County Antrim Shield

County Antrim Shield

Organising body	County Antrim & District F.A.
Founded	1888
Region	Northern Ireland
Current champions	Larne (2023–24)
Most successful club(s)	Linfield (43 titles)
Website	County Antrim F.A.

The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Football Association (also known as the County Antrim & District Football Association) (membership of which extends geographically beyond County Antrim itself), often plus intermediate teams who qualify via the Steel & Sons Cup, depending on the numbers required. For the 2010–11 and 2011-12 seasons, only the winners took part.

The current Shield champions are Larne, who beat Glentoran 2–1 in the 2023–24 final, winning the trophy for a fourth successive year.

History

The County Antrim & District Football Association was founded on April 23, 1888 by the clubs Ballyclare, Beechmount, Belfast Athletic, Clarence, Cliftonville, Distillery, Linfield, Mountcollyer, Oldpark, Whiteabbey and YMCA. The County Antrim FA has organised the competition for the County Antrim Shield annually ever since. Originally only clubs from County Antrim (to which most but not all of Belfast belonged) could enter; in 1896 it was extended to incorporate clubs from south east Belfast (in particular Glentoran and Ulster), which belonged to County Down (other clubs from County Down to have entered later on include Ards, Bangor and Newry City). Glenavon from Lurgan (County Armagh) first entered in 1912. In 1971/72 and 1972/73, the final was played over 2 legs.

During the later 1980s and early 1990s, the North East Ulster F.A. invited senior clubs from outside its jurisdiction to participate. Hence the Shield has been won by Newry Town (later Newry City) and Glenavon, neither of which are members of the North East Ulster Football Association.

The Shield has been regularly sponsored since the late 1980s. The 2014–15 competition was sponsored by Toals Bookmakers.

Final results

Key:

	Scores level after 90 minutes. A replay was required.
(a.e.t.)	Scores level after extra time. A replay was required.
(a.e.t.)	Scores level after 90 minutes. Winner was decided in extra time with no penalty shootout required.
(a.e.t.) (g.g.)	Scores level after 90 minutes. Winner was decided in extra time by golden goal.
(a.e.t.) pens.	Scores level after extra time. A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner.
pens.	Scores level after 90 minutes. A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner.
	Two-legged final. Aggregate score across two legs determined the winner with a penalty shootout required if score was level.

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning Years	Runners-up Years
Linfield	43	26	1898–99, 1903–04, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1916–17, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1941–42, 1946–47, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2013–14, 2016–17	1895–96, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1899–1900, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1917–18, 1939–40, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1989–90, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23
Glentoran	26	23	1900–01, 1901–02, 1910–11, 1915–16, 1917–18, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1930–31, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1956–57, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2010–11	1906–07, 1909–10, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1916–17, 1922–23, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1992–93, 2000–01, 2011–12, 2020–21, 2023–24
Lisburn Distillery	14	16	1888–89, 1892–93, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1899–1900, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1914–15, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1945–46, 1953–54, 1963–64, 1985–86	1889–90, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1915–16, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1940–41, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1975–76, 1981–82, 2006–07
Cliftonville	11	7	1891–92, 1893–94, 1897–98, 1925–26, 1978–79, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019–20	1900–01, 1908–09, 1910–11, 1912–13, 1930–31, 1950–51, 1998–99
Crusaders	8	16	1959–60, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1991–92, 2009–10, 2017–18, 2018–19	1954–55, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2016–17
Belfast Celtic	8	10	1894–95, 1909–10, 1926–27, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1942–43, 1944–45	1892–93, 1893–94, 1903–04, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1924–25, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1943–44, 1946–47
Ballymena United	6	10	1947–48, 1950–51, 1975–76, 1979–80, 2012–13, 2015–16	1937–38, 1953–54, 1965–66, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2017–18, 2019–20
Larne	4	3	2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24	1941–42, 1964–65, 1973–74
Bangor	3	6	1969–70, 1974–75, 1988–89	1948–49, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1972–73, 1999–2000, 2014–15
Ards	3	4	1955–56, 1971–72, 1993–94	1927–28, 1933–34, 1969–70, 2003–04
Glenavon	2	3	1990–91, 1995–96	1986–87, 1991–92, 1994–95
Linfield Swifts	1	1	1948–49	1898–99
Newry Town	1	1	1987–88	1990–91
Black Watch	1	0	1890–91	–
Glentoran II	1	0	1908–09	–
Queen's Island	1	0	1923–24	–
Carrick Rangers	1	0	1992–93	–
Belfast Celtic II	0	2	–	1934–35, 1935–36
YMCA	0	1	–	1888–89
Oldpark	0	1	–	1890–91
Lancashire Fusiliers	0	1	–	1891–92
Linfield Swifts	0	1	–	1898–99
Dunmurry	0	1	–	1926–27
Broadway United	0	1	–	1928–29
Bangor Reserves	0	1	–	1945–46
Brantwood	0	1	–	1951–52

Centenary Chalice

To mark the centenary of the County Antrim F.A., a Centenary Chalice was played for in 1987–88. Glentoran won it, defeating Ballymena United 4–2 in the final.

External links

• Irish League Archive - County Antrim Shield