Irish Classics
Cork City 1988/89: Guinness, Derry and a First FAI Cup Final
Updated 2 min read
Cork City were only five years old in 1989. The club had been founded in 1984, gone straight into the League of Ireland, and spent most of those years finding its feet. Then came a cup run nobody on Leeside expected, and a jersey that still turns heads.
The 1988/89 season
City finished eighth in the league, but the FAI Cup was a different story. They reached the final against Derry City, who were chasing a treble.
The first game finished 0-0. In the replay, Felix Healy scored the only goal, and Derry had their league, cup and League Cup treble. Cork went home with a place in the following season's Cup Winners' Cup, and the start of something.
The squad
The side included Phil Harrington in goal, Brian Carey, Liam Murphy, Patsy Freyne, John Caulfield and Dave Barry.
Barry had played in Cork City's first ever league game in 1984. In 1991 he scored against Bayern Munich at Musgrave Park in the UEFA Cup, a 1-1 draw people in Cork still bring up.
What came next
Four years after that final, Cork City won the league in 1993. Their first FAI Cup followed in 1998. The 1989 side got there first, though, and anyone who followed City then will tell you about that run before either of those.
The jersey
White, with a band of green and red chevrons across the chest, a green collar and Guinness across the front. It's a simple design, and it sums up the League of Ireland in the late 80s better than most.
Quick answers
- When was Cork City founded?
- 1984. They joined the League of Ireland that season.
- Who won the 1989 FAI Cup final?
- Derry City, 1-0 in a replay against Cork City, with Felix Healy scoring. The first game ended 0-0.
