Ulster Cup
Encyclopedia
The Ulster Cup was an annual football competition held by the Irish Football League for senior clubs. 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.
The format over the years was as follows:
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited...
. 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) |
Winners
Winners of the Ulster Cup by season- 1948/49 Linfield
- 1949/50 Larne
- 1950/51 Glentoran
- 1951/52 (not held)*
- 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**
- 1998/99 Distillery**
- 2002/03 Dungannon Swifts**
- *Ballymena United won a one-off Festival of Britain Cup played instead of the Ulster Cup in 1951/52.
- **The last three editions were open to First Division sides only.
Summary of Winners
| Team | Wins | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Linfield Linfield F.C. Linfield F.C. , is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club, whose home ground is Windsor Park in Belfast, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland international team.... |
15 | |
| Glentoran | 9 | |
| Coleraine | 8 | |
| Crusaders | 3 | |
| Glenavon | 3 | |
| Distillery | 2 | |
| Ballymena United | 2 | (plus 1 Festival of Britain Cup) |
| Larne | 2 | |
| Bangor | 2 | |
| Portadown | 2 | |
| Ards | 1 | |
| Ballyclare Comrades | 1 | |
| Dungannon Swifts | 1 |
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