We are delighted to announce Paul Carland has been added as a Trustee to the Board of Larne Community Football NI.
Paul served the club with distinction during an illustrious playing career – captaining the side to the 1987 Ulster Cup victory – as well as returning to coach at the club under boss Paul Millar.
Chairman Gareth Clements was delighted to welcome a genuine legend of the club back to Inver Park, for such an important role.
He said: “It is with great pleasure that I welcome Paul Carland as a Trustee to the Board of Larne Community Football NI.
“Paul is no stranger to the town of Larne, through his long-standing affiliation with the football club.
“Best known as an exceptional footballer, representing the club with great distinction from 1978 until 1991, Paul’s ‘crowning glory’ came in 1987 when, as captain, he lifted the Ulster Cup following a 2-1 win over Coleraine.
“More recently, Paul was voted into Larne’s best XI of the years 1970 – 2020, no surprise really given the esteem in which he is held.
“After Paul’s playing career finished, he maintained very close links with the club and has always been on hand to step in during difficult times, in either coaching or fundraising capacities; especially when money was tight and times were hard for the club.
“In his working career, Paul is a Housing Manager with the NIHE, a job which he clearly loves, having spent his entire working career with the Executive.
“As a result of his passion for working with local communities, he was appointed as the Executive’s Social Enterprise Liaison Officer, a position which seeks to encourage and facilitate local communities to take ownership and responsibility for the areas in which they live.
“With the blueprint we are currently working towards delivering, Paul’s vision, contacts and skillsets, alongside those of our existing Trustees, can only help us to bring present and future projects to fruition.
“I look forward to working alongside, and indeed learning from, a man I have respected and looked up to for almost forty years.”
