After much pain, and great assistance from @vitr et al above, i decided to try
and that worked.
ENV LISTEN_PORT=""
ENTRYPOINT java -cp "app:app/lib/*" hello.Application --server.port=${LISTEN_PORT:-80}
e.g.
docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 -d --env LISTEN_PORT=8080 my-image
and
docker run --rm -p 8080:80 -d my-image
both set the port correctly in my container
see https://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/bash-shell-parameter-substitution-2.html