"Still the critics keep on raving. Glenavon, nothing but Glenavon....

"The Duns will never last the pace. A wee team out of the Alliance, for Goodness sake it wasn't a race."

It is known as one of the biggest shocks in the history of Irish League football.

For some, it's perhaps the greatest of them all.

The Irish Cup final of 1955 pitted an all-conquering, star-studded Glenavon side against third tier side Dundela.

That season alone, Glenavon had already won three trophies and were leading the Irish League with trio Jimmy Jones, Johnny Denver and Stewart Campbell scoring a staggering 101 goals for the Lurgan Blues.

They also had the legendary Wilbur Cush, who was a Northern Ireland international, in their ranks and Maurice McVeigh, who was nicknamed 'Twinkle Toes' for his ability on the ball.

It should have been a formality, but few could have predicted what was to come.

Windsor Park was stunned when Bobby Ervine lobbed the underdogs from the amateur Alliance League into the lead.

Dundela were not finished there, either. Ervine netted a second with five minutes to play, and shock turned to disbelief as Jackie Greenwood secured the win with a third.

Glenavon's challenge on all fronts came to an abrupt halt and, still to this day, it remains the most famous day in the Duns' 130-year history.

Jim Steed has been involved with Dundela for 40 years and says he was fortunate to have spent time with a number of the players who featured on that famous day.

Sadly, there are no members of the team alive today.

"On the day itself, Dundela had no manager. No-one is entirely sure why," said Steed, who was a long-term committee member at Wilgar Park and now watches from the terraces.

"A portion of the committee and captain, Bobby McAuley, picked the team and the tactics.

"Glenavon were laced with players like Jimmy Jones and all those guys. The top players of the day.

"Dundela were massive underdogs and it's hard to believe."

It was McAuley who was given the poem above by a journalist after the game. It's been passed to Steed, who now possesses a unique reflection in Irish League history.

Dundela had beaten Newington Rangers in the first round, and already shocked two major senior sides - Cliftonville and Crusaders - on their way to the final.

However, nobody expected them to turn over Glenavon, who had hammered Glentoran 5-0 in their semi-final.

"They had already won three trophies that year and were on course for the clean sweep," added Steed.

"Everyone thought it would be a gift but it's been our shining light ever since."

Legend has it that Glenavon were so sure of their victory that they had organised a celebration banquet with menus entitled: 'Irish Cup winners'.

But it was Dundela left to celebrate. From a working-class area of east Belfast, their historic achievement was marked in fitting fashion by Sir William Hastings, or Billy as he was known at Wilgar Park.

"Billy owned the pub that used to be on the corner beside the ground," added Steed.

"He went to a local coal man and met the guys down the Newtownards Road. He put them on the back of the coal lorry and they were paraded up the road.

"They went into the pub that Billy owned and they celebrated the win. That must have been the equivalent of an open top bus parade in 1955."

After being founded in 1881, the Irish Cup is the fourth-oldest national cup competition in the world and has witnessed many shock results over the years.

But is Dundela's win 70 years ago the biggest upset in the prestigious history of the competition?

Steed is in no doubt of the answer.

"Absolutely," he said.

"I was on the planet when Carrick Rangers beat Linfield to do it in 1976, but they were a 'B' Division team and Dundela weren't even that level.

"Glenavon had already picked three trophies up, and we waddled in with no manager, part-timers and a junior team, and we beat them.

"As far as I'm concerned, it was the biggest upset of all time."

Now, in all the possible outcomes of the 32 teams remaining in this season's Irish Cup, Glenavon and Dundela will meet again in the fifth round on 4 January, 70 years after that famous final.

"I'm sure it will bring back a few memories on the day, that's for sure," Steed added.

"We done them over in 1955 and it's ironic that we get them again 70 years later."

Instead of a raucous Windsor Park, the more subdued venue of Glenavon's Mourneview Park will host the fifth-round tie.

While it would not be as big a shock as the 1955 final, it would still be an upset if Dundela, now in the Championship, can overcome the Premiership side on their own turf.

Under former player Stephen Gourley, Dundela are third in the second tier while Glenavon are 10th in the Premiership after a difficult campaign, but are beginning to hit form under new boss Paddy McLaughlin.

No matter what happens on Saturday, there won't be any coal lorries to welcome Dundela's players home to east Belfast.

However, if they need any additional inspiration, then they need look no further than the spirit of 1955.