FOR THE LAST 20 minutes of this FAI Cup final the Shamrock Rovers fans were finally able to enjoy it.
The Double was secured and a place in history assured.
The legacy of manager Stephen Bradley and these players confirmed as they claimed the league and cup in the same season for the first time since 1987.
It was only when Rory Gaffney scored the second of his goals in a dramatic six-minute spell in the second half that you felt Cork City were finally beaten.
A season of heartbreak and despair for the relegated Leesiders ended with one final, brutal defeat.
They were down to 10 men by that point, too, Harry Nevin shown a straight red card two minutes before half-time for a reckless, studs-up tackle on fellow Cork man Josh Honohan.
He is a Hoop now, of course, celebrated and revered among the green and white faithful who made up some of the 35,252 crowd at Aviva Stadium.
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Around 500 or so had been in Athens for Thursday evening’s 1-1 draw with AEK that keeps their Uefa Conference League hopes alive.
This was a resumption of their domestic dominance and it was Gaffney who provided the comfort to allow them sing their songs of glory and triumph that have provided the soundtrack of Bradley’s relentless reign.
“It’s happened again, Stephen Bradley, it’s happened again.”
The FAI Cup was the first trophy of his tenure in 2019, the catalyst that has led to five league titles and, eventually, this point: finally delivering a double to match the club’s heroes of the 1980s.
Gaffney was their oldest player on the pitch but, even at 36, wasn’t even born when the Hoops of a different era ruled Irish football.
This is most certainly Rovers’ time again, although until the Galway man’s tap in on 65 minutes and his sublime nutmeg on goalkeeper Conor Brann five minutes later it was beginning to feel like a fraught kind of occasion.
Cork had been spirited but not quite disciplined, typfied by that dangerous Nevin tackle that would eventually prove so costly as Rovers wore down the resistance.
You only had to look at Graham Burke, still on his knees as Gaffney prodded home from inside the six yard box for the first, beat the ground twice as he saw the net ripple.
He wasn’t doing it out of joy, it was a pure, raw form of relief. His initial cross from the left was a poor one, Freddie Anderson took a heavy touch in the box and Dylan Watts seized upon on it to clip a ball to the back post where Danny Grant cushioned a side-foot pass to Gaffney for the opener.
It was a goal celebrated wildly here in Dublin 4 and maybe, just maybe, with clinched fists under the tables of the bars at Dalymount Park.
That is because Rovers winning the cup means Bohemians, their fiercest rivals, will play European football in 2026.
Up in the north of Ireland you can be sure Derry City fans were cheering just as loud when Gaffney hunted down Rory Feely down the right, bursting into the box and ignoring the cries of a pull back from Burke.
Instead, the striker seized up Brann and opted to skid the ball between his legs. It means Derry, runners up in the league, will be in the Europa League qualifiers.
But this was a day that belonged to Rovers, although you can also say that it will be referred to as the Gaffney Final.
His two goals were poignant, too, for the fact that when Rovers began their Premier Division season with a defeat in the Aviva Stadium against Bohs the striker was not part of the matchday squad.
He had not even re-signed for the year ahead as he sought to prove his fitness after injury.
Eight months on and he was collecting the man of the match award before getting his hands on the trophy that has eluded him during his time at the club.
Captain Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes led them up the steps to lift it, he will take a different, longer journey next summer when he goes to the World Cup with Cape Verde.
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Rovers’ season isn’t finished either, of course, as they have at least three more games left in the Uefa Conference League, and who knows what could still be in store for Bradley.
Cork’s beaten players watched on solemnly, denied the most thrilling end to a year of hurt, this 90 minutes encapsulating their heartache.
Shamrock Rovers:Ed McGinty; Daniel Cleary, Roberto Lopes (captain), Cory O’Sullivan; Danny Grant, Dylan Watts (Danny Mandroiu 78) (Connor Malley 84), Matt Healy, Aaron McEneff, Josh Honohan (Lee Grace 88); Graham Burke (Sean Kavanagh), Rory Gaffney (John McGovern 78).
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Rory Gaffney's deadly double sees Shamrock Rovers edge 10-man Cork City to win FAI Cup
FAI Cup final
Shamrock Rovers 2
Cork City 0
FOR THE LAST 20 minutes of this FAI Cup final the Shamrock Rovers fans were finally able to enjoy it.
The Double was secured and a place in history assured.
The legacy of manager Stephen Bradley and these players confirmed as they claimed the league and cup in the same season for the first time since 1987.
It was only when Rory Gaffney scored the second of his goals in a dramatic six-minute spell in the second half that you felt Cork City were finally beaten.
A season of heartbreak and despair for the relegated Leesiders ended with one final, brutal defeat.
They were down to 10 men by that point, too, Harry Nevin shown a straight red card two minutes before half-time for a reckless, studs-up tackle on fellow Cork man Josh Honohan.
He is a Hoop now, of course, celebrated and revered among the green and white faithful who made up some of the 35,252 crowd at Aviva Stadium.
Around 500 or so had been in Athens for Thursday evening’s 1-1 draw with AEK that keeps their Uefa Conference League hopes alive.
This was a resumption of their domestic dominance and it was Gaffney who provided the comfort to allow them sing their songs of glory and triumph that have provided the soundtrack of Bradley’s relentless reign.
“It’s happened again, Stephen Bradley, it’s happened again.”
The FAI Cup was the first trophy of his tenure in 2019, the catalyst that has led to five league titles and, eventually, this point: finally delivering a double to match the club’s heroes of the 1980s.
Gaffney was their oldest player on the pitch but, even at 36, wasn’t even born when the Hoops of a different era ruled Irish football.
This is most certainly Rovers’ time again, although until the Galway man’s tap in on 65 minutes and his sublime nutmeg on goalkeeper Conor Brann five minutes later it was beginning to feel like a fraught kind of occasion.
Cork had been spirited but not quite disciplined, typfied by that dangerous Nevin tackle that would eventually prove so costly as Rovers wore down the resistance.
You only had to look at Graham Burke, still on his knees as Gaffney prodded home from inside the six yard box for the first, beat the ground twice as he saw the net ripple.
He wasn’t doing it out of joy, it was a pure, raw form of relief. His initial cross from the left was a poor one, Freddie Anderson took a heavy touch in the box and Dylan Watts seized upon on it to clip a ball to the back post where Danny Grant cushioned a side-foot pass to Gaffney for the opener.
It was a goal celebrated wildly here in Dublin 4 and maybe, just maybe, with clinched fists under the tables of the bars at Dalymount Park.
That is because Rovers winning the cup means Bohemians, their fiercest rivals, will play European football in 2026.
Up in the north of Ireland you can be sure Derry City fans were cheering just as loud when Gaffney hunted down Rory Feely down the right, bursting into the box and ignoring the cries of a pull back from Burke.
Instead, the striker seized up Brann and opted to skid the ball between his legs. It means Derry, runners up in the league, will be in the Europa League qualifiers.
But this was a day that belonged to Rovers, although you can also say that it will be referred to as the Gaffney Final.
His two goals were poignant, too, for the fact that when Rovers began their Premier Division season with a defeat in the Aviva Stadium against Bohs the striker was not part of the matchday squad.
He had not even re-signed for the year ahead as he sought to prove his fitness after injury.
Eight months on and he was collecting the man of the match award before getting his hands on the trophy that has eluded him during his time at the club.
Captain Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes led them up the steps to lift it, he will take a different, longer journey next summer when he goes to the World Cup with Cape Verde.
Rovers’ season isn’t finished either, of course, as they have at least three more games left in the Uefa Conference League, and who knows what could still be in store for Bradley.
Cork’s beaten players watched on solemnly, denied the most thrilling end to a year of hurt, this 90 minutes encapsulating their heartache.
Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Daniel Cleary, Roberto Lopes (captain), Cory O’Sullivan; Danny Grant, Dylan Watts (Danny Mandroiu 78) (Connor Malley 84), Matt Healy, Aaron McEneff, Josh Honohan (Lee Grace 88); Graham Burke (Sean Kavanagh), Rory Gaffney (John McGovern 78).
Cork City: Conor Brann; Harry Nevin, Freddie Anderson, Fiacre Kelleher (captain) (Kaedyn Kamara 70), Rory Feely, Josh Fitzpatrick; Darragh Crowley; Evan McLaughlin (Ruairí Keating 75), Greg Bolger (Matthew Murray 70), Alex Nolan (Conor Drinan HT); Seani Maguire.
Referee: Paul Norton
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