2023 League of Ireland First Division

League of Ireland First Division

Season	2023
Dates	17 February 2023 – 20 October 2023
Champions	Galway United
Promoted	Galway United Waterford
Matches played	180
Total attendance	196,050 [1]
Average attendance	1,089
← 2022 2024 → All statistics correct as of 25 November 2023.

The 2023 League of Ireland First Division season was the 39th season of the League of Ireland First Division, the second tier of the Republic of Ireland's association football league.

The winners (Galway United) were promoted to the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division. ^{[2] [3]} The runners-up (Waterford) were also promoted after winning the League of Ireland Premier Division play-off.

Overview

The First Division has 10 teams. Each side plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season. The team that finishes in first place achieve automatic promotion to the Premier Division. Teams finishing second to fifth place will enter the play-offs to determine the side to contest for a place in the 2024 Premier Division against the ninth placed (second last) Premier Division team. ^{[4] [5]}

Teams

Athlone Town

Bray Wanderers

Cobh Ramblers

Finn Harps

Treaty United

Galway United

Wexford

Longford Town

Waterford

Kerry

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Locations of the First Division teams

Team changes

Cork City were promoted to the 2023 Premier Division as 2022 First Division champions. ^[6] Finn Harps were relegated from the 2022 Premier Division. ^[7]

Additional teams

Newly formed Kerry F.C. successfully applied for a First Division licence to compete in the 2023 season. ^[8]

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Athlone Town	Athlone	Athlone Town Stadium	5,000
Bray Wanderers	Bray	Carlisle Grounds	4,000
Cobh Ramblers	Cobh	St. Colman's Park	3,000
Finn Harps	Ballybofey	Finn Park	6,000
Galway United	Galway	Eamonn Deacy Park	5,000
Kerry	Tralee	Mounthawk Park	1,200
Longford Town	Longford	Bishopsgate	5,097
Treaty United	Limerick	Markets Field	5,000
Waterford	Waterford	RSC	5,160
Wexford	Crossabeg	Ferrycarrig Park	2,500

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Athlone Town	Dario Castelo	Aaron Connolly	Umbro	Hayden & Co. Solicitors
Bray Wanderers	Ian Ryan	Dane Massey	Nike	VisualPrint
Cobh Ramblers	Shane Keegan	John Kavanagh	Uhlsport	McCarthy Insurance Group
Finn Harps	Darren Murphy	Ryan Rainey	Joma	So-Lo Stores
Galway United	John Caulfield	Conor McCormack	O'Neill's	Comer Property Management
Kerry	Billy Dennehy	Matt Keane	New Balance	Kerry Airport
Longford Town	Stephen Henderson	Shane Elworthy	Macron	Bishopsgate
Treaty United	Tommy Barrett	Jack Lynch	Umbro	Derrin Homes
Waterford	Keith Long	Eddie Nolan	Umbro	DG FOODS LTD
Wexford	James Keddy	Ethan Boyle	Summa Sports	Campion Insurance

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Waterford	Danny Searle	Sacked	27 March 2023	5th	Keith Long	29 March 2023
Athlone Town	Dermot Lennon	Mutual Consent	15 April 2023	5th	Gordon Brett	15 April 2023
Athlone Town	Gordon Brett	Change of Role	15 May 2023	5th	Emilio Williams	19 May 2023
Finn Harps	Dave Rogers	Mutual Consent	23 September 2023	9th	Darren Murphy	27 September 2023

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or qualification
1	Galway United (C, P)	36	30	4	2	98	18	+80	94	Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division
2	Waterford (O, P)	36	20	9	7	84	32	+52	69	Qualification for League of Ireland Premier Division play-off
3	Cobh Ramblers	36	16	11	9	61	51	+10	59
4	Wexford	36	15	8	13	48	49	−1	53
5	Athlone Town	36	14	5	17	55	61	−6	47
6	Treaty United	36	12	8	16	49	61	−12	44
7	Bray Wanderers	36	10	14	12	48	62	−14	44
8	Longford Town	36	10	10	16	39	51	−12	40
9	Finn Harps	36	9	10	17	39	74	−35	37
10	Kerry	36	1	7	28	29	91	−62	10

Source: SSE Airtricity League of Ireland First Division
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank [9]	Player	Club	Goals
1	Ronan Coughlan	Waterford	33
2	David Hurley	Galway United	21
3	Frantz Pierrot	Athlone Town	20
4	Stephen Walsh	Galway United	14
5	Aaron Dobbs	Wexford F.C.	13
	Jack Doherty	Cobh Ramblers
7	Enda Curran	Treaty United	12
8	Wilson Waweru	Cobh Ramblers	11
9	Valerii Dolia	Athlone Town	10
	Roland Idowu	Waterford F.C.
	Cristian Măgerușan	Longford Town

See also

• 2023 League of Ireland Premier Division
• 2023 FAI Cup

References

1. "League of Ireland attendances up by 20 per cent as nearly 1 million attend domestic matches in 2023". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
2. "Galway confirmed as First Division champions after hitting Kerry for four". Irish Independent. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
3. "Galway United gain promotion to the top flight in style". Irish Examiner. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
4. "2023 League of Ireland First Division". Extra Time. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
5. "League of Ireland Mens First Division - Overview". SSE Airtricity League. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
6. "Cork City lift First Division title at packed Turner's Cross after win over Bray". The 42. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
7. "Finn Harps relegated as UCD claim relegation play-off place". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
8. "Kerry FC secure licence to join League of Ireland". The 42. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
9. "Irish Premier Division Top Scorers". finalwhistle.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2023.