The IFA Premiership – formerly the Irish Premier League, and before that the Irish Football League–and still known in popular parlance simply as the Irish League, is the national football league in Northern Ireland, and was historically the league for the whole of Ireland. Clubs in the league are semi-professional. It should not be confused with the League of Ireland, which is the football league for the Republic of Ireland.
The League is currently sponsored by Danske Bank, who took over from Carling after the end of the 2011–12 season. The league is currently marketed as the Danske Bank Premiership. It is run by the Irish Football Association (IFA). At the end of the season, the champion club is presented with the Gibson Cup – on 28 April 2012 it was awarded to Linfield, the current holders.
Read more about Irish Premier League: History, League Format, UEFA Coefficient and Ranking, 2008 Reorganisation, Premiership Members For 2012–13, History and Trivia, Relegation and Promotion History
Famous quotes containing the words irish and/or league:
“The Irish say your trouble is their
trouble and your
joy their joy? I wish
I could believe it;
I am troubled, I’m dissatisfied, I’m Irish.”
—Marianne Moore (1887–1972)
“Stereotypes fall in the face of humanity. You toodle along, thinking that all gay men wear leather after dark and should never, ever be permitted around a Little League field. And then one day your best friend from college, the one your kids adore, comes out to you.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)