| Season | 1988–89 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Linfield 40thIrish title |
| Matches | 182 |
| Goals | 520 (2.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Stephen Baxter (17 goals) |
1989–90 → | |
The1988–89 Irish League was the 88th edition of theIrish League, the highest level of league competition inNorthern Irishfootball. The league consisted of 14 teams, andLinfield won the championship.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield(C) | 26 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 58 | 19 | +39 | 65 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup first round |
| 2 | Glentoran | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 60 | 29 | +31 | 55 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Coleraine | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 50 | |
| 4 | Bangor | 26 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 45 | |
| 5 | Glenavon | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 44 | |
| 6 | Portadown | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 39 | |
| 7 | Cliftonville | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 36 | |
| 8 | Carrick Rangers | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 29 | 40 | −11 | 36 | |
| 9 | Ballymena United | 26 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 29 | Qualification for theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 10 | Larne | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 28 | |
| 11 | Newry Town | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 26 | |
| 12 | Crusaders | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 22 | 47 | −25 | 20 | |
| 13 | Ards | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 25 | 54 | −29 | 18 | |
| 14 | Distillery | 26 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 73 | −53 | 12 |
| Home \ Away | ARD | BAN | BLM | CRK | CLI | COL | CRU | DIS | GLV | GLT | LRN | LIN | NEW | POR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ards | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 0–0 | |
| Bangor | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Ballymena United | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | |
| Carrick Rangers | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Cliftonville | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | |
| Coleraine | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | |
| Crusaders | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | |
| Distillery | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–6 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 0–2 | |
| Glenavon | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
| Glentoran | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 8–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Larne | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 7–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |
| Linfield | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Newry Town | 6–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | |
| Portadown | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |