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 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:
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.
