1st Villa Junior Team 1957-58

An interesting development in the early 1960's was the clubs entry into the Munster Senior League, which was a true sign of how far things had come in such a short space of time. A number of players of this era progressed on to get a chance at League of Ireland level, including the likes of Gene Roche, John Nolan, Billy Howlett, Ben Stokes, Sid Rellis, Al Casey, Pat Flynn, Frankie Mountain and Johnny Toms. The Villa reached the Munster Junior Cup Final in 1963, when a Buddy Purcell hat-trick was enough to see off the challenge of Geraldines of Limerick in Ozier Park. Unfortunately due to an internal dispute within the Munster FA, the final of this competition didn't take place until 1964 where we lost out narrowly to Blackrock of Cork in Flower Lodge. This side also reached the quarter finals of the FAI Junior Cup in 1964 where we were edged out by Pike Rovers of Limerick. Another significant achievement at that time was the presence of several Villa players - Gene Roche, Buddy Purcell, Teddy Madigan, Frankie Mountain - in the first Waterford panel to win the Inter-league Oscar Traynor Cup in 1964. The rest of the 60's continued along in a relatively successful vein for the club, with people like Sammy Robinson, John Sheehan, Michael Kiely, Nicky Power and Johnny Toms to the fore on the playing and administrative side of the club.

Team & Supporters of Villa Minor Team prior to victory in Munster Minor Final 1959-60.

The 1970's began auspiciously for the Villa with the capture of the Ardagh Cup for the leading sides in Waterford in 1970. The final was against Bohs and Villa turned in a super display to easily win 4-0, the goals coming from Teddy Robinson, Oxo Connors, and Noel O'Neill 2. This side also won the Fuller Cup in the same year, while a good under 16 side including the likes of Jim Flanagan, Pat Lee and Nicky Denn won the cup. Periodic success continued through the 1970's and there were many talented players and real characters that donned the green and white in these years. The 1970's also saw the start of what has become a Villa tradition of an annual overseas social weekend away. The initial group of pioneers!! that hit London town included a youthful Ben Harte, Shem Cooper, Muckel Ryan, David English and Austin Curtin. In the late 1970's the club finally acquired a permanent home for itself, developing the wasteland next to Ozier Park into a first class facility.

Villa 1st team from the mid 1970s

The 1980's were far from being a successful period in terms of winning silverware for the Villa, although luckily the sense of spirit and fun of the club was maintained throughout this era. Tragedy occurred early in the decade with the death of the then club secretary Eugene Connors, after whom the clubs new pitch was renamed. There were a few high points around this time, notably a triumph in the Fitzgerald Youth Cup in 1982. A number of club stalwarts such as Derek White, Patsy Roche, Pat Cunningham, Martin Quinn, George Fennelly and Shay Burke emerged from thui s team. There were probably too few people trying to do too much at this time and the contributions of the likes of Philip Myler, Nicky Power, Tom Burke, Kevin Roche, Ben Harte, Gerry O'Brien, Martin Quinn, Dessie Moran were invaluable in keeping the club going through perhaps the most difficult phase of its existence.

Villa Youth Team 1984

Villa 1B Team 1984

Villa Premier Team 1984

The 1990's was really the period that saw the regeneration of the Villa FC both on and off the pitch. Perhaps the most significant milestone was the formation of 4th division team in 1991/92, which brought back together many of the older members of the club. This team was not only the cornerstone of a very enjoyable club social scene, but also made very significant contributions to the financing and overall running of the club. Full credit then to the likes of Ben Harte, Muckel Ryan, John Kindlon and Davy English and the quiet bunch of lads that they brought together. They were also successful on the pitch and it was nice to see some Junior success again following the barren days of the 1980's, with particular highlights being the winning of the 1B league in 1994, 4th division in 1994 and the 2nd division in 1997. The schoolboy end of the club also improved significantly during this era, the key factors being the introduction of an academy and increased numbers and quality of coaches. Particular credit must go to the likes of Freddie Robinson, Ray Moran, Owen Tubbritt, Liam Connors, Ace Butler, Frank O'Byrne, Bobby Sheridan, Paul Morrissey and Nicky Denn for raising the standards in the club in this regard. The facilities of the club also underwent a radical improvement commencing in the late 1990's, with Neil Kelly and George McDonald being the driving forces behind the developments.

Villa 4th Division League Play Off 1992

Pictured at Villa 50th Anniversary Dinner Dance are some of the founding members of the club.

The new century has seen a further upturn in the Villa's fortunes and each season sees a regular haul of silverware. The ongoing development of facilities has been highlighted elsewhere on this website. The club has also nurtured contacts with cross channel clubs such as Wigan and Blackpool which will be of long term benefit, while international schoolboy competitions such as the Manchester Cup and the Foyle Cup have become regular and popular events in the development of our schoolboy players. Crucially many new people have become involved in the running of the club to give fresh impetus to our development. Of course we also had our hugely successful and enjoyable 50th anniversary dinner dance in May 2003, which brought together Villa members young and old for a great day and nights entertainment. At this occasion the new clubhouse was named in honour of Frank O'Byrne whose contribution to the club has been enormous ever since its foundation in 1952. It has to be said that the Villa at the moment is in as healthy a position as it has ever been. There is a core of dedicated committee people, coaches, managers and players focused on the constant improvement of the football club, backed by the financial help of many parents, businesses and friends of the club whose contributions are critical to our development. The huge increase in our membership in recent times is a reflection on the health of the club. We now cater for in excess of 300 schoolboy members and almost 100 Junior/Youth players. This makes us the largest club in the Waterford area in this regard. The improvement in playing standards is reflected in increasing on field success and growing numbers of Villa players making representative teams. The Villa is not all about elite players however and we are committed to providing football and social enjoyment to players of all abilities, as can be seen from us entering B teams throughout schoolboy levels and Junior teams at lower levels. We are striving to be as successful as we possibly can, but do not want to lose sight of the fun element of the club that has generated great loyalty and affection for the club from many people.