The club was formed in 1991 by Ray Alexander, now a County Performance Coach with the Irish Football Association. The figure on the club badge was ‘Johnny the Jig’, taken from the bronze statue which stands in front of the children’s playground in Holywood High Street. Due to the demand for more training and playing facilities, the club gradually migrated to Bangor but retained the name Holywood Boys.

The new club badge features Cuchulainn, the legendary Ulster hero whose exploits play a dominant role in the famous Ulster Cycle of Tales. While dying of his wounds in battle, he straps himself to a pillar-stone so that he can fight to the last. So feared was he that his enemies were afraid to approach him even then, until a crow landed on his shoulder - and they knew he was dead. His original name was Setanta and his boyhood deeds marked him out as destined to become a great fighter. He is a legendary ancestor of the Irvine family, who originated from Inishmore (the Great Island) in Strangford Lough in the early centuries of the Christian Era.

Whilst the club name is relatively new in junior football circles, the club itself has actually been in existence since 1991 under the name of Holywood Boys FC. In 2007 Eddie Irvine Sports approached Holywood Boys with a vision for local youth football and the development of the boys and girls who participate in club activities. This resulted in the change of name to Eddie Irvine Sports F.C. in February 2008.

Famous Faces: Players who have played for the club who have gone on to bigger things include current Northern Ireland International Chris Brunt & Jamie Mulgrew (Linfield).