Ulster Cup

The Ulster Cup was an annual football competition held by the Irish Football League for senior clubs.

History

Beginning in 1949, it was held on fifty-one occasions until being suspended after the 1998/99 season and discontinued after a one-off re-appearance in 2002/03. The last three editions were only open to First Division sides. From the mid-1980s to the early-1990s the competition was known as the Lombard Ulster Cup due to a sponsorship deal with the Lombard & Ulster Bank. It had previously been sponsored by Morans.

Format

The format of the Ulster Cup varied from season to season. It often employed a league format, with each club playing each other once and the winner declared as the team with the most points; and sometimes a group basis, with the winners decided by a play-off.

The format over the years was as follows:

Years	No. of seasons	Format
1948–1951 and 1952–56	7	group system plus final
1956–1957	1	league
1957–1965	8	group system plus final
1965–1983	18	league
1983–1996	16	group system plus final
1996–1997	1	knock-out
1997–1999 and 2002–03	3	league (First Division clubs only)

List of winners

Winners of the Ulster Cup by season[1]

• 1948–49 Linfield
• 1949–50 Larne
• 1950–51 Glentoran
• 1951–52 Ballymena United[nb 1]
• 1952–53 Glentoran
• 1953–54 Crusaders
• 1954–55 Glenavon
• 1955–56 Linfield
• 1956–57 Linfield
• 1957–58 Distillery
• 1958–59 Glenavon
• 1959–60 Linfield
• 1960–61 Ballymena United
• 1961–62 Linfield
• 1962–63 Glenavon
• 1963–64 Crusaders
• 1964–65 Linfield
• 1965–66 Coleraine
• 1966–67 Glentoran
• 1967–68 Linfield
• 1968–69 Coleraine
• 1969–70 Coleraine
• 1970–71 Linfield
• 1971–72 Linfield
• 1972–73 Coleraine
• 1973–74 Ards
• 1974–75 Linfield
• 1975–76 Coleraine
• 1976–77 Glentoran
• 1977–78 Linfield
• 1978–79 Linfield
• 1979–80 Linfield
• 1980–81 Ballymena United
• 1981–82 Glentoran
• 1982–83 Glentoran
• 1983–84 Glentoran
• 1984–85 Linfield
• 1985–86 Coleraine
• 1986–87 Coleraine
• 1987–88 Larne
• 1988–89 Glentoran
• 1989–90 Glentoran
• 1990–91 Portadown
• 1991–92 Bangor
• 1992–93 Linfield
• 1993–94 Crusaders
• 1994–95 Bangor
• 1995–96 Portadown
• 1996–97 Coleraine
• 1997–98 Ballyclare Comrades[nb 2]
• 1998–99 Distillery[nb 2]
• 2002–03 Dungannon Swifts[nb 2]

Performance by club

Senior

Club	Winners	Winning years
Linfield	15	1948–49, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1992–93
Glentoran	9	1950–51, 1952–53, 1966–67, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1989–90
Coleraine	8	1965–66, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1996–97
Ballymena United	3	1951–52, 1960–61, 1980–81
Crusaders	3	1953–54, 1963–64, 1993–94
Glenavon	3	1954–55, 1958–59, 1962–63
Larne	2	1949–50, 1987–88
Bangor	2	1991–92, 1994–95
Portadown	2	1990–91, 1995–96
Ards	1	1973–74
Distillery	1	1957–58

First Division only

Club	Winners	Winning years
Ballyclare Comrades	1	1997–98
Distillery	1	1998–99
Dungannon Swifts	1	2002–03

Notes

1. The tournament was renamed the Festival of Britain Cup for 1951–52.
2. The last three editions were open to First Division sides only.

References

1. "Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Soccer Yearbook 1999/2000" Ed. Dr. Malcolm Brodie MBE

External links

• Ulster Cup Archive at the Irish Football Club Project