Irish Football League
|
Official logo of the Carnegie Premier League |
The
Irish Premier League - formerly the Irish Football League - or
Irish League, is the national
football league in
Northern Ireland. It should not be confused with the
Football League of Ireland, which is the league for the
Republic of Ireland.
The Irish League is the second oldest national league in the world, being formed a week earlier than the Scottish Football League. Only the Football League in England is older.
The Irish League was originally formed as the football league for all of
Ireland in
1890 (although most of its member clubs were in fact based in the north), but became the league for
Northern Ireland in
1921 after
partition, with a separate league and association (the Football Association of the Irish Free State - now called the
Football Association of Ireland) - being formed for the
Irish Free State (now the
Republic of Ireland) in the south and west.
In its first season this league was dismissed by the local press as the "Belfast League" because seven of the eight teams came from that city, and the league - and Irish football - continued to be dominated by Belfast clubs for many years. In
1892 Derry Olympic became the second non-Belfast side, but only lasted one season. In
1900 Derry Celtic joined the league and in
1901 a second Derry team, St Columb's Court was added. St Columb's Court lasted just one season, before being replaced by the league's first Dublin team,
Bohemians, in
1903. Another Dublin side,
Shelbourne, was added in
1904. In
1911 Glenavon, from the County Armagh town of
Lurgan. Glenavon replaced Bohemians, who resigned from the league, but were re-admitted in
1912. During
1912 there were three Dublin sides, with the addition of Tritonville, but like Derry Olympic and St Columb's Court before them, they lasted just one season. Derry Celtic also dropped out in
1913, so that when the Irish League split due to partition in
1921, Glenavon was the only non-Belfast team left. During the 1920s, however, the league expanded and soon achieved a good geographic spread across Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, it was not until 1952 that a team from outside Belfast (
Glenavon) was crowned champions.
In 2003, the
Irish Football Association took charge of Northern Ireland's national league with the creation of the Irish Premier League (IPL). The Irish Football League retained a separate existence, but controlling only two feeder leagues: the First Division and Second Division. In 2004, the IFA took over control of the remaining IFL divisions and renamed them as the
IFA Intermediate League First Division and Second Division, effectively winding up the Irish Football League Ltd as a separate organisation after 114 years.
The IPL contains sixteen teams, the
Irish First Division and the
Irish Second Division contain twelve teams each. At the end of the season, the bottom team in the IPL is relegated to the
Irish First Division and replaced by the top team in the
Irish First Division. The team that finishes second-from-bottom in the IPL plays a play-off match against the second-placed
Irish First Division team to determine which team will play in the IPL in the following season. (This is assuming that the First Divisions teams involved meet the IPL entry criteria: if not, they cannot be promoted.) Two teams are relegated from the First Division and replaced by two promoted teams from the Second Division.
The IFL's records from its days in operation as the league for all of Ireland still stand as the records for Northern Ireland (as is the case for the
Northern Ireland national football team).
*1890/91 Linfield
*1891/92 Linfield
*1892/93 Linfield
*1893/94 Glentoran
*1894/95 Linfield
*1895/96 Distillery
*1896/97 Glentoran
*1897/98 Linfield
*1898/99 Distillery
*1899/00 Belfast Celtic
*1900/01 Distillery
*1901/02 Linfield
*1902/03 Distillery
*1903/04 Linfield
*1904/05 Glentoran
*1905/06 Cliftonville and Distillery
*1906/07 Linfield
*1907/08 Linfield
*1908/09 Linfield
*1909/10 Cliftonville
*1910/11 Linfield
*1911/12 Glentoran
*1912/13 Glentoran
*1913/14 Linfield
*1914/15 Belfast Celtic
*1915/16 Linfield
*1916/17 Glentoran
*1917/18 Linfield
*1918/19 Belfast Celtic
*1919/20 Belfast Celtic
*1920/21 Glentoran
*1921/22 Linfield
*1922/23 Linfield
*1923/24 Queen's Island
*1924/25 Glentoran
*1925/26 Belfast Celtic
*1926/27 Belfast Celtic
*1927/28 Belfast Celtic
*1928/29 Belfast Celtic | valign="top"
*1929/30 Linfield
*1930/31 Glentoran
*1931/32 Linfield
*1932/33 Belfast Celtic
*1933/34 Linfield
*1934/35 Linfield
*1935/36 Belfast Celtic
*1936/37 Belfast Celtic
*1937/38 Belfast Celtic
*1938/39 Belfast Celtic
*1939/40 Belfast Celtic
*1940/41 Belfast Celtic
*1941/42 Belfast Celtic
*1942/43 Linfield
*1943/44 Belfast Celtic
*1944/45 Linfield
*1945/46 Linfield
*1946/47 Belfast Celtic
*1947/48 Belfast Celtic
*1948/49 Linfield
*1949/50 Linfield
*1950/51 Glentoran
*1951/52 Glenavon
*1952/53 Glentoran
*1953/54 Linfield
*1954/55 Linfield
*1955/56 Linfield
*1956/57 Glenavon
*1957/58 Ards
*1958/59 Linfield
*1959/60 Glenavon
*1960/61 Linfield
*1961/62 Linfield
*1962/63 Distillery
*1963/64 Glentoran
*1964/65 Derry City
*1965/66 Linfield
*1966/67 Glentoran
*1967/68 Glentoran |
*1968/69 Linfield
*1969/70 Glentoran
*1970/71 Linfield
*1971/72 Glentoran
*1972/73 Crusaders
*1973/74 Coleraine
*1974/75 Linfield
*1975/76 Crusaders
*1976/77 Glentoran
*1977/78 Linfield
*1978/79 Linfield
*1979/80 Linfield
*1980/81 Glentoran
*1981/82 Linfield
*1982/83 Linfield
*1983/84 Linfield
*1984/85 Linfield
*1985/86 Linfield
*1986/87 Linfield
*1987/88 Glentoran
*1988/89 Linfield
*1989/90 Portadown
*1990/91 Portadown
*1991/92 Glentoran
*1992/93 Linfield
*1993/94 Linfield
*1994/95 Crusaders
*1995/96 Portadown
*1996/97 Crusaders
*1997/98 Cliftonville
*1998/99 Glentoran
*1999/00 Linfield
*2000/01 Linfield
*2001/02 Portadown
*2002/03 Glentoran
*2003/04 Linfield
*2004/05 Glentoran
*2005/06 Linfield |
Performance by club
| | Team | Winner | Last win | | 1 | Linfield | 51 | 2005/06 |
| 2 | Glentoran | 22 | 2004/05 |
| 3 | Belfast Celtic | 19 | 1947/48 |
| 4 | Lisburn Distillery | 5 (1 shared) | 1962/63 |
| 5 | Crusaders | 4 | 1996/97 |
| Portadown | 4 | 2001/02 |
| 6 | Glenavon | 3 | 1959/60 |
| 7 | Cliftonville | 3 (1 shared) | 1997/98 |
| 8 | Ards | 1 | 1957/58 |
| Coleraine | 1 | 1973/74 |
| Derry City | 1 | 1964/65 |
| Queen's Island | 1 | 1923/24 |
Notes
*
title shared after two playoffs matches ended in draws.*
the championships between 1915/16 and 1918/19 are unofficial, due to effects of WWI*
the championships between 1940/41 and 1946/47 are unofficial, due to effects of WWII*
Irish Football League Cup*
Irish Cup*
Irish First Division*
Irish Second Division*
County Antrim Shield*
Northern Ireland football league system*
Irish Premier League Website*
Irish Football Club Project*
Irish FA Website*
Irish League Forums
