THE North Fermanagh Cricket Club took its first swing in April 1975, playing its inaugural official match away to Fox Lodge. Though the team suffered defeat, the game marked a defining moment in the club’s history.
That very first season saw an impressive start – Kesh lifted the Tyrone/Fermanagh Knockout Trophy and finished runners-up in the Saturday League B Division Two.
Among the driving forces behind the fledgling club was the late Robert ‘Bob’ Kerr, a lifelong champion of cricket in Fermanagh.
A talented opening batsman, club founder and first secretary, Mr Kerr went on to become president of the Irish Cricket Union in 2004.
He sadly passed away during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, but his influence on the game in Fermanagh endures to this day. Over the following decades, North Fermanagh grew into one of the region’s most successful and respected rural clubs.
Between 1975 and 1996, they won the Fermanagh and Tyrone League 15 times and lifted the Fermanagh and Tyrone Cup on 12 occasions. They also claimed North West Cricket Union Senior League Division Two titles in 1980 and 1998, and reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals in 1983.
Over the years, ten professional players from across the world have represented Kesh in the North West League.
Reflecting on the club’s progress, long-serving chairman James Smith – who stepped down in 2022 – said, “One of my favourite memories was getting promoted. At one stage, cricket here was dying out, but we managed to revive it. It’s always been a family club… my father-in-law introduced me to it, and now my grandson plays here too. That tradition continues.”
For father and son duo Willy and David Mills, the spirit of family is what keeps the club alive.
“My dad played a bit of cricket, and if anyone asks where I got my love for the game, it was from him,” said David. “He helped found the club, and now I get to play where it all began. We’ve stuck together – why go anywhere else when your family’s history is right here?”
Willy added proudly, “It’s great to have David here, great to watch him play. The club has always been family-orientated, we all pull in the same direction. In a small village like ours, that means everything. We’re still going, still improving.”
