Cork City bid to break Leeside teams' FAI Cup duck against Shamrock Rovers

Cork City are looking to win the FAI Cup for the fifth time when they take on league champions and record cup winners Shamrock Rovers at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, November 9.

Despite losing the first final to St James’s Gate on April 8, 1922, Rovers won their first of 24 successes on March 17, 1925, with a 2-1 win over Shelbourne at Dalymount Park. The following season, Cork-based Fordsons won their only final when they toppled Rovers at Dalymount courtesy of goals from Paddy Barry (2) and Dave Roberts.

Ten years later, Cork FC reached their first final on April 19, 1936, but lost out to the Hoops by the odd goal in three. Irish international Paddy Moore opened the scoring in the 46th minute and after Charlie Reid added a second seven minutes later, Jimmy Turnbull reduced the deficit with 10 minutes remaining.

It would take 20 years before a Cork team, on this occasion, Cork Athletic, to contest a final again with the Dubliners. 

The story of the five-goal final has since gone into folklore as the Leesiders looked home and dry at two up with 12 minutes to go at Dalymount on Sunday, April 28, 1956. 

Scottish winger Jimmy Delaney, attempting to win his fourth cup medal in four different countries, opened the scoring in the 34th minute. After Ronnie Nolan fouled John Horgan, Hoops’s keeper Christy O’Callaghan elected to hold Paddy Noonan’s free-kick, allowing Delaney to shoulder the keeper, who dropped the ball over the line. Nine minutes later, Jimmy Murphy headed in Horgan’s corner for the goal of the game to set up a two-nil half-time lead for Athletic.

The story has it that an over-zealous director nipped out to purchase a bottle of champagne ahead of the impending victory. While he was away, Tommy Hamilton and a Liam Hennessy penalty had tied up the scoring with ten minutes remaining. 

The director still hadn’t made it back to his seat in the stand by the time Irish international Ronnie Nolan headed the winner over Davie Noonan’s head with two minutes still to be played. The heartbreak at losing from what looked like a certain win was keenly felt by full-back Johnny Moloney when he commented afterwards: 'After the final we listened to the radio in our hotel and we still couldn’t believe the result!' 

The result was a watershed moment in Cork soccer, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable era for Athletic and their predecessors Cork United, who between them won seven league titles since 1940 and contested nine cup finals, winning on four occasions.

It took another eight years for a team from Leeside to contest a final with the Hoops. This time, it was the turn of Cork Celtic, who made it to their first final since joining the league in 1951. Rovers had won a clean sweep of domestic trophies already ahead of the cup final, while Celtic had arguably their best team having lost out on a first league title to Shelbourne after a play-off in 1961-'62.

Celtic knocked out three Dublin teams on their way to Dalymount on Sunday, April 26, St Pat’s, Shelbourne and Bohemians while the highlight of Rovers’ path to the final was the 7-0 trouncing of Dundalk in what was the tie of the first round.

NERVY

In a nervous affair dominated by defences, the big talking point afterwards centred around the first four minutes of the second half. Celtic talisman Donie Leahy completely wrong-footed Rovers’ defence to send Frank McCarthy scampering clear. 

The pacey winger fired against the crossbar and from the rebound, Austin Noonan’s goal-bound header appeared to be handled on the line by Johnny Fulham.

With the play continuing, Rovers broke quickly for Jackie Mooney to put his side one up in the 49th minute. However, the Celts’ supporters were sent home happy when Leahy headed the equaliser in the 81st minute. The replay three days later at the same venue was won 2-1 by the Hoops, who denied a gallant Celtic a first blue ribbon trophy with a late Eddie Bailham winner with four minutes remaining.

If that defeat was tough to take, the replay loss to mighty Shamrocks five years later devastated the Turner’s Cross hopeful. After John Carroll had put the Cork side one up in the 27th minute, the underdogs clung on for what would have been a momentous victory against the five-in-a-row cup winners. 

However, with the clock clicking down to full time, Celtic were dealt the cruellest of blows when former Rovers cup winner John Keogh, now playing with the Leesiders, headed into the roof of his own net in attempting to head clear a header from Paddy Mulligan.

SHATTERED

A shattered Celtic made the journey back to Dublin three days later for the replay knowing in their heart of hearts that they had given the Hoops the smell of victory which they took, winning 4-1 to win an unprecedented six-in-a-row, with two from the 'Jimmy Greaves of Irish soccer', Mick Leech, and one apiece from Mick Kerin and future Cork City manager Damien Richardson.

And so, none of the present Cork City faithful will have any recollection of the heartbreak inflicted by Rovers on Cork teams in other eras. But, for those who still recall those shattering defeats, this season’s final is an opportunity to make amends and finally put to bed the hurt of the past.