Sports
The Origins
From the very beginnings of Londonderry YMCA, sports have been an integral part of the organisation. Gymnastics was the first sport, starting in the 1880s. The Londonderry YMCA Hockey Club was founded in 1924. They had almost immediate success, winning the North West Senior Cup the following year. Hockey was so popular that by 1931, the Club was able to field six teams.
The relocation to Drumahoe saw the traditional games of football and cricket reintroduced. Rugby football was established for the first time as a mainstream YMCA sport. Other sports within the YMCA during its time in Drumahoe included snooker, badminton and bowls.
Cricket
The YMCA Cricket Club was the first sport at the new Drumahoe grounds, established in 1981. It was led by Lexie Miller, Angus Platt, Ken Goodall, Andy Meenagh and John Scott. The club within five years was fielding separate teams on Saturdays and Midweek. It also had very successful Under 16 and Under 19 youth teams. The teams had a real community feel with most of the players coming from the local Drumahoe and Tullyally areas. The young boys were coached by the older players who encouraged them to take part when there was few other activities in the area. Regrettably, having attained Senior B Cricket Status at Drumahoe, the YMCA Cricket Club was forced to withdraw from Saturday cricket in 1990 due to players drifting to other clubs.
Rugby
Rugby was first introduced to Londonderry YMCA in 1982. When the new grounds were purchased by the YMCA at Drumahoe, Herbie Burns instigated the search for a rugby team. The new team was formed by a group of men who played with Limavady Rugby club, including Willie Lamrock, Keith Anderson, Eddie Nutter, Tony Crowe, William Rehill and Ricky Gardner. The grounds were provided, but with no funding, the team had to purchase everything to get started.
The team’s shirts were based on the old YMCA hockey club shirts, which were known as “red and black quarters reversed.” The logo for the rugby team consisted of a rugby ball, an acorn, a salmon and rugby posts. The acorn represents the city, and the salmon remembers a unique moment when a flood left a single fish stranded on the pitch as the water receded. The team trained on a Monday and Wednesday night, with matches played on a Saturday. Photos of the matches were taken by local amateur photographer Bill McLeod.
The Rugby Team was cross-community, welcoming people of all faiths and none. There was a place for everybody on the team.
In its first season, the YMCA 1st XV competed in minor league 6 and were runaway winners with an unbeaten season. They won all fourteen of their games and gained promotion to minor league 4 the next season. When the 1st XV moved up to league 4, their space in league 6 was given to the second team.
The devastating floods in 2017, saw the end of all sports at the YMCA. A magnificent 36 year journey from minor league 6 to qualifying league 2, built on friendship, camaraderie and team spirit, was wiped out in one night.
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Preserving Our Past, Inspiring Our Future © 2026 by Londonderry YMCA is licensed under CC BY 4.0
