2015–16 Irish Cup
| Country |
 Northern Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 129 | ||
| Champions | Glenavon | ||
| Runners-up | Linfield | ||
| Matches played | 127 | ||
| Goals scored | 553 (4.35 per match) | ||
|
|||
The 2015–16 Irish Cup (known as the Tennent's Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) was the 136th edition of the premier knock-out cup competition in Northern Irish football since its introduction in 1881. The competition began on 18 August 2015 with the first round and concluded with the final at Windsor Park on 7 May 2016. The cup was sponsored by Tennent's Lager, the competition's first title sponsor since 2012.
Glentoran were the defending champions, after they lifted the cup for the second time in three seasons and for the 22nd time overall by defeating Portadown 1–0 in the 2015 final. Their defence of the Cup ended in the sixth round after falling to a 4–1 home defeat against 2013–14 winners, Glenavon.
Glenavon who were the eventual winners after beating Linfield 2-0 in the final, qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
129 clubs entered this season's competition, an increase of four clubs compared with the 2014–15 total of 125 clubs. 82 regional league clubs from tiers 4–7 in the Northern Ireland football league system entered the competition in the first round, with a further seven clubs receiving byes to proceed directly into the second round as necessitated by the number of participants. These clubs contested the first three rounds, with the 12 surviving clubs joining the 28 NIFL Championship clubs in the fourth round. The 12 NIFL Premiership clubs enter the competition in the fifth round, along with the 20 winners from the fourth round matches. All ties level after 90 minutes used extra time to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.
Note: The league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses.
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