THIS SUMMER marks 50 years since the formation of Cowal Amateurs – later renamed Dunoon Amateurs – a football club which provided decades of sporting opportunity in the town.
Though the club sadly folded in 2023, three of its longest- serving stalwarts—Oliver Carson, Charlie Cunning and Jack Diamond—sat down this week with the Dunoon Observer to reflect on the team’s proud history, enduring legacy and the challenges of local football in Cowal.
Dunoon Amateurs began life as Cowal Amateurs, officially joining the Scottish amateur football league system the week of June 14, 1975, after a year of friendlies and cup games.
Their first league fixture was a chaotic 7–6 defeat to Oban Saints, with a match report printed in the Observer on September 20, 1975.
The team’s roots lay in the Cowal Boys Club, and the idea was first brought forward by Oliver Carson and Dougald McInnes, who applied for league admission.
Recalling an Easter trip to Germany in 1975 with an adult side, Oliver said: “That formed the basis for the amateur team. We only took 11 players—Jim Torrance was our 12th man if needed. At that time, sitting on the sideline wasn’t something anybody wanted to do.”
That tour gave 15-year-old Charlie his first taste of senior football when he was drafted into the squad after an injury.
He said: “I went from playing with boys to playing against men—and I ended up breaking my arm in one of the games.”
The club’s early purpose was to offer a continued footballing path for young players.
Oliver added: “That was the ethos of the whole thing—a pathway so that we could keep everyone playing football.
“If the boys weren’t good enough for the junior side or didn’t want the commitment, they could move into the Amateurs.”
Jack Diamond, a local football historian, noted: “The club was put straight into the dungeons—Division Seven—the lowest competitive league you can get.”
In 1981, the team changed its name to Dunoon Amateurs.
Charlie commented: “We just decided we’d rather be Dunoon than Cowal. We were a Dunoon club at the end of the day, Dunoon tells you exactly where we were—Cowal didn’t.”
Charlie played until 1989, then became player-manager, holding that role until 1991.
After a two-season break, he returned to play until 1996 before going on to assist with training and coaching until 2018.
“It wasn’t easy” he recalled. Managers would chuck it halfway through the season, and I was the next one up. I ended up managing for a year and a half before someone else came in.”
In the late 1980s, Charlie also helped design the club badge still remembered today: “I saw the town’s coat of arms on the Burgh Hall one day—it had the boat and the castle.
“What’s the first thing you see when you come off the boat or the old ferry? Castle Hill. So we based it on that.”
He and his then-wife, who was pregnant at the time, drew it up around 1988.
Dunoon Ams continued to steadily climb through the leagues, and in the 1993/94 season claimed their first league title—beginning a streak of consecutive championships.
In 2004, the club won both league and cup in a memorable double.
It was a period of stability and ambition, but the club still faced unique challenges due to its location.
“One of the problems was teams wouldn’t come over here to play” Charlie said.
“I used to referee under-21 football and the referees would refuse to come to Dunoon. I travelled every week—what’s the hassle with one of them travelling across? We used to pay their travel, take care of them. You never got that on the other side.”
Oliver added: “That was a thing in the amateur game. The leagues would subsidise travel to here.”
Both Oliver and Charlie emphasised that the club was more than just a football team.
Charlie said: “We actually put something back into the community. We handed out money to individuals and playgroups. We even donated to the Bradford Fire Disaster fund. We didn’t just take, take, take – we tried to help others.”
But, in 2023, Dunoon Amateurs folded mid-season. As a founding member, Oliver was devastated, stating: “It was obviously extremely disappointing.”
Charlie added: “It left a sour taste, they just pulled the plug. We worked our socks off. Now we’ve got nine players from Dunoon travelling every week to play for teams in Greenock, Inverclyde and Bute.”
Oliver reflected: “It’s turning full circle.
“That’s what happened in the late ’60s—there wasn’t an adult team in town and guys would travel across.
“We formed the Amateurs because there was no local team for adult players who wanted to play for the enjoyment of it.” At the time, the Summer League was thriving, and Cowal
Amateurs tested the waters with friendlies before joining the league: “Not all of those players carried on with us, but that was the basis.” Oliver added.
Both men expressed cautious optimism that a revival could one day happen.
Oliver said: “This is a great opportunity to revive the team, whether there’s the appetite for it is another matter.
“But it’s a sad reflection that we now have the best facilities we’ve ever had—and no team.”
Charlie added: “My hope is that the DYFL can do something with the kids they have once they turn 16 or 17, they’ve got loads. The big obstacle will be the fact the team folded mid- season. The league might want guarantees they can fulfil fixtures—and right now, there’s no way to do that.”
Still, the belief remains that the club’s story might not be over.
Oliver concluded: “Looking back, I now regret not playing football for longer, so I think you should play for as long as you can—or take part in any form for as long as you can.”
As Dunoon reflects on five decades since its amateur side was formed, the legacy of a club that did so much for so many remains intact—and perhaps, one day, its colours will again be worn on Cowal’s pitches.
