Login
Login

League of Ireland Cup

{{short description|Association football competition in Republic of Ireland}}

{{about|the tournament in the Republic of Ireland|the equivalent tournament in Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland Football League Cup}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox football tournament

| name = League of Ireland Cup

| organiser = Football Association of Ireland
League of Ireland

| image =

| caption =

| current = N/A

| founded = 1973

| number of teams = 24 (2019)

| confed_cup =

| current champions = Dundalk

| region = Ireland

| most successful club = Derry City (11 titles)

}}

The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish football league system. It has been sponsored by Electronic Arts and branded the EA Sports Cup since 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4116|title=EA SPORTS confirmed as new title sponsor of League of Ireland Cup|publisher=FAI|access-date=2009-07-05}}

The competition began in 1973–74, replacing the League of Ireland Shield and the Dublin City Cup. It has had several formats since its inception and has been a knock-out competition since 2005. As there was no European qualification for winners of the League of Ireland Cup, it had a lower status than the FAI Cup and was therefore seen as the third most important trophy in the Irish playing season.

The competition was not held in 2020 and 2021 as a result of delays and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,{{cite web |title=EA Sports Cup is cancelled |url=https://www.extratime.com/articles/24638/league-of-ireland-suspension-set-to-last-until-june-19th-as-ea-sports-cup-is-cancelled/ |website=extratime.com |access-date=3 February 2021}} and has yet to resume being held as of 2025.

List of League Cup Finals

class="wikitable"

|+Key to the list of finals

width="40px" bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align="center"|{{dagger}}

|Score on aggregate after 2 legs

width="40px" bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align="center"|

|Match was won on a penalty shootout

class="wikitable"
align=center style="background:#efefef;"

!width=5%|Season

!width=18%|Winner

!width=8%|Score

!width=18%|Runner-up

!width=25%|Venue

!width=6%|Attendance

align=center

|1973–74

|Waterford

|2–1

|Finn Harps

align=center

|1974–75

|Bohemians

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|3–2 {{dagger}}

|Finn Harps

align=center

|1975–76

|Limerick

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|4–1 {{dagger}}

|Sligo Rovers

align=center

|1976–77

|Shamrock Rovers

|1–0

|Sligo Rovers

align=center

|1977–78

|Dundalk

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|4–4 {{dagger}}

|Cork Alberts

align=center

|1978–79

|Bohemians

|2–0

|Shamrock Rovers

align=center

|1979–80

|Athlone Town

|4–2

|St. Patrick's Athletic

align=center

|1980–81

|Dundalk

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|0–0

|Galway Rovers

align=center

|1981–82

|Athlone Town

|1–0

|Shamrock Rovers

align=center

|1982–83

|Athlone Town

|2–1

|Dundalk

align=center

|1983–84

|Drogheda United

|3–1

|Athlone Town

align=center

|1984–85

|Waterford United

|2–1

|Finn Harps

align=center

|1985–86

|Galway United

|2–0

|Dundalk

align=center

|1986–87

|Dundalk

|1–0

|Shamrock Rovers

align=center

|1987–88

|Cork City

|1–0

|Shamrock Rovers

align=center

|1988–89

|Derry City

|4–0

|Dundalk

align=center

|1989–90

|Dundalk

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|1–1

|Derry City

align=center

|1990–91

|Derry City

|2–0

|Limerick

align=center

|1991–92

|Derry City

|1–0

|Bohemians

align=center

|1992–93

|Limerick City

|2–0

|St. Patrick's Athletic

align=center

|1993–94

|Derry City

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|1–0 {{dagger}}

|Shelbourne

align=center

|1994–95

|Cork City

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|2–1 {{dagger}}

|Dundalk

align=center

|1995–96

|Shelbourne

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|2–2 {{dagger}}

|Sligo Rovers

align=center

|1996–97

|Galway United

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|4–2 {{dagger}}

|Cork City

|Turners Cross, Cork

align=center

|1997–98

|Sligo Rovers

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|1–0 {{dagger}}

|Shelbourne

align=center

|1998–99

|Cork City

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|2–1 {{dagger}}

|Shamrock Rovers

align=center

|1999–2000

|Derry City

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|5–2 {{dagger}}

|Athlone Town

align=center

|2000–01

|St. Patrick's Athletic

|bgcolor="#FBCEB1" align=center|5–3 {{dagger}}

|UCD

align=center

|2001–02

|Limerick F.C.

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|2–2 {{dagger}}

|Derry City

align=center

|2002–03

|colspan=3|No Competition due to change in seasons

align=center

|2003

|St. Patrick's Athletic

|1–0

|Longford Town

|Richmond Park, Dublin

align=center

|2004

|Longford Town

|2–1

|Bohemians

|Flancare Park, Longford

align=center

|2005

|Derry City

|2–1

|UCD

|Belfield Park

|2,150

align=center

|2006

|Derry City

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|0–0

|Shelbourne

|Brandywell Stadium, Derry

|

align=center

|2007

|Derry City

|1–0

|Bohemians

|Brandywell Stadium, Derry

|7,700

align=center

|2008

|Derry City

|6–1

|Wexford Youths

|Ferrycarrig Park, Crossabeg

|3,500

align=center

|2009

|Bohemians

|3–1

|Waterford United

|Waterford Regional Sports Centre, Waterford

|4,000

align=center

|2010

|Sligo Rovers

|1–0

|Monaghan United

|Showgrounds, Sligo

|3,000

align=center

|2011

|Derry City

|1–0

|Cork City

|Turner's Cross, Cork

|4,164

align=center

|2012

|Drogheda United

|3–1

|Shamrock Rovers

|Tallaght Stadium, Dublin

|3,120

align=center

|2013

|Shamrock Rovers

|2–0

|Drogheda United

|Tallaght Stadium, Dublin

|3,820

align=center

|2014

|Dundalk

|3–2

|Shamrock Rovers

|Oriel Park, Dundalk

|3,500

align=center

|2015

|St Patrick's Athletic

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|0–0

|Galway United

|Eamonn Deacy Park, Galway

|3,662

align=center

|2016

|St Patrick's Athletic

|4–1

|Limerick

|Markets Field, Limerick

|4,362

align=center

|2017

|Dundalk

|3–0

|Shamrock Rovers

|Tallaght Stadium, Dublin

|4,102

align=center

|2018

|Derry City

|3–1

|Cobh Ramblers

|Brandywell Stadium, Derry

|3,500 (est)

align=center

|2019

|Dundalk

|bgcolor="#CEDFF2" align=center|2–2

|Derry City

|Brandywell Stadium, Derry

|3,500 (est)

align=center

|2020

|rowspan=2 colspan=5|Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland

align=center

|2021

Performance by club

class="wikitable"
Club

! Winners

! Runners-up

! Winning Years

! Years runners up

Derry City

| 11

| 3

| 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2018

| 1989–90, 2001–02, 2019

Dundalk

| 7

| 4

| 1977–78, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1989–90, 2014, 2017, 2019

| 1982–83, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1994–95

St. Patrick's Athletic

| 4

| 2

| 2000–01, 2003, 2015, 2016

| 1979–80, 1992–93

Bohemians

| 3

| 3

| 1974–75, 1978–79, 2009

| 1991–92, 2004, 2007

Athlone Town

| 3

| 2

| 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83

| 1983–84, 1999–2000

Cork City

| 3

| 2

| 1987–88, 1994–95, 1998–99

| 1996–97, 2011

Limerick {{ref|1|1}}

| 3

| 2

| 1975–76, 1992–93, 2001–02

| 1990–91, 2016

Shamrock Rovers

| 2

| 8

| 1976–77, 2013

| 1978–79, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1998–99, 2012, 2014, 2017

Sligo Rovers

| 2

| 3

| 1997–98, 2010

| 1975–76, 1976–77, 1995–96

Galway United {{ref|2|2}}

| 2

| 2

| 1985–86, 1996–97

| 1980–81, 2015

Waterford United {{ref|3|3}}

| 2

| 1

| 1973–74, 1984–85

| 2009

Drogheda United

| 2

| 1

| 1983–84, 2012

| 2013

Shelbourne

| 1

| 3

| 1995–96

| 1993–94, 1997–98, 2006

Longford Town

| 1

| 1

| 2004

| 2003

Finn Harps

| -

| 3

| -

| 1973–74, 1974–75, 1984–85

UCD

| -

| 2

| -

| 2000–01, 2005

Cork Alberts

| -

| 1

| -

| 1977–78

Wexford Youths

| -

| 1

| -

| 2008

Monaghan United

| -

| 1

| -

| 2010

Cobh Ramblers

| -

| 1

| -

| 2018

  • {{ref|1|1}} Includes results for Limerick and Limerick City.
  • {{ref|2|2}} Includes results for Galway Rovers.
  • {{ref|3|3}} Includes results for Waterford FC.

Sponsors

Bass League Cup: 1975–76 – 1978–79

Opel League Cup: 1986–87 – 1989–90

Bord Gáis League Cup: 1990–91 – 1995–96

Harp Lager League Cup: 1996–97 – 1998–99

Eircom League Cup: 1999–2000 – 2008

EA Sports Cup: 2009 –

Television coverage

The Final has been broadcast live since 2005, first by Setanta Sports, then since 2016 by its successor channel Eir Sport

See also

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ierleagcuphist.html Ireland League Cup Finals] from RSSSF
  • [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/iershieldhist.html League of Ireland Shield Winners] from RSSSF

{{League of Ireland Cup Seasons}}

{{League of Ireland}}

{{National football (soccer) league cups}}

{{Football in Ireland}}

{{Association football cup competitions in Ireland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland}}

2

Category:National association football league cups

Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1973

Category:1973 establishments in Ireland