Though informal meetings had taken place during the early part of 1924, it wasnโt until the meeting of the 11th of October โ24, held in the Pavilion at Longford Park, that the election of officers and the formation of Longford Town Association Football Club was agreed. The officers appointed on that day were P. Walsh; Secretary, T. Ronan; Chairman & Treasurer; and Jimmy McGuinness; Club Captain.
The formation of the club had taken place in the midst of a struggle for control of Association Football within the town and a division among the vested interests that would result in the establishment of two separate organisations. On one side were the officers that would go on to set up the club in October โ24, on the other side was the group that would form the โFootball Council of Longfordโ in early 1925.
The new clubโs first official game took place away to Brideville (B) in the second round of the Leinster Junior cup in November 1924. Brideville won the game 4 โ 2, with prolific local league forward and Club Captain, Jimmy McGuinness, scoring both goals for Longford Town. The newly formed club played their first official home game two weeks later when they hosted Sligo Celtic at Longford Park in a game that ended 2 โ 2.
While the club won through the early rounds of the 1925 Irish Free State Cup and Junior Cup competitions, all was not well in the background as the two sides, the Club Committee and the Council continued to struggle for exclusive control of โthe Clubโ.
As a result of the protracted dispute, Longford Town A.F.C did not function on the field of play from 1926 until early September 1928.
With the Club on the brink of failure, a series of meetings were held, initially to bring the two sides to the table, then to broker an agreement. The man credited with bringing the factions together and brokering that peace was a young priest from the town, Fr. Michael Gilleran C.C.
The newly formed version of the Council would meet in September 1928 in the Temperance Hall where they would elect officers of the club as follows: Mr. T. Kelly (Earl Street) was elected Chairman; Mr. J. Sheridan was elected Vice-Chairman. Mr. P. Farrell (Ballymahon Street) was elected Honorary Secretary with Mr. P. Clabby elected Assistant Secretary. Mr. M. Hanley and Mr. J. Stoker were elected joint Treasurers.
The following committee members were unanimously elected, Messrs T. Colbert, W. Jarrett, W. Mallon, J. Reilly, J. Mulligan, M. OโConnor, M. Farrell, T. Malone and J. Foley. Mr. C. Sheehan was elected groundsman.
