Ulster Senior League (Men's Hockey)

The Ulster Senior League is a league competition for the first teams of men's hockey clubs affiliated to the Ulster Hockey Union of the Irish Hockey Association.

At a Special General Meeting of the Union held on 15 October 1897 in the Royal Avenue Hotel, Belfast, the clubs present resolved to form the Ulster Senior League. Eight teams participated in the first season: Antrim, Ards, Cliftonville, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, Lisburn, North Down, North Staffordshire Regiment and Ulster

In 2017-18, 14 clubs will start the Ulster Senior League season.

From its formation until 1953 entry to the Ulster Senior League could only be obtained by application to the Ulster Hockey Union. The applicant club would then have to be successful in a vote amongst the Senior Clubs. The size of the Senior League varied between seven competing clubs in the 1900s to as many as eighteen in the late 1920s. With eighteen teams it was necessary to play the league in two pools with the winners of the pools playing a Test Match to decide that year's league champions.

In 1953 the eight team Senior League amalgamated with the eight team Qualifying League. There was no realignment of teams at this time, the only difference was the renaming of the two leagues as Senior League Section A (the old Senior League) and Senior League Section B (the old Qualifying League). Teams did not change Sections during this period and no teams were promoted or relegated to or from the Senior League.

At the end of each league season the winner of Section A played the winner of Section B in a Test Match to decide the winner of the Keightley Cup. The loser of the Test Match was awarded the Ireland's Saturday Night Cup. During this period the trophy was always won by the Section A winner.

Prior to the start of the 1957-58 season, the Council of the Ulster Branch made a controversial decision. Portrush, who had finished bottom of Section A in 1956-57 were demoted to Section B. Parkview, the winners of Section B in 1956-57, were moved to Section A. This signalled the intention of the League to move to Promotion and Relegation. A report was commissioned by the Council of the Ulster Branch to establish new league structures.

The report and debate lead to the league reorganising to allow for promotion and relegation prior to the start of the 1958-59 season. There were eight teams in each league section. A Qualifying League in two sections provided two lower rungs for the league, with a further Intermediate section below that. The formation of the sections again proved controversial, as some clubs were not placed in the section that their previous seasons standing would merit. In particular, it was reported that Saintfield (Intermediate A) had finished above four clubs in 1957-58 that were placed in Qualifying B.

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