'Fairytale' club owner Kenny Bruce praised for historic league title and 'lasting legacy' for Larne

​A 2-0 away win at Crusaders on Friday night secured a happy ending to what has been a fairytale rags to riches story.

Club owner Kenny Bruce has been widely praised for investing millions in his hometown club – rejuvenating both the dilapidated Inver Park stadium and a team struggling in the second tier of local football.

The feelgood factor has also spread beyond the club, with former economy minister Gordon Lyons praising the entrepreneur for “giving something back” to the community.

Co-founder of the Purplebricks online estate agency, Kenny Bruce has pumped around £5 million of his own cash into the project since 2017.

DUP MLA Mr Lyons said: "Kenny has absolutely made the difference and he has to be credited with so much of the success that we have had, but Kenny himself would be the first to say that this is a team effort.

"The club, the staff, the players and the fans have all enabled this to happen and it’s absolutely fantastic – not just for the club or the supporters, but it has given a real lift to the town over the last number of years to see the interest that Kenny has had in the town as well as the club, actually ensuring that there are benefits into the future, and that there is a real legacy from what he is doing.

"Look at what he has invested in. It’s not simply about the first team, the men’s team, it’s about the development of facilities and the development of opportunities, for men and for women and for youngsters as well.

"I think that’s really important because he wants to build for the future and to give something back to the town.”

There was no doubting the ambition of the club’s owner when, as far back as 2018 when Larne were still in the Championship, he said he wanted hear "the Champions League music" played at their East Antrim ground "one day".

Mr Lyons said: "In 2016, I brought the then communities minister to Larne FC to show them the state of the pitch and the facilities – and how important the regional stadia funding was, and how we needed to move that forward.

"And it’s incredible to think that just within such a short space of time, that has now been completely transformed and the facilities are now fantastic at Inver Park.”

On Twitter, Kenny Bruce said: “Well, what a season. @larnefc should be proud with the way the whole club have conducted themselves over the last six years.

"You have been remarkable and I can’t thank enough every player and staff member who has played a part over those 6 years. Thanks for believing in us.”

The Gibson Cup league trophy will be presented to club captain Tomas Cosgrove at Inver Park this Friday when Larne host Linfield.

Cosgrove will miss the game through suspension but said he expects to have his club colours on anyway to lift the famous trophy. He said it will be his “John Terry moment” – jokingly recalling when the then Chelsea captain, who was suspended for the 2012 Champions League final, emerged in a full kit after the final whistle to hoist the trophy aloft.

Cosgrove said: “I’m going to be suspended, so if you see me running about in a kit with no shin guards on you know what’s happened, but I'll be out on that pitch to pick it up.”

Rev Ian Cahoon, a Presbyterian minister, acts as the club’s chaplain as well as its publicist.

Following the victory over Crusaders on Friday, he tweeted: “Hi folks, if anyone needs for the next two months you can find me stalking the @NICoefficient account to see who @larnefc might draw in the @ChampionsLeague.”

Speaking to the News Letter, Rev Cahoon said the challenge will now be to sustain the success, but added: "We've done it, now it's just a sense of joy. We finished the job off in style.

"It's a fairytale story for people that have followed the club for a long time.”

DUP East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson tweeted: "A phenomenal achievement. @larnefc have transformed the sporting infrastructure in Larne in recent years and this is only the beginning. Well deserved.”