The 1995–96 Irish Cup was the 116th edition of the Irish Cup, Northern Ireland's premier football knock-out cup competition.
[1] Linfield were the defending champions after winning their 35th Irish Cup last season, with a 3–1 win over Carrick Rangers in the 1995 final.
This season they reached the quarter-finals, but lost to 2–0 to Crusaders.
Glentoran were the eventual cup winners, defeating Glenavon 1–0 in the final to win the cup for the 16th time.
[2][3] The following teams were given byes into the second round: Ards Rangers, Bessbrook United, Cullybackey, Dungiven Celtic, Glebe Rangers, Larne Tech Old Boys, Laurelvale, Northern Telecom, Orangefield Old Boys, Portglenone, Saintfield United, Southend United and UUC.