Irish League

1890-1891 Season:

The Northern Irish League, or Irish League, which started in 1890, is the third of the four elements that make up Great Britain. Of the eight clubs in the first season of the Irish League, seven were from the capital Belfast and only one was from the city of Armagh. The league was initially called the Belfast & District League for a while anyway. The clubs playing in the first league were:
(The first year in parentheses is the establishment is closed, and the second year is the closing year),
Teams from Belfast Linfield (1886 – ongoing / in the Northern Ireland Premier League), Ulster (1877 – from 1930 onwards only rugby), Distillery (1880 – ongoing / in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League-3rd Division), Cliftonville (1879 – ongoing / in Northern Ireland Premier League), Glentoran (1882 – ongoing / in Northern Ireland Premier League), Oldpark (1880 – 1892), Clarence (1882 – 1892) and Milford from Armagh (1885 – 1891) had it.

In the first season, played as a two-stage league, Linfield FC, founded by the Linfield Mill workers of the Ulster Spinning Company, established a significant advantage over its rivals and won 12 of 14 matches while leaving 89 goals in the opponent’s nets, reached the championship.

Northern Ireland’s most successful club, Linfield FC, has 52 championships. Glentoran FC, with which he is an eternal rival, has 23 titles. Belfast Celtic FC is the club with which Linfield FC competed before Glentoran FC. Glentoran FC is a club founded in 1891 and has been in the league since 1896, and it had 14 championships until 1949. Until Celtic in Scotland was established, they were expressed only as Celtic and took the name Belfast Celtic. After the events of a Linfield welcome in 1949, they withdrew from the league, and the liquidation process took place.
The current name of the league is Northern Ireland Football League Premiership, and previously it has also taken names such as Irish Premier League, and Irish Football League Premier Division. In this case, we see that as of 1891, 4 leagues were established: English Football League in 1888, Scottish Football League and Irish League in 1890, and Argentine Primera Division in 1891.

1891-1892 Season:

The current name of the Irish League is Northern Ireland Football League Premiership, and previously it has also taken names such as Irish Premier League, Irish Football League Premier Division. In the second season of the Irish League, all the teams were from Belfast. The league consisted of ten teams, and in its early years, it was called the Belfast & District League due to its weight in Belfast.

In the second season, as in the first season, Linfield Belfast had only one defeat and scored 106 goals while reaching the championship. If we remember Linfield, it was a team of Linfield Mill workers. Ulster Belfast was again second, while the Lancashire Fusiliers were third. Ulster Belfast was named after a British army unit, which continued in later years, and this is a very classic story. Such teams are encountered in the first leagues in many parts of the world. A similar situation was in the Istanbul League, which was the beginning of our country’s league history. However, the Lancashire Fusiliers have only appeared in the league this season.

Linfield (1886/Northern Ireland Premier League), Glentoran (1882/Northern Ireland Premier League), Cliftonville (1879/Northern Ireland Premier League), Distillery (1880/NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the 3rd Division).

Ulster turned into a rugby club only in the following years. Milltown (1886-1897), Oldpark (1880-1892), Ligoniel (1881-1899) disappeared into history before they could see the new century, and they would not take place in the next season anyway.

1893-1894 Season:

The league, which had eight teams in its first season and ten teams in its second season, had six teams in its 3rd and 4th seasons, and this league was called the Belfast & District League in its first years due to its weight in Belfast.

After Linfield’s title in the first three seasons, it was time for Glentoran, who would become his arch-rival for years. The rivalry between the two is called the “Big Two.” Glentoran is a club that was founded in 1882 and is an older club than Linfield, which was founded in 1886. When the Belfast Celtic, founded in 1891, withdrew from the competition in 1949, only these two clubs that the match had previously been between Catholic Celtic and Protestant Linfield. Their encounter led to Celtic’s withdrawal from the league in protest, a story I’ve mentioned.

Glentoran (1882/Northern Ireland Premier League), Linfield (1886/Northern Ireland Premier League), Cliftonville (1879/Northern Ireland Premier League), Distillery (1880/NIFL Premier Intermediate League) 3rd League) continues. While Ulster turned into only a rugby club in the following years, Ligoniel (1881-1899) vanished into history without seeing the new century.

The Period Between 1894-1898:

The Northern Irish League, or Irish League, which started in 1890, was played with four teams for two seasons between 1894-96, while six teams took part in the league between 1896-98. Glentoran (1882/Northern Ireland Premier League), Linfield (1886/Northern Ireland Premier League), Cliftonville (1879/Northern Ireland Premier League), Distillery (1880) /NIFL Premier Intermediate League-3.Division) were the leading teams. North Staffordshire (1896 – 1899) and Belfast Celtic (1891 – 1949) also joined the league in 1896. Celtic had been Linfield’s arch-rivals until 1949. Glentoran was replaced in the post-Celtic rivalry.

Linfield won the title in 1895 and 1898, Distillery in 1896, and Glentoran in 1897. Linfield has reached five championships in eight seasons in total. In these seasons, the average goals were 4-4.50 goals. Linfield extended to the cup in the seasons when it won the league championship, while Distillery extended to the cup in the same season it was champion. In the 1896-97 season, Cliftonville, Curragh Co. Kildare defeated Sherwood Foresters 3-1 to victory in the cup.

The Period Between 1898-1901:

Six teams competed in the league in Northern Ireland in the 1898-99 season. Distillery and Linfield had seven wins, one draw, and two losses, but Distillery won the title. The other four teams were Cliftonville, Glentoran, Celtic, and North Staffordshire Regiment. In the 1899-1900 season, Celtic won the six-team league championship again, and Linfield was again in second place. While the previous champion, Distillery was in third place, the teams were ranked with 13, 12, and 12 points. In the 1900-1901 season, Distillery, Glentoran, and Celtic ranked.

I mentioned Glentoran, Linfield, and Celtic here. Distillery’s current full name is Lisburn Distillery F.C. The club was named Distillery because it was founded in 1880 on Distillery Street near Grosvenor Park on Grosvenor Road in West Belfast.

The Period Between 1902-1914:

Linfield Belfast won the championship six times, Glentoran Belfast three times, Distillery Belfast and Cliftonville Belfast two times each, Belfast Celtic one time in the Irish League, which was played with eight teams from 1902-1903 to the end of the 1914-15 season in the 1900s. While Belfast teams came to the fore in the league, Dublin teams also competed. Starting from 1915, the league played with six teams. During the war period, the league was unofficial. In the meantime, play-off finals were played for some seasons, which was because the 1st and 2nd ranked teams did not get the same score.