1980–81 Irish Cup

The 1980–81 Irish Cup was the 101st edition of the Irish Cup, Northern Ireland's premier football knock-out cup competition. It began on 31 January 1981, and concluded on 2 May 1981 with the final.

1980–81 Irish Cup

Tournament details
Country	Northern Ireland
Teams	16
Defending champions	Linfield
Final positions
Champions	Ballymena United (3rd win)
Runner-up	Glenavon
Tournament statistics
Matches played	19
Goals scored	52 (2.74 per match)

The defending champions were Linfield who won the cup for the 32nd time the previous season, defeating Crusaders 2–0 in the 1979–80 final. They reached the semi-finals this time, where they were defeated 1–0 by Glenavon. Ballymena United won the cup for the third time (fourth time if you include Ballymena's record), defeating Glenavon 1–0 in the final.

Results

First round

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ards	3–0	Ballyclare Comrades
Bangor	1–2	Newry Town
Chimney Corner	1–21	Cliftonville
Coleraine	1–2	Ballymena United
Crusaders	1–3	Glentoran
Glenavon	3–2	Distillery
Larne	0–12	Carrick Rangers
Linfield	3–01	Portadown

¹These ties required a replay, after the first games ended as 0–0 draws.
²This tie required a replay, after the first game ended as 1–1 draw.

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ards	1–3	Glentoran
Cliftonville	1–4	Ballymena United
Glenavon	2–1	Carrick Rangers
Linfield	4–1	Newry Town

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ballymena United	2–03	Glentoran
Glenavon	1–0	Linfield

³This tie required a replay, after the first game ended as a 2–2 draw.

Final

2 May 1981

Ballymena United	1 – 0	Glenavon
McQuiston	Report

Windsor Park, Belfast