GLENAVON DRAWN AGAINST DUNDELA IN IRISH CUP 1ov72

Glenavon has been drawn at home to Championship club Dundela in the fifth round of this season’s Clearer Water Irish Cup. 3y4l9

The tie will be played on Saturday 4^th January 2025.

It is a repeat of the famous 1955 decider when Dundela defeated Glenavon 3-0.

The Duns victory in that final remains the greatest shock in the history of the competition.

Jimmy McAlinden’s Glenavon side were Ulster Cup and City Cup holders, Irish League Championship leaders and Gold Cup finalists. The Lurgan men had walloped Glentoran 5-0 in the semi-final. They were, it seemed, on the way to completing an unprecedented clean sweep of all the trophies.

However, the minnows from East Belfast, of the Irish Alliance (two leagues below the top division) and fielding two Glenavon Reserves’ players, scored an early goal and added two more in the final ten minutes to defeat a team regarded as unbeatable.

The tie on 4^th January 2025 promises, for older fans, to bring back memories of one of the most astonishing results in Irish football history.