2023 League of Ireland Premier Division

Last updated

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2023
Dates17 February – 3 November 2023
Champions Shamrock Rovers (21st title)
Relegated Cork City
UCD
Champions League Shamrock Rovers
Conference League Derry City
Shelbourne
St Patrick's Athletic
Matches played180
Goals scored469 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorer Jonathan Afolabi
Jack Moylan (15 goals each)
Biggest home win St Patrick's Athletic 7–0 UCD
(30 June)
Biggest away win UCD 0–5 Derry City
(6 September)
Highest scoringShamrock Rovers 4-4 Cork City
(6 March)
Longest winning run Shamrock Rovers (6 games)
Longest unbeaten runShamrock Rovers (13 games)
Longest winless runUCD (10 games)
Longest losing runUCD (8 games)
Highest attendance8,021
Shamrock Rovers 4–2 Sligo Rovers
(3 November)
Lowest attendance317
UCD 0–2 Cork City
(22 October)
Total attendance596,196
Average attendance3,294
← 2022
2024 →

The 2023 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 39th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1985.

Contents

The winners (Shamrock Rovers, their fourth consecutive title and twenty-first overall) qualified for the 2024–25 Champions League first qualifying round. [1] [2] The 2023 FAI Cup winners (St Patrick's Athletic) qualified for the 2024–25 Conference League second qualifying round. The runners-up (Derry City) and fourth-placed team (Shelbourne) qualified for the 2024–25 Conference League first qualifying round. The ninth-placed team (Cork City) qualified for the League of Ireland Premier Division play-off, losing and being relegated to the 2024 League of Ireland First Division. They were joined by the bottom-placed team (UCD).

Teams

Ten teams competed in the league – the top nine teams from the previous season and the one team promoted from the First Division. The promoted team was Cork City, after a top flight absence of two years. [3] They replaced Finn Harps who were relegated after four consecutive seasons in the top flight. [4]

Shamrock Rovers were the defending champions, having won their twentieth title the previous season. [5] [6]

Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Bohemians Dublin (Phibsborough) Dalymount Park 4,500
Cork City Cork Turners Cross 7,485
Derry City Derry Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium 3,700
Drogheda United Drogheda Weavers Park 3,500
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park 4,500
Shamrock Rovers Dublin (Tallaght) Tallaght Stadium 10,500
Shelbourne Dublin (Drumcondra) Tolka Park 4,450
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds 3,873
St Patrick's Athletic Dublin (Inchicore) Richmond Park 5,340
UCD Dublin (Belfield) UCD Bowl 3,000

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.

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Bohemians Ulster Banner.svg Declan Devine Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Buckley O'Neills Des Kelly Interiors
Cork City Flag of Ireland.svg Richie Holland (interim) Flag of Ireland.svg Cian Coleman Adidas Zeus
Derry City Ulster Banner.svg Ruaidhrí Higgins Flag of Ireland.svg Patrick McEleney O'Neills Diamond Corrugated
Drogheda United Flag of Ireland.svg Kevin Doherty Flag of Ireland.svg Gary Deegan Erreà Drogheda Credit Union
Dundalk Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen O'Donnell Flag of Ireland.svg Patrick Hoban Playr-FitBet Regal
Shamrock Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Bradley Flag of Ireland.svg Ronan Finn Umbro MASCOT Workwear
Shelbourne Flag of Ireland.svg Damien Duff Flag of Ireland.svg Luke Byrne Umbro Culligan
Sligo Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg John Russell Flag of Ireland.svg David Cawley Joma Avant Money
St Patrick's Athletic Flag of Ireland.svg Jon Daly Flag of Ireland.svg Joe Redmond Umbro Manguard Plus
UCD Flag of Ireland.svg Andrew Myler Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Keaney O'Neills Maples Group

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of
departure		Date of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of
appointment
St Patrick's Athletic Flag of Ireland.svg Tim Clancy Mutual Consent2 May 20237th Flag of Ireland.svg Jon Daly 2 May 2023
Cork City Flag of Ireland.svg Colin Healy Resigned3 May 20239th Flag of Ireland.svg Liam Buckley (interim)3 May 2023
Flag of Ireland.svg Liam Buckley (interim)Change of role28 September 20239th Flag of Ireland.svg Richie Holland (interim)28 September 2023

League table

Standings

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 Shamrock Rovers (C)36201246727+4072Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2 Derry City 36181175724+3365Qualification for Conference League first qualifying round
3 St Patrick's Athletic 36195125942+1762Qualification for Conference League second qualifying round [a]
4 Shelbourne 36151564427+1760Qualification for Conference League first qualifying round
5 Dundalk 36177125944+1558
6 Bohemians 361610105340+1358
7 Drogheda United 361011154054−1441
8 Sligo Rovers 36107193651−1537
9 Cork City (R)3687213564−2931Qualification for play-off final
10 UCD (R)3625291996−7711Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: SSE Airtricity League, [7]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored. [7]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ The 2023 FAI Cup winners qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round. Since the cup winners (St Patrick's Athletic) qualified based on league position, the second Conference League first qualifying round spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.

Results

Teams play each other four times (twice at home and twice away).

Home \ Away BOH COR DER DRO DUN SHM SHE SLI STP UCD
Bohemians 5–00–13–12–10–20–02–02–32–1
4–02–24–23–22–21–13–10–22–0
Cork City 1–21–31–11–01–00–21–02–34–0
2–10–11–11–20–00–23–00–11–1
Derry City 0–12–00–10–00–20–01–12–04–1
0–02–03–03–01–10–02–13–06–0
Drogheda United 0–20–10–10–11–11–11–01–33–1
0–03–10–01–20–02–42–22–13–0
Dundalk 2–22–12–23–20–42–11–25–01–1
2–05–01–33–12–01–11–01–14–1
Shamrock Rovers 2–04–41–21–22–02–22–12–23–0
3–02–11–05–01–01–04–23–24–0
Shelbourne 1–02–10–10–01–10–02–10–11–0
1–12–11–13–21–01–11–12–13–2
Sligo Rovers 0–12–21–01–10–11–10–32–13–1
3–13–01–00–00–20–30–10–22–0
St Patrick's Athletic 0–24–01–13–02–10–21–00–13–0
0–01–14–11–23–10–21–01–07–0
UCD 1–11–00–40–10–20–30–02–31–3
1–20–20–51–31–50–00–42–10–1
Source: [http://www.extratime.ie/competition/100/ Extratime.ie
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank [8] PlayerClubGoals
1 Flag of Ireland.svg Jonathan Afolabi Bohemians 15
Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Moylan Shelbourne
3 Flag of Ireland.svg Patrick Hoban Dundalk 14
4 Flag of Ireland.svg Chris Forrester St Patrick's Athletic 13
Flag of Ireland.svg Ruairí Keating Cork City
6 Flag of Ireland.svg Graham Burke Shamrock Rovers 12
7 Flag of New Zealand.svg Max Mata* Sligo Rovers 11
8 Flag of Ireland.svg Daniel Kelly Dundalk 8
Flag of Ireland.svg Jordan McEneff Derry City
Flag of England.svg Freddie Draper* Drogheda United
Flag of Ireland.svg Rory Gaffney Shamrock Rovers

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean
sheets [11]
1 Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Maher Derry City 14
2 Flag of Ireland.svg Conor Kearns Shelbourne 11
Flag of Ireland.svg James Talbot Bohemians
4 Flag of England.svg Dean Lyness St Patrick's Athletic 10
5 Flag of Germany.svg Leon Pöhls Shamrock Rovers 7
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Nathan Shepperd Dundalk
7 Ulster Banner.svg Alan Mannus Shamrock Rovers 5
Flag of Ireland.svg Jimmy Corcoran Cork City
9 Flag of Ireland.svg Colin McCabe Drogheda United 4
10 Flag of Ireland.svg Luke McNicholas Sligo Rovers 3

League of Ireland Premier Division play-off

The ninth-placed team (Cork City) qualified for a play-off alongside the second, third, fourth, and fifth-placed teams from the 2023 League of Ireland First Division (Athlone Town, Cobh Ramblers, Waterford, and Wexford).

The First Division teams contested the quarter and semi-finals. The quarter-finals were held over two legs, with the second-placed team (Waterford) facing the fifth-placed team (Athlone Town) and the third-placed team (Cobh Ramblers) facing the fourth-placed team (Wexford). The quarter-final winners then contested the semi-finals, with the winners ultimately facing the ninth-placed League of Ireland Premier Division team for the final place in the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division.

Bracket

Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
2 Waterford 134
Waterford 2
5 Athlone Town 112
2 Waterford 2 Cork City 1
3 Cobh Ramblers 1
3 Cobh Ramblers 112
4 Wexford 011

Quarter-finals

First leg

24 October 2023 Athlone Town 1–1 Waterford Athlone
19:45 IST Pierrot Soccerball shade.svg78' Report Coughlan Soccerball shade.svg52'Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium
Attendance: 1,597
Referee: Oliver Moran
24 October 2023 Wexford 0–1 Cobh Ramblers Wexford
19:45 IST Report O'Malley Soccerball shade.svg15' (o.g.)Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park
Attendance: 1,010
Referee: Alan Patchell

Second leg

28 October 2023 Waterford 3–1
(4–2 agg.)		 Athlone Town Waterford
19:45 IST Akachukwu Soccerball shade.svg64', 78', 90+4' Report Pierrot Soccerball shade.svg71' (pen.)Stadium: RSC
Attendance: 2,237
Referee: Gavin Colfer
28 October 2023 Cobh Ramblers 1–1
(2–1 agg.)		 Wexford Cobh
19:45 IST O'Leary Soccerball shade.svg75' Report Crawford Soccerball shade.svg35'Stadium: St. Colman's Park
Referee: Marc Lynch

Semi-final

4 November 2023 Waterford 2–1 (a.e.t.) Cobh Ramblers Cork
17:00 IST Coughlan Soccerball shade.svg47'
Phillips Soccerball shade.svg100'		 Report McKevitt Soccerball shade.svg88'Stadium: Turners Cross
Referee: D Dunne

Final

10 November 2023 Waterford 2–1 (a.e.t.) Cork City Dublin
19:45 IST Parsons Soccerball shade.svg68'
Coughlan Soccerball shade.svg101' (pen.)		 Report Coleman Soccerball shade.svg55'Stadium: Tallaght Stadium
Referee: D McGraith

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Player of the Month Ref.
PlayerClub
February Flag of Ireland.svg Jordan McEneff Derry City [12]
March Flag of Scotland.svg Ali Coote Bohemians [13]
April Flag of Ireland.svg Ronan Coughlan Waterford [14]
May Flag of England.svg Freddie Draper Drogheda United [15]
June Flag of Ireland.svg Patrick Hoban Dundalk [16]
July Flag of Ireland.svg Jonathan Afolabi Bohemians [17]
August Flag of Ireland.svg James Clarke Bohemians [18]
September Flag of Ireland.svg Ruairí Keating Cork City [19]
October Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Moylan Shelbourne [20]
November Flag of Ireland.svg Ronan Coughlan Waterford [21]

Annual awards

AwardWinnerClub
PFAI Player of the Year Chris Forrester St Patrick's Athletic
PFAI Young Player of the Year Sam Curtis St Patrick's Athletic
PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year Stephen Bradley Shamrock Rovers
PFAI Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Flag of Ireland.svg Conor Kearns (Shelbourne)
Defenders Flag of England.svg Archie Davies (Dundalk) Flag of Ireland.svg Sam Curtis (St Patrick's Athletic) Flag of Cape Verde.svg Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers) Ulster Banner.svg Ben Doherty (Derry City)
Midfielders Flag of England.svg Will Patching (Derry City) Flag of Ireland.svg Chris Forrester (St Patrick's Athletic) Flag of Ireland.svg James Clarke (Bohemians)
Forwards Flag of Ireland.svg Jack Moylan (Shelbourne) Flag of Ireland.svg Jonathan Afolabi (Bohemians) Flag of Ireland.svg Ruairí Keating (Cork City)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shamrock Rovers finish with a flourish to seal four-in-a-row". RTE Sport. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Stephen Bradley: 'I want to go for five - but it's up to board'". RTE Sport. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Cork City seal promotion back to Premier Division after draw with Wexford". 7 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "Finn Harps relegated as UCD claim relegation play-off place". 28 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Shamrock Rovers complete league three-in-a-row after Derry City play out draw with Sligo". The 42. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Shamrock Rovers win 20th LOI Premier Division title after Derry City draw with Sligo". Irish Independent. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 "PREMIER DIVISION". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Irish Premier Division Top Scorers". BBC News. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "Max Mata completes Shrewsbury Town transfer – Sligo Rovers". 3 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Draper and Ahui to return to Lincoln". droghedaunited.ie. 26 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "LOI Premier Division Clean Sheets". Final Whistle. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Derry City's Jordan McEneff scoops POTM award". RTÉ.ie . 30 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "Bohemians' Coote named player of the month". RTÉ. 13 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Coughlan becomes maiden player from the First Division to win Player of the Month". Irish Examiner. 12 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "Drogheda United's Freddie Draper youngest this century to win Player of the Month award". Irish Independent. 23 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Patrick Hoban of Dundalk FC has been named the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month for June". Irish Independent. 12 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "In-form Afolabi wins July Player of the Month". RTÉ. 10 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "August Player of the Month - Men's 2023". SSE Airtricity. September 2023.
  19. ↑ "Cork City's Ruairi Keating named Player of the Month after five-goal haul". Irish Independent. 19 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "Shels striker Jack Moylan scoops Player of the Month award". Irish Independent. 9 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "Waterford FC striker Ronan Coughlan makes history with monthly award success". Irish Mirror. 27 November 2023.