The 1911–12 Irish Cup was the 32nd edition of the

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 ...

, 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. The tournament for this season was beset by controversy - an Irish League Second Division had been formed for the first time, but the clubs in this division were placed in the draw for the Irish Cup by the

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

(IFA). However, these clubs did not wish to participate in the "senior" Irish Cup due to their "junior" status - their preference was to participate in the

Steel & Sons Cup The Steel & Sons Cup (also referred to as the Steel Cup) is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the North East Ulster Football Association (also known as the County Antrim & District Football Association). The compe ...

instead, which they were not permitted to do. These clubs subsequently withdrew from the Irish Cup despite being drawn originally in the first round. After various disputes over the course of the season and by the time the tournament had reached the semi-finals, three of the four semi-finalists (

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

and Shelbourne) resigned from the IFA and formed a "New Irish Football Association" and a New Irish Cup. Linfield remained a member of the original IFA and were declared winners of the unfinished Irish Cup, but eventually participated in the New Irish Cup under the name ''Belfast Blues''. This arrangement only lasted for the remainder of this season and all clubs reverted back to competing in the Irish Cup by the following season. The New Irish Cup was won by Belfast Celtic, who defeated

2–0 in the final at Grosvenor Park. The New Irish Cup later became the Gold Cup and Belfast Celtic are therefore considered the inaugural winners of the Gold Cup.

Irish Cup

Results

First round

All senior Irish League sides were given a bye to the next round. Due to a dispute between junior clubs and the Irish Football Association, all clubs in this round (with the exception of St James's Gate and

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

) withdrew from the competition at this stage.

Second round

Third round

Cliftonville, Linfield and Shelbourne were given a bye into the next round.

Semi-finals

Cliftonville, Glentoran and Shelbourne resigned from the Irish Football Association due to disputes and the competition was left unfinished.

New Irish Cup

Results

First round

¹ Linfield were still members of the original Irish Football Association but decided to compete in the New Irish Cup. To avoid any conflicts they played under the name ''Belfast Blues'' instead of Linfield.

Semi-finals

Final

References

External links

Northern Ireland Cup Finals
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) {{DEFAULTSORT:1911-12 Irish Cup Irish Cup seasons 1911–12 domestic association football cups 1911–12 in Irish association football