2024 League of Ireland Premier Division

Last updated

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2024
Dates16 February 2024 – 1 November 2024
Champions Shelbourne
(14th title)
Relegated Dundalk
Champions League Shelbourne
Conference League Shamrock Rovers
St Patrick's Athletic
Matches played180
Goals scored408 (2.27 per match)
Top goalscorer Patrick Hoban
Pádraig Amond
14 goals each
Biggest home winDrogheda United 7–0 Sligo Rovers
(23 August 2024)
Biggest away winDundalk 0–5 Sligo Rovers
(4 March 2024)
Highest scoringDrogheda United 7–0 Sligo Rovers
(23 August 2024)
Longest winning runSt Patrick's Athletic
(9 games)
Longest unbeaten runSt Patrick's Athletic
(11 games)
Longest winless runDundalk
(12 games)
Longest losing runDundalk
(5 games)
Highest attendance10,094
Shamrock Rovers 3–1 Bohemians
(24 May 2024) [1]
Lowest attendance1,618
Drogheda United 0–0 Galway United
(23 September 2024)
Average attendance3,490
← 2023
2025 →

The 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, [2] was the 40th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1985.

Contents

The competition began on 16 February 2024 and concluded on 1 November 2024. [3] [4] [5] [6]

On 1 November, Shelbourne won the title for the first time since 2006 after a 1–0 win against Derry City at the Brandywell on the final day of the season. [7] [8] [9] That match attracted a record TV audience for a League of Ireland game. [10]

Teams

The league consisted of ten teams – the top eight teams from the previous season and two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were the 2023 League of Ireland First Division winners Galway United (after a top flight absence of six years) [11] and play-off winners Waterford (after being absent from the top flight for two years). [12] They replaced UCD (relegated after two consecutive seasons in the top flight) and Cork City (who spent just one season back in the top flight before being relegated following their loss to Waterford). [12] Shamrock Rovers entered the season as defending champions after winning their twenty-first title during the previous season. [13]

Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Bohemians Dublin (Phibsborough) Dalymount Park 4,500
Derry City Derry Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium 3,700
Drogheda United Drogheda Weavers Park 3,500
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park 4,500
Galway United Galway Eamonn Deacy Park 5,000
Shamrock Rovers Dublin (Tallaght) Tallaght Stadium 10,500
Shelbourne Dublin (Drumcondra) Tolka Park 5,700
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds 3,873
St Patrick's Athletic Dublin (Inchicore) Richmond Park 5,340
Waterford Waterford RSC 5,160

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 Flag of Ireland.svg Alan Reynolds Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Buckley O'Neills Des Kelly Interiors
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 Jon Daly Flag of Ireland.svg John Mountney Playr-Fit 888casino
Galway United Flag of Ireland.svg John Caulfield Flag of Ireland.svg Conor McCormack O'Neills Comer Property Management
Shamrock Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Bradley Flag of Cape Verde.svg Roberto Lopes Umbro MASCOT Workwear
Shelbourne Flag of Ireland.svg Damien Duff Flag of Ireland.svg Mark Coyle O'Neills Realtor Global (home) - One Coat Roof Seal (away/third)
Sligo Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg John Russell Flag of Ireland.svg Niall Morahan Joma Avant Money
St Patrick's Athletic Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Kenny Flag of Ireland.svg Joe Redmond Umbro Manguard Plus
Waterford Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Long Ulster Banner.svg Barry Baggley New Balance DG Foods

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of
departure		Date of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of
appointment
Bohemians Ulster Banner.svg Declan Devine Sacked10 March 20247th Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Pender (interim)10 March 2024
Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Pender (interim)End of interim spell26 March 20246th Flag of Ireland.svg Alan Reynolds 26 March 2024
Dundalk Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen O'Donnell Sacked8 April 202410th Ulster Banner.svg Liam Burns & Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Gartland (interim)8 April 2024
Ulster Banner.svg Liam Burns & Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Gartland (interim)End of interim spell20 April 2024 Flag of Ireland.svg Noel King 20 April 2024
St Patrick's Athletic Flag of Ireland.svg Jon Daly Sacked7 May 20247th Flag of Ireland.svg Seán O'Connor (interim)7 May 2024
Dundalk Flag of Ireland.svg Noel King Resigned15 May 202410th Ulster Banner.svg Liam Burns (interim)15 May 2024
St Patrick's Athletic Flag of Ireland.svg Seán O'Connor (interim)End of interim spell16 May 20247th Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Kenny 16 May 2024
Dundalk Ulster Banner.svg Liam Burns (interim)23 May 202410th Flag of Ireland.svg Jon Daly 23 May 2024

League table

Standings

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 Shelbourne (C)36171274027+1363Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2 Shamrock Rovers 36171095035+1561Qualification for Conference League second qualifying round [a]
3 St Patrick's Athletic 36178115137+1459Qualification for Conference League first qualifying round
4 Derry City 36141394831+1755
5 Galway United 361313103329+452
6 Sligo Rovers 361310134051−1149
7 Waterford 36136174347−445
8 Bohemians 361012143943−442
9 Drogheda United (O)36713164158−1734Qualification for promotion/relegation play-off [a]
10 Dundalk (R)36511202350−2726Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway [15]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored. [15]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Drogheda United were expelled from the Conference League second qualifying round which they qualified as the 2024 FAI Cup winners, as their owners Trivela Group also own Danish club Silkeborg, who finished seventh in Danish Superliga. Due to the multi-club ownership rule, only Silkeborg could be admitted to the Conference League as they have a higher league position. [14] As no team from Republic of Ireland could replace them because of UEFA licensing issues, the second-placed Shamrock Rovers were moved from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round along with Dinamo City of Albania, the next highest association cup winners.

Results

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

Home \ Away BOH DER DRO DUN GAL SHM SHE SLI STP WAT
Bohemians —2–11–01–00–11–10–22–22–20–1
—1–20–11–11–12–11–10–21–32–3
Derry City 1–0—2–14–10–11–31–12–22–13–0
1–1—5–11–12–01–10–11–13–13–0
Drogheda United 2–12–2—2–12–30–22–23–10–01–4
2–22–1—0–00–00–11–17–00–02–0
Dundalk 2–00–00–0—0–21–00–00–50–00–0
0–20–24–2—0–20–10–11–01–20–2
Galway United 0–20–00–02–0—0–11–00–00–12–1
1–11–03–01–1—1–21–02–21–11–0
Shamrock Rovers 3–12–24–01–11–1—0–23–02–21–3
1–01–01–11–01–1—2–04–00–32–1
Shelbourne 1–20–01–12–11–02–1—1–21–01–0
1–10–02–11–02–00–0—0–02–33–1
Sligo Rovers 0–30–03–11–10–00–00–1—1–00–1
0–22–12–12–12–02–02–1—0–22–0
St Patrick's Athletic 0–10–11–01–02–12–11–23–0—1–1
0–01–04–12–32–12–11–23–2—3–0
Waterford 2–10–24–24–10–01–21–10–13–1—
1–10–10–02–11–21–20–14–11–0—
Source: , 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.

League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off

The ninth-placed team (Drogheda United) from the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division qualified for a play-off alongside the second, third, fourth, and fifth-placed teams from the 2024 League of Ireland First Division (Athlone Town, Bray Wanderers, UCD, and Wexford).

The First Division teams contest the semi-finals and final. The semi-finals will be held over two legs, with the second-placed team facing the fifth-placed team and the third-placed team facing the fourth-placed team. The semi-final winners then contest the First Division final, with the winners ultimately facing the ninth-placed League of Ireland Premier Division team for the final place in the 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division.

Bracket

Semi-finalsFinalPromotion/relegation play-off
2 UCD 011
Bray Wanderers 1
5 Bray Wanderers 202
5 Bray Wanderers (p)2 (4) Drogheda United 3
4 Athlone Town 2 (2)
3 Wexford 000
4 Athlone Town 101

Semi-finals

First leg

24 October 2024 Bray Wanderers 2–0 UCD Bray
19:45 IST
  • Almirall Soccerball shade.svg17'
  • Măgerușan Soccerball shade.svg70'
 Report Stadium: Carlisle Grounds
Attendance: 1,205
Referee: Mark Houlihan
24 October 2024 Athlone Town 1–0 Wexford Athlone
19:45 IST Ebbe Soccerball shade.svg53' (pen.) Report Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium
Attendance: 572
Referee: Oliver Moran

Second leg

28 October 2024 Wexford 0–0 Athlone Town Wexford
15:00 IST Report Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park
Attendance: 1,251
Referee: Alan Patchell

Athlone Town won 1–0 on aggregate.

28 October 2024 UCD 1–0 Bray Wanderers Dublin
17:00 IST Finn Soccerball shade.svg88' (pen.)Murphy Red card.svg 58'Stadium: UCD Bowl
Attendance: 1,112
Referee: Declan Toland

Bray Wanderers won 2–1 on aggregate.

Final

2 November 2024 Bray Wanderers 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		 Athlone Town Dublin
16:00 IST Hand Soccerball shade.svg63' (o.g.)
Omorehiomwan Soccerball shade.svg90+2'		 Report Ebbe Soccerball shade.svg11'
Fuentes Soccerball shade.svg24'		Stadium: Dalymount Park
Attendance: 1,782
Referee: Marc Lynch
Penalties
Griffin Soccerball shad check.svg
Craven Soccerball shad check.svg
Măgerușan Soccerball shad check.svg
O'Sullivan Soccerball shad check.svg		Soccerball shade cross.svg Connolly
Soccerball shad check.svg Torre
Soccerball shad check.svg McKenna
Soccerball shade cross.svg Oakley

Promotion/relegation play-off

16 November 2024 Bray Wanderers 1–3 Drogheda United Dublin
14:00 IST Groome Soccerball shade.svg63' Report Bolger Soccerball shade.svg33'
Pierrot Soccerball shade.svg36', 52'		Stadium: Tallaght Stadium
Attendance: 5,573

Awards

League of Ireland Player of the Month

MonthPlayerClub
February Flag of Ireland.svg Mark Coyle Shelbourne
March Flag of England.svg Will Jarvis Shelbourne
April Flag of Ireland.svg Aaron Greene Shamrock Rovers
May Flag of Ireland.svg Pádraig Amond Waterford
June Flag of England.svg Will Jarvis Shelbourne
July Flag of Ireland.svg Wilson Waweru Sligo Rovers
August Flag of the United States.svg Patrick Hickey Galway United
September Flag of Ireland.svg Jake Mulraney St Patrick's Athletic
October Flag of Ireland.svg Seán Boyd Shelbourne
November Flag of Ireland.svg Darragh Markey Drogheda United

Attendances

#Football clubHome gamesAverage attendance
1 Shamrock Rovers 186,071
2 St Patrick's Athletic 184,402
3 Shelbourne 184,269
4 Bohemians 184,240
5 Galway United 183,014
6 Derry City 182,871
7 Sligo Rovers 182,858
8 Waterford 182,728
9 Dundalk 182,419
10 Drogheda United 182,023

Source: European Football Statistics

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shamrock Rovers show their class with second-half blitz of Bohemians at sold-out Tallaght Stadium". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "League of Ireland prize money increased by 17% with 48 live games to be shown". Irish Independent. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "2024 League of Ireland fixtures released". League of Ireland. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "2024 SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division Fixture List" (PDF). League of Ireland. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "RTÉ confirm quartet of LOI clashes to be screened live". RTÉ. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "League of Ireland Premier Division: Club-by-club guide to new squads". RTE Sport. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Harry Wood fires Shelbourne to league title in Derry". RTE Sport. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  8. ↑ "Shelbourne crowned League of Ireland Premier Division champions on final night of drama". Irish Independent. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  9. ↑ "Premier Division: Shelbourne win first title in 18 years with 1-0 win over Derry City". Irish Times. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "Record television figures for final night of LOI with 400,000 peak for title-winning goal". RTÉ. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  11. ↑ Murphy, Murt (22 September 2023). "Galway United gain promotion to the top flight in style". Irish Examiner.
  12. 1 2 Fenton, James (10 November 2023). "LOI play-off final: Waterford 2 Cork City 1 - recap" – via www.rte.ie.
  13. ↑ "Shamrock Rovers crowned league champions for fourth season in a row after St Pat's win". The Irish Times.
  14. ↑ "Drogheda United's expulsion from Conference League confirmed as court appeal fails". The Irish Times. 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  15. 1 2 "PREMIER DIVISION". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 February 2024.