Hay St. Mary's

It is uncertain when Hay St Mary’s was formed however, it is known that when the Herefordshire League was formed in 1889, they were playing in the Mid-Wales League, against the likes of Builth, Llandrindod and Rhayader.

The first information available about major honours is that although playing in Wales the club lifted the prestigious Herefordshire Senior Amateur Cup in 1923-24 and again in 1933-34. After WWII, Hay joined the Herefordshire League along with Monmouth and Presteigne. Some 21 years later further major success came in the form of the HFL Junior Cup, defeating Kington Reserves in the final. Two seasons later and Hay were promoted to the Premier League in Herefordshire. In the third season, 1971-72 Hay were the winners of the HFL Senior Cup.

Another two seasons passed and, after a fantastic run in the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup in which they beat higher graded opponents Pegasus, Dales and Kington, they went on to share the trophy after drawing with Lads Club twice. Both results were 2-2 after extra time, the first being played at Edgar Street and the second at Kington. A cup treble was completed was completed when Hay beat Builth Wells in the final of the Hay Cup while Knighton Town were also beaten in the final of the Radnorshire Cup 4-3 after extra time at Builth.

Another couple of quiet seasons and then the Saints were challenging for League honours only to be disappointed when they finished runners up to Llangarron. They did however lift the  HFL Senior Cup Final a few days later when they beat Hinton 2-1. Twelve months later and Hay St Mary’s were back challenging for the title and this time were successful when they beat Ross Town on goal average, the difference between the sides being 0.412 of a goal. In 1980-81 they won the HFL Senior Cup but unfortunately they would soon be relegated to the First Division. Finishing as runners up in 1987/88 they returned to the Premier.

After the end of the 1990-91 season the club left the HFL for Welsh Football once again as the FAW were about to ban all Welsh clubs from playing in England. They joined the Mid Wales League South and in their debut season 1991-92 narrowly missed out on the title to local rivals Vale of Arrow. 1992-93 saw Hay St Mary’s again finish second this time to Penybont.

Following this spell the club went through a difficult time losing a number of players from both sides all at the same time. This meant a readjustment and only one side playing in the Brecon League. This team was affectionately known as Sid’s Kid’s after club stalwart Sid Wilding who ensured the club  kept going.

Season 2006-07 began with Hay maintaining this unbeaten run which saw them lead the league for months on end, winning the Mid-Wales South title. The team went on to gain further success by lifting the Radnorshire Cup beating Builth 2-1, the Builth Spa Cup again beating Builth and then the Kington Invitation Cup. They won the league again in 2008-09. After dropping down leagues in 2016-17 due to travelling, the club bounced back in 2022-23, as runners up in the new Central Wales East Division, to take their place in the Ardal Southern South East Division this season.