Leinster Senior Cup (association football)

Leinster Senior Cup
Organising body	Leinster Football Association
Founded	1892
Region	Leinster
Current champions	St Patrick's Athletic; (10 titles)
Most successful club(s)	Bohemians; (33 titles)
Website	http://www.leinsterfa.ie/
	2023–24 Leinster Senior Cup

The Leinster Senior Cup is an association football cup competition organized by the Leinster Football Association. It is currently contested by LFA affiliated League of Ireland clubs, Leinster Senior League Senior Division clubs and invited teams from the various LFA affiliated junior leagues. Before the introduction of the FAI Cup, it was considered the major cup competition for clubs in what is now the Republic of Ireland. It is also the oldest association football cup competition in the Republic of Ireland.

History

Early years

After the Leinster Football Association was founded in 1892 it began organizing its own cup competition. The Leinster Senior Cup was first played for in 1892–93. The inaugural final saw Leinster Nomads defeat Dublin University 2–1.^[1] After the inaugural win by Nomads, Bohemians and Shelbourne monopolised the cup for the next twenty-four years.^[2] For most of this era Bohemians and Shelbourne were members of the Irish Football League.^[3]

Olympia's Leinster Double

After Leinster Nomads, Bohemians and Shelbourne, Olympia became the fourth team to win the Leinster Senior Cup. In 1917–18, with team that included Jack McCarthy and Fran Watters, Olympia won both the Leinster Junior Cup and Leinster Senior Cup. In doing so they also caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of Leinster football. After winning the Leinster Junior Cup, they qualified for the Leinster Senior Cup. After receiving a bye in the first round, Olympia beat St James's Gate in the semi-final. In the final they defeated Shelbourne 1–0 with a goal scored by Fran Watters. According to Peter Byrne this also resulted in a popular giant killing chat – "Remember Olympia once beat Shels".^[4]^[2] Olympia effectively ended the Bohemians/Shelbourne monopoly and in subsequent seasons the cup was won by Leinster Senior League clubs such as St James's Gate and Dublin United.

Non-League of Ireland successes

Following the introduction of the League of Ireland in 1921–22, League of Ireland clubs have dominated the competition. However non-League of Ireland clubs, mainly from the Leinster Senior League, have enjoyed some successes. Brideville in 1924–25, Distillery in 1941–42 and St Patrick's Athletic in 1947–48 were all winners. Brideville were losing finalists in 1923–24 as were Glasnevin in 1924–25, Grangegorman in 1946–47, Transport in 1947–48, St Patrick's Athletic in 1950–51 and Longford Town in 1954–55.^[5] In the 1946–47 final Mick O'Flanagan scored six goals for Bohemians as they defeated Grangegorman 11–0.^[6] Home Farm were winners in 1964–65 after defeating Dundalk 2–1 in the final on 26 December 1964 at Dalymount Park. Home Farm, Distillery in 1941–42 and Wayside Celtic in 1998–99 are the only non-League of Ireland clubs to defeat a League of Ireland club in the final. In more recent times St Francis, Cherry Orchard and St. Patrick's C.Y.F.C. have also been finalists.^[5]

Decline and revival

The 2000–01 competition suffered with fixture rows and was eventually abandoned after the quarter-final draw was made due to the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak.^[7] The cup was not played again until 2010.^[8] The competition was played yearly until the Covid-19 pandemic halted sporting contests in 2020 in Ireland. The Leinster Senior cup returned for the 2023 season, with Bohemians winning a record 33rd title.

List of Leinster Senior Cup finals

Season	Winner	Score	Runners-up	Venue
1892–93	Leinster Nomads	2–1	Dublin University
1893–94	Bohemians	3–0^{[note 1]}	Dublin University
1894–95	Bohemians	3–1^{[note 2]}	Dublin University
1895–96	Bohemians	3–1	Athlone Town	Ranelagh Grounds, Athlone^[9]
1896–97	Bohemians	3–2	Dundalk^{[note 3]}
1897–98	Bohemians	3–1	Shelbourne
1898–99	Bohemians	2–1	Richmond Rovers (Dublin)^[9]
1899–1900	Shelbourne	1–0	Freebooters
1900–01	Shelbourne	2–1	Bohemians
1901–02	Bohemians	1–0	Tritonville
1902–03	Bohemians	w/o	Shelbourne
1903–04	Shelbourne	3–2	Bohemians
1904–05	Bohemians	1–0	Shelbourne
1905–06	Shelbourne	3–1	Royal Irish Rifles
1906–07	Bohemians	4–0^{[note 4]}	Reginald (Dublin)^[9]
1907–08	Shelbourne	3–1	Royal Berkshire Regiment
1908–09	Shelbourne	3–1	Lancashire Fusiliers
1909–10	Bohemians	3–0	Inniskilling Fusiliers
1910–11	Bohemians	1–0	Shelbourne
1911–12	Bohemians	3–0	Manchester Regiment
1912–13	Shelbourne	4–0	Bohemians
1913–14	Shelbourne	2–0^{[note 5]}	St James's Gate
1914–15	Bohemians	6–0	Clarence (Dublin)^[9]
1915–16	Bohemians	3–2^{[note 6]}	Shelbourne
1916–17	Shelbourne	2–0	St James's Gate
1917–18	Olympia	1–0	Shelbourne
1918–19	Shelbourne	3–0	St James's Gate
1919–20	St James's Gate	2–1^{[note 7]}	Bohemians
1920–21	Dublin United	1–0	St James's Gate
1921–22	St James's Gate	1–0	Jacobs
1922–23	Shamrock Rovers	3–1	Bohemians
1923–24	Shelbourne	2–1	Brideville
1924–25	Brideville	1–0	Glasnevin (Glasnevin)
1925–26	Bohemians	2–1^{[note 8]}	Shelbourne
1926–27	Shamrock Rovers	2–1^{[note 9]}	Bohemians
1927–28	Bohemians	3–1^{[note 10]}	Shelbourne
1928–29	Shamrock Rovers	1–0^{[note 11]}	Dundalk
1929–30	Shamrock Rovers	2–1	Shelbourne
1930–31	Shelbourne	1–0	Dolphin
1931–32	Dolphin	3–0	Shelbourne
1932–33	Shamrock Rovers	2–1	Dolphin
1933–34	Drumcondra	3–2	Shamrock Rovers
1934–35	St James's Gate	2–1	Dundalk
1935–36	Drumcondra	2–0	Dundalk
1936–37	St James's Gate	2–1	Dundalk
1937–38	Shamrock Rovers	2–0	Brideville
1938–39	Drumcondra	2–1	Dundalk
1939–40	Bohemians	2–0	Shamrock Rovers
1940–41	St James's Gate	4–2	Bohemians
1941–42	Distillery (Dublin)	4–1	Bray Unknowns
1942–43	Drumcondra	4–2	St James's Gate
1943–44	Drumcondra	3–2	Shamrock Rovers
1944–45	Drumcondra	2–1	Shelbourne
1945–46	Shelbourne	4–0	Shamrock Rovers
1946–47	Bohemians	11–0	Grangegorman
1947–48	St Patrick's Athletic	3–2	Transport
1948–49	Shelbourne	5–2	Shamrock Rovers
1949–50	Drumcondra	4–1	Shelbourne
1950–51	Dundalk	2–1	St Patrick's Athletic
1951–52	Transport	3–0	Shelbourne
1952–53	Shamrock Rovers	2–0^{[note 12]}	Bohemians
1953–54	Drumcondra	3–1	St Patrick's Athletic
1954–55	Shamrock Rovers	2–1	Longford Town	Dalymount Park^[5]
1955–56	Shamrock Rovers	3–1	St Patrick's Athletic
1956–57	Shamrock Rovers	2–0	Drumcondra
1957–58	Shamrock Rovers	1–0^{[note 13]}	Drumcondra
1958–59	Drumcondra	5–2	Dundalk
1959–60	Drumcondra	1–0	Transport
1960–61	Dundalk	1–0	Drumcondra
1961–62	Drumcondra	1–0	Dundalk
1962–63	Shelbourne	2–1	Shamrock Rovers
1963–64	Shamrock Rovers	3–0	St Patrick's Athletic
1964–65	Home Farm	2–1	Dundalk
1965–66	Bohemians	3–2	Shelbourne
1966–67	Bohemians	1–0	Dundalk
1967–68	Shelbourne	4–0	Drumcondra
1968–69	Shamrock Rovers	3–0	Bohemians
1969–70	Athlone Town	4–0	Shelbourne
1970–71	Dundalk	5–2	Shamrock Rovers
1971–72	Shelbourne	3–1	Bohemians
1972–73	Bohemians	3–1	Shamrock Rovers
1973–74	Dundalk	1–0^{[note 14]}	Bohemians
1974–75	Bohemians	1–0^{[note 15]}	Shamrock Rovers
1975–76	Bohemians	4–3	Athlone Town
1976–77	Dundalk	1–0	Bohemians
1977–78	Dundalk	1–0	Bohemians
1978–79	Bohemians	2–1	Shamrock Rovers
1979–80	Bohemians	2–0	Athlone Town
1980–81	UCD	2–1	St Patrick's Athletic
1981–82	Shamrock Rovers	2–1	Dundalk
1982–83	St Patrick's Athletic	3–2	Drogheda United	Tolka Park
1983–84	Bohemians	1–0	UCD
1984–85	Shamrock Rovers	2–1	UCD
1985–86	Bohemians	1–0	Drogheda United
1986–87	St Patrick's Athletic	1–0	Bohemians
1987–88	Athlone Town	1–0	St Patrick's Athletic
1988–89	Bohemians	1–0^{[note 16]}	Bray Wanderers
1989–90	St Patrick's Athletic	2–0	Bray Wanderers
1990–91	St Patrick's Athletic	1–0^{[note 17]}	Bohemians
1991–92	Athlone Town	4–2^{[note 18]}	St Francis
1992–93	Bohemians	1–0	Shamrock Rovers
1993–94	Shelbourne	1–0	Dundalk
1994–95	UCD	2–1	Dundalk
1995–96	UCD	0–0^{[note 19]}	Athlone Town
1996–97	Shamrock Rovers	1–0	Shelbourne
1997–98	Bohemians	1–0	Cherry Orchard
1998–99	Wayside Celtic	2–1	Athlone Town
1999–2000	St Patrick's Athletic	2–1	Shamrock Rovers
2000–01	Competition abandoned^[7]	^{[note 20]}
2010	Shelbourne	4–0	Bray Wanderers	Carlisle Grounds^[10]
2010–11	St Patrick's Athletic	2–0	Bohemians	Dalymount Park^[11]
2011–12	Shamrock Rovers	1–0	St. Patrick's C.Y.F.C.	Tallaght Stadium^[12]
2012–13	Shamrock Rovers	1–0	St Patrick's Athletic	Richmond Park^[13]
2013–14	St Patrick's Athletic	2–1	Longford Town	City Calling Stadium^[14]
2014–15	Dundalk	3–1	Shamrock Rovers	Oriel Park^[15]
2015–16	Bohemians	4–0	Wexford Youths	Dalymount Park^[16]
2016–17	Shelbourne	4–2 (a.e.t.)	Dundalk	Oriel Park^[17]
2017–18	Shelbourne	1–1 (a.e.t.)^{[note 21]}	St Patrick's Athletic	Tolka Park^[18]
2018–19	St Patrick's Athletic	4–0	Athlone Town	Richmond Park^[19]
2019–20	Competition abandoned	^{[note 22]}
2022–23	Bohemians	5–0	Usher Celtic	Dalymount Park^[20]
2023–24	St Patrick's Athletic	2–1	St Mochta's	Richmond Park^[21]

Notes

^ After 2–2 draw
^ After 1–1 draw
^ Not the current Dundalk club.
^ After 0–0 draw
^ After two 0–0 draws
^ After 0–0 draw
^ After 0–0 and 1–1 draws
^ After 2–2 draw
^ After 2–2 draw
^ After 0–0 draw
^ After 0–0 draw
^ After 1–1 draw
^ After 1–1 draw
^ After 0–0 draw
^ After 1–1 draw
^ After 1–1 draw
^ After 1–1 draw
^ After 0–0 draw
^ UCD won 5–4 on penalties
^ No competition between 2001 and 2009
^ Shelbourne won 6–5 on penalties
^ Competition abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2022

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up
Bohemians	33	16
Shelbourne	21	15
Shamrock Rovers	19	12
Drumcondra	11	4
St Patrick's Athletic	10	8
Dundalk	8	13
St. James' Gate	5	5
Athlone Town	3	5
UCD	3	2
Brideville	1	1
Wayside Celtic	1	0
Bray Wanderers	0	3
Dundalk^{[note 1]}	0	1
Longford Town	0	1
Wexford Youths	0	1
Usher Celtic	0	1
St Mochta's	0	1

Notes

^ Not the current Dundalk club.

Performance by city/town

City/town	Winners	Runners-up
Dublin	104	65
Dundalk	8	14
Athlone	3	5
Longford	0	1
Wexford	0	1

References

^ Byrne, Peter (1996). Football Association of Ireland: 75 years. Dublin: Sportsworld. ISBN 1-900110-06-7.
^ ^a ^b Byrne, Peter (2012). Green Is The Colour: The Story of Irish Football. Andre Deutsch.
^ "Northern Ireland - Final League Tables 1890-1998". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
^ David Needham: Ireland's First Real World Cup -The Story of the 1924 Ireland Olympic Football Team (2012, The Manuscript Publisher) ISBN 978-0-9571157-2-9
^ ^a ^b ^c "Stat Attack - LSC Final:Leinster Senior Cup History". www.shamrockrovers.ie. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Obituary: Mick O'Flanagan Irish rugby and football international". www.independent.ie. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b "The Abandoned Leinster Senior Cup, One Season Wonders and more". League of Ireland History @ wordpress.com. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Leinster Senior Cup makes a return". www.herald.ie. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lynch, Frank (1991). A History of Athlone Town F.C: The First 101 Years. Athlone: Arcadia.
^ "Shelbourne win Leinster Senior Cup 2010". extratime.ie. 2 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Bohemians 0–2 St. Patrick's Athletic". extratime.ie. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Shamrock Rovers win Leinster Senior Cup". extratime.ie. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Shamrock Rovers claim third Cup victory of 2013". extratime.ie. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Longford Town 1-2 St Patrick's Athletic: Saints lift Leinster Senior Cup". www.goal.com. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Leinster Senior Cup Final Report: Dundalk 3-1 Shamrock Rovers". extratime.ie. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ Newstalk
^ ExtraTime.ie
^ the42.ie
^ "Leinster Senior Cup Final Report: St Patrick's Athletic 4 - 0 Athlone Town".
^ https://www.extratime.com/articles/31947/bohemians-secure-leinster-senior-cup-crown-win-over-usher-celtic/
^ Team, Extratime. "St Patrick's Athletic crowned Leinster Senior Cup winners". extratime.com.