The first thing to say is that the idea was never my own. I’d been listening to an episode of the Outside Write podcast with the author Ruben Clark. He’d written a book about his journey around England, ground-hopping his way through the FA Cup.
The book Winner Stays On was a great read. It tracked the journey through fourteen rounds of FA Cup action and provided a travelogue of the towns and people he encountered.
So naturally after reading this, I wondered if the same would be possible to do in Northern Ireland.
A shorter journey than that taken through the FA Cup maze, but an opportunity to visit some different grounds, encounter some different fans and see a different side of the game here that I, as a relative novice of the Irish League had experienced so far.
So I made a plan.
First though a little history……..
The Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup,[1] commonly called the Irish Cup[2] is the primary football knockout cup competition in Northern Ireland.
First contested in 1881, it is the fourth-oldest national cup competition in the world. Before the breakaway from the Irish Football Association by clubs from what would become the Irish Free State in 1921, the Irish Cup was the national cup competition for the whole of Ireland.
When teams from the Republic of Ireland competed, only two clubs won the competition: Shelbourne, who lifted the trophy on three occasions, and Bohemians, who claimed their only victory in 1908.
In its history, all six of Northern Ireland’s counties have been represented in the final of the competition. County Fermanagh was the latest to be represented when Ballinamallard United reached the 2019 final.
Linfield are the most successful team in the competition’s history, having won it 44 times and finishing runners-up on a further 22 occasions.
In terms of format, the competition is open to all IFA-affiliated clubs with intermediate or senior status. Clubs obtain such status by meeting minimum criteria laid down by the IFA in respect of facilities, etc. Each club, for example, must have its own enclosed ground.
The competition usually begins in August or September with the first qualifying round and ends with the final in May of the following year.
Clubs from level 3 (the NIFL Premier Intermediate League) and all regional league entrants from level 4 and below enter in the first qualifying round.
These clubs play against each other over four qualifying rounds, until 8 clubs remain.
The 8 fourth qualifying round winners then join the 24 senior clubs from the Premiership and Championship (levels 1 and 2) of the Northern Ireland Football League in the fifth round of the competition, which consists of 32 clubs and is played in January. Some people call this the first round proper but that feels like a huge disrespect to those that have made it through the earlier rounds.
Plenty of pedigree exists in the competition, and indeed in 1955, my own beloved Dundela caused one of the greatest upsets in cup history by defeating Glenavon. I couldn’t forget to mention that one!
Anyway, on with the journey……..
Round 1 - Bryansburn Rangers v Coagh United
A card table and cash in a plastic pint glass. I’d arrived at Bryansburn Rangers after being given the run around by my maps app. I couldn’t help but smile at the pint glass, there was a simplicity and brilliance to it that made me feel instantly welcome and at ease.
The first-round tie was held on a reasonably sunny early August afternoon I’d made the relatively short trip to Bryansburn Rangers for their tie against PIL side Coagh United.
A small crowd but a warm welcome, something that would become a theme of the early rounds.
A referee was present but with assistants provided by club coaches, they were all alone to police the game. The ‘assistants’ simply tucked their flags under their arms, never to be unfurled and mostly ignored their duties, continuing to coach as they lightly jogged their assigned sidelines.
Both sides took a while to warm up but this was early in both their seasons so a lack of sharpness on both sides’ part was perhaps to be expected. Coagh United prevailed as would probably have been expected.
I left the game slightly early with Coagh United in control of things as the Championship season started on the same day and I wanted to make a 3 pm start at Wilgar Park. I wasn’t going to miss a season opener at home but I did wonder if perhaps the first-round day could stand on its own if the authorities allowed it. Similar to a non-league day in England this could encourage not only more interest in the Irish Cup's early rounds but could also allow fans to visit their local community teams with games before their chosen teams’ season officially begins.
Standing on the terrace at Wilgar I checked my phone to see Bryansburn Rangers 0 - Coagh United 3 as the final result.
The Irish Cup journey was underway. I would be with Coagh United for round two.
The road to Windsor Park would continue.