Shamrock Rovers were the defending champions, following a comfortable 7–1 win over Drogheda United in the 2013 final.
The clubs cited the difficulty faced by supporters to attend away games, inconvenient match scheduling, and the reduced prize fund as reasons for deciding not to enter.
As a result, the fifth and sixth placed sides from the 2012–13 IFA Premiership – Ballinamallard United and Coleraine – were drafted in as replacements.
The four League of Ireland and four IFA Premiership clubs played each other in the quarter-finals over two games (home and away) with the winners qualifying for the semi-finals.
[4] All four League of Ireland clubs defeated their Northern Irish Premiership opponents.