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 |
| 1948–49 | 1 | group system plus final |
| 1949–52 | 3 | group system plus top-four knockout |
| 1952–56 | 4 | group system plus final |
| 1956–57 | 1 | league |
| 1957–65 | 8 | group system plus final |
| 1965–83 | 18 | league |
| 1983–85 | 2 | group system plus top-four knockout |
| 1985–96 | 11 | group system plus top-eight knockout |
| 1996–97 | 1 | knock-out |
| 1997–99 and 2002–03 | 3 | league |
Finals results
Winners of the Ulster Cup by season.Key:
| Scores level after 90 minutes. A replay was required. | |
| Scores level after 90 minutes. Winner was decided in extra time with no penalty shootout required. | |
| pens. | Scores level after extra time. A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner. |