# North of Ireland F.C.

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Defunct Irish rugby union club, based in Belfast

Rugby team

North of Ireland FC Full name North of Ireland Football Club Union IRFU Ulster Founded 1868; 158 years ago (1868) Ground(s) Ormeau Road Belfast League(s) Ulster Senior League AIB League

**North of Ireland Football Club** is a former Irish [rugby union](/source/Rugby_union) club that was based in [Belfast](/source/Belfast), [Northern Ireland](/source/Northern_Ireland). It was the first rugby club formed in what is now Northern Ireland and only two other clubs - [Dublin University](/source/Dublin_University_Football_Club) and [Wanderers](/source/Wanderers_F.C._(rugby_union)) - were formed earlier anywhere else in all [Ireland](/source/Ireland).[1][2] It was founded in 1868 by members of North of Ireland Cricket Club.[3] NIFC also played in the first recorded rugby game in [Ulster](/source/Ulster) when they played a 20-a-side match against [Queen's University RFC](/source/Queen's_University_RFC).

Throughout its history, NIFC was one of the most successful clubs in Ulster rugby, winning eighteen [Ulster Senior League](/source/Ulster_Senior_League_(rugby_union)) titles and eighteen [Ulster Senior Cup](/source/Ulster_Senior_Cup) titles. They also played several seasons in the [AIB League](/source/AIB_League) before merging with [Collegians](/source/Collegians_(Belfast)) in 1999 to form [Belfast Harlequins](/source/Belfast_Harlequins).[4]

The club left its historic home on the Ormeau Road (one of the earliest international rugby venues in Ireland[5]) after a series of sectarian arson attacks, including the burning of its pavilion. The club, with a mainly Protestant membership, was perceived as being "isolated in a zone of working-class nationalism".[6][7]

## Notable players

*See also [Category:North of Ireland F.C. players](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:North_of_Ireland_F.C._players)*

### Ireland

The following NIFC players represented [Ireland](/source/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team) at full international level.

Stephen Blake-Knox Robert Alexander Norman Brand Ian Davidson Thomas Gisborne Gordon, the only one handed player in international rugby.[8] Gordon Hamilton[9] David Hewitt Des Scott Jack Kyle Mike Gibson Arthur Norman McClinton Henry Neill[10] Albert Stewart Dolway Walkington Hugh Kelly (captain)

### British and Irish Lions

The following NIFC players also represented the [British and Irish Lions](/source/British_and_Irish_Lions).[2]

Tom McGown: 1899 Ian Davidson: 1903 Arthur Norman McClinton: 1910 Norman Brand: 1924 Robert Alexander: 1938 Jack Kyle: 1950 David Hewitt: 1959, 1962 Mike Gibson: 1966, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977

### Ireland cricket team

The following NIFC players also represented [Ireland](/source/Ireland_cricket_team) at cricket.

- [Robert Alexander](/source/Robert_Alexander_(rugby_player_and_cricketer))

- [Neil Doak](/source/Neil_Doak)

## Honours

- [All-Ireland Cup](/source/All-Ireland_Cup_(rugby_union)): 1 - 1934-35

- [Ulster Senior Cup](/source/Ulster_Senior_Cup_(rugby_union)): 18 - 1884–85, 1892–93, 1893–94, 1894–95, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1907–08, 1919–20, 1929–30, 1934–35, 1938–39, 1954–55, 1968–69, 1972–73

- [Ulster Senior League](/source/Ulster_Senior_League_(rugby_union)): 18 (1 shared) - 1891–92, 1892–93, 1893–94, 1894–95, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1908–09, 1920–21, 1926-27 (shared), 1945–46, 1954–55, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1991–92

- [Ulster Junior Cup](/source/Ulster_Junior_Cup): 9 - †1894-95, †1906-07, †1907-08, †1908-09, †1935-36, †1953-54, †1956-57, †1962-63, †1984-85

† Won by 2nd XV

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [www.irishrugby.ie](http://www.irishrugby.ie/300_285.php) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131212215537/http://www.irishrugby.ie/300_285.php) 2013-12-12 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-The_Ireland_Rugby_Miscellany_2007_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-The_Ireland_Rugby_Miscellany_2007_2-1) *The Ireland Rugby Miscellany* (2007): Ciaran Cronin

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Hassan, David (2003). ["Rugby Union, Irish Nationalism and National Identity in Northern Ireland"](http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/FootballStudies/2003/FS0601d.pdf) (PDF). *Football Studies*. **6** (1). University of Ulster, Jordanstown.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["www.irishrugby.ie"](http://www.irishrugby.ie/23_7866.php?PHPSESSID=2ef47a7b8ce5adc00dfe62c38c3d6740).[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** See references to Ireland's matches against Scotland from 1877 to 1889: [Ireland v Scotland - Head to Head Statistics](http://www.irishrugby.ie/18104_18114.php) [Deprecated link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Archive.today_guidance) archived 2012-09-04 at [archive.today](/source/Archive.today)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** D. Sharrock, ‘Goodbye to all that, as the Belfast sporting club where W.G. Grace swung his bat uproots for Protestant sanctuary’, The Guardian, 13 August 1997, p. 6.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Cronin, Mike (200o). [""Catholics and Sport in Northern Ireland: Exclusiveness or Inclusiveness?""](https://web.archive.org/web/20090327122534/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/ISS/ISS2201/ISS2201d.pdf) (PDF). *International Sports Studies*. **2** (1). Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH. Archived from [the original](http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/ISS/ISS2201/ISS2201d.pdf) (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Planet_Rugby_8-0)** O'Sullivan, John (3 May 2010). ["Planet rugby"](http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0503/1224269590998.html). *[Irish Times](/source/Irish_Times)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Cole, Brendan. ["RTÉ Sport: 1991: Gordon Hamilton Scores"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070919040641/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/worldcup2007/moments1991.html). [RTÉ](/source/RT%C3%89). Archived from [the original](https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/worldcup2007/moments1991.html) on 19 September 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["ulsterbiography.co.uk"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080705103505/http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/biogsN.htm). *www.ulsterbiography.co.uk*. Archived from [the original](http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/biogsN.htm) on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.

v t e Founding Clubs of the IRFU Irish Rugby Football Union - 1879 Irish Football Union (and associated members) Northern Football Union of Ireland (and associated members) Irish Football Union - 1874 Dublin University Football Club Lansdowne Football Club Wanderers Football Club Dungannon RFC Engineers Portora Bray Monaghan Northern Football Union of Ireland - 1875 North of Ireland Windsor Methodist College

v t e IRFU Ulster Branch Part of the Irish Rugby Football Union Competitions Ulster Senior Cup Ulster Senior League Ulster Junior Cup Ulster Towns Cup McCrea Cup Ulster Schools Cup Medallion Shield Senior clubs Ballyclare Ballymena Ballynahinch Banbridge City of Armagh Clogher Valley Dungannon Enniskillen Instonians Malone Queen's University Rainey

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [North of Ireland F.C.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_of_Ireland_F.C.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_of_Ireland_F.C.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.