The 1880–81
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
was the inaugural edition of the premier knock-out cup competition in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. The competition began on 5 February 1881 with the first round and ended on 9 April 1881 with the final.
Moyola Park
Moyola Park is a country estate near Castledawson, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is currently the home of Lady Moyola, widow of Lord Moyola, former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The estate is and is home to Moyola Park G ...
were the first winners of the competition, and they have never won it since.
The competition was played in a straight knock-out format. If a match ended level at full time, a replay was required to decide the winner. The very first Irish Cup replay was between Cliftonville and Knock on 26 March 1881. William Morrow of Moyola Park scored the very first goal in an Irish Cup final during his club's 1–0 win over Cliftonville to lift the trophy.
Results
First round
The draw for the first round was made on 10 January 1881, with the matches played on Saturday, 5 February 1881.
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
received a bye into the semi-finals as a result of the odd number of seven participants.
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Semi-finals
The 3 first round winners entered this round, along with Alexander. The matches took place on Saturday, 12 March 1881.
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Replay
The match took place on Saturday, 26 March 1881.
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Final
The inaugural Irish Cup final was played on 9 April 1881 at the
Cliftonville Cricket Ground
Cliftonville Cricket Ground was a sports ground in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was previously used for cricket, football and hockey, hosting a football international in 1887, but was closed following sectarian attacks in 1972. It is now owned ...
,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
in front of 1,500 spectators.
References
External links
Northern Ireland Cup Finals Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Cup 1880-81
1880–81
Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
1880–81 domestic association football cups