FAI Cup final breaks attendance record

The FAI Cup final between Bohemians and Saint Patrick’s Athletic broke an attendance record that has stood since 1945.

43,881 people attended Sunday’s match, marking the highest-ever attendance for a domestic football match in Ireland.

Sunday’s record attendance was a marked improvement on the previous attendance record in the Aviva era, when 37,126 saw the two teams meet in the cup final.

There were hopes of a total sell-out after an earlier announcement that the match had sold out, which would have brought the attendance up to near the 48,000 mark, but the long-standing record was broken in some style.

The previous Irish record saw 41,238 people attend the 1945 cup final between Bohs and Shamrock Rovers.

On that occasion, 41,238 people packed out Dalymount Park to see Shamrock Rovers defeat Bohs in their own backyard.

Sunday’s bumper crowd saw the Inchicore side take home the cup after a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Bohs, marking the second cup win for St. Pat’s in three seasons.

An early penalty from Bohemians saw the Northsiders take an early lead, but had no response to two clinical set-pieces from Pats, and a late winner proved to be the cherry on the cake.

Sunday’s cup final represented something of a watershed moment for Irish domestic football, with flares, chants, and horns adding to a nearly carnival atmosphere at the Dublin 4 stadium.

Both teams have seen attendances improve over recent years, which is in conjunction with attendances rising across the league as a whole.

There is plenty of reason to celebrate at the Aviva, with the stadium also hosting the upcoming Europa League final, and being recently named as one of the host stadiums for the 2028 European Championships.