A club by the name of Lurgan Celtic was originally formed in 1903, with its name slanting towards the
Roman Catholic community of
Lurgan, adopting the name and colours of Glasgow
Celtic, a popular club among the Irish Catholics population of Glasgow and the west of
Scotland.The
Gaelic Athletic Association was in its early stages and was keen to promote
Gaelic games and
association football in particular, perceived as "foreign", was discouraged. A change in attitudes gradually took hold in the early 1970s and Lurgan Celtic was reborn, subsequently rising to become one of the strongest clubs in the
Craigavon area. There was also a suggestion that it was the club's nationalist stance as they pushed for membership of what was considered a predominantly Unionist league that stood in their way. So strongly was this felt that the club joined forces with
Belfast club
Donegal Celtic, another club that took its name and kit from the Glasgow club, and threatened the league with legal action to gain membership. In the Irish Cup semi-final they were defeated 3–0 by
Linfield with Aaron Burns scoring a
hat-trick. Despite the achievement of reaching the Irish-Cup semi-finals, manager Colin Malone resigned at the end of the
2016-17 season and the club endured a period of instability. The appointment of Brendan Shannon as Celtic player-manager could not prevent a downturn in results, and Shannon left halfway through the
2017-18 season, to be succeeded by
Frankie Wilson. By this point, relegation to the third tier had become an inevitability; Celtic finished the season 20 points adrift of 11th-placed
Dergview. Life in the
NIFL Premier Intermediate League started with another managerial change, with former
Glenavon,
Spurs and
Northern Ireland winger
Gerard McMahon taking the reins at Knockramer Park. This, however, failed to stem the club's decline, as they finished second-bottom of the division, on 19 points. A 17-year spell in the Northern Ireland Football League ended on 15 August 2019, as the club announced its intention to withdraw from the
Premier Intermediate League, with a view to reforming youth structures and resuming senior football activities for the 2020–21 season. It was announced on 29 June 2020 that Lurgan Celtic's application to join the
Mid-Ulster Football League was accepted, and the club was due to play in the MUFL Junior Division 3 for the 2020–21 season. ==Honours==