League of Ireland

League of Ireland

Founded	1921;104 years ago (1921)
Country	Ireland (19 teams)
Other club(s) from	Northern Ireland (1 team)
Confederation	UEFA
Divisions	Premier Division First Division National League Women's Premier Division MU20 Division MU17 Division WU17 Division MU15 Division MU14 Division
Number of clubs	40
Level on pyramid	1–3
Domestic cup(s)	FAI Cup President's Cup
League cup(s)	League of Ireland Cup
Current champions	Shelbourne F.C. (14th title) (2024)
Most championships	Shamrock Rovers (21 titles)
Most appearances	Al Finucane (612)
Top goalscorer	Brendan Bradley (235)
Broadcaster(s)	RTÉ Virgin Media Television LOI TV
Website	leagueofireland.ie
Current: 2025 League of Ireland

The League of Ireland is a national association football league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry City F.C. in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was the name of the top-level football league in the Republic of Ireland from its foundation in 1921 until the introduction of a second division in 1985.

There are four divisions in the league – the Premier Division & First Division & National League & Women's Premier Division. ^[1] The league has always worked closely with the FAI, with which it formally merged in 2006. The league is currently sponsored by SSE Airtricity, and as such is known as the SSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons. In 2007, it became one of the first leagues in Europe to introduce a salary cap.

The men's league is divided into the Premier Division and the First Division and National League, with ten teams in each division, and promotion and relegation between the highest-placed teams in the First Division and the lowest-placed teams in the Premier Division. Underage divisions include the U19 Division, U17 Division, U15 Division, and most recently the U14 Division. Nineteen teams are located in the Republic of Ireland, while one – Derry City – is located in Northern Ireland. The league also organises two knockout cup competitions: the FAI Cup and the League of Ireland Cup.

History

First level

The League of Ireland was founded in 1921 as a single division known as the A Division. The inaugural season featured eight teams from County Dublin, all of whom had spent the 1920–21 season playing in the Leinster Senior League: Bohemians, Dublin United, Frankfort, Jacobs, Olympia, St James's Gate, Shelbourne and YMCA. ^{[2] [3]} Bohemians and Shelbourne had previously played in the 1919–20 Irish League. St James's Gate were the inaugural champions, and also went on to complete a treble, having also won both the FAI Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup.^{[ citation needed ]}

The League expanded to twelve teams in 1922–23. Among the new members were Shamrock Rovers, who would win the title at the first attempt, and Athlone Town, who became the first team from outside County Dublin to compete in the League. Along with Bohemians and Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers would go on to dominate the League during the 1920s and 1930s.^{[ citation needed ]}

Bray Unknowns and Fordsons became the second and third teams from outside County Dublin to join the League in 1924–25, the latter also becoming the first team from Munster to play in the league. The League continued to expand both numerically and geographically during its first two decades, with Dundalk being elected in 1926–27 and subsequently becoming the first team from outside County Dublin to win the title in 1932–33. Dundalk were subsequently joined by Waterford in 1930–31, Cork Bohemians in 1932–33, Sligo Rovers in 1934–35 and Limerick in 1937–38. Sligo Rovers became only the second team from outside County Dublin to win the title in 1936–37. ^{[2] [3]}

Cork United emerged as the strongest team in the League during the Emergency, winning five titles between 1940–41 and 1945–46, three of which in succession. However, they subsequently resigned from the League in 1948. ^[4]

The 1950s was marked by the emergence of St Patrick's Athletic and the re-emergence of Shamrock Rovers, with the former winning the title at the first attempt in 1951–52 and claiming two more in the middle of the decade, and the latter winning their first title in fifteen years in 1953–54. While Drumcondra and Dundalk won two titles each during the 1960s, Waterford were the dominant team of the decade by winning four titles, including three in succession between 1967–68 and 1969–70. Six different teams won the title during the 1970s, with Bohemians, Dundalk and Waterford each winning two titles. While Athlone Town won two titles at the start of the 1980s, the decade was marked by the four successive titles won by Shamrock Rovers between 1983–84 and 1986–87.

Following the conclusion of the 1984–85 season, the League was restructured and the A Division was replaced by the Premier Division. ^{[2] [3]}

Second level

A second division known as the B Division was introduced in 1964–65, featuring reserve teams and emerging senior teams. While there was no formal promotion and relegation to and from the A Division, a number of B Division teams, including Athlone Town, Bray Wanderers, Home Farm, Longford Town, Monaghan United and UCD, were subsequently elected to the A Division. ^{[5] [6]}

The B Division was replaced as the second-level division by the First Division in 1985, featuring first teams and promotion and relegation to and from the new Premier Division. ^{[2] [7] [8]}

Third level

A third division known as the A Championship was introduced in 2008, and like the former B Division featured reserve teams and emerging senior teams. However, unlike the B Division, there was promotion and relegation between the Premier Division, First Division and A Championship. ^{[9] [10]}

The A Championship was disbanded following the conclusion of the 2011 season.

The FAI announced a new third tier, the National League, on 12 December 2024. The National League will be integrated into the existing football pyramid in Ireland, offering a clear route for promotion and relegation to and from the League of Ireland. The FAI aims to recruit 20 clubs in total for the new league, split into north and south divisions. ^[11]

Youth leagues

A number of youth leagues have also been introduced since the 2000–01 season.

• The original men's youth league was an under-21 division, and later became an under-20 division before becoming an under-19 division, the winners of which are awarded the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup. ^{[12] [13]} In February 2024, the league returned to under-20 status. ^[14]
• A women's under-19 youth league was introduced in 2021. ^[15] In September 2025, this was replaced by an expanded under-23 development league. ^[16]
• A men's under-17 division was introduced in 2015. ^{[17] [18]} A women's under-17 division followed in July 2018. ^[19]
• An under-15 division for boys was introduced with a truncated season in 2017, before fully aligning with the league calendar in 2018. ^{[20] [21] [22]} A limited number of overage players are allowed to play in this division. ^[23]
• An Under-13 division for boys was introduced in March 2019. ^{[24] [25] [26] [27]} The Coronavirus pandemic sports shutdown forced this to become an Under-14 division, to accommodate players who had lost a year, but this change later became permanent. ^{[28] [29] [23]}

Competition

League structure

There are 20 teams in the League, organised into two divisions: the Premier Division (formerly the A Division) and the First Division (formerly the B Division), which were renamed in 1985. There are ten teams in each division, and in a given season each team plays the other nine four times: twice at home and twice away, resulting in a total of 36 games per season.

Teams gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. At the end of the season, the last-placed team in the Premier Division is relegated, with the winner of the First Division being promoted in their place. The second- to fourth-placed teams in the First Division compete in a playoff series, the winner of which plays the ninth-placed team in the Premier Division to determine the final place in the Premier Division for the following season.

Division	Promotion and relegation
Premier Division	1 direct relegation 0 or 1 relegation via playoffs
First Division	1 direct promotion 0 or 1 promotion via playoffs

Teams

2025 Premier Division

Cork City

Derry City

Drogheda United

Dublin

Galway United

Sligo Rovers

Waterford

Dublin teams
Bohemians
St Patrick's Athletic
Shamrock Rovers
Shelbourne

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Locations of Premier Division teams

Bohemians

St Patrick's Athletic

Shamrock Rovers

Shelbourne

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Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams

Team	Home city/suburb	Stadium	Capacity
Bohemians	Dublin (Phibsborough)	Dalymount Park	4,500
Cork City	Cork	Turners Cross	7,485
Derry City	Derry	Brandywell	6,300
Drogheda United	Drogheda	United Park	2,500
Galway United	Galway	Eamonn Deacy Park	5,000
St Patrick's Athletic	Dublin (Inchicore)	Richmond Park	5,500
Shamrock Rovers	Dublin (Tallaght)	Tallaght Stadium	10,716
Shelbourne	Dublin (Drumcondra)	Tolka Park	5,700
Sligo Rovers	Sligo	The Showgrounds	4,200
Waterford	Waterford	RSC	5,160

2025 First Division

Athlone Town

Bray Wanderers

Cobh Ramblers

Dundalk

Finn Harps

Kerry

Longford Town

Treaty United

Wexford

UCD

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Locations of the First Division teams

Team	Home city/suburb	Stadium
Athlone Town	Athlone	Athlone Town Stadium
Bray Wanderers	Bray	Carlisle Grounds
Cobh Ramblers	Cobh	St. Colman's Park
Dundalk	Dundalk	Oriel Park
Finn Harps	Ballybofey	Finn Park
Kerry	Tralee	Mounthawk Park
Longford Town	Longford	Bishopsgate
Treaty United	Limerick	Markets Field
UCD	Dublin	UCD Bowl
Wexford	Crossabeg	Ferrycarrig Park

Former League of Ireland clubs

Apart from the current twenty members, at least 38 other clubs have competed in the League of Ireland at one time or another. Some of these clubs are still active, playing in intermediate and junior leagues. The list below only includes teams that played in the A Division, the Premier Division and the First Division.

Team	Home town/suburb	Home ground	Current league
Albert Rovers	Cork	Flower Lodge
Bray Unknowns	Bray	Carlisle Grounds
Brideville	The Liberties, Dublin	Richmond Park Harold's Cross Stadium
Brooklyn	Merchants Quay	Chalgrove Terrace
Cabinteely	Cabinteely, Dublin	Kilbogget Park
Cork	Cork	The Mardyke
Cork City	Cork	The Mardyke
Cork Alberts	Cork	Flower Lodge Turners Cross
Cork Athletic	Cork	The Mardyke
Cork Bohemians	Cork	Turners Cross
Cork Hibernians	Cork	The Mardyke
Cork United	Cork	The Mardyke
Dolphin	Dolphin's Barn	Dolphin Park Harold's Cross Stadium Tolka Park
Drumcondra	Drumcondra, Dublin	Tolka Park	Leinster Senior League
Dublin City	Fingal	various
Dublin United	Donnybrook, Dublin	Beech Hill Anglesea Road
Evergreen United / Cork Celtic	Cork	Turners Cross
Fordsons	Cork	Ballinlough Road
Frankfort	Drumcondra, Dublin	Richmond Road
Home Farm	Whitehall, Dublin	Tolka Park	Leinster Senior League
Jacobs	Crumlin, Dublin	Rutland Avenue
Kildare County	Newbridge, County Kildare	Station Road
Kilkenny City	Kilkenny	Buckley Park
Limerick	Limerick	Markets Field
Mervue United	Galway	Fahy's Field	Galway & District League
Midland Athletic	Whitehall, Dublin	The Thatch
Monaghan United	Monaghan	Gortakeegan	Monaghan Cavan League
Newcastlewest	Newcastle West	Ballygowan Park	Limerick Desmond League
Olympia	The Coombe, Dublin	Bellevue Lodge
Pioneers	Dublin	Strand Hall The Thatch	Leinster Senior League
Rathmines Athletic	Rathmines	Rathmines Park
Reds United	Ringsend	Glenmalure Park
Salthill Devon	Salthill	Drom Soccer Park	Galway & District League
St. Francis	The Liberties/Clondalkin	John Hyland Park	Leinster Senior League
St. James's Gate	Crumlin, Dublin	Iveagh Grounds	Leinster Senior League
Shelbourne United	Ringsend	Beech Hill Anglesea Road Glenmalure Park
Shamrock Rovers B	Tallaght	Tallaght Stadium
Sporting Fingal	Fingal	Morton Stadium
Thurles Town	Thurles	Thurles Greyhound Stadium	North Tipperary District League
Transport	Bray/Harold's Cross	Carlisle Grounds Harold's Cross Stadium	Leinster Senior League
YMCA	Sandymount	YMCA Sports Grounds

Champions

First level

A Division

Season	Champions	Runners-up	Third place
1921–22	St. James's Gate (1)	Bohemians	Shelbourne
1922–23	Shamrock Rovers (1)	Shelbourne	Bohemians
1923–24	Bohemians (1)	Shelbourne	Jacobs
1924–25	Shamrock Rovers (2)	Bohemians	Shelbourne
1925–26	Shelbourne (1)	Shamrock Rovers	Fordsons
1926–27	Shamrock Rovers (3)	Shelbourne	Bohemians
1927–28	Bohemians (2)	Shelbourne	Shamrock Rovers
1928–29	Shelbourne (2)	Bohemians	Shamrock Rovers
1929–30	Bohemians (3)	Shelbourne	Shamrock Rovers
1930–31	Shelbourne (3)	Dundalk	Bohemians
1931–32	Shamrock Rovers (4)	Cork	Waterford
1932–33	Dundalk (1)	Shamrock Rovers	Shelbourne
1933–34	Bohemians (4)	Cork	Shamrock Rovers
1934–35	Dolphin (1)	St. James's Gate	Sligo Rovers
1935–36	Bohemians (5)	Dolphin	Cork
1936–37	Sligo Rovers (1)	Dundalk	Waterford
1937–38	Shamrock Rovers (5)	Waterford	Dundalk
1938–39	Shamrock Rovers (6)	Sligo Rovers	Dundalk
1939–40	St. James's Gate (2)	Shamrock Rovers	Sligo Rovers
1940–41	Cork United (1)	Waterford	Bohemians
1941–42	Cork United (2)	Shamrock Rovers	Shelbourne
1942–43	Cork United (3)	Dundalk	Drumcondra
1943–44	Shelbourne (4)	Limerick	Shamrock Rovers
1944–45	Cork United (4)	Limerick	Shamrock Rovers
1945–46	Cork United (5)	Drumcondra	Waterford
1946–47	Shelbourne (5)	Drumcondra	Shamrock Rovers
1947–48	Drumcondra (1)	Dundalk	Shelbourne
1948–49	Drumcondra (2)	Shelbourne	Dundalk
1949–50	Cork Athletic (1)	Drumcondra	Shelbourne
1950–51	Cork Athletic (2)	Sligo Rovers	Drumcondra
1951–52	St. Patrick's Athletic (1)	Shelbourne	Shamrock Rovers
1952–53	Shelbourne (6)	Drumcondra	Shamrock Rovers
1953–54	Shamrock Rovers (7)	Evergreen United	Drumcondra
1954–55	St. Patrick's Athletic (2)	Waterford	Shamrock Rovers
1955–56	St. Patrick's Athletic (3)	Shamrock Rovers	Waterford
1956–57	Shamrock Rovers (8)	Drumcondra	Sligo Rovers
1957–58	Drumcondra (3)	Shamrock Rovers	Evergreen United
1958–59	Shamrock Rovers (9)	Evergreen United	Waterford
1959–60	Limerick (1)	Cork Celtic	Shelbourne
1960–61	Drumcondra (4)	St. Patrick's Athletic	Waterford
1961–62	Shelbourne (7)	Cork Celtic	Shamrock Rovers
1962–63	Dundalk (2)	Waterford	Drumcondra
1963–64	Shamrock Rovers (10)	Dundalk	Limerick
1964–65	Drumcondra (5)	Shamrock Rovers	Bohemians
1965–66	Waterford (1)	Shamrock Rovers	Bohemians
1966–67	Dundalk (3)	Bohemians	Sligo Rovers
1967–68	Waterford (2)	Dundalk	Cork Celtic
1968–69	Waterford (3)	Shamrock Rovers	Cork Hibernians
1969–70	Waterford (4)	Shamrock Rovers	Cork Hibernians
1970–71	Cork Hibernians (1)	Shamrock Rovers	Waterford
1971–72	Waterford (5)	Cork Hibernians	Bohemians
1972–73	Waterford (6)	Finn Harps	Bohemians
1973–74	Cork Celtic (1)	Bohemians	Cork Hibernians
1974–75	Bohemians (6)	Athlone Town	Finn Harps
1975–76	Dundalk (4)	Finn Harps	Waterford
1976–77	Sligo Rovers (2)	Bohemians	Drogheda United
1977–78	Bohemians (7)	Finn Harps	Drogheda United
1978–79	Dundalk (5)	Bohemians	Drogheda United
1979–80	Limerick United (2)	Dundalk	Athlone Town
1980–81	Athlone Town (1)	Dundalk	Limerick United
1981–82	Dundalk (6)	Shamrock Rovers	Bohemians
1982–83	Athlone Town (2)	Drogheda United	Dundalk
1983–84	Shamrock Rovers (11)	Bohemians	Athlone Town
1984–85	Shamrock Rovers (12)	Bohemians	Athlone Town

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Premier Division

Season	Champions	Runners–up	Third place
1985–86	Shamrock Rovers (13)	Galway United	Dundalk
1986–87	Shamrock Rovers (14)	Dundalk	Bohemians
1987–88	Dundalk (7)	St Patrick's Athletic	Bohemians
1988–89	Derry City (1)	Dundalk	Limerick City
1989–90	St Patrick's Athletic (4)	Derry City	Dundalk
1990–91	Dundalk (8)	Cork City	St Patrick's Athletic
1991–92	Shelbourne (8)	Derry City	Cork City
1992–93	Cork City (1)	Bohemians	Shelbourne
1993–94	Shamrock Rovers (15)	Cork City	Galway United
1994–95	Dundalk (9)	Derry City	Shelbourne
1995–96	St Patrick's Athletic (5)	Bohemians	Sligo Rovers
1996–97	Derry City (2)	Bohemians	Shelbourne
1997–98	St Patrick's Athletic (6)	Shelbourne	Cork City
1998–99	St Patrick's Athletic (7)	Cork City	Shelbourne
1999–00	Shelbourne (9)	Cork City	Bohemians
2000–01	Bohemians (8)	Shelbourne	Cork City
2001–02	Shelbourne (10)	Shamrock Rovers	St Patrick's Athletic
2002–03	Bohemians (9)	Shelbourne	Shamrock Rovers
2003	Shelbourne (11)	Bohemians	Cork City
2004	Shelbourne (12)	Cork City	Bohemians
2005	Cork City (2)	Derry City	Shelbourne
2006	Shelbourne (13)	Derry City	Drogheda United
2007	Drogheda United (1)	St Patrick's Athletic	Bohemians
2008	Bohemians (10)	St Patrick's Athletic	Derry City
2009	Bohemians (11)	Shamrock Rovers	Cork City
2010	Shamrock Rovers (16)	Bohemians	Sligo Rovers
2011	Shamrock Rovers (17)	Sligo Rovers	Derry City
2012	Sligo Rovers (3)	Drogheda United	St Patrick's Athletic
2013	St Patrick's Athletic (8)	Dundalk	Sligo Rovers
2014	Dundalk (10)	Cork City	St Patrick's Athletic
2015	Dundalk (11)	Cork City	Shamrock Rovers
2016	Dundalk (12)	Cork City	Derry City
2017	Cork City (3)	Dundalk	Shamrock Rovers
2018	Dundalk (13)	Cork City	Shamrock Rovers
2019	Dundalk (14)	Shamrock Rovers	Bohemians
2020	Shamrock Rovers (18)	Bohemians	Dundalk
2021	Shamrock Rovers (19)	St Patrick's Athletic	Sligo Rovers
2022	Shamrock Rovers (20)	Derry City	Dundalk
2023	Shamrock Rovers (21)	Derry City	St Patrick's Athletic
2024	Shelbourne (14)	Shamrock Rovers	St Patrick's Athletic

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

List of champions

By number of titles

Club	First level	Second level	Total
Shamrock Rovers	21	1	22
Dundalk	14	2	16
Shelbourne	14	2	16
Bohemians	11	0	11
St Patrick's Athletic	8	0	8
Waterford	6	4	10
Cork United	5	0	5
Drumcondra	5	0	5
Cork City	3	3	6
Sligo Rovers	3	2	5
Limerick United	2	3	5
Athlone Town	2	2	4
Derry City	2	2	4
Cork Athletic	2	0	2
St James's Gate	2	0	2
Drogheda United	1	5	6
Cork Celtic	1	0	1
Cork Hibernians	1	0	1
Dolphin	1	0	1
Bray Wanderers	0	3	3
UCD	0	3	3
Galway United	0	2	2
Cobh Ramblers	0	1	1
Dublin City	0	1	1
Finn Harps	0	1	1
Kilkenny City	0	1	1
Longford Town	0	1	1
Wexford	0	1	1

By team

Club	Titles	Seasons	Runners-up	Seasons
Shamrock Rovers	21	1922–23, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1931–32, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1993–94, 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023	16	1925–26, 1932–33, 1939–40, 1941–42, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1981–82, 2001-02, 2009, 2019, 2024
Dundalk	14	1932–33, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1994–95, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019	12	1930–31, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1947–48, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1988–89, 2013, 2017
Shelbourne	14	1925–26, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1952–53, 1961–62, 1991–92, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2024	9	1922–23, 1923–24, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1997–98, 2002–03
Bohemians	11	1923–24, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1974–75, 1977–78, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2008, 2009	15	1921–22, 1924–25, 1928–29, 1966–67, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2003, 2010, 2020
St Patrick's Athletic	8	1951–52, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1989–90, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2013	5	1960–61, 1987–88, 2007, 2008, 2021
Waterford	6	1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73	4	1937–38, 1940–41, 1954–55, 1962–63
Drumcondra	5	1947–48, 1948–49, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1964–65	5	1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57
Cork United	5	1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46	0
Cork City	3	1992–93, 2005, 2017	9	1990–91, 1993–94, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
Sligo Rovers	3	1936–37, 1976–77, 2012	3	1938–39, 1950–51, 2011
Derry City	2	1988–89, 1996–97	7	1989–90, 1991–92, 1994–95, 2005, 2006, 2022, 2023
Limerick	2	1959–60, 1979–80	2	1943–44, 1944–45
St James's Gate	2	1921–22, 1939–40	1	1934–35
Athlone Town	2	1980–81, 1982–83	1	1974–75
Cork Athletic	2	1949–50, 1950–51	0
Cork Celtic	1	1973–74	4	1953–54, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62
Drogheda United	1	2007	2	1982–83, 2012
Dolphin	1	1934–35	1	1935–36
Cork Hibernians	1	1970–71	1	1971–72
Finn Harps	0		3	1972–73, 1975–76, 1977–78
Cork	0		2	1931–32, 1933–34
Galway United	0		1	1985–86

By county

County	Titles	Most successful club
Dublin	60	Shamrock Rovers (21)
Louth	15	Dundalk (14)
Cork	12	Cork United (5)
Waterford	6	Waterford (6)
Sligo	3	Sligo Rovers (3)
Londonderry	2	Derry City (2)
Limerick	2	Limerick (2)
Westmeath	2	Athlone Town (2)

By season

For each season, the number of teams competing (in brackets) are shown.

Team	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	Years
Bohemians	2nd	5th	6th	6th	8th	-	6
Cork City	10th			9th		-	3
Derry City	7th	4th	2nd	2nd	4th	-	6
Drogheda United		7th	8th	7th	9th	-	5
Dundalk	3rd	6th	3rd	5th	10th		5
Galway United					5th	-	2
Finn Harps	8th	8th	10th				3
Longford Town		10th					1
Shamrock Rovers	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	-	6
Shelbourne	9th		7th	4th	1st	-	5
Sligo Rovers	4th	3rd	5th	8th	6th	-	6
St Patrick's Athletic	6th	2nd	4th	3rd	3rd	-	6
UCD			9th	10th			2
Waterford	5th	9th			7th	-	4

Media coverage

League of Ireland games are broadcast by both RTÉ and Virgin Media Television. It was announced in 2014 that RTÉ would show 78 live Premier Division and FAI Cup games as part of a new agreement with the FAI. The agreement expires in November 2018. RTÉ also broadcast a highlights show, Soccer Republic , throughout the season. ^{[30] [31] [32] [33]} In 2015 the FAI agreed a deal with TrackChamp to stream all Premier Division and First Division games outside Ireland, but the deal was criticised by customers as the streaming service required registration for a betting platform. ^[34]

Attendance

In 2024 attendances across the League of Ireland broke the million mark for the first time ever; a total of 1,001,630 fans went to games in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division, First Division, SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division, men's and women's FAI Cups, the All-Island Cup and European matches. ^[35]

Premier Division Season Total Average Highest Ref. 2005 – – 7,000 [36] 2006 257,745 1,562 6,080 [note 1] [37] 2007 – – – 2008 – – 6,870 [38] 2009 – – 6,000 [39] 2010 – – 5,500 [40] 2011 – – 5,916 [41] 2012 281,925 1,575 6,097 [note 2] [42] [43] 2013 307,355 1,552 4,703 [note 3] [42] [44] 2014 295,384 1,523 6,219 [note 4] [42] [45] 2015 324,332 1,638 6,900 [note 5] [46] [47] 2016 291,258 1,471 5,453 [48] [49] 2017 377,362 1,906 6,983 [50] [51] 2018 384,520 2,136 6,672 [52] [53] 2019 375,705 2,087 7,021 [54] [55] 2020 65,700 2,986 7,522 [note 6] [56] [57] 2021 – – 7,765 [58] 2022 486,365 2,687 7,726 [54] [59] 2023 596,196 3,294 8,021 [60] 2024 628,200 3,490 10,094 Key   Record high   Record low * Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

First Division Season Total Average Highest Ref. 2016 52,987 477 – [55] 2017 53,342 476 – [55] 2018 59,946 422 – [55] 2019 75,795 561 – [54] 2020 – – – 2021 – – – 2022 178,000 1,193 – [54] 2023 196,050 1,089 – [60]

European record

UEFA Champions League

Season	Club	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg
2009–10	Bohemians	2QR	Red Bull Salzburg	0–1	1–1	1–2
2010–11			The New Saints	1–0	0–4	1–4
2011–12	Shamrock Rovers	2QR	FC Flora Tallinn	1–0	0–0	1–0
		3QR	F.C. Copenhagen	0–1	0–2	0–3
2012–13		2QR	FK Ekranas	0–0	1–2	1–2
2013–14	Sligo Rovers	2QR	Molde FK	0–1	0–2	0–3
2014–15	St Patrick's Athletic	2QR	Legia Warsaw	0–5	1–1	1–6
2015–16	Dundalk	2QR	BATE Borisov	0–0	1–2	1–2
2016–17	Dundalk	2QR	FH	1–1	2–2	3–3 (a)
		3QR	BATE Borisov	3–0	0–1	3–1
		PO	Legia Warsaw	0–2	1–1	1–3
2017–18		2QR	Rosenborg BK	1–1	1–2	2–3 ( a.e.t. )
2018–19	Cork City	1QR	Legia Warsaw	0–1	0–3	0–4
2019–20	Dundalk	1QR	Riga FC	0–0	0–0	0–0 (5–4 ( p ))
		2QR	Qarabag	1–1	0–3	1–4
2020–21		1QR	NK Celje	0–3 [a]		0–3
2021–22	Shamrock Rovers	1QR	Slovan Bratislava	2–1	0–2	2–3
2022–23			Hibernians	3–0	0–0	3–0
		2QR	Ludogorets Razgrad	0–3	2–1	2–4
2023–24		1QR	Breiðablik	0–1	1–2	1–3
2024–25			Víkingur Reykjavík	2–1	0–0	2–1
		2QR	Sparta Prague	0–2	2–4	2–6
2025–26	Shelbourne	1QR	Linfield	1–0	1-1	2-1
		2QR	Qarabag	0-3	0-1	0-4

1. Only one match was played at a neutral venue.

1QR/2QR/3QR = First/Second/Third qualifying round; PO = Playoff

UEFA Europa League

Season	Club	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg
2009–10	Sligo Rovers	1QR	Vllaznia Shkodër	1–2	1–1	1–3
	Derry City	2QR	Skonto	1–0	1–1	2–1
		3QR	CSKA Sofia	1–1	0–1	1–2
	St Patrick's Athletic	2QR	Valletta	1–1	1–0	2–1
		3QR	Krylia Sovetov	1–0	2–3	3–3 (a)
		PO	Steaua București	1–2	0–3	1–5
2010–11	Dundalk	1QR	Grevenmacher	2–1	3–3	5–4
		2QR	Levski Sofia	0–2	0–6	0–8
	Sporting Fingal	2QR	Marítimo	2–3	2–3	4–6
	Shamrock Rovers	2QR	Bnei Yehuda	1–1	1–0	2–1
		3QR	Juventus	0–2	0–1	0–3
2011–12	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	ÍBV	2–0	0–1	2–1
		2QR	Shakhter Karagandy	2–0	1–2	3–2
		3QR	Karpaty Lviv	1–3	0–2	1–5
	Bohemians	2QR	Olimpija Ljubljana	1–1	0–2	1–3
	Sligo Rovers	3QR	Vorskla Poltava	0–2	0–0	0–2
	Shamrock Rovers	PO	Partizan	1–1	2–1	3–2 ( a.e.t. )
		Group A	Rubin Kazan	0–3	1–4	4th
			Tottenham Hotspur	0–4	1–3
			P.A.O.K.	1–3	1–2
2012–13	Bohemians	1QR	Þór Akureyri	0–0	1–5	1–5
	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	ÍBV	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a) ( a.e.t. )
		2QR	Široki Brijeg	2–1	1–1	3–2 ( a.e.t. )
		3QR	Hannover 96	0–3	0–2	0–5
	Sligo Rovers	2QR	Spartak Trnava	1–1	1–3	2–4
2013–14	Drogheda United	1QR	Malmö FF	0–0	0–2	0–2
	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	Žalgiris Vilnius	1–2	2–2	3–4
	Derry City	2QR	Trabzonspor	0–3	2–4	2–7
2014–15	Dundalk	1QR	Jeunesse Esch	3–1	2–0	5–1
		2QR	Hajduk Split	0–2	2–1	2–3
	Derry City	1QR	Aberystwyth Town	4–0	5–0	9–0
		2QR	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	0–1	1–5	1–6
	Sligo Rovers	1QR	Banga Gargždai	4–0	0–0	4–0
		2QR	Rosenborg BK	1–3	2–1	3–4
2015–16	UCD	1QR	F91 Dudelange	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		2QR	Slovan Bratislava	1–5	0–1	1–6
	Cork City	1QR	KR	1–1	1–2	2–3 ( a.e.t. )
	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	Skonto	0–2	1–2	1–4
	Shamrock Rovers	1QR	Progrès Niederkorn	3–0	0–0	3–0
		2QR	Odds BK	0–2	1–2	1–4
2016–17	Cork City	1QR	Linfield	1–1	1–0	2–1
		2QR	BK Häcken	1–0	1–1	2–1
		3QR	Genk	1–2	0–1	1–3
	Shamrock Rovers	1QR	RoPS	0–2	1–1	1–3
	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	Jeunesse Esch	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		2QR	Dinamo Minsk	0–1	1–1	1–2
	Dundalk	Group D	AZ	0–1	1–1	4th
			Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–0	1–2
			Zenit	1–2	1–2
2017–18	Cork City	1QR	FCI Levadia Tallinn	4–2	2–0	6–2
		2QR	AEK Larnaca	0–1	0–1	0–2
	Derry City	1QR	Midtjylland	1–4	1–6	2–10
	Shamrock Rovers		Stjarnan	1–0	1–0	2–0
		2QR	Mladá Boleslav	2–3	0–2	2–5
2018–19	Dundalk	1QR	FCI Levadia Tallinn	2–1	1–0	3–1
		2QR	AEK Larnaca	0–0	0–4	0–4
	Derry City	1QR	Dinamo Minsk	0–2	2–1	2–3
	Cork City	3QR	Rosenborg BK	0–2	0–3	0–5
	Shamrock Rovers	1QR	AIK	0–1	1–1	1–2 ( a.e.t. )
2019–20	Cork City	1QR	Progrès Niederkorn	0–2	2–1	2–3
	Dundalk	3QR	Slovan Bratislava	1–3	0–1	1–4
	Shamrock Rovers	1QR	SK Brann	2–1	2–2	4–3
		2QR	Apollon Limassol	2–1	1–3	3–4 ( a.e.t. )
	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	IFK Norrköping	0–2	1–2	1–4
2020–21	Shamrock Rovers	1QR	Ilves	2–2	—	2–2 (12–11 ( p ))
		2QR	A.C. Milan	0–2	—	0–2
	Bohemians	1QR	Fehérvár	—	1–1	1–1 (2–4 ( p ))
	Derry City		FK Riteriai	—	2–3	2–3 ( a.e.t. )
	Dundalk	2QR	Inter Club d'Escaldes	—	1–0	1–0
		3QR	Sheriff Tiraspol	—	1–1	1–1 (3–5 ( p ))
		PO	KÍ	3–1	—	3–1
		Group B	Molde FK	1–2	1–3	4th
			Arsenal	2–4	0–3
			Rapid Wien	1–3	3–4
2022–23	Shamrock Rovers	3QR	Shkupi	3–1	2–1	5–2
		PO	Ferencvaros	1–0	0–4	1–4
2024–25		3QR	Celje	3–1 (a.e.t)	0–1	3–2
		PO	PAOK	0–2	0–4	0–6
2025–26	Shelbourne	3QR	Rijeka	1–3	2–1	3–4

1QR/2QR/3QR = First/Second/Third qualifying round; PO = Playoff; Group = Group stage

UEFA Conference League

Season	Club	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg
2021–22	Bohemians	1QR	Stjarnan	3–0	1–1	4–1
		2QR	F91 Dudelange	1–0	3–0	4–0
		3QR	P.A.O.K.	2–1	0–2	2–3
	Dundalk	1QR	Newtown	4–0	1–0	5–0
		2QR	FCI Levadia Tallinn	2–2	2–1	4–3
		3QR	Vitesse	1–2	2–2	3–4
	Sligo Rovers	1QR	FH	0–1	1–2	1–3
	Shamrock Rovers	3QR	Teuta	1–0	2–0	3–0
		PO	FC Flora Tallinn	0–1	2–4	2–5
2022–23	Sligo Rovers	1QR	Bala Town	2–1	0–1	2–2 (4–3 ( p ))
		2QR	Motherwell	1–0	2–0	3–0
		3QR	Viking	1–5	1–0	2–5
	Derry City	1QR	Riga	0–2	0–2	4–0
	St Patrick's Athletic	2QR	Mura	1–1	0–0	1–1 (6–5 ( p ))
		3QR	CSKA Sofia	1–0	0–2	1–2
	Shamrock Rovers	Group F	Djurgården	0–0	0–1	4th
			Gent	1–1	0–3
			Molde	0–2	0–3
2023–24	Dundalk	1QR	Bruno’s Magpies	0–0	3–1	3–1
		2QR	KA	2–2	1–3	3–5
	Derry City	1QR	HB	1–0	0–0	1–0
		2QR	KuPS	2–1	3–3	5–4
		3QR	Tobol	1–0	0–1	1–1 (5–6 ( p ))
	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	F91 Dudelange	1–2	2–3	3–5
	Shamrock Rovers	2QR	Ferencvaros	0–2	0–4	0–6
2024–25	Derry City	1QR	Bruno's Magpies	2−1	0–2	2−3 ( a.e.t. )
	Shelbourne	1QR	St Joseph's	2–1	1–1	3–2
		2QR	Zürich	0–0	0–3	0–3
	St Patrick's Athletic	2QR	Vaduz	3–1	2–2	5–3
		3QR	Sabah	1–0	1–0	2–0
		PO	İstanbul Başakşehir	0–0	0–2	0–2
	Shamrock Rovers	League Phase	APOEL	1–1	—	10th
			Larne	—	4–1
			The New Saints	2–1	—
			Rapid Vienna	—	1–1
			Borac Banja Luka	3–0	—
			Chelsea	—	1–5
		KPPO	Molde	0–1 (a.e.t)	1–0	1–1 (4–5 (p))
2025–26	St Patrick's Athletic	1QR	Hegelmann	1–0	2–0	3–0
		2QR	Nõmme Kalju	1–0	2–2 (a.e.t)	3–2
		3QR	Beşiktaş J.K.	1–4	2–3	3–7
	Shamrock Rovers	2QR	St Joseph's	0–0	4–0	4–0
		3QR	Ballkani	4–0	0–1	4–1
		PO	Santa Clara	0–0	2–1	2–1
		League Phase	Sparta Prague	—
			Celje		—
			AEK Athens	—
			Shakhtar Donetsk		—
			Breiðablik	—
			Hamrun Spartans		—
	Shelbourne
		PO	Linfield	3–1	2–0	5–1
		League Phase	Häcken		—
			Shkëndija	—
			Drita		—
			AZ	—
			Crystal Palace		—
			Celje	—

1QR/2QR/3QR = First/Second/Third qualifying round; PO = Playoff; KPPO = Knockout Phase Play-off round

See also

• List of association football competitions
• List of foreign League of Ireland players

Notes

1. "Figures do not include results from matches played against Dublin City F.C. who withdrew midway through the season". www.researchgate.net. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
2. "Figures include results from matches played against Monaghan United who withdrew midway through the season". www.researchgate.net. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
3. "One attendance figure is missing from the 2013 season". www.researchgate.net. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
4. "Four attendance figures are missing from the 2014 season". www.researchgate.net.
5. "League of Ireland match attendances show encouraging rise for 2015". Newstalk. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
6. Total attendance and average attendance figures only account for the first four weeks of the season after which no spectators were allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

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External links

• Official Website Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine