The story of the Munich Irish Rovers FC began in the autumn of 1985 when a group of Irish graduates arrived in Munich to start work at Siemens. The following spring, colleagues challenged them to a football match and the Rovers came into being. The Wild Rovers, as the team was known at first, gradually attracted the attention of Munich's Irish footballing community. Anyone interested was encouraged to come along to Siemens' sports park for a kick-about on Sunday afternoons. Matches were arranged sporadically, with the team travelling even as far a field as Eindhoven in Holland and Genoa in Italy.
By the summer of 1989 most of the original team had moved on and as very few of the current Rovers actually worked at Siemens the Sunday sessions at the company's facilities were clearly numbered. Diarmuid Kelly, who had since assumed responsibility for the team, made a few phone calls and managed to get a core group to meet up in the Shamrock, one of Munich's Irish pubs, to discuss the future of the Rovers. He proposed setting up a club and that they should start looking for a new home where they could train and play regularly. Ten minutes later the first official elections took place with Eric McInerney voted in as trainer and Diarmuid the chairman of the newly founded club.
In March '90 the Rovers affiliated to TSV Solln, one of Munichs largest amateur clubs. Impressed by their keenness, Solln invited the Rovers to represent them in the 2nd division of Munich's reserve 1b league. After a humiliating 0:5 defeat in a pre-season friendly, it was obvious that some serious training was necessary if the Rovers were to survive their first season of league football. Over the next weeks the players assembled enthusiastically for training every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Driven by the relentless encouragement of trainer McInerney, the first few sessions were notable by the number of players who puked up at the side of the pitch.
The league began badly for the Rovers. Hammered 7:0, the 3rd defeat in a row, the team's morale was at an all-time low. The following Saturday the Rovers put the previous upsets behind them and recorded their first ever league win; there was no looking back. Two seasons later the Rovers finished top of the table and were promoted to the league's 1st division. The Rovers' never-say-die attitude proved popular with other clubs and they duly became the team to beat. In their first season in the higher division the Rovers finished runners-up.
As the number of members grew a second team emerged whereby friendly matches were initially played. By the 94/95 season the club decided that the reserve team was ready for league action and it was entered into the 1b league 2nd division. In what was to be the Rover's last season in the 1b league, the 1st team finished joint top, losing narrowly in the play-off final and the reserve team claimed a position in the top half of its respective division.
By spring '95 the Rovers were faced with the dilemma: remain with Solln or cut the "apron strings" and become an independent club. Remaining affiliated to TSV Solln would have been the easy thing to do. However, for the 1st team no further promotion was possible and the danger was that the players would lose interest thus undermining the spirit of the club. The unanimous decision was to officially establish the club and on the 7th May '95 the constitution of the Munich Irish Rovers FC was signed by the seven founding members: Diarmuid Kelly, Eric McInerney, Ray Brown, Paul Synnott, Eddie Conlon, Pat Cox, Sid Barrett and Brian McGuinness.
The next step was to forward an application to the Bavarian Football Association (BFV) for entry into the league for both teams. The association fully supported the Munich Irish Rovers, however the club could only be accepted for league football if it could prove that suitable playing facilities were at its disposal. Confronted with the fact that over 30 teams were on a waiting list for the much sought after council grounds, the Rovers were nevertheless able to successfully persuade the Munich City Council that the club had earned the right to remain at the grounds in Parkstadt Solln. With the transfer deadline rapidly approaching, the players signed the necessary forms and in July '95 the BFV officially welcomed the Munich Irish Rovers FC into the football league.
In 2017/18, the club celebrated its first ever league title, pipping Herakles München II to the B-Klasse division on account of a superior head-to-head record.
By the summer of 1989 most of the original team had moved on and as very few of the current Rovers actually worked at Siemens the Sunday sessions at the company's facilities were clearly numbered. Diarmuid Kelly, who had since assumed responsibility for the team, made a few phone calls and managed to get a core group to meet up in the Shamrock, one of Munich's Irish pubs, to discuss the future of the Rovers. He proposed setting up a club and that they should start looking for a new home where they could train and play regularly. Ten minutes later the first official elections took place with Eric McInerney voted in as trainer and Diarmuid the chairman of the newly founded club.
In March '90 the Rovers affiliated to TSV Solln, one of Munichs largest amateur clubs. Impressed by their keenness, Solln invited the Rovers to represent them in the 2nd division of Munich's reserve 1b league. After a humiliating 0:5 defeat in a pre-season friendly, it was obvious that some serious training was necessary if the Rovers were to survive their first season of league football. Over the next weeks the players assembled enthusiastically for training every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Driven by the relentless encouragement of trainer McInerney, the first few sessions were notable by the number of players who puked up at the side of the pitch.
The league began badly for the Rovers. Hammered 7:0, the 3rd defeat in a row, the team's morale was at an all-time low. The following Saturday the Rovers put the previous upsets behind them and recorded their first ever league win; there was no looking back. Two seasons later the Rovers finished top of the table and were promoted to the league's 1st division. The Rovers' never-say-die attitude proved popular with other clubs and they duly became the team to beat. In their first season in the higher division the Rovers finished runners-up.
As the number of members grew a second team emerged whereby friendly matches were initially played. By the 94/95 season the club decided that the reserve team was ready for league action and it was entered into the 1b league 2nd division. In what was to be the Rover's last season in the 1b league, the 1st team finished joint top, losing narrowly in the play-off final and the reserve team claimed a position in the top half of its respective division.
By spring '95 the Rovers were faced with the dilemma: remain with Solln or cut the "apron strings" and become an independent club. Remaining affiliated to TSV Solln would have been the easy thing to do. However, for the 1st team no further promotion was possible and the danger was that the players would lose interest thus undermining the spirit of the club. The unanimous decision was to officially establish the club and on the 7th May '95 the constitution of the Munich Irish Rovers FC was signed by the seven founding members: Diarmuid Kelly, Eric McInerney, Ray Brown, Paul Synnott, Eddie Conlon, Pat Cox, Sid Barrett and Brian McGuinness.
The next step was to forward an application to the Bavarian Football Association (BFV) for entry into the league for both teams. The association fully supported the Munich Irish Rovers, however the club could only be accepted for league football if it could prove that suitable playing facilities were at its disposal. Confronted with the fact that over 30 teams were on a waiting list for the much sought after council grounds, the Rovers were nevertheless able to successfully persuade the Munich City Council that the club had earned the right to remain at the grounds in Parkstadt Solln. With the transfer deadline rapidly approaching, the players signed the necessary forms and in July '95 the BFV officially welcomed the Munich Irish Rovers FC into the football league.
In 2017/18, the club celebrated its first ever league title, pipping Herakles München II to the B-Klasse division on account of a superior head-to-head record.
CLUB HONOURS
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2017/18 B-Klasse Champions
Munich Irish Rovers FC I 
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2019/20 C-Klasse Champions
Munich Irish Rovers FC II |
