| Full name | Cork Hibernians Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1957 |
| Dissolved | 1977 |
| Ground | Flower Lodge Cork (Capacity: 26,000) |
| League | League of Ireland |
Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions.
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The club was originally formed by members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and had previously played as AOH at an amateur level. Under this name the club won the FAI Intermediate Cup in 1952 and were runners-up in the same competition in 1957. 1957 also saw them change their name, turn semi-professional and join the League of Ireland, replacing Cork Athletic. During the late 1960s and early 1970s Hibs enjoyed a local rivalry with Cork Celtic. Both clubs enjoyed moderate success on the field and support for both teams was very strong. Average gates of 10,000 were not unfamiliar. Indeed at one game at Flower Lodge against Waterford United, a league decider, an attendance of 26,000 was recorded.
Hibernians enjoyed their most successful era under player-manager Dave Bacuzzi, a former Arsenal and Manchester City defender. Bacuzzi joined the club in May 1970. Initially, he thought he had been approached from a mysterious exotic location when he received a misspelled telegram asking him to contact Cork Island instead of Cork, Ireland. Bacuzzi subsequently guided Hibs to several trophies including the League of Ireland title in 1971, beating Shamrock Rovers in a play-off. In 1972 they won the FAI Cup when Miah Dennehy scored a hat-trick in the final against Waterford United and in 1973 they retained the same trophy. They also won the all-Ireland competition, the Blaxnit Cup in 1972.
After Bacuzzi left to manage Home Farm in 1974, Hibs remained a top-five club but dramatically folded in 1976. Their crowds had dwindled, and they had lost money fielding ex-England international Rodney Marsh. The club's League of Ireland status came to an end in 1977 when the club resigned from the league due to financial difficulties. The club was replaced by another Cork team, Albert Rovers the next season. [1] [2]
Cork Hibernians
AOH
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 1975–76 | 5th |
| 1974–75 | 4th |
| 1973–74 | 3rd |
| 1972/73 | 4th |
| 1971/72 | 2nd |
| 1970/71 | 1st |
| 1969/70 | 3rd |
| 1968/69 | 3rd |
| 1967/68 | 10th |
| 1966/67 | 9th |
| 1965/66 | 4th |
| 1964/65 | 4th |
| 1963/64 | 6th |
| 1962/63 | 6th |
| 1961/62 | 5th |
| 1960/61 | 9th |
| 1959/60 | 6th |
| 1958/59 | 10th |
| 1957/58 | 12th |
| Played | Win | Draw | lose | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 21 |
Opponents:
| Season | Competition | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | Fairs Cup | Valencia CF |
| 1971–72 | Champions' Cup | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 1972–73 | Cup Winners' Cup | Pezoporikos |
| 1972–73 | Cup Winners' Cup | Schalke 04 |
| 1973–74 | Cup Winners' Cup | Banik Ostrava |