A brief history of the club

Mixed Bag United was first formed to field a mixed team in a seven-a-side tournament run by the Ennis Refugee Council in May 2003. This was a great success and following the tournament the consensus amongst participants was to continue to meet weekly to play football amongst ourselves. The venue for these weekly meetings was Dangan National School in County Clare. We played in Dangan, meeting every Monday night, until the autumn when the daylight hours were too short. We stopped, with no particular plan to continue.

The following spring, however, most of the group were keen to start up again – especially as the Refugee Council was considering another tournament in Ennis. We therefore met up once more in Dangan. Sure enough another tournament did happen – this time a five-a-side tournament. We fielded a team in this.

5-a-side match in Ennis 2004
Joe, Shaun, Stanley, Kai, Ollie,
Phil B, Sean W, Dave B

Up to this point things had been very informal, but due to a request from Dangan
School, in 2004, for us to get insurance we collected subs to pay the premium and
so became members.

As day length shortened a decision was made to find an indoor venue in which
we could play during the winter months of the year, as everybody wanted to carry
on playing. The venue we chose was the East Clare Equestrian Centre in Tuamgraney,
Co. Clare. Mixed Bag United have played weekly ever since.

In October 2004 some of the members headed to Co. Mayo to play a challenge
match on the beach near Louisburgh. This was a terrific social occasion, and
showed a great level of enthusiasm from members to travel. This enthusiasm has
been a consistent factor amongst members throughout our history.

Warming up on Louisburgh beach, 2004

The following spring we realised we had outgrown the small facilities at Dangan,as our numbers had increased significantly, and so moved to the Canon’s Field in nearby Tulla. The diversity among participants increased significantly during the course of the summer – men, women, boys and girls, young and not-so-young, and people from various ethnic backgrounds numbered in our ranks.

alt="A Monday night in Tulla, 2005" title="A Monday night in Tulla, 2005">Tulla, 2005
(Back)Richard, Phil B, Aidan, Kai, Adam, Steve, Joe, Finley; (Front) Gerry, Jeremy, John C, Shaun

In September a five-a-side tournament was held at the Sonas in Salthill Festival in Galway. The theme of the tournament was a world cup with teams representing different nations. We entered three teams – Netherlands, The Isle of Man and Ghana. The Isle of Man reached the semi final. That autumn we returned once more to Tuamgraney.

alt="Salthill World Cup, 2005" title="Salthill World Cup, 2005">Salthill World Cup, 2005

At the end of December 2005 we had the first of our annual Christmas outings. We played football on the beach in Lahinch, Co. Clare, and then went to the local leisure centre for a swim and sauna. We followed this with a meal.

Back in Tulla the following spring some of our older players began a series of occasional challenge matches against a local team of over-35s. We also began to look after the grass cutting on the field, using the services of a local landscaper.

Line-up, 7 Sep 2006 v Tulla over35s
(back) Phil B, Richard, Sean W, Steve, John C, Shaun, Dave H, Eamonn;
(Front) Ollie, Gerry, John H, Kai

The Christmas outing of 2006 was to Ennis, Co. Clare. We played amongst ourselves in a four-a-side tournament, followed by 10-pin bowling and a meal. Very well attended, the outing was a great success.

In 2007 we decided to cut the grass ourselves in Tulla using the equipment of a couple of the members. We also continued with our occasional over-35 fixtures.The club was formalised by the election of a committee, and ratification of our constitution, at our inaugural AGM held in May.

One of the highlights of 2007 was a team trip to Holland for a challenge fixture in Hillegom, SW of Amsterdam. We stayed in Amsterdam over a long weekend in September, and the trip included a training session in Amsterdam’s beautiful Vondelpark.

Line-up, 16 Sep 2007 v Hillegom 5
(Back) Liam, Paul, Dave B, Chris, Dave H, Aidan, Joe;
(Front) Steve, Eamonn, Phil B, Shaun, Phil O

The Christmas outing in 2007 was again in Ennis, with a (rainy) six-a-side tournament, a very welcome swim and sauna, and a meal. As 2008 begins it would seem a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come so far… and to excitedly anticipate where we will go from here.