Connacht Senior Cup (association football)

Last updated

Connacht Senior Cup
Organising body Connacht Football Association
Founded1981
Region Flag of Connacht.svg Connacht
Most successful club(s) Mervue United (6)

Connacht Senior Cup is an association football cup competition organised by the Connacht Football Association. This cup competition should not be confused with the more regularly played Connacht Junior Cup which has effectively been the top level competition for non-League of Ireland clubs when the Senior Cup has been inactive.

Single-elimination tournament knock-out sports competition

A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, whose winner becomes the tournament champion. Each match-up may be a single match or several, for example two-legged ties in European football or best-of series in American pro sports. Defeated competitors may play no further part after losing, or may participate in "consolation" or "classification" matches against other losers to determine the lower final rankings; for example, a third place playoff between losing semi-finalists. In a shootout poker tournament, there are more than two players competing at each table, and sometimes more than one progressing to the next round. Some competitions are held with a pure single-elimination tournament system. Others have many phases, with the last being a single-elimination final stage, often called playoffs.

The Connacht Football Association is the governing body for association football in the Irish province of Connacht. It is affiliated to the Football Association of Ireland and is currently responsible for organizing the Connacht Junior Cup and four junior leagues – the Galway & District League, the Mayo Association Football League, the Roscommon and District Football League and the Sligo/Leitrim & District League as well as numerous other leagues and cup competitions for junior teams. In the past it has also been responsible for organizing the Connacht Senior Cup and the Connacht Senior League. However both of these competitions are currently inactive.

The Connacht Junior Cup or Connaught Junior Cup is a cup competition organized by the Connacht Football Association for junior association football clubs. In the seasons when there has been no active Connacht Senior League or Connacht Senior Cup, this junior cup competition has effectively been the top level competition for non-League of Ireland clubs affiliated to the CFA. As a result, it is often simply just referred to as the Connacht Cup or Connaught Cup. The inaugural winners were Galway Town. The competition's most successful clubs have been Castlebar Celtic and Galway Bohemians who have been winners at least nine times each. Sligo Rovers, Longford Town, Galway Rovers and Mervue United were all winners before going on to join the League of Ireland.

Contents

History

Connacht Senior League

Between 1981 and 1982 and 1999–2000, when the Connacht Senior League, was active the Connacht Senior Cup featured the members of the CSL and the champions of four junior leagues based in the province – the Galway & District League, the Sligo-Leitrim League, the Mayo Association Football League and the Roscommon & District League. Junior sides did well and featured in the first ten finals, winning four of them. In later seasons there were two more junior winners but all-Connacht Senior League finals became more common. The competition ended when the Senior league ended in 2000. During this era teams from the CSL also played in a separate league cup competition known as the Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The Connacht Senior League was an association football league featuring amateur, intermediate, and League of Ireland reserve teams affiliated to the Connacht Football Association. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. An earlier provincial league, the Western League, had been active, on and off, since the 1930s before the Connacht Football Association decided to establish a more permanent league. The CSL was active between 1981 and 2000. In 2013 discussions were held about relaunching the league.

The Galway & District League is an association football league organized by the Galway Football Association. It features amateur and junior clubs from County Galway. It currently features six divisions. Its top division, the Premier Division, is a seventh level division in the Republic of Ireland football league system. Galway & District League teams also compete the FAI Junior Cup. It is currently sponsored by Western Hygiene Supplies, a company based in Tuam

Mayo Association Football League is an association football league that features amateur and junior clubs from County Mayo. Its top division, the Super League, is a seventh level division in the Republic of Ireland football league system. The two top divisions – the Super League and the Premier Division – are sponsored by Elverys Sports and Welcome Inn Hotel respectively. Clubs from the league also compete in the FAI Junior Cup and the Connacht Junior Cup. A Mayo League representative team also competes in the League of Ireland Cup.

Revival

In 2007 a second Connacht Senior Cup was launched. This featured the top two teams from the Galway & District League, the Sligo-Leitrim League, the Mayo Association Football League and the Roscommon & District League plus the Connacht teams that played in the League of Ireland.

League of Ireland association football league

The League of Ireland, together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally used to refer to a single division league. However today the League of Ireland features five divisions – the Premier Division, the First Division, an U19 Division, an U17 Division, an U15 Division and starting March 2019 an U13 Division. The League of Ireland has always worked closely with the FAI and in 2006 the two bodies formally merged. All the divisions are currently sponsored by Airtricity and as a result the league is also known as the SSE Airtricity League. In 2007, it became one of the first leagues in Europe to introduce a salary cap. The league's most successful club is Shamrock Rovers who have won 17 titles. Together with Dundalk, Bohemians and Shelbourne they are one of four clubs in the league to feature a golden star above their badge in recognition of winning ten titles. Bohemians are the only club in the league to have played every season in the top division.

List of finals

SeasonWinnerScoreRunners-up−15B.C
2009–10 Salthill Devon 7–0 Ballina Town
2008–09 Westport United [6] 2–1Athenry
2007–08 Galway United [7] 2–0 Mervue United
1999–00 Mervue United [8] 4–2St Peters (Athlone)
1998–99 NUI Galway 7–1 Mervue United
1997–98 Mervue United [8] 1–0Straide & Foxford United
1996–97Renmore [9] 1–0 Salthill Devon
1995–96 Galway United Reserves [7] 2–1 UCG
1994–95 Mervue United [8] 2–0Galway Hibernians
1993–94West United2–1Straide & Foxford United
1992–93 Mervue United [8] 2–1 Ballina Town
1991–92 Salthill Devon 1–0 UCG
1990–91 Salthill Devon 1–0 [10] Westport United
1989–90 Salthill Devon 1–1 [note 1] Calry Bohemians
1988–89Calry Bohemians5–0 [note 2] Mervue United
1987–88Calry Bohemians3–0 [note 3] Mervue United
1986–87Galway Hibernians3–1 Mervue United
1985–86 Dynamo Blues 2–1 UCG
1984–85 Galway United Reserves [7] 1–0 Castlebar Celtic
1983–84 Mervue United [8] 2–1Collegians
1982–83 Mervue United [8] 1–0Collegians
1981–82 Sligo Rovers Reserves 3–2Galway Hibernians

Source: [2] [3] [4] [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Salthill Devon won after 3–3 draw and penalties
  2. ↑ Replay after 1–1 draw
  3. ↑ Replay after 1–1 draw

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References

  1. ↑ "Connacht Senior League 1980s". connacht-sl.netne.net. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 Connacht Sentinel @ Irish Newspaper Archives
  3. 1 2 Galway City Tribune @ Irish Newspaper Archives
  4. 1 2 The Connaught Telegraph @ Irish Newspaper Archives
  5. 1 2 Galway Advertiser Archives
  6. ↑ "Westport claim Connacht Senior Cup after extra time". advertiser.ie. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 "Galway United Club History". galwayunitedfc.ie. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mervue United Club Role of Honour". mervueunited.com. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Renmore AFC Honours". renmoreafc.com. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Westport Utd F.C., History 1980 – 2001". mayo-ireland.ie. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
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