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 Irish League. 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 | 57 | 61 |
 Scotland | 7 | 7 |
 Republic of Ireland | 3 | 3 |
 England | 1 | 1 |
| Club | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Linfield | 22 | 25 |
| 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 |
Linfield Football Club is a Northern Irish professional football club, based in south Belfast, which plays in the NIFL Premiership – the highest level of the Northern Ireland Football League. The fourth-oldest club on the island of Ireland, Linfield was founded in 1886 by workers at the Ulster Spinning Company's Linfield Mill. Since 1905, the club's home ground has been Windsor Park, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland national team and is the largest football stadium in Northern Ireland. They train at Midgley Park which is beside the stadium. The club's badge displays Windsor Castle, in reference to the ground's namesake.
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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.
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