The FAI Cup 2008 was the 88th staging of The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, or FAI Cup for short. This season was the second one sponsored by Ford.
| FAI Ford Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  Republic of Ireland |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Bohemians |
| Runner-up | Derry City |
The 2008 FAI Ford Cup officially kicked off in late March, when four clubs from the Intermediate and Junior leagues battled it out in the first round for the opportunity to join 18 A Championship, Intermediate and Junior clubs in the second round.
The ten winners of those ties were joined in the Third Round by 12 Premier Division and 10 First Division clubs.
The competition ran until late November, with the final taking place on Sunday, 23 November 2008 at the RDS.[1]
First round
Fixtures were played on the weekend of Sunday 30 March 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fanad United | 2–0 | Carrigaline United |
| 2 | Douglas Hall | 4–0 | Castlebar Celtic |
Second round
Fixtures were played on the weekend of Sunday 20 April 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corduff | 0-11 | St. Mary's |
| 2 | Avondale United | 0–1 | Drogheda Town |
| 3 | Douglas Hall | 1–0 | Belgrove |
| 4 | Crumlin United | 0–0 | Liffeys Pearse |
| replay | Liffeys Pearse | 2–0 | Crumlin United |
| 5 | Salthill Devon | 0–1 | Rockmount |
| 6 | Killester United | 2–1 | Bangor Celtic |
| 7 | Swilly Rovers | 1–4 | Wayside Celtic |
| 8 | St. James Gate | 2–3 | Carrick United |
| 9 | Everton | 3–1 | Tullamore Town |
| 10 | Lissadel United | 0–2 | Fanad United |
1Played on April 13, 2008 as Corduff FC gave up home advantage in tie due to unavailability of side on April 20.
Third round
Matches played on the weekend of Sunday, 8 June 2008. The draw took place on Monday, 12 May 2008 and was made by Giovanni Trappatoni and Marco Tardelli, and televised live on RTÉ Two.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wexford Youths | 0–0 | Killester United |
| replay | Killester United | 1–2 | Wexford Youths |
| 2 | Galway United | 1–0[permanent dead link] | Waterford United |
| 3 | Douglas Hall | 0–3[permanent dead link] | Drogheda United |
| 4 | Everton | 0–2 | Carrick United |
| 5 | Shelbourne | 0–3[permanent dead link] | Dundalk |
| 6 | Rockmount | 0–3 | Bray Wanderers |
| 7 | Monaghan United | 0–0[permanent dead link] | UCD |
| replay | UCD | 0–1 | Monaghan United |
| 8 | Limerick 37 | 0–2 | Cork City |
| 9 | St Patrick's Athletic | 2–1[permanent dead link] | Longford Town |
| 10 | Kildare County | 3–0 | Fanad United |
| 11 | Athlone Town | 2–1[permanent dead link] | Finn Harps |
| 12 | Derry City | 2–0[permanent dead link] | Liffeys Pearse |
| 13 | Sporting Fingal | 2–0[permanent dead link] | Cobh Ramblers |
| 14 | Bohemians | 3–0[permanent dead link] | Drogheda Town |
| 15 | Shamrock Rovers | 2–1 | Sligo Rovers |
| 16 | St Mary's | 0–1 | Wayside Celtic |
Fourth round
Matches played on the weekend of Sunday, 17 August 2008. The draw place on Monday, 7 July 2008 and televised live on RTÉ Two.
Quarter-finals
Matches were played on the weekend of Sunday, 14 September 2008. The draw took place on Monday, 25 August 2008 and was made by Turlough O'Connor and David Flood, and televised live on RTÉ Two.
| Sporting Fingal | 3 – 3 | St. Patrick's Athletic |
|---|---|---|
Hynes  6'P. Byrne 18'James 90' (pen.) | Report | Quigley 35' 42' (pen.) Dempsey 44' |
| Galway United | 1 – 1 | Bray Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| McCulloch 45' | Report | Myler 64' |
| Wayside Celtic | 1 – 6 | Bohemians |
|---|---|---|
| Callaghan 60' | Report | Kelly 13' J. Byrne 19' 55' (pen.)McGuinness 52'Fenn 77'Crowe 81' |
Quarter-final replays
| Bray Wanderers | 0 – 2 | Galway United |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Keane 37' O'Shea 53' |
| Derry City | 0 – 0 (aet) | Cork City |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 5–3 | ||
Semi-finals
Matches were played on the weekend of Sunday, 26 October 2008. The draw took place on Monday, 29 September 2008 and was made by John Ryan and David Flood, and televised live on RTÉ Two.
| St. Patrick's Athletic | 1 – 3 | Bohemians |
|---|---|---|
| Fahey 53' | Report[permanent dead link] | Brennan 14' Deegan 16'Heary 42' |
| Galway United | 0 – 1 | Derry City |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Farren 64' |
Final
The 2008 FAI Cup Final took place on Sunday 23 November 2008 at the RDS, Dublin.
