2018–19 Irish Cup


The 2018–19 Irish Cup was the 139th edition of the premier knock-out cup competition in Northern Irish football. The competition began on 11 August 2018 and concluded with the final at Windsor Park on 4 May 2019.
Coleraine were the defending champions, having defeated Cliftonville in the 2018 final. Crusaders were the eventual winners, defeating second-tier side Ballinamallard United 3–0 in the final to lift the Cup for the fourth time overall, and the first time in the 10 years since winning the 2009 final.

Format and schedule

All ties level after 90 minutes used extra time to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.
126 clubs entered this season's competition - a reduction of four clubs compared with the 2017–18 total of 130 clubs. 90 regional league clubs from tiers 4–7 in the Northern Ireland football league system entered the competition in the first round, with 76 of them drawn into 38 first round fixtures and the remaining 14 clubs receiving a bye into the second round. The 38 first-round winners were joined by the 14 byes and the 12 clubs of the NIFL Premier Intermediate League in the second round. After two further rounds, the eight surviving clubs joined the 24 senior NIFL Premiership and NIFL Championship clubs in the fifth round. All ties level after 90 minutes used extra time to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.
RoundFirst match dateFixturesClubs
[|First Round]11 August 201838126 → 88
[|Second Round]28 September 20183288 → 56
Third Round3 November 20181656 → 40
Fourth Round1 December 2018840 → 32
Fifth Round5 January 20191632 → 16
Sixth Round2 February 2019816 → 8
Quarter-Finals1 March 201948 → 4
Semi-Finals30 March 201924 → 2
Final4 May 201912 → 1

TiersLeaguesNo. of EntriesEntry round
1NIFL Premiership24Fifth Round
2NIFL Championship24Fifth Round
3NIFL Premier Intermediate League12Second Round
4Ballymena & Provincial Football League Premier Division
Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A
Northern Amateur Football League Premier Division
Northern Ireland Intermediate League		90First Round, or Second Round if byed
5Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate B
Northern Amateur Football League Division 1A		90First Round, or Second Round if byed
6Northern Amateur Football League Division 1B90First Round, or Second Round if byed
7Northern Amateur Football League Division 1C90First Round, or Second Round if byed
---First Round, or Second Round if byed

Results

First round

Ties played on 11 and 18 August 2018.
The twelve members of the NIFL Premier Intermediate League joined the competition at this stage as well as the first-round winners and byes.
Ties played on Saturday 29 September 2018.
Ties were played Saturday 3 November 2018.
Ties were played on Saturday 1 December 2018.
Ties were played on Saturday 5 January 2019.

Sixth round

Four ties were played on 2 February 2019, with four ties postponed to 11 February.

Quarter Finals

Ties were played on 1 and 2 March 2019.

Semi Finals

Ties were played on 30 March 2019.

Final

The final was played on 4 May 2019.