This article recounts Dundela's stunning victory against a dominant Glenavon team in the 1955 Irish Cup final. The underdog victory is described as one of the greatest days in Dundela's history.
The Duns will never last the pace. A wee team out of the Alliance, for Goodness sake it wasn't a race. For some, it's perhaps the greatest of them all. The Irish Cup final of 1955 pitted an all-conquering, star-studded Glenavon side against third tier side Dundela . That season alone, Glenavon had already won three trophies and were leading the Irish League with trio Jimmy Jones, Johnny Denver and Stewart Campbell scoring a staggering 101 goals for the Lurgan Blues.
They also had the legendary Wilbur Cush, who was a Northern Ireland international, in their ranks and Maurice McVeigh, who was nicknamed 'Twinkle Toes' for his ability on the ball.Windsor Park was stunned when Bobby Ervine lobbed the underdogs from the amateur Alliance League into the lead. Dundela were not finished there, either. Ervine netted a second with five minutes to play, and shock turned to disbelief as Jackie Greenwood secured the win with a third. Glenavon's challenge on all fronts came to an abrupt halt and, still to this day, it remains the most famous day in the Duns' 130-year history.Jim Steed has been involved with Dundela for 40 years and says he was fortunate to have spent time with a number of the players who featured on that famous day.'On the day itself, Dundela had no manager. No-one is entirely sure why,' said Steed, who was a long-term committee member at Wilgar Park and now watches from the terraces.'Glenavon were laced with players like Jimmy Jones and all those guys. The top players of the day. This poem was written by a journalist after the final and passed on to Dundela captain Bobby McAuley (centre). It was McAuley who was given the poem above by a journalist after the game. It's been passed to Steed, who now possesses a unique reflection in Irish League history. Dundela had beaten Newington Rangers in the first round, and already shocked two major senior sides - Cliftonville and Crusaders - on their way to the fina
Irish Cup Dundela Glenavon Football History Underdogs
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