Cork Hibernians F.C.

Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions.

History

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. They played at The Mardyke until 1962, when they moved to Flower Lodge.^[1] 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. ^{[2] [3]}

Honours

• League of Ireland: 1
  • 1970–71
• FAI Cup: 2
  • 1971-72, 1972-73
• League of Ireland Shield: 2
  • 1969-70, 1972-73
• Blaxnit Cup: 1
  • 1971-72
• Dublin City Cup: 3
  • 1965-66, 1970-71, 1972-73
• Munster Senior Cup: 8
  • 1960-61, 1964-65, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1974-75
• FAI Intermediate Cup: 1
  • 1951-52

Team records

• Record Win:
  • 10–1 V's Transport. March 20, 1960, Mardyke.
• Record Defeat:
  • 2–8 V's Dundalk. November 10, 1957, Oriel Park.
• Highest Scorer in One Season:
  • Tony Marsden 22 goals (1971–72)
• Highest League Scorer Aggregate:
  • Dave Wigginton 73 goals;
  • John Lawson 41 goals
  • Tony Marsden 38 goals
  • Donie Wallace 33 goals
  • Miah Dennehy 31 goals.
• Leading Scorer in all Competitions:
  • Dave Wigginton 130.
• Highest Attendance:
  • 26,000 V's Waterford United, April 1972, Flower Lodge.

Season placings

European Record

Opponents:

Former players

Mick Gilchrist

Former Managers

• George Lax: 1957–59
• John McGowan: 1959–61
• Tommy Moroney: 1961–64
• George O'Sullivan 1963–64
• John Maloney 1965–66
• Amby Fogarty: 1967–69
• Austin Noonan: 1969–70, 1974–76
• Dave Bacuzzi: 1970–74

See also

• League of Ireland in Cork city

References

1. ↑ Niall Macsweeney (n.d.), A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921/2-1984/5. Basildon:Association of Football Statisticians.
2. ↑ www.bionicbohs.com
3. ↑ www.mayfieldunited.com