[7][8] A 1985 article in the Munster Express, marking Benfica's twenty year anniversary, claims the club first played in a national Cup as early as in 1968.

[9] Although the RSSSF archives only list finals from 1989,[10] a match programme from a 1978 international between the Republic of Ireland and France confirmed that the Ladies FAI Cup was first played for in 1975 with Limerick defeating C.S.O.

[11] Records from the early 1980s are more clear and during this period the three strongest teams were Dublin Castle, Benfica and Rathfarnham United.

Dublin Castle was founded in the mid-1970s as a works team by Margaret Griffin, a former camogie player from Ennis, County Clare who later became a Republic of Ireland international.

[14] In the replay, a fifteen year old Ciara Grant scored twice as Benfica won 3–0 at Kilcohan Park.

[15][16] Following the emergence of the Dublin Women's Soccer League in 1993, its member clubs, most notably Shamrock Rovers and UCD, dominated the competition.

In 2002–03, after winning the 2001 cup, Shamrock Rovers became the first women's team to represent the Republic of Ireland in Europe.

[28] In 2015 the double header system caused controversy when the FAI Women's Cup final went to extra-time and penalties.