One thing is for certain: a team from the country will be lifting the Clearer Water Irish Cup later today.
No club from outside Belfast has ever won back-to-back Irish Cups in the competition’s 145-year history.
But Dungannon Swifts have the opportunity to create history by doing just that when they come up against Coleraine in the cup final this afternoon.
The Swifts won the trophy for the first time last year when they defeated Cliftonville in a pulsating final that went to extra time and penalties.
Dungannon boss Rodney McAree would love to create more history by hoisting the trophy aloft for a second time at the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park (2.30 start).
But standing in the Co Tyrone side’s way are the form team in Northern Ireland from Co Londonderry.
Coleraine won all five of their post-split fixtures in the NIFL Premiership to finish second in the league behind Larne and guarantee European football next season.
It is Bannsiders boss Ruaidhri Higgins’ first full season in charge at the Coleraine Showgrounds and he would no doubt like to cap it off with silverware.
Dungannon, who finished in the top six in the Premiership for the second season running, tailed off in the league run-in and are seen as the underdogs going in to today’s showpiece occasion.
But McAree insists his Dungannon Swifts players will be fully prepared and focused for the showdown with Coleraine.
He acknowledges the Swifts’ league campaign, in contrast to the Bannsiders, did not finish the way they would have liked, with some players taking their eye off the ball slightly with a cup final looming.
However, he noted: “There were some good performances despite the results. To secure a top six finish for two seasons in a row is exceptional for a small club like ours. We can be proud of that achievement.”
The Swifts manager revealed he has been working hard on “finding a way” to defeat “a very good team” in the cup final.
He pointed out: “Our players always train well and prepare well, but not surprisingly this week there has been more focus, a lot more focus. We have done a lot of analysis on Coleraine and no stone has been left unturned as we try to retain the trophy.
“All of us are relishing the opportunity to be part of the Irish Cup final once again. I am sure it will be a fantastic occasion.”
And he is confident his players will show the same character that they showed during a sticky start to the season when new players were bedding in to the squad. They responded to a string of defeats by digging in, knuckling down and turning the corner. Such grit and determination might just come in handy against the Bannsiders.
Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins, meanwhile, is also eyeing a piece of history.
Higgins won the FAI Cup with Derry City back in 2022 and if he guides Coleraine to Irish Cup glory for a seventh time in their history then he would become only the second manager ever to lead teams to major cup success either side of the border.
The first to achieve this feat was former Northern Ireland international Tommy Jackson who managed Waterford to an FAI Cup victory over St Patrick’s Athletic in 1980 and then went on to win three Irish Cups as boss of Glentoran - in 1987, 1988 and 1990.
“It helps because you know what to expect,” Higgins reasoned. “I don't like all the fluff around it though. It would be great if we could all just wear our club tracksuits, however I understand it's a bit different.
“But really in the grand scheme of things, yes there's a trophy to be won at the end of it, it's a game of football that you must prepare for. We will prepare like we do for every other game, nothing less and nothing more, and that's it.
“I'm my own biggest critic, always have been and always will be, and I think it drives you as well. I won't feel like we've done a good job until we have a trophy back at The Showgrounds. Then when you get the first trophy back you get greedy and you want more and it gives you that hunger - that's how I'm wired and I'll never change.”
The game is being shown live on BBC 2 Northern Ireland and on the BBC Sport NI website. There’s also commentary on BBC Radio Ulster and you can follow the action on Northern Ireland social channels.
Image: Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree and Coleraine boss Ruaidhri Higgins admire the Clearer Water Irish Cup trophy.
