This rivalry traditionally includes a league derby played on Boxing Day each year, which usually attracts Northern Ireland's highest domestic attendance of the season, excluding cup finals.

The club was founded in March 1886 in an area of south Belfast known as Sandy Row by workers at the Ulster Spinning Company's Linfield Mill.

[3] Originally known as Linfield Athletic Club, the team initially played on an area of land located at the back of the mill owned by the company, which was known as the Meadow.

Linfield was credited with originating the passing game in Ireland, where a dribbling based approach had been the norm until around 1890,[11] and for three seasons during the club's early years they competed in the English FA Cup.

In 1957, Jackie Milburn famously signed for the Blues as player-manager from Newcastle United, and won the Ulster Footballer of the Year award for his performances during his first season at the club.

[18] Following a spell in England playing for Sheffield Wednesday and Grimsby Town, Roy Coyle joined the club as player-manager, taking over the reins from outgoing manager Billy Campbell.

[19] After a tough start to his managerial career at the club, Coyle went on to become the most successful Linfield manager in history, winning numerous trophies during his time at Windsor Park.

In 1982, future manager David Jeffrey joined the club following a stint in the Manchester United youth team and played for Coyle under many of his trophy successes, captaining the side for much of that time.

They recovered from that opening defeat to eventually reach the final against Shelbourne, with the Blues being major underdogs going into the match against full-time professional League of Ireland opposition.

[25] Incidentally, Linfield were in fact the reigning all-Ireland champions at the time, having won the final staging of the Tyler Cup in 1980 before the competition was discontinued.

However, they failed to retain the Setanta Cup as defending champions when they were narrowly beaten 1–0 at Windsor Park in the semi-finals by eventual winners, Drogheda United.

[36] When the 2014 Setanta Sports Cup was confirmed in December 2013, the club opted not to enter the competition, citing inconvenient fixture scheduling, reduced prize money, and the difficulties faced for Linfield supporters to attend away games as the reasons behind their withdrawal.

The numerous ground changes and the club's desire to have a permanent home with which to build an identity resulted in the purchase of a piece of land known as the 'bog meadows' just off lower Windsor Avenue on 1 October 1904.

The first game at Windsor took place on 29 August 1905, with Linfield playing out a 0–0 draw against Distillery in a friendly match arranged to officially commemorate the opening of the stadium.

The club called for the process to be judicially reviewed, believing it to be against European Union competition laws and also a form of State aid towards Linfield.

[60] In September 2013, sports minister Carál Ní Chuilín said that she was still committed to making sure the redevelopment went ahead as scheduled, after previously stating that she would not sign off on the funding until the IFA resolved "governance issues" surrounding David Martin's return to the role of deputy president.

During the second World War in 1941, the Oval – including most of Glentoran's assets – was severely damaged in a German aerial bombing raid on the nearby Harland & Wolff shipyard.

During this time, Glentoran considered resigning from senior football to become a junior club, but after borrowing kits from Distillery and Crusaders they continued to compete at Grosvenor until 1949.

In 2009, the Irish Football Association initially banned the fixture from taking place on Boxing Day for two years due to crowd trouble at Windsor Park.

That is a fact of life which cannot be disputed and, although in the past there have been accusations of sectarian bias such as not signing Roman Catholic players, contrary to opinion and myth, no ban was ever imposed.

Sectarian tensions have long been a cause of conflict at football matches in Northern Ireland since the 1920s, and crowd trouble occasionally marred games involving Linfield throughout the twentieth century.

[80] One of the most notable such instances occurred in 1948, at a Boxing Day match between Linfield and Belfast Celtic (a team whose support was largely composed of Catholics and Irish nationalists).

In the ensuing violence, three Belfast Celtic players were seriously injured, including Protestant striker Jimmy Jones, who was left unconscious and suffered a broken leg.

Linfield were held almost entirely accountable for the events, and were forced to pay Dundalk's costs to travel to the Netherlands as well as an additional £5,000 for damage sustained to Oriel Park.

[85] In 2008, three Linfield fans were charged in a Dublin court with public order offences at a Setanta Cup match against St Patrick's Athletic,[86] but were released.

It assisted a local Camogie team who needed space to train in 2005, and also built links with the Gaelic Athletic Association which has traditionally had little support from the Protestant community in Northern Ireland.

[95] In 2022, the club reportedly "ended its voluntary association" with one of the coaches of its girls' academy after the man admitted being involved in singing a chant, which was described as "gratuitous[ly] sectarian" and condemned by senior members of the Orange Order, Ulster Unionists, DUP, Sinn Féin, Alliance Party and the Northern Ireland Secretary of State.

[99] In the 1984–85 season, after overcoming Shamrock Rovers on away goals (the first and so far only series of meetings between the two Irish superpowers outside all-Ireland tournaments),[100] Linfield faced eventual semi-finalists Panathinaikos in the second round.

[108] An 87th-minute Andrew Waterworth goal in the home leg at Mourneview Park ensured a 1–0 win for Linfield in their 100th competitive European match since their debut in 1959.

In the play-off round, Linfield were drawn to face Azerbaijan champions Qarabağ, with the winners qualifying for the Europa League group stage.