James O'Reilly

Lively winger James O’Reilly from Strabane spent two seasons at the Showgrounds during the early years of Ballymena FC.

The son of a cattle-dealer, O’Reilly began his career locally at junior club Strabane United but fell foul of the authorities in 1926 after being caught playing Sunday football alongside one of his team-mates across the border in Donegal, which led to a suspension from football by the North-West FA and the Irish FA.

Despite this indiscretion, James starred for the Tyrone outfit and attracted interest of senior clubs, he trialled for Portadown in November 1928 against Ballymena and made a good impression, despite the 5-3 defeat. He eventually signed permanently for the remainder of the 1928/1929 season, even relocating to the County Armagh town in the process.

Following a relatively successful first season in senior football with Portadown, the 20-year-old made the move to newcomers Ballymena for their second full season, initially on trial in September 1929 and debuting in a 4-1 defeat to Linfield at the Showgrounds. It was the first of three competitive games in the Autumn of 1929, but O’Reilly failed to make significant headway, and returned to play junior football back home with Newtownstewart for much of the 1929/1930 season.

O’Reilly was recalled to the Ballymena team in April 1930 ad finished the season strongly, even scoring his first goal for the club in a 2-1 City Cup victory over Newry Town. This continued into the start of the 1930/1931 season, in which the winger was a regular starter in the early stages of the season but struggled to find the back of the net in his seven appearances throughout a tough second season.

Following 16 appearances and 1 goal at Ballymena, the winger returned home to Strabane United in August 1931 to regain his form, and before long another senior opportunity arose, with a return to Mid-Ulster with Glenavon in December 1931. He also merited a trial at Scottish club Queen of the South in 1933 and then O’Reilly – now playing as an inside forward - was granted an opportunity at Coleraine in January 1934, which proved to be his final bow in senior football, after only a few appearances at the Ballycastle Road.

James O’Reilly passed away in his native Strabane in January 1974, aged 64.

Career
Strabane United; (Nov 1928) Portadown; (Sep 1929) Ballymena; (Oct 1929) Newtownstewart; (Aug 1931) Strabane United; (Dec 1931) Glenavon; (1933) Queen of the South; (Jan 1934) Coleraine