The 1880–81 Irish Cup was the inaugural edition of the Irish Cup, the premier knock-out cup competition in Irish football. The competition began on 5 February 1881 with the first round and ended on 9 April 1881 with the final. Moyola Park were the first winners of the competition, and they have never won it since.[1]

1880–81 Irish Cup
Tournament details
CountryIreland
Teams7
Final positions
ChampionsMoyola Park (1st title)
Runner-upCliftonville
Tournament statistics
Matches played7
Goals scored26 (3.71 per match)

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 first Irish Cup replay was between Cliftonville and Knock on 26 March 1881. William Morrow of Moyola Park scored the first goal in an Irish Cup final during his club's 1–0 win over Cliftonville to lift the trophy.

Results

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First round

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The draw for the first round was made on 10 January 1881, with the matches played on Saturday, 5 February 1881. Alexander received a bye into the semi-finals as a result of the odd number of seven participants.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Knock 11–0 Distillery
Moyola Park 2–0 Avoniel
Oldpark 0–2 Cliftonville

Semi-finals

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The 3 first round winners entered this round, along with Alexander. The matches took place on Saturday, 12 March 1881.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Moyola Park 3–0 Alexander
Cliftonville 2–2 Knock

Replay

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The match took place on Saturday, 26 March 1881.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Knock 1–2 Cliftonville

Final

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The inaugural Irish Cup final was played on 9 April 1881 at the Cliftonville Cricket Ground, Belfast in front of 1,500 spectators.[1]

Moyola Park 1
GK Robert MacKrell
BK George Hewison
BK Dowd
HB Francis McLernon
HB Patrick McSwiggan
FW Robert Redmond
FW Daniel McKenna
FW William Hueston
FW Thomas Hueston
FW Mitchell Redmond
FW William Morrow   75'
Cliftonville 0
GK Robert Kennedy
BK Howell
BK John McAlery
HB J Baird
HB D Martin
FW Renwick Potts
FW Dr John Davison
FW F Beyer
FW Williams
FW H McKeague
FW David Hannay

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Irish Football Club Project: Irish Challenge Cup 1880/81". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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