League of Ireland Shield

This article is about the competition that offered entry to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. For the First Division competition, see League of Ireland First Division Shield.

The League of Ireland Shield is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. ^[1] It was played before the league season began and was seen as the third most important trophy in Irish football, after the league and FAI Cup. The winners of the Shield gained entry to the following season's Inter-Cities Fairs Cup until 1971–72.

It was played in a variety of formats; from complete round robin series to group stages followed by knock out games to complete knock out tournaments. The competition was usually staged as a full round of games with all teams playing each other once, such as in 1948–49 and 1966–67. ^{[2] [3]} On a couple of occasions the Shield ran for two rounds, the same as the league championship. ^[4] The Shield was replaced by the League of Ireland Cup in 1973, although the competition returned for one season in 1983–84. ^[4]

The LOI Shield should not be confused with the League of Ireland First Division Shield, a competition that ran in the 1980s and 1990s and, as the name suggests, was confined to First Division clubs.

List of winners

1921–22: Shelbourne 1922–23: Shelbourne 1923–24: Bohemian 1924–25: Shamrock Rovers 1925–26: Shelbourne 1926–27: Shamrock Rovers 1927–28: Bohemian 1928–29: Bohemian 1929–30: Shelbourne 1930–31: Waterford 1931–32: Shamrock Rovers 1932–33: Shamrock Rovers 1933–34: Bohemian 1934–35: Shamrock Rovers 1935–36: St. James' Gate 1936–37: Waterford 1937–38: Shamrock Rovers 1938–39: Bohemian 1939–40: Bohemian 1940–41: St. James' Gate 1941–42: Shamrock Rovers 1942–43: Cork United 1943–44: Shelbourne 1944–45: Shelbourne 1945–46: Drumcondra 1946–47: Drumcondra

1947–48: Cork United 1948–49: Shelbourne 1949–50 : Shamrock Rovers 1950–51: Drumcondra 1951–52 : Shamrock Rovers 1952–53: Waterford 1953–54: Limerick 1954–55: Shamrock Rovers 1955–56: Shamrock Rovers 1956–57: Shamrock Rovers 1957–58: Shamrock Rovers 1958–59: Waterford 1959–60: St Patricks Athletic 1960–61: Cork Celtic 1961–62: Drumcondra 1962–63: Shamrock Rovers 1963–64: Shamrock Rovers 1964–65: Shamrock Rovers 1965–66: Shamrock Rovers 1966–67: Dundalk 1967–68: Shamrock Rovers 1968–69: Waterford 1969–70: Cork Hibernians 1970–71: Shelbourne 1971–72: Dundalk 1972–73: Cork Hibernians 1983-84: Limerick City

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
Shamrock Rovers	18	9	1924–25, 1926–27, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1941–42, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1955-56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1962–63, 1963-64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68
Shelbourne	8	5	1921–22, 1922–23, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1948–49, 1970–71
Bohemians	6	5	1923–24, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1933–34, 1938–39, 1939–40
Waterford	5	2	1930–31, 1936–37, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1968–69
Drumcondra	4	2	1945–46, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1961–62
Dundalk	2	6	1966–67, 1971–72
Cork Hibernians	2	2	1969–70, 1972–73
Limerick	2	2	1953–54, 1983-84
Cork United	2	1	1942–43, 1947–48
St. James' Gate	2	–	1935–36, 1940–41
Cork Celtic	1	3	1960–61
St. Patrick's Athletic	1	2	1959–60
Transport	–	3	–
Athlone Town	–	2	–
Bray Unknowns F.C.	–	1	–
Cork F.C.	–	1	–
Dolphin F.C.	–	1	–
Drogheda United	–	1	–
Sligo Rovers	–	1	–
UCD	–	1	–

Source: ^{[1] [5]}

See also

• League of Ireland
• FAI Cup
• League of Ireland Cup

References

1. "League of Ireland Shield Winners". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
2. "Ireland 1948/49". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
3. "Ireland 1966/67". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
4. Tormey, Thomas. "Greatest Short League in the World: A history of 18-game (and fewer) seasons in the League of Ireland". extratime.com. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
5. "History". Shamrock Rovers. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2025.

External links

• LOI Shield history on rsssf.com