Albert Barr

One of Ballymena’s finest football exports, Irish Cup winner Albert Barr’s career was hampered by outbreak of the Second World War.

“Abbie” Barr was born of the town of Ballymena, and showed his football talents from a young age – starring for Moyola Park Olympic in the popular summer Garvin Cup in the mid-1930’s. This lead to a move to Solitude in 1934, to play for Cliftonville Strollers as a 16-year-old winger during the 1934/1935 season. Whilst he was a regular feature for the club’s reserve team, he made his senior Irish League bow for the Reds that same season.

Barr returned home to sign for Ballymena United as an amateur in August 1935, and quickly became touted as one of the hottest prospects in Irish League football after becoming one of the club’s youngest ever goalscorers after scoring the winner against Distillery in his third senior outing that same month. After scoring nine goals in 18 appearances, to average a goal every other game – it caught the attention of bigger clubs in the league as Glentoran pounced to sign Albert in December 1935, only four months into the season.

His form continued at the Oval, and speculation of another move to the mainland was being suggested in the press, leading to the East Belfast club agreeing to make the 17-year-old a professional player at the club to secure their asset. With six goals in ten appearances for the Glens, it proved a shrewd move as English First Division side Manchester City swooped to sign the teenager in May 1936, despite the advances of both Liverpool and Leicester City.

The winger spent three seasons on the fringes of the first team at Maine Road during a roller-coaster period for the club, as City won the First Division title in his first season (1936/1937) but were then subsequently relegated the following year (1937/1938). Playing alongside legendary characters such as Peter Doherty and Frank Swift, Albert scored on his first team debut away at Portsmouth in September 1937 – it would be his only appearance

Whilst still scoring regularly for the club’s reserve team, Albert came back into the fold during this third season at the club, with City now contesting for promotion from the Second Division in 1938/1939. He made three appearances in October 1938, scoring again on the first of these against Fulham – but spent the remainder of the campaign back with the second-string as Manchester City finished fifth and failed to regain their place in the top division.

Having only turned 21 years old, Albert Barr returned back to Northern Ireland with little fanfare, he quietly turned out for local Intermediate side Summerfield in November 1939 to regain fitness, before being quickly snapped up by Ballymena United for the remainder of the 1939/1940 season. Now playing in a deeper role at wing half, the club had changed dramatically during his time in England and was now chasing all the major silverware. Barr would play a key part of the Ballymena United team that claimed the 1940 Irish Cup against Glenavon – his first major honour in senior football. He capped the season off with an Irish League Representative cap in March 1940, in a defeat to the League of Ireland at Dalymount Park as the only Ballymena United player in the panel.

The outbreak of the Second World War and the army commandeering the Ballymena Showgrounds, put the club into suspended animation that would eventually last six full years. The Cup winning team quickly broke up either to other clubs or to individually enlist in the war effort. The war would have a detrimental effect on his blossoming football career, as he sat out the entirety of the 1940/1941 season. During the war years he would appear sporadically for Linfield (1941) and Coleraine (1943).

Six years on, he joined two other former team-mates (Matt Redmond and John Fullerton) and in re-joining Ballymena United in August 1946 for their return to football in the Northern Regional League. Now 28-years-old, Albert played only one first team game during the 1946/1947 season, focusing much of attention in assisting Ballymena United young Reserve team, his appearance against Distillery in September 1946, would be the final of his 41 appearances for the club across three spells which unfortunately never fully seen his potential fulfilled on the football pitch.

Outside of football, Albert and his brother Archie established the long running Barr’s family butchers in the town of Ballymena and upon his retirement he moved to Templepatrick where he kept up his interests as a keen pigeon fancier.

Albert Barr passed away in May 1985 in Whiteabbey, aged 66.

Career
(1934) Cliftonville; (Aug 1935) Ballymena United; (Dec 1935) Glentoran; (May 1935) Manchester City; (Nov 1939) Summerfield; (Dec 1939) Ballymena United; (Jul 1941) Linfield; (1943) Coleraine; (Aug 1946) Ballymena United

Honours
(with Ballymena United)
Irish Cup: (winner) 1939/1940

International Honours
Irish League Representative (1 cap, 0 goals – 1940)