First and foremost: Kevin sent

Celebrating landmark achievements and curious quirks in the history of Ireland’s Oldest Football Club, cliftonvillefc.net today continues a new mini series reflecting on some of the trailblazing enterprises where Cliftonville have led the way.

Every week throughout the summer break, ‘First and Foremost’ will shine a spotlight on startling statistics, tall tales and magical milestones that saw the Reds play a pioneering role in the story – with the inaugural Ulster Footballer of the Year award taking centre stage today.

The prestigious accolade, presented to the whom and independent committee adjudges to have been the standout performer in an Irish League season, has been dished out annually for more than 70 years, with Cliftonville inside forward Kevin McGarry the very first recipient back in the 1950/51 campaign.

A 1-1 draw with Ballymena United in a City Cup tie at Solitude on August 21, 1948 saw McGarry make the first of 301 appearances for the Club, with contemporary reports noting the arrival of the “nippy inside-right” from Belfast Celtic.

Having made only a fleeting impression with the Hoops, it was at Cliftonville where McGarry would make his name, with the first of his one-time Club Record goal haul coming in just his second outing; a 5-5 draw with Portadown at Shamrock Park five days later.

Over a 13-year association that also included brief sojourns with Sligo Rovers and Dundalk, McGarry netted a total of 170 times for the Reds – a tally surpassed only by Joe Gormley – with his final strikes coming as a double in a League encounter with Bangor on March 4, 1961.

After seeing out his playing career with Limerick, McGarry – who scored once in three full international appearances for Ireland, netted 11 times from 15 Amateur caps, hit 12 goals in 15 outings for Irish League representative sides, played twice for an Irish FA XI and turned out for Great Britain at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 – returned to Solitude as Manager and also served on the Club’s Management Committee before being elected Cliftonville FC President.

It is, however, his specific exploits during the 1950/51 season that earned him the historic distinction of being the first ever Ulster Footballer of the Year.

The Reds finished eighth in the 12-team Irish League, 22 points behind Champions Glentoran and just eight ahead of bottom side Ards.

Cup competitions delivered little by way of excitement and, having finished 12th out of 12 in the City Cup table (with three points from 11 games), Cliftonville were eliminated from the Irish Cup at the quarter-final stage by Ballymena United, who also inflicted defeat at the same stage of the Gold Cup and emerged victorious in a replayed County Antrim Shield Final.

The Ulster Cup did at least provide a degree of positivity with the Reds topping Group D – emerging unbeaten against Larne, Crusaders and Distillery – only to go down 4-1 to Glentoran in the semi-finals.

As such, the season was by no means remarkable from a Club perspective but McGarry’s individual displays, and 24 goals, were enough to earn him a call-up to Ireland’s squad for the Home Nations, when he marked his debut with a goal against Scotland at Hampden Park – another personal highlight in a year that saw him catch the eye of the Ulster Footballer of the Year judging panel.

A further 33 would pass until a Cliftonville player next took the accolade; goalkeeper Bobby Carlisle acknowledged for his performances during the 1983/84 season ahead of Marty Tabb (1998), Chris Scannell (2009), Liam Boyce (2013) and Joe Gormley (2014) – the man who eventually overtook McGarry’s record goal haul – adding their name to the list of men’s winners, while Billie Simpson (2019), Caitlin McGuinness (2023), Marissa Callaghan (2024) and Danielle Maxwell (2025) have since added to the Club’s proud tally from our Ladies team.