The2013–14 Irish Cup was the 134th edition of theIrish Cup, the premier knockout cup competition inNorthern Irishfootball since its introduction in 1881. The competition began on 7 September 2013 with the first round and ended on 3 May 2014 with the final. The competition ran without a principal sponsor, but for the second successive season the final was known as theMarie Curie Irish Cup final, after the IFA once again awarded the naming rights for the final to the charityMarie Curie Cancer Care.^[1]

Glentoran were the defending champions, following their 3–1 win overCliftonville after extra time in the2012–13 final. However, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual winnersGlenavon who defeatedBallymena United 2–1 in the final to lift the cup for the sixth time.^[2] As a result, Glenavon qualified for the2014–15 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.^[3]

119 clubs entered this season's competition, the same number that had taken part the previous season. Originally there had been 122 entrants, but three clubs later withdrew from the competition before the first round matches had been played.

Regional league clubs from level 4 and below on theNorthern Ireland football league system entered in the first round and played against other regional league clubs in the first three rounds. Nine clubs were given a bye into the second round this season, necessitated by the number of participants. One of the clubs to receive a bye later withdrew. 29 of the 30NIFL Championship clubs entered the competition, withDonegal Celtic being the only absentee.^[4] The 29 Championship clubs entered in the fourth round, along with the 11 lower league clubs that made it through the first three rounds.

The 12NIFL Premiership clubs entered in the fifth round, along with the 20 winners from the fourth round matches. Replays were only used if a tie was level after 90 minutes in the fifth round, sixth round and quarter-finals. If a tie in any of these three rounds was still level after 90 minutes of the replay, extra time was used to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.

† One match was not played (walkover)

The draw for the first round was made on 12 August 2013 with the matches played on 7 September 2013.

Ards Rangers,Albert Foundry,Ballywalter Recreation,Barn United,Dungiven Celtic,Oxford Sunnyside,Shorts andStrabane Athletic all receivedbyes into the second round.^[5]Bangor Rangers,Holywood andRaceview were included in the original draw, but all three clubs withdrew before the first round matches were played. Bangor Rangers had received a bye, Holywood were drawn against Strabane Athletic, and Raceview were drawn against Ards Rangers. As a consequence, Ards Rangers and Strabane Athletic received byes, but Bangor Rangers' withdrawal meant that there would be an odd number of teams proceeding to the second round, necessitating a further bye at that stage.

Source:irishfa.com

The draw for the second round was made on 9 September 2013, with the matches played on 12 October 2013. The 35 winners from the first round matches entered this round, along with the 8 clubs that received a bye. As there was an odd number of clubs in this round, one club,18th Newtownabbey Old Boys, received a bye into the third round.

Source:irishfa.com

†Immaculata won the tie by walkover.Camlough Rovers forfeited the match as they were unable to field a team to fulfil the fixture.^[6]

¹Albert Foundry were ejected from the competition for fielding an ineligible player during this match.^[7]

The third round draw was made on 22 October 2013, with the games played on 9 November 2013. The 21 winners from the second round matches entered this round, along with18th Newtownabbey Old Boys who had received a bye in the second round.Albert Foundry were replaced withShankill United, the team they had defeated 1–0 in the second round, after they were found to have fielded an ineligible player in that game.^[7]

Source:irishfa.com

The fourth round draw was made on 11 November 2013, with the games played on 7 December 2013. The 11 winners from the third round matches entered this round, along with 29 of the 30NIFL Championship clubs. Championship 1 sideDonegal Celtic did not enter, which meant that there had to be eleven lower league clubs in this round to make up the requisite numbers, one more than the usual amount of ten.

Source:irishfa.com

The fifth round draw took place on 16 December 2013. The matches were played on 11 January 2014, and the replays were played on 21 January 2014. The 20 winners from the fourth round matches entered this round, along with the 12NIFL Premiership clubs. Three regional league clubs made it through the first four rounds. This was the first round of the competition in which replays were used if a match ended level after 90 minutes.

Harland & Wolff Welders vBallymena United

11 January 2014	Harland & Wolff Welders	2 – 2	Ballymena United	Tillysburn Park,Belfast
13:30GMT	Simpson 5' Burrows 77'	Report	Kane 60' Boyce 86'

Queen's University vLimavady United

11 January 2014	Queen's University	1 – 0	Limavady United	Upper Malone,Belfast
13:30GMT	Hasson 75' (o.g.)	Report

Armagh City vArds

11 January 2014	Armagh City	2 – 2	Ards	Holm Park,Armagh
15:00GMT	Hinds 49' Murray 52'	Report	Mitchell 45' McMillen 90+5'

Ballyclare Comrades vKilmore Recreation

11 January 2014	Ballyclare Comrades	3 – 0	Kilmore Recreation	Dixon Park,Ballyclare
15:00GMT	McClurg 7' (pen.) Trussell 10' Smith 13'	Report

Ballymoney United vBanbridge Town

11 January 2014	Ballymoney United	1 – 0	Banbridge Town	Riada Stadium,Ballymoney
15:00GMT	McCaughan 35'	Report

Bangor vGlebe Rangers

11 January 2014	Bangor	7 – 1	Glebe Rangers	Clandeboye Park,Bangor
15:00GMT	Lamb 21' Cooling 29' (pen.),58' McDowell 49',60' Gardener 63' Forsyth 85'	Report	Highlands 88' (o.g.)

Carrick Rangers vDundela

11 January 2014	Carrick Rangers	3 – 2	Dundela	Inver Park,Larne
15:00GMT	Lynch 50',64' Roy 87'	Report	McCain 38' Beggs 71'

Cliftonville vColeraine

11 January 2014	Cliftonville	2 – 2	Coleraine	Solitude,Belfast
15:00GMT	Gormley 27' (pen.) Boyce 47'	Report	Dooley 39' McDaid 59'

Crusaders vCrumlin Star

11 January 2014	Crusaders	2 – 1	Crumlin Star	Seaview,Belfast
15:00GMT	Snoddy 4' (pen.) Smith 73'	Report	Brown 61'

Glenavon vSport & Leisure Swifts

11 January 2014	Glenavon	7 – 0	Sport & Leisure Swifts	Mourneview Park,Lurgan
15:00GMT	Shannon 4' Marshall 7' O'Neill 9' (o.g.) Rainey 40' McIlveen 62' McDaid 73' Neill 85'	Report

Linfield vDergview

11 January 2014	Linfield	5 – 0	Dergview	Windsor Park,Belfast
15:00GMT	Liggett 21' (o.g.) Waterworth 42' Burns 66',70' Lowry 77'	Report

Moyola Park vDungannon Swifts

11 January 2014	Moyola Park	1 – 5	Dungannon Swifts	Mill Meadow,Castledawson
15:00GMT	Dowie 40'	Report	Liggett 7',20' Lavery 37' Harpur 63' (pen.),89' (pen.)

Portadown vGlentoran

11 January 2014	Portadown	1 – 3	Glentoran	Shamrock Park,Portadown
15:00GMT	Murray 27' (pen.)	Report	Boyd 19' Allen 57',90'

Warrenpoint Town vChimney Corner

11 January 2014	Warrenpoint Town	2 – 0	Chimney Corner	Milltown,Warrenpoint
15:00GMT	D. Hughes 2',59'	Report

PSNI vLisburn Distillery

21 January 2014	PSNI	0 – 2	Lisburn Distillery	Newforge Lane,Belfast
13:30GMT		Report	Wright 60' Upton 79'

Armagh City vArds

21 January 2014	Armagh City	3 – 1	Ards	Holm Park,Armagh
19:45GMT	Murray 54',84' (pen.) Lennon 60'	Report	Faulkner 12'

Ballinamallard United vStrabane Athletic

21 January 2014	Ballinamallard United	1 – 0	Strabane Athletic	Ferney Park,Ballinamallard
19:45GMT	Campbell 20'	Report

Ballymena United vHarland & Wolff Welders

21 January 2014	Ballymena United	1 – 0	Harland & Wolff Welders	The Showgrounds,Ballymena
19:45GMT	Thompson 75'	Report

Coleraine vCliftonville

21 January 2014	Coleraine	4 – 3	Cliftonville	The Showgrounds,Coleraine
19:45GMT	Owens 11' Browne 35' McDaid 50' (pen.) Harkin 72'	Report	O'Carroll 53' Caldwell 76' Gormley 80'

The sixth round draw took place on 11 January 2014 after the fifth round matches were played, with the matches played on 8 February and 1 March 2014 and the replays played on 17 February and 1 March 2014. The 16 winners from the fifth round matches entered this round. Three clubs from tier three (Championship 2) made it into this round - the lowest ranked clubs that were left in the competition.

Armagh City vGlentoran

8 February 2014	Armagh City	1 – 1	Glentoran	Holm Park,Armagh
15:00GMT	Donnelly 65'	Report	Kane 19'

Ballyclare Comrades vCarrick Rangers

8 February 2014	Ballyclare Comrades	2 – 1	Carrick Rangers	Dixon Park,Ballyclare
15:00GMT	Agnew 6' Smith 35'	Report	Gibson 45'

Coleraine vDungannon Swifts

8 February 2014	Coleraine	2 – 3	Dungannon Swifts	The Showgrounds,Coleraine
15:00GMT	McNeill 42' Bradley 88'	Report	Hutchinson 39' Harpur 52' Topley 70'

Crusaders vBallymoney United

8 February 2014	Crusaders	4 – 0	Ballymoney United	Seaview,Belfast
15:00GMT	Owens 23',37',74' Dempster 90'	Report

Linfield vBallymena United

8 February 2014	Linfield	1 – 2	Ballymena United	Windsor Park,Belfast
15:00GMT	Lowry 35'	Report	Jenkins 25' Cushley 66'

Lisburn Distillery vQueen's University

8 February 2014	Lisburn Distillery	0 – 2	Queen's University	New Grosvenor Stadium,Ballyskeagh
15:00GMT		Report	Fulton 19' Allison 52'

Ballinamallard United vGlenavon

1 March 2014	Ballinamallard United	0 – 3	Glenavon	Ferney Park,Ballinamallard
15:00GMT		Report	Bates 10',62',90+1'

Bangor vWarrenpoint Town

17 February 2014	Bangor	1 – 0	Warrenpoint Town	Clandeboye Park,Bangor
19:45GMT	Walsh 61'	Report

Glentoran vArmagh City

1 March 2014	Glentoran	2 – 1	Armagh City	The Oval,Belfast
15:00GMT	Magee 44' (pen.) Scullion 90'	Report	Murray 80'

The quarter-final draw took place on 8 February 2014 after the sixth round matches had been played, with the matches scheduled for 1 and 10 March 2014. Championship 2 clubQueen's University were the lowest ranked team left in the competition - the only representatives from the third tier.

Ballymena United vDungannon Swifts

1 March 2014	Ballymena United	4 – 1	Dungannon Swifts	The Showgrounds,Ballymena
15:00GMT	Munster 2' Taylor 22' Boyce 30',87'	Report	Harpur 55'

Crusaders vBallyclare Comrades

1 March 2014	Crusaders	5 – 0	Ballyclare Comrades	Seaview,Belfast
15:00GMT	Hanley 15' (pen.) Snoddy 55' Caddell 76' McAllister 87' McCutcheon 90'	Report

Queen's University vBangor

1 March 2014	Queen's University	3 – 2	Bangor	Upper Malone,Belfast
15:00GMT	Prenter 25',58' Ferrin 84' (pen.)	Report	Nixon 29' Forsythe 90+5' (pen.)

Glentoran vGlenavon

10 March 2014	Glentoran	1 – 2	Glenavon	The Oval,Belfast
19:50GMT	Magee 45' (pen.)	Report	Lindsay 88' Bates 90'

The semi-final draw took place on 1 March 2014 after the quarter-final matches had been played, with the matches played on 5 April 2014. Championship 2 clubQueen's University reached the semi-finals for the first time in the club's history. They were the only semi-finalist from outside the top flight, and became the first club from outside the top two divisions to reach the semi-final stage sinceKillyleagh YC did so in2001–02.^[8] For the first time since the1996–97 competition, neither of theBig Two clubs –Glentoran orLinfield – reached the semi-final stage.

Ballymena United vQueen's University

5 April 2014	Ballymena United	3 – 0	Queen's University	The Oval,Belfast
15:00BST	Davidson 35',50' Kelly 89'	Report

Glenavon vCrusaders

5 April 2014	Glenavon	3 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Crusaders	Windsor Park,Belfast
15:00BST	Martyn 66',116' Patton 114'	Report	Heatley 14'

Both finalists were making their first Irish Cup final appearance of the 21st century, Ballymena United having last played in the showpiece when they lifted the cup in1989. Glenavon reached the final for the first time since finishing as runners-up in1998. It was the fourth meeting between the two clubs in the final, and the first since1981, when Ballymena United won 1–0. The final was played on 3 May 2014 atWindsor Park,Belfast.

3 May 2014

14:30BST

Ballymena United	1 – 2	Glenavon
Jenkins 71'	Report	Neill 35' Patton 76'

Windsor Park,Belfast

Attendance: 7,282

Referee: Raymond Crangle

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