Irish Cup - History

History

The Irish Cup started in the 1880–81 season. The draw for the first round took place on 10 January 1881. The trophy was first awarded to Moyola Park (from Castledawson in County Londonderry) when they beat Cliftonville (from Belfast) 1–0 in the final at Cliftonville Cricket Ground, Belfast on 9 April 1881.

Since the inception of the Irish Football League in 1890–91 (and excluding the First and Second World War years when the League was suspended), the Cup has been won by Irish League clubs on every occasion except three famous ‘giant-killing’ occasions when "junior" clubs beat senior opponents in the final: in 1928, Willowfield beat Larne 1–0; in 1955, Dundela beat Glenavon 3–0; and in 1976, Carrick Rangers beat Linfield 2–1.

From 1881 to 1921, when the Irish Cup was an all-Ireland competition, southern clubs (from what would become the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland) only won the competition four times out of a possible 41: Shelbourne (from Dublin) won three times (in 1906, 1911 and 1920); and Bohemians (also from Dublin) won it in 1908. There were two all-southern finals: Bohemians defeating Shelbourne in 1908, and Shelbourne defeating Bohemians in 1911 (both ties required replays). Shelbourne, Bohemians and Derry City are the only clubs to win both the Irish Cup and the FAI Cup.

Other Dublin clubs to compete in the Irish Cup were Dublin University, St. James's Gate, Dublin Association, Tritonville and Richmond Rovers.

In the second competition in 1881–82, Queen's Island became the first Belfast club to win the Cup and it did not leave Belfast again for another 24 years, when in 1905–06, Shelbourne became the first club from Dublin to win it. Of the 132 competitions played since 1881, Belfast clubs have won the Cup 99 times. The last time a club from outside Belfast won the cup was in 2005, when Portadown beat Larne 5–1 to win the cup for the third time. The most successful club from outside Belfast has been Ballymena United, who have won the Cup six times.

It is often thought that the first final to be played outside Belfast was in 1901, when Cliftonville defeated Freebooters 1–0 at Jones's Road, Dublin. This is incorrect as the final was actually played at Grosvenor Park, Belfast. The first final ever played outside Belfast took place in 1903, when Distillery won their 7th Irish Cup with a 3–1 victory over Bohemians at Dalymount Park, Dublin. The last final to be played outside Belfast was in 1975; Coleraine winning the Cup with a 1–0 victory over Linfield in the second replay, after 1–1 and 0–0 draws in the first two games. Since then the final has been played at either The Oval, or Windsor Park.

The first final between two clubs from outside Belfast was in 1908, when Bohemians beat Shelbourne 3–1 after a replay.

In 1921, Glenavon became the first club from County Armagh to reach the final, but no club from Armagh won the Cup until Glenavon in 1957. County Down's first Cup finalists and winners were Ards in 1927; and County Antrim's were Ballymena United in 1929. In 2007, Dungannon Swifts became the first club from County Tyrone to reach the final.

In the early years, Army regiments stationed in Ireland entered teams such as King's Own Rifles (Cork), three of which reached the final: the Gordon Highlanders in 1890, the Black Watch (Limerick) in 1892 and the Sherwood Foresters (Curragh, County Kildare) in 1897. The Gordon Highlanders were the only Army team to win the Cup.

Over the years, 19 replays have been required, the first in 1890 after Cliftonville and the Gordon Highlanders drew 2–2. On eight occasions, a second replay was required. The last time this occurred, and the last replay ever played before they were abolished was in 1993, when Bangor defeated Ards 1–0 after two 1–1 draws.

It was decided after this that there should only be one replay in which penalties would be used to determine the winner if necessary, and eventually the rules for the final were changed to remove replays altogether, with penalties being used if necessary after extra time in the first match. The first, and to date only final to be won on penalties was in 2007, when Linfield beat Dungannon Swifts 3–2 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time.

The final was not played on three occasions:

• In 1912, Linfield were awarded the Cup after the other three semi-finalists (Cliftonville, Glentoran and Shelbourne) resigned from the IFA in a dispute over referee's wages.
• In 1920, Shelbourne, who had beaten Glenavon in one semi-final, were awarded the Cup after the other semi-final was declared null and void as both of the clubs involved were ejected from the competition: Belfast Celtic after Celtic fans fired shots at Glentoran supporters during a riot, and Glentoran for fielding an unlisted player.
• In 1999, Portadown were awarded the Cup when the other finalists, Cliftonville, were ejected from the competition after it was discovered that they had fielded an ineligible player during the earlier rounds.

A total of 21 different clubs have won the Cup, and 32 different clubs have reached the final.

On five occasions the same two clubs have reached the final in consecutive years: in 1885 and 1886, Distillery and Alexander; in 1913 and 1914, Glentoran and Linfield; in 1930 and 1931, Ballymena United and Linfield; Coleraine and Glentoran in 2003 and 2004; and in 2011 and 2012 Linfield and Crusaders. The most common final has been between Glentoran and Linfield, which has occurred 15 times. Linfield have won eight of the meetings, with Glentoran winning seven. The last time both clubs reached the final was in 2006, when Linfield won 2–1.

In 2001, the final was broadcast live on television for the first time, and has been on every occasion since.

Windsor Park has hosted the most finals (67, including replays), followed by The Oval with 24, Solitude with 22, Celtic Park with 12 and Dalymount Park with 8.