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 Linfield1949/50 Larne1950/51 Glentoran1951/52 (not held)*1952/53 Glentoran1953/54 Crusaders1954/55 Glenavon1955/56 Linfield1956/57 Linfield1957/58 Distillery1958/59 Glenavon1959/60 Linfield1960/61 Ballymena United1961/62 Linfield1962/63 Glenavon1963/64 Crusaders1964/65 Linfield1965/66 Coleraine1966/67 Glentoran1967/68 Linfield1968/69 Coleraine1969/70 Coleraine1970/71 Linfield1971/72 Linfield1972/73 Coleraine1973/74 Ards1974/75 Linfield1975/76 Coleraine1976/77 Glentoran1977/78 Linfield1978/79 Linfield1979/80 Linfield1980/81 Ballymena United1981/82 Glentoran1982/83 Glentoran1983/84 Glentoran1984/85 Linfield1985/86 Coleraine1986/87 Coleraine1987/88 Larne1988/89 Glentoran1989/90 Glentoran1990/91 Portadown1991/92 Bangor1992/93 Linfield1993/94 Crusaders1994/95 Bangor1995/96 Portadown1996/97 Coleraine1997/98 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.