Cork Hibernians F.C.
| Full name | Cork Hibernians Football Club |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1977 |
| Ground |
The Mardyke (1957-62) Flower Lodge (1962-76) |
| 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, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions.
The club was originally formed by members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and had previously played as AOH in the Cork Athletic Union League. 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. 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.
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