Jump to content

Irish Intermediate League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irish Intermediate League
Organising bodyIrish Football Association
Founded1915
Abolished1954
RegionNorthern Ireland Northern Ireland (since 1921)
Ireland Ireland (1915–1921)
Most successful club(s)Crusaders (9 titles)

The Irish Intermediate League was a Northern Irish football competition for teams of intermediate status, which also included reserve sides of senior teams. The league ran from 1915 until 1954.

History

[edit]

It began in 1915 after the amalgamation of the Irish Junior League and Irish Senior Reserve League,[1][2] and ran until 1954, when the majority of the remaining clubs applied to join the Irish League B Division, which had been formed in 1951.[3][4] Until the introduction of the Irish League B Division it was the second tier of the Northern Ireland football league system.[5]

The tournament also ran a cup tournament for members of the league, the McElroy Cup.[6]

List of champions

[edit]

NB - * denotes reserve teams of senior clubs

Performance by club

[edit]
Team No. of wins Winning years
Crusaders 9 1922–23, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1948–49
Belfast Celtic II* 7 1916–17, 1917–18, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37
Dundela 5 1921–22, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1950–51
Brantwood 5 1920–21, 1924–25, 1947–48, 1951–52, 1953–54
Glentoran II* 4 1915–16, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1929–30
Bangor Reserves* 3 1940–41, 1942–43, 1943–44
Linfield Swifts* 2 1939–40, 1945–46
Aircraft United 1 1941–42
Willowfield 1 1927–28

NB - * indicates reserve team

List of McElroy Cup winners

[edit]

NB - * denotes reserve teams of senior clubs

Performance by club

[edit]
Team No. of wins Winning years
Belfast Celtic II* 7 1916–17, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1943–44
Linfield Swifts* 5 1928–29, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1944–45, 1945–46 (shared)
Glentoran II* 4 1915–16, 1917–18, 1933–34 (shared), 1938–39
Crusaders 3 1929–30, 1931–32, 1947–48
Distillery II* 2 1918–19, 1920–21
St Mary's 2 1921–22, 1922–24
Dunmurry 2 1924–25 (shared), 1926–27
Cliftonville Olympic* 1 1919–20
Belfast United 1 1922–23
Linfield Rangers 1 1925–26
Broadway United 1 1927–28
Newington Rangers 1 1930–31
Ards II 1 1940–41
Ballyclare Comrades 1 1941–42
Bangor Reserves* 1 1946–47
Larne 1 1948–49
Brantwood 1 1924–25 (shared)
Summerfield 1 1933–34 (shared)
Dundela 1 1945–46 (shared)

NB - * indicates reserve team

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Association Football - Amalgamation of local leagues". Belfast News-Letter. 24 April 1915. p. 3.
  2. ^ "Field & Pavilion - News About Clubs And Players". Daily Record. 15 June 1915. p. 2.
  3. ^ "Intermediate League likely to end soon". Belfast Telegraph. 15 June 1954. p. 10.
  4. ^ ""Jaymac" sums up Larne's hopes in new season". Larne Times. 12 August 1954. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Irish Intermediate league". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  6. ^ "McElroy Cup". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
[edit]