St Mary's and Cobh Wanderers battle at Turner’s Cross to win first FAI Intermediate Cup 

The 2026 FAI Intermediate Cup final will be an all-Cork affair with St Mary’s and Cobh Wanderers facing off this Sunday at the Munster FA Turner’s Cross Stadium, 2pm.

This means there will be a new name on the famous old trophy, and it will be kept on Leeside after College Corinthians’ victory in 2025.

It will be a battle between two teams at very different points in their collective development – with St Mary’s in the top flight of the Munster Senior League and Cobh rebuilding under new manager Jason Abbott after automatic relegation last season.

The FAI Intermediate Cup final exists in its own world as the most prestigious amateur competition in Ireland, and it will be played out between two clubs that know what it is like to lose finals.

St Mary’s were the first, losing to Bluebell United in a replay in 2000. Cobh Wanderers got to the 2017 decider and their ambitions of a national piece of silverware ended in a penalty shootout loss to Liffey Wanderers after a 2-2 draw at the Aviva Stadium.

One of them will get to take home the cup at the end of a long campaign played out through the calendar year as opposed to the traditional autumn-to-summer system.  The FAI are set to revert back after a once-off experiment, with the 2026-27 edition to begin in the next few weeks.

This decider will mean different things to the two clubs. For St Mary’s, victory would be the crowning glory after a successful return to the Munster Senior League Premier Division in 2024.

Craig Hurley has led this transformation, as the club climbed up and consolidated their place in the top flight. 

Their Intermediate Cup campaign has been the next phase of their evolution after victories over Heart FC, College Corinthians and St Mochta’s.

Mary’s are now building towards their first senior national cup final in 26 years, while searching for form in the Munster Senior League after recent defeats to Ringmahon Rangers and Mayfield United.

The Wanderers on the other hand are out to claim a trophy that used to be well acquainted with their neighbours at St Colman’s Park.

Their pursuit has been anything but straightforward as the club went down while knocking out Everton, Skerries Town, Wayside Celtic, Malahide United, and Finglas United.

Cobh are also focusing on returning to the Premier Division and their promotion push has included victories over Leeside United and Everton in recent weeks, while booking their place in the second round of the Keane Cup.

Hard to call

All these results do is heighten the unpredictability of the 2026 FAI Intermediate Cup final.

The Big Day has shown that anything can happen. Ringmahon Rangers were favourites going into the 2024 and 2025 finals and they were beaten on both occasions. Rockmount carried the tag in 2023 and needed penalties to see off Cockhill Celtic.

Anything can happen, especially in a national final played out between two local rivals.