James Chambers, born 14 February 1987 in Dublin, is an Irish former professional footballer who played for Shelbourne, Waterford United, Drogheda United, Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic in Ireland, Solihull Moors in England, Hamilton Academical in Scotland and Bethlehem Steel in the United States. Chambers is currently the head coach of Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the USL Championship.
Seán 'Socky' O'Connor is an Irish former professional footballer who played for St. Patrick's Athletic over two spells, Limerick & Shamrock Rovers over two spells. He is currently coach of League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic and manager of St Patrick's Athletic U19.
The 2011 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2011 FAI Ford Cup, is the 91st season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition will earn spots in both the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League and the 2012 Setanta Sports Cup.
In 2012 Shelbourne F.C. competed in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne finished the season in 8th position and reached the semi-finals of the 2012 FAI Cup. The 2012 season marked the first time Shelbourne competed in the Premier Division since 2006, when as champions, they were demoted due to financial issues. Shelbourne gained promotion by finishing 2nd in the 2011 League of Ireland First Division.
The 2012 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2012 FAI Ford Senior Cup, was the 92nd season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition earned spots in both the second qualifying round of the 2013-14 UEFA Europa League and the 2013 Setanta Sports Cup.
The 2013 season was St. Patrick's Athletic F.C.'s 84th year in existence and their 62nd consecutive season in the League of Ireland. It was the second year that Liam Buckley was the team's manager, following replacing Pete Mahon in December 2011. St Pat's finished the season as the 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division champions. They were also Leinster Senior Cup runners up. They also competed in the UEFA Europa League, the FAI Cup, the Setanta Cup and the League of Ireland Cup.
The 2012 season was Dundalk's fourth successive season in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion in 2008. All together, it was the club's 86th season in League of Ireland football. The club was managed by Sean McCaffrey, who was in his first season in charge. The club also competed in the FAI Cup, League of Ireland Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup. Dundalk finished the 33-round season in 11th position, requiring them to play a promotion/relegation play-off against Waterford United of the First Division; a tie which they won on aggregate, thus retaining their place in the Premier Division for the 2013 season. Results against Monaghan United F.C. were expunged, after they withdrew from the League mid-season.
The 2014 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2014 FAI Ford Senior Cup, was the 94th season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.
The 2015 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2015 FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 95th season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.
The 2016 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2016 FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 96th season of the national Football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition earned a spot in the First qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.
The 2017 season was St. Patrick's Athletic F.C.'s 88th year in existence and was the Supersaint's 66th consecutive season in the top-flight of Irish football. It was the sixth year that Liam Buckley is the team's manager, following replacing Pete Mahon in December 2011. With the new change to the League of Ireland structure, 3 clubs were set to be relegated from the Premier Division, which has created an intense relegation between many clubs, including Pats' due to their lower budget than previous years following a poor 2016 season in which they finished 7th in the league, making 2017 the first year in 7 years without European football. The relegation battle went right down to the last day of the season, where Pat's secured the necessary point to stay up following a 1–1 draw away to Derry City.
The 2017 FAI Senior Challenge Cup was the 97th season of the knockout national Football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of this season's cup earned a place in the 2018–19 Europa League and would have entered in the first qualifying round.
Darragh Markey is an Irish professional footballer playing for League of Ireland Premier Division club, Drogheda United, having previously spent six seasons with St Patrick's Athletic, the club he started his professional career with.
The 2018 FAI Cup was the 98th edition of the Republic of Ireland's primary national cup competition. It began with the qualifying round on 21 April 2018, and concluded with the final on 4 November 2018. The winner qualified for the 2019–20 Europa League first qualifying round.
Georgie Poynton is an Irish footballer who plays for NIFL Premiership side Newry City. He has previously played for Dundalk, Bohemians, Saint Patrick's Athletic, Waterford, Shelbourne and Drogheda United. He competed at underage level for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team, and was named 2016 FAI Under-19 Player of the Year.
The 2019 season was St. Patrick's Athletic F.C.'s 90th year in existence and was the Supersaint's 68th consecutive season in the top-flight of Irish football. It was the first season Harry Kenny took charge of the club, following Liam Buckley's spell in charge for the previous seven seasons. The fixtures were announced on 19 December 2018, with the Saints facing Cork City at home on the opening day of the season for the second year in a row, with the Inchicore side set to play champions Dundalk away from home on the final night of the season. Harry Kenny left his post on 24 August following a 3–1 loss away to bottom of the table UCD in the FAI Cup. He was replaced by Stephen O'Donnell on 31 August, his first managerial role. Pats finished 5th in the league and won the Leinster Senior Cup, playing the semi-final and final with their underage sides after the league season had ended for the senior team.
Rory Michael Feely is an Irish professional footballer who plays for EFL League Two club Barrow. He previously played for Bohemians after two spells at St Patrick's Athletic where he started his professional career, having also previously spent 2 seasons at Waterford.
Dundalk entered the 1987–88 season as the League Cup holders from 1986–87, having won that competition and finished as runners-up in both league and FAI Cup. 1987–88 was Turlough O'Connor's third season as manager, and was Dundalk's 62nd consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football.
The 2021 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 37th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1985. Shamrock Rovers were the defending champions, having won their sixth league title the previous season. Shamrock Rovers went on to retain the title.
The 2021 season was St Patrick's Athletic F.C.'s 92nd year in existence and is the Supersaint's 70th consecutive season in the top-flight of Irish football. It was the second full season with Stephen O'Donnell as manager, having taken over from Harry Kenny on 31 August 2019. Pre-season training for the squad began on 1 February 2021, the same day the league fixtures were announced, with the Saints revealed to be playing rivals Shamrock Rovers away in the opening game of the season on 19 March. The 2021 editions of the League of Ireland Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup were cancelled due to the delay in the start to the 2021 League of Ireland Premier Division as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. The season was a hugely successful one for the club, as they secured a 2nd-place finish, securing UEFA Europa Conference League football for 2022, as well as winning the 2021 FAI Cup in front of an Aviva Stadium FAI Cup Final record crowd of 37,126.
