North of Ireland Football Club is a former Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club that was based in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was the first rugby club formed in what is now Northern Ireland and only two other clubs -

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

and Wanderers - were formed earlier anywhere else in all

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

.''The Ireland Rugby Miscellany'' (2007): Ciaran Cronin It was founded in 1868 by members of North of Ireland Cricket Club. NIFC also played in the first recorded rugby game in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

when they played a 20-a-side match against

Queen's University RFC Queen's University Belfast Rugby Football Club is the rugby union team of Queen's University Belfast, currently playing in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. Founded in 1869, it is the most successful and oldest continuous rugby union clu ...

. Throughout its history, NIFC was one of the most successful clubs in Ulster rugby, winning eighteen Ulster Senior League titles and eighteen

Ulster Senior Cup The Ulster Senior Cup is a knock-out competition for senior rugby union teams in the province of Ulster. It is administered by Ulster Rugby. The most successful club is Queen's University with 23 wins. The current holders are City of Armagh RF ...

titles. They also played several seasons in the

AIB League The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league w ...

before merging with

Collegians Collegians are an Australian rugby league football team based in Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. Originally known as CBC Old Boys, the Club was founded in 1933. The ...

in 1999 to form

Belfast Harlequins Belfast Harlequins is a multi-sports club located off the Malone Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club name provides the overall umbrella for rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey, and squash. The club is associated on and off the fi ...

. The club left its historic home on the Ormeau Road (one of the earliest international rugby venues in Ireland) 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".

Notable players

''See also ''

Ireland

The following NIFC players represented

at full international level.

British and Irish Lions

The following NIFC players also represented the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

Ireland cricket team

The following NIFC players also represented

at cricket. * Robert Alexander *

Neil Doak Neil George Doak (born 21 June 1972) is a Northern Irish former cricketer and rugby union player. He currently works as a rugby union coach, and has served as attack and backs coach with English club side Worcester Warriors, and Georgia during t ...

Honours

* All-Ireland Cup: 1 **1934-35 *

: 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: 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 The Ulster Junior Cup is a rugby union competition for clubs in the Irish province of Ulster that are not considered strong enough to play in the Ulster Senior Cup. It also includes the second teams of the senior clubs. The perpetual trophy that ...

: 9 ** †1894-95, †1906-07, †1907-08, †1908-09, †1935-36, †1953-54, †1956-57, †1962-63, †1984-85 † Won by 2nd XV

References

{{Irish Rugby Football Union Founding Members Rugby clubs established in 1868 Irish rugby union teams Rugby union clubs in Northern Ireland Belfast Harlequins Rugby union clubs in County Antrim 1868 establishments in Ireland