1977–78 Irish League
# 1977–78 Irish League

The 1977–78 Irish League was the 76th edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. The league consisted of 12 teams. Linfield won the championship.

## League standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Linfield (C) | 22 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 22 | +43 | 40 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Glentoran | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 59 | 22 | +37 | 34 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Glenavon | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 28 | |
| 4 | Cliftonville | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 38 | −4 | 25 | |
| 5 | Portadown | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 21 | |
| 6 | Larne | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 21 | |
| 7 | Ards | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 21 | |
| 8 | Coleraine | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 19 | |
| 9 | Distillery | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 32 | 59 | −27 | 16 | |
| 10 | Crusaders | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 15 | |
| 11 | Bangor | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 14 | |
| 12 | Ballymena United | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 22 | 44 | −22 | 10 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARD | BAN | BLM | CLI | COL | CRU | DIS | GLV | GLT | LRN | LIN | POR |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ards | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 |
| Bangor | 1–2 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Ballymena United | 1–3 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 |
| Cliftonville | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 1–4 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Coleraine | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 3–3 |
| Crusaders | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 0–5 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 |
| Distillery | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 5–2 | | 1–2 | 0–5 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 |
| Glenavon | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 |
| Glentoran | 4–2 | 6–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 |
| Larne | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 0–4 |
| Linfield | 6–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 7–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 2–2 |
| Portadown | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |
