The Blaxnit Cup is a defunct club football competition which featured teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland, in a similar format to the later Setanta Cup. It was inaugurated in 1967 as a cross-border competition between clubs from the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and the Irish League from Northern Ireland and ran until 1974. The competition was sponsored by Blaxnit, a sock and hosiery manufacturer based in Newtownards.
The competition featured four teams from each league. The Blaxnit Cup was the third cross-border competition. Previous competitions included the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup 1941/42-1948/49 and the North-South Cup 1961/62-1962/63.
After the demise of the Blaxnit Cup teams from both sides of the border continued to compete in the Texaco Cup 1973/74-1974/75, the Tyler Cup 1978-1980 and after 2005 in the Setanta Sports Cup.
The tournament suffered from lack of interest and security concerns.
List of finals Finals played over two legs except 1973–74. SeasonWinner(number of titles)ScoreRunner-upVenue1967–68 Shamrock Rovers (1)2 – 0 CrusadersWindsor Park, Belfast1 – 2 (3 – 2 agg.)Dalymount Park, Dublin1968–69 Coleraine (1)2 – 1 Shamrock RoversWindsor Park, Belfast2 – 2 (4 – 3 agg.)Dalymount Park, Dublin1969–70 Coleraine (2)0 – 1 Sligo RoversWindsor Park, Belfast4 – 1 (4 – 2 agg.)Dalymount Park, Dublin1970–71 Linfield (1)1 – 1 Cork HiberniansWindsor Park, Belfast2 – 1 (3 – 2 agg.)Dalymount Park, Dublin1971–72 Cork Hibernians (1)3 – 2 ColeraineFlower Lodge, Cork2 – 1 (5 – 3 agg.)The Showgrounds, Coleraine1972–73 Glentoran (1)1 – 1 Cork HiberniansFlower Lodge, Cork5 – 1 (6 – 2 agg.)Castlereagh Park, Newtownards1973–74 Ards (1)3 – 1 Ballymena UnitedWindsor Park, Belfast
References
External links Irish Football Club Project Archive on All-Ireland Competitions Official Setanta Cup Site All-Ireland Cross-Border Cup Competitions history Irish League Archive - Blaxnit Cup