title: 1939–40 Irish League
text: # 1939–40 Irish League
  
  The 1939–40 Irish League was the 46th edition of the Irish League, the highest level of league competition in Northern Irish football. The league comprised 14 teams, and Belfast Celtic won the championship.
  
  ## League standings
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Belfast Celtic (C) | 26 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 91 | 18 | 5.056 | 45 | Champions |
  | 2 | Portadown | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 86 | 37 | 2.324 | 41 | |
  | 3 | Glentoran | 26 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 104 | 46 | 2.261 | 39 | |
  | 4 | Ballymena United | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 82 | 52 | 1.577 | 34 | |
  | 5 | Linfield | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 63 | 47 | 1.340 | 33 | |
  | 6 | Derry City | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 73 | 46 | 1.587 | 30 | |
  | 7 | Glenavon | 26 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 69 | 68 | 1.015 | 29 | |
  | 8 | Coleraine | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 47 | 68 | 0.691 | 24 | |
  | 9 | Ards | 26 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 49 | 72 | 0.681 | 20 | |
  | 10 | Bangor | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 44 | 77 | 0.571 | 19 | |
  | 11 | Distillery | 26 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 53 | 70 | 0.757 | 15 | |
  | 12 | Newry Town | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 86 | 0.372 | 15 | |
  | 13 | Larne | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 36 | 83 | 0.434 | 13 | |
  | 14 | Cliftonville | 26 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 40 | 99 | 0.404 | 7 | |
  
  ## Results
  
  | Home \ Away | ARD | BAN | BLM | BCE | CLI | COL | DER | DIS | GLV | GLT | LAR | LIN | NEW | POR |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Ards | | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 5–4 |
  | Bangor | 2–5 | | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 |
  | Ballymena United | 5–0 | 6–0 | | 1–5 | 4–3 | 6–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 8–2 | 2–1 |
  | Belfast Celtic | 3–0 | 6–0 | 3–3 | | 6–2 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 12–0 | 0–0 |
  | Cliftonville | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–7 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 7–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–6 | 3–2 | 2–4 |
  | Coleraine | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 4–1 | | 2–1 | 5–4 | 1–4 | 3–7 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
  | Derry City | 6–2 | 5–2 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 9–0 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 3–5 |
  | Distillery | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | | 4–2 | 2–3 | 5–2 | 1–3 | 7–0 | 1–1 |
  | Glenavon | 5–1 | 6–2 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 8–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 4–3 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 |
  | Glentoran | 8–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 8–2 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 6–2 | 6–1 | | 6–2 | 3–2 | 6–1 | 0–3 |
  | Larne | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–8 | 4–1 | 0–5 | 0–2 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–7 |
  | Linfield | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 5–5 | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 3–0 | 0–5 |
  | Newry Town | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–9 | 1–1 | 3–4 | | 1–1 |
  | Portadown | 3–1 | 6–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–0 | |
  