The club is historically linked to the Sirocco Engineering Works located on the east bank of the River Lagan in Belfast.

Established in 1881, the company was one of the leading makers of rope in the world before focusing on the tea industry and supplying the local Harland and Wolff shipyards.

The club also won the Steel and Sons Cup, becoming the first amateur side to lift this trophy.

[citation needed] The times following World War II saw the decline of industry in Belfast.

By 1960 the club picked up their last notable honour for the next 20 years, an appearance in the final of the Border Cup.