Known for being the home of sporting superstar Rory McIlroy, Holywood was celebrating yet another special achievement last weekend as their favourite son collected his sixth Ryder Cup crown – but the local football team also gave the town something to cheer about.

The Co Down town has a population of around 11,000, but it’s punching above its weight on the world stage with McIlroy becoming only the sixth player to complete golf’s career Grand Slam while the Adair brothers, Mark and Ross, have gone on to represent Ireland in cricket.

Fellow Holywood native Darren Cave starred for both Ulster and Ireland throughout a successful rugby career and Olympic gold medallist Stephen Martin played for the town’s hockey team when sealing glory in Seoul.

A matter of hours before McIlroy secured another Ryder Cup victory alongside Shane Lowry, Holywood FC continued their sensational start to the new season by shocking Ballyclare Comrades, a team who were playing in the Irish League Championship last term.

placeholder image — Holywood FC have enjoyed a superb unbeaten start to the season. (Photo by Holywood FC)

Led by joint-managers Jonny McKay and Glen Upton, Holywood, who ply their trade in Division 1A of the Amateur League, are enjoying a 17-game unbeaten run, including 11 throughout the current campaign.

Alongside the Ballyclare highlight, the Spafield Park outfit have also picked up wins over Irish League opponents Banbridge Town and two of the most fierce forces in Amateur League football – Crumlin Star and East Belfast.

It has been a dream start for McKay and Upton, who both have extensive experience in the local game and took over during the summer.

They’re playing their part in a thriving Holywood sporting ecosystem and McKay admits the current run has helped instil confidence.

"It's great what the town has with the cricket and golf, and where we are, we have rugby and GAA right beside us too,” he said. “For such a small town, the amount of sport they have in it is fantastic and it has been great for the place.

"We deliberately set up a tough pre-season, playing against Dundela, Moyola Park, Desertmartin, so we set our stall out.

"We have played in the Irish Cup against Banbridge Town, who are in the PIL, and Crumlin Star - one of the best Amateur League sides. In the Steel & Sons, we beat East Belfast on penalties and Ballyclare last weekend.

"We didn't set out any aims at the start of the season, but the wins we've had have galvanised the guys and there's momentum building. The confidence is there for the boys to go out and challenge to win every game."

With Holywood’s current form, it would only be natural that clubs from higher up Northern Ireland’s footballing pyramid come calling for their top talent, but there’s a sense of community pride which is driving the players on.

"We have some guys in our dressing room who are more than capable of playing two, three or four levels up, but they're all local boys,” added McKay. “The majority of our squad are within a two-mile radius of Holywood, they're all local boys who have played together for a while.

"They are ambitious, but they're ambitious for Holywood, not to go chasing other things.”

Having previously worked together, McKay and Upton – alongside their coaching staff of Gary Kane and Cormac Paling – have formed a perfect partnership with differing personalities combining to tremendous effect at Holywood.

They’re hoping to continue winning momentum in Saturday’s Border Cup showdown against Islandmagee, who play a division higher, and the following three weekends will also contain cup competition.

Balancing cup progress with league duties is a difficult task for amateur clubs with the further you go meaning the more matches there is to catch up on later in the season, but Holywood are embracing the challenge.

"As an Amateur League footballer, Glen is fairly decorated having won a lot of trophies, myself not so much!" laughed McKay. “We brought our coaching team with us and that's been key because we all trust each other.

"We have very different personalities, but we all have the same aim. We're always on the same page.

"The squad was good before we came in and then we brought seven guys in during the summer to freshen it up a bit.

"They were players we know and trust, like a few young lads from Dundela we felt were ready for senior football and a couple we've worked with previously in the Amateur League.

"Sometimes, top clubs in the PIL can underestimate Amateur League clubs. You'd do it as a manager yourself sometimes when you'd be thinking 'we're playing a team that is three or four divisions below us'. Nobody fancied Holywood to beat a PIL club, but we did.

"Our last league game was August 30 and our next mightn't be until mid-November depending on how the results go.

"Winning is a habit so the momentum keeps building and the guys keep going. The atmosphere around the place is really good and that comes from winning games, especially when you're taking some huge scalps."