising is not decoration. It is one of the ways facilities stay usable and teams stay equipped. The lotto gives supporters a simple route to contribute even when they are not coaching or playing.
Sponsorship routes
Calry Bohs offers several sponsor routes, including pitch signage, match day support and training gear support. Each one helps with a different part of club life, from the ground environment to the cost of games and team clothing.
This sponsor model is practical because it lets local businesses support the club in visible ways. It also shows families that the football programme depends on community partners as well as registration, lotto support and volunteer time.
Membership and online admin
The club provides online membership and payment routes, making it easier for families to complete admin without relying only on paper forms or match night collections. That is useful for a club with many teams and age groups.
Good admin helps football happen smoothly. When membership, contact details and payments are handled clearly, coaches can spend more time on players, and the club can keep better track of who is registered and ready to train or play.
Match day at Hazelwood
Match day at Hazelwood should be treated as a community club day. Families and visiting teams should arrive in good time, follow pitch instructions, keep sideline behaviour positive and leave the ground tidy.
Calry Community Park is a shared local asset. Respecting the venue protects the playing surface, supports volunteers and helps the club keep Hazelwood ready for boys teams, girls teams, senior teams and community activity.
For visiting teams
Visiting teams should confirm whether the game is at Calry Community Park before travelling. The address is Hazelwood, County Sligo, with the F91 YT88 eircode, but teams should still check the pitch and arrival detail through the match contact.
The ground sits in a rural and community setting, so planning matters. Allow time for travel, parking, warm up and player gathering, especially for cup ties, evening matches or games involving younger players.
Carrickoneileen and Calry footprint
The club is connected with the wider Calry and Hazelwood area, with Carrickoneileen also part of the local football footprint. This local geography matters because it helps families understand the community the club serves.
A club can have one main ground and still draw identity from nearby townlands, schools and family networks. Calry Bohs is best understood as a parish and community club rather than only a venue name.
Badge and colours
The Calry Bohs badge uses a blue and white circular design with the club name around the edge, a mountain and tree motif in the middle and the 1961 foundation year below. The design is simple, local and easy to recognise.
Blue and white are the dominant colours. The crest fits the Hazelwood and Sligo setting because it connects the club to landscape as well as football. For players, that badge gives a clear identity across youth and adult teams.
Volunteer culture
The Calry story has always depended on volunteers. From Mervyn Strain and the first organisers to modern coaches, grounds people, committee members and parents, the club has grown because people gave time to football.
Families can support that culture by answering team messages, arriving on time, helping when asked and respecting the work of coaches and referees. A large pathway needs dependable adult support to keep every age group moving.
Safeguarding expectations
A club with boys teams, girls teams and adult teams needs clear standards around child welfare, supervision and respectful behaviour. Safeguarding sits beside coaching because players need a safe environment before they can enjoy football.
Parents should know who is responsible for their child’s team, how communication is handled and how concerns are raised. Clear adult roles make a busy club easier to trust and easier to manage.
Reading the live football area
The live football area should be used for changing team and match details because those items move throughout the season. Team entries, competitions and match views can change as leagues update their information.
This guide focuses on the club’s identity, history, Hazelwood base, pathway, honours, facilities and community structure. That makes it useful even when a fixture, team group or competition schedule changes later.
What defines Calry Bohemians
Calry Bohemians is defined by a rare mix of rural foundation, long history, strong honours, Hazelwood facilities, boys and girls pathways, senior football and deep volunteer culture.
The club has lasted because it is anchored in place and because generations of people built on the work of those who started in 1961. For a young player, Calry Bohs offers a badge with history and a pathway that reaches from first teams to adult football.