| Organiser(s) | Irish Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1894 |
| Abolished | 1976 |
| Region | Northern Ireland (1921–1976) Ireland (1895–1921) |
| Most championships | Linfield (24 titles) |
TheCity Cup was afootball cup competition which involved teams fromNorthern Ireland (and prior to 1921, teams fromIreland). The tournament ran from 1894 and ceased to exist in 1976. The physical trophy the teams played for was called theDunville Cup and this trophy is now presented to the winners of theNorthern Ireland Football League Cup, which began in 1987.[1]
A cup tournament consisting solely of Belfast clubs had been mooted as early as 1892,[2] although it was not until two years later that the competition was organised.[3] While the City Cup began as a competition for Belfast clubs only, from 1905 to 1911 Dublin-based clubShelbourne also participated. In the 1911–12 season, all eight Irish League clubs participated (Derry Celtic andGlenavon joining the five Belfast teams andShelbourne). In the 1912–13 season, when the League expanded to ten clubs, only seven participated (the five Belfast teams plusGlenavon andShelbourne. From 1913 until its demise in 1976, all clubs who were members of the Irish League competed for the City Cup (excluding the war years).
During 1915 to 1919, the City Cup was known as the Belfast City Cup and reverted to being a Belfast-only competition and is not recognised as an "official" competition for this period but as a wartime competition; during 1940 to 1947, it was not played at all.
The format for the City Cup varied throughout its history, but most commonly it was organised on aleague basis, by which each participating club played each other and the team with the most points won the cup.
The format over the years was as follows:
| Years | No. of seasons | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1894–1915, 1919–40, 1947–69 | 64 | league |
| 1969–70 | 1 | group system plus final |
| 1970–71 | 1 | league |
| 1971–76 | 5 | group system plus final |
Key:
| pens. | Scores level after extra time. A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner. |
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–70 | Glentoran (13) | 2–1 | Bangor | Windsor Park,Belfast | |
| 1971–72 | Ballymena United (1) | 1–0 | Ards | The Oval,Belfast | |
| 1972–73 | Glentoran (14) | 2–0 | Coleraine | Ballymena Showgrounds,Ballymena | |
| 1973–74 | Linfield (24) | 2 – 2 (a.e.t.)(3 – 1pens.) | Coleraine | Ballymena Showgrounds,Ballymena | |
| 1974–75 | Glentoran (15) | 3–1 | Linfield | Windsor Park,Belfast | |
| 1975–76 | Bangor (2) | 0 – 0 (a.e.t.)(3 – 1pens.) | Coleraine | Seaview,Belfast |
Due toWorld War I, from the 1915–16 to 1918–19 seasons the City Cup was competed for byUlster-based clubs only and was known as the "Belfast City Cup".
Key:
| & | Title was shared aftertest match finished in adraw |
| Season | Winner (number of titles) | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915–16[4] | Glentoran (1) | League format | Belfast United |
| 1916–17[5][6] | Glentoran (2) | Linfield | |
| 1917–18[7] | Linfield (1) | Glentoran | |
| 1918–19[8] | Belfast Celtic (1) Glentoran (3) | — |
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glentoran | 3 (1 shared) | 1 | 1915–16,1916–17,1918–19 (shared) | 1917–18 |
| Linfield | 1 | 1 | 1917–18 | 1916–17 |
| Belfast Celtic | 1 (shared) | 0 | 1918–19 (shared) | — |
| Belfast United | 0 | 1 | — | 1915–16 |