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Paul Kirk (born 13 May 1953) is a Northern Irish retired football player and manager.
A forward, [1] [2] Paul Kirk played football during his career for Ballymena United, Glentoran, Crusaders, and Linfield, winning the league title with three of the four clubs. He also had a spell with Aston Villa in the 70s. Kirk played for the Glens in the 1970–71 European Cup against Waterford United and Eintracht Frankfurt. Eight years later he joined Waterford utd where he won the FAI Cup and league cup in 1980. [3] Kirk scored twice against Hibernians F.C. in the 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Kirk managed Lisburn Distillery for 13 years. As one of the longest serving managers in the Irish League, he was surprisingly sacked at the beginning of the 2009–10 season after taking the club into Europe for the fourth time in six years. Paul also won the Ulster cup and two league winning promotions and was manager of the year on two occasions. [4]
As manager of the Northern Ireland amateur league representative team Kirk won three consecutive Briton Rose bowls against Scotland.
A UEFA Pro licence coach, Kirk is the manager of Amateur League side Lisburn Rangers.
His son Andy Kirk is a retired footballer and former Northern Ireland international.
Glentoran
Crusaders
Linfield F.C.
Waterford United
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 honours making them one of the most successful teams in the world.
Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The club has been managed by former captain Jim Ervin since 2023.
Crusaders Football Club is a professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club, founded in 1898, is based in north Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview.
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Inaugurated in 1881, it is the fourth-oldest national cup competition in the world. Prior to the break-away from the Irish Football Association by clubs from what would become the Irish Free State in 1921, the Irish Cup was the national cup competition for the whole of Ireland.
Glenn Ferguson is a Northern Irish former football player and manager.
Robert Irvine Coyle is a former Northern Ireland international footballer. Coyle is the most successful manager in the history of the Irish Football League. He is the Director of Football at Glentoran.
Andrew Waterworth is a former footballer from Northern Ireland who is the interim manager of the Northern Ireland women's national team.
The 1999–2000 Irish League was the 99th edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. The league consisted of 10 teams, and Linfield won the championship.
The 2000–01 Irish League was the 100th edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. The league consisted of 10 teams, and Linfield won the championship.
The 2001–02 Irish League was the 101st edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. The league consisted of 10 teams, and Portadown won the championship.
The 2002–03 Irish League was the 102nd edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. The league consisted of 12 teams, and Glentoran won the championship.
The 2003–04 Irish Premier League was the 103rd edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. For this season there was a change from the structure of previous seasons, with the First Division reverting to intermediate status and the new Premier Division being renamed as the Irish Premier League. The league consisted of 16 teams, and Linfield won the championship.
The 2006–07 Irish Premier League was the 106th edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football, and the 4th edition in its current format since its inception in 2003.
The 2008–09 IFA Premiership was the 1st season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 108th season of Irish league football overall.
The George Wilson Memorial Cup is a competition open to the reserve football teams of member clubs of the NIFL Premiership. Initially it was open to all members of the B Division, both "attached and unattached", but since 1977–78 it has been limited to reserve sides only. It has not been played since 2019.
Thomas Jackson is a Northern Irish former footballer, who played as a midfielder for Everton, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. He also amassed a total of 35 caps for the Northern Ireland national football team. Following his playing career, he went into management, taking charge of various clubs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The 2009–10 IFA Premiership was the 2nd season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 109th season of Irish league football overall.
The 2010–11 IFA Premiership was the 3rd season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 110th season of Irish league football overall.
The 2011–12 IFA Premiership was the 4th season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 111th season of Irish league football overall.
The 2012–13 IFA Premiership was the 5th season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 112th season of Irish league football overall.