..Club History

When Comber Rec was first formed in 1950, they were then named Comber Youth Club. For the first two seasons they only played friendly matches; following this they applied for and gained admission to The Churches League. They needed a church title to play in this league and approached the minister from 1st Comber Presbyterian Church. They then became known as 1st Comber Presbyterian.

Club nights, meetings, etc were held in the Army Cadet premises by kind permission of the late Mr Norman Nevin, the Cadet Forces CO. They shared the pitch at Parkway with Comber Young Men. A few years later Comber Rec gained permission from the Trustees for the permanent use of the ground. The changing facilities were rather antiquated. The only lighting in the building was two 60 watt light bulbs; there was no water, never mind showers and the only heating was a small pot-bellied coal fired stove. Through time, improvements were made to the Clubhouse and two dressing rooms for home and visiting teams were provided together with showering facilities.

During the early years the club almost ceased to exist but a few members called a meeting, held in the Remembrance Garden in Comber Square. Several members decided there and then to keep the club in existence and each handed over half a crown (12½p) to the new elected Treasurer. From then on things improved and Comber Recreation has never looked back.

The club decided to leave the Churches League and join the Northern Amateur League in the mid 50s. They were soon successful and won the Border Cup in the 1956/57 season and followed this up with a cup double the following season winning both the Clarence and Border Cups. The next success was in 1961/62 when they beat the RUC in the Clarence Cup Final. The Clarence Cup was again won in 1998/99 season.

The club’s greatest success came on Christmas morning, 1991, when they defeated Brantwood in the final of The Steel & Sons Cup. Five years later they reached the final again, this time against Chimney Corner, but unfortunately came away empty handed.

The club has come a long way since the early days of the “Tin Hut” at Parkway. It has its own social club and bar, new changing facilities, equipment store and a supporters club who give valued support both at home and away. .....

In 1993, the club established a Youth Section which up until 2005, had teams participating in the Downpatrick Youth League; again achieving success at different age levels. Teams travelled to France to participate in The Paris Cup. In 1999, the Under 16s were defeated at the semi final stage, on penalties, against opposition from Poland. They went on however to win the 3rd and 4th play off.

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From 2005, the youth teams now participate in the East Antrim Youth League and have already gained success at Under 10 level. The future of the club is clearly at the feet of the youth and the benefits of this should be seen in seasons to come.

No history of Comber Rec would be complete without a mention of life long and founder member Lewis Dempster. Lewis has given over 50 years of continued service to the club in many capacities.