Description Available in: Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a Northern Irish, professional association football club playing in the NIFL Premiership – the top division of the Irish League. The club was founded in September 1879 by John McAlery in the suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast. It is the oldest football club in Ireland and celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2019. Since 1890, the club has played home matches at Solitude. Cliftonville contests the North Belfast derby with nearby rivals Crusaders, and also has local rivalries with Linfield and Glentoran. The club has won the Irish League Premiership five times outright including one shared title, the Irish Cup nine times the latest coming against Coleraine on the 4th February 2023 in a penalty shootout and the Irish League Cup six times.