1952 FAI Cup Final

The 1952 FAI Cup Final was the final match of the 1951–52 FAI Cup, a knock-out association football competition contested annually by clubs affiliated with the Football Association of Ireland. It took place on Sunday 20 April 1952 at Dalymount Park in Dublin, and was contested by Cork Athletic and Dundalk. The match finished 1–1, sending the final to a replay the following Wednesday 23 April 1952. Dundalk won the replay 3–0 to win their third FAI Cup.

1952 FAI Cup Final
Event1951–52 FAI Cup
Dundalk Cork Athletic
Final
Dundalk Cork Athletic
1 1
Date20 April 1952
VenueDalymount Park, Dublin
RefereeC. Fletcher (Cheshire)
Attendance26,479
Replay
Dundalk Cork Athletic
3 0
Date23 April 1952
VenueDalymount Park, Dublin
RefereeC. Fletcher (Cheshire)
Attendance20,753

Background

The two sides' three previous meetings that season had seen one win apiece and one draw. Both sides had poor 1951–52 League of Ireland seasons, finishing 10th and 11th respectively.[1] Dundalk were appearing in their sixth final, and had won the cup in their two previous appearances, having lost the first three. To reach the final, they had defeated St Patrick's Athletic (3–2), non-League AOH from Cork (4–0), then Waterford by coming from 3–1 down in the semi-final replay to win 6–4 in extra time.[2]

Cork Athletic were the cup holders, having won a League and Cup Double the season before, and were appearing in their third final in a row. They had needed a replay to overcome Transport, then defeated Shamrock Rovers (2–1), and Sligo Rovers (4–3) to make the final.[3]

Match

Summary

A close match was expected, with Cork expected to shade it, due to their cup pedigree and the relative inexperience of Dundalk's side.[4] However Dundalk believed luck was on their side, owing to the manner of their semi-final replay win over Waterford.[2] Cork had the better of the opening half, and took the lead in the second half through Paddy O'Leary, but an injury to goalkeeper Ned Courtney, and sustained Dundalk pressure, resulted in an equaliser for Joe Martin in the 87th minute, to send the final to a replay the following Wednesday evening.[5]

Cork's preparations for the replay were affected when a club director, James Lynch, had to appear in court in the days after the final, charged with attempted murder.[6] A number of club officials and players had to give evidence in the case. Courtney was missing due to the injury received in the first game, which also seemed to impact the Cork team, as Dundalk took the lead in the second minute through Johnny Fearon, Dundalk's only survivor from the 1949 cup-winning team. Cork fought their way back into the match, but Dundalk goalkeeper Walter Durkan was relatively untroubled and the game was put beyond doubt in the 67th minute by a Fergus Maloney shot from distance. In the 83rd minute Paddy Mullen made it 3–0, to win Dundalk's third FAI Cup.[7]

Final
Dundalk1–1[8]Cork Athletic
Joe Martin  87' Report Paddy O'Leary  51'
Attendance: 26,479[5]
Referee: C. Fletcher (Cheshire)
Dundalk
Cork Athletic
Walter Durkan
Joe Ralph
Tommy Traynor
Paddy Gavin
Mattie Clarke
Jackie McCourt
Leo McDonagh
Johnny Fearon
Joe Martin
Paddy Mullen
Fergus Maloney
Ed Courtney
Paddy Noonan
David Noonan
Johnny Moloney
Florrie Burke
Willie Cotter
Johnny Vaughan
Murty Broderick
Paddy O'Leary
Paddy Cronin
Jackie Lennox

Replay
Dundalk3–0[8]Cork Athletic
Johnny Fearon  2'
Fergus Maloney  67'
Paddy Mullen  83'		 Report
Attendance: 20,753[7]
Referee: C. Fletcher (Cheshire)
Dundalk
Cork Athletic
Walter Durkan
Joe Ralph
Tommy Traynor
Paddy Gavin
Mattie Clarke
Jackie McCourt
Leo McDonagh
Johnny Fearon
Joe Martin
Paddy Mullen
Fergus Maloney
Waters
Paddy Noonan
David Noonan
Johnny Moloney
Florrie Burke
Willie Cotter
Johnny Vaughan
Willie O'Mahony
Paddy O'Leary
Paddy Cronin
Jackie Lennox

References
Bibliography
  • Murphy, Jim (2003). The History of Dundalk F.C.: The First 100 Years. Dundalgan Press. ASIN B0042SO3R2.
  • MacSweeney, Niall (1985). A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921/2 - 1984/5. Association of Football Statisticians. ASIN B008H2CBJQ.
  • Ryan, Sean; Dunne, Noel (24 October 1975). The Bass Book of Irish Soccer. Mercier Press. ISBN 9780853424505.
  • Graham, Alex. Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921–2005. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 1-86223-135-4.
Citations
  1. Murphy, Jim (2003). The History of Dundalk F.C.: The First 100 Years. Dundalgan Press. p. 177. ASIN B0042SO3R2.
  2. Murphy, W.P. (3 April 1952). "Floodlit thrills in dramatic finish to epic cup semi-final". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  3. MacSweeney, Niall (1985). A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921/2 - 1984/5. Association of Football Statisticians. ASIN B008H2CBJQ.
  4. "Cork's Science Should Tell, but..." Sunday Independent. 20 April 1952. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  5. Murphy, W.P. (21 April 1952). "Late Goal Earned a Draw for Dundalk". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. "Girl's denials in murder intent charge". Irish Press. 23 April 1952. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  7. Murphy, W.P. (24 April 1952). "Cork never recovered from early shock". Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  8. "Ireland FAI Cup (1921-1994)". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
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