Five talking points before Saturday's Irish Cup final

TL;DR

Dungannon Swifts will defend their title against Coleraine in the Irish Cup final at Windsor Park on Saturday. This match is significant as Coleraine seeks their first trophy since 2018.

Key points

Dungannon Swifts aim to defend their title
Coleraine has not won the trophy since 2018
The final will be held at Windsor Park
The match concludes a memorable season

Mentioned in this story

Windsor Park

Dungannon SwiftsColeraineIrish Cup

It all comes down to this for Dungannon Swifts and Coleraine, who face each other at Windsor Park on Saturday to decide the next name to be inscribed on the Irish Cup.

The Swifts are aiming to defend their title against the Bannsiders who have not lifted the trophy since 2018.

The showpiece is the ideal finale for what has already been a season to remember with lots memorable moments and unexpected twists.

Ahead of the big day, BBC Sport NI looks at the talking points surrounding the final.

First Irish Cup since 2014 with no Belfast clubs

A club from Belfast has competed in the past 11 Irish Cup finals, but this year both sides are from outside of Northern Ireland's capital.

The last time this happened was in 2014 when Glenavon beat Ballymena United for their first Irish Cup since 1997.

Belfast clubs have won over 70% of all Irish Cup finals since it began in 1881 with Linfield winning the trophy the most, 44 times.

As the Irish League continues to grow from strength to strength, both teams being from outside of Belfast shows that the competition throughout the league is growing.

Some may question if the atmosphere will be impacted, but the Swifts proved last season that they were able to bring an impressive crowd with Coleraine's fanbase consistently strong throughout the season.

How big a year has this already been for Coleraine?

Signing one of the most valuable strikers in the Irish Premiership, new owners, fresh manager and big plans. It has been quite the year for Coleraine.

They have already secured European football this season thanks to their emphatic 6-2 victory over Glentoran on the final day of the campaign assuring them of second place in the league.

However, they now have a chance to add silverware to their cabinet for the first time since 2019 when they lifted the League Cup.

Coleraine finished the Irish Premiership season as the team in form and are unbeaten in their past nine games. Coincidentally, their last loss was against Rodney McAree's side.

It has been a season of big change with new owner Henry Ross adopting a full-time model, big player signings and plenty of switches off the pitch, but they could get a huge reward for all the perseverance on Saturday.