The Ulster Footballer of the Year is an association football player of the year award in Northern Ireland. One of two player of the year awards in Northern Ireland, the other is the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association award. The Ulster award is the older of the two.
It is awarded by Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters' Club to the player who is adjudged by an independent committee to have been the best of the season in the NIFL Premiership. The award has been presented since the 1950–51 season, when the inaugural winner was Kevin McGarry of Cliftonville. The current holder of the award is Chris Shields, of Linfield. [1] Glenn Ferguson has won the award most often: on three separate occasions. [2]
| Player | Total | Years |
|---|---|---|
 Glenn Ferguson | 3 | 2001, 2004, 2006 |
| Billy Humphries | 2 | 1970, 1972 |
| Lindsay McKeown | 2 | 1980, 1990 |
| Club | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 56 | 60 |
 Scotland | 7 | 7 |
 Republic of Ireland | 3 | 3 |
 England | 1 | 1 |
| Club | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Linfield | 21 | 24 |
| Glentoran | 13 | 13 |
| Crusaders | 7 | 7 |
| Cliftonville | 6 | 6 |
| Portadown | 5 | 5 |
| Coleraine | 4 | 4 |
| Ards | 2 | 3 |
| Ballymena United | 3 | 3 |
| Glenavon | 3 | 3 |
| Derry City | 2 | 2 |
| Newry City | 1 | 1 |
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1950, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association (IFA). In 1921, the jurisdiction of the IFA was reduced to Northern Ireland following the secession of clubs in the soon-to-be Irish Free State, although its team remained the national team for all of Ireland until 1950, and used the name Ireland until the 1970s. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) organises the separate Republic of Ireland national football team.
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999.
Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the Irish League First Division in 1997. Dungannon earned promotion from Irish League First Division to the Premier Division in the 2002–03 season.
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. The award has been presented since the 1947–48 season, with the inaugural winner being Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews. The latest winner of the award as of 2022–23 is Erling Haaland of Manchester City. Nine players have won the award on more than one occasion, with Thierry Henry having won the award on the most occasions, with three wins in four seasons.
Bryan Hamilton is a Northern Irish former professional football player and manager. He gained 50 caps for Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1980, and later managed the national team for four years. He later became Technical Director at Antigua Barracuda F.C., which no longer exists, having been dissolved in 2014.
Robert Wright "Roy" Walker is a football manager and former player. His most recent job was as manager of NIFL Premiership side Ballymena United.
Thomas John Bowe is an Irish television presenter and former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ospreys, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
The NIFL Irish Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football League – the national league in Northern Ireland. The Premiership was established as the IFA Premiership in 2008 under the auspices of the Irish Football Association, before the Northern Ireland Football League was created for the start of the 2013–14 season. At the end of the season, the champion club is presented with the Gibson Cup.
Peter Canavan is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit.
Anthony Tohill is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Glenn Dunlop is a retired Northern Irish footballer who played over 300 games for Crusaders as a central defender.
Sport in Northern Ireland plays an important role in the lives of many Northern Irish people. Most sports are organised on an all-Ireland basis, for example rugby union, Gaelic games, basketball, rugby league, hockey, and cricket, whereas others, like association football and netball are organised on a separate basis for Northern Ireland.
Michael Gault is a Northern Irish football former player who is currently manager of Linfield F.C. Swifts. He previously managed Ballymacash Rangers from 2019-20.
Jamie Mulgrew is a professional footballer from Northern Ireland who plays for Linfield of the NIFL Premiership and who has been capped by the Northern Ireland national team.
The Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in the NIFL Premiership. It is one of two association football Player of the Year awards in Northern Ireland, with the other being the Ulster Footballer of the Year award.
Liam Boyce is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Northern Ireland national team.
Joseph Anthony Gormley is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Cliftonville in the NIFL Premiership. Gormley played for amateur side Crumlin Star, before making the move to Cliftonville. On 14 June 2015, Gormley made the transition to professional football, signing for Football League One side Peterborough United. After suffering a serious knee injury, Gormley moved on loan to Scottish club St Johnstone in August 2016. After becoming "disillusioned" with professional football, Gormley cancelled his contracts with Peterborough and St Johnstone. After much speculation, it was announced in January 2017 that Gormley would rejoin Cliftonville for the 2017/18 season.
William Joseph Burns, widely known as Billy Joe Burns, is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays as a full back for Crusaders.
Gavin Whyte is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cardiff City and the Northern Ireland national team.
The Derry county football team represents Derry GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
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