The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the
Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising
association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally used to refer to a single division league. However today the League of Ireland features five divisions – the
Premier Division, the
First Division,
U19 Division,
U17 Division, U15 Division and starting U13 Division. The League of Ireland has always worked closely with the FAI and in 2006 the two bodies formally merged. All the divisions are currently sponsored by
Airtricity
SSE Airtricity (previously Eirtricity) is an energy company founded in Ireland in 1997, and now a subsidiary SSE plc. SSE Airtricity supplies and distributes electricity and gas to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
History
The com ...
and as a result the league is also known as the SSE Airtricity League. In 2007, it became one of the first leagues in Europe to introduce a
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
.
History
A Division
The League of Ireland was founded in
1921 as a single division known as the A Division. The first season featured eight teams, all from
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
. The teams that competed in the first season were
Bohemians
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
,
Dublin United,
Frankfort,
Jacobs
Jacobs may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
*Jacob's, a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the UK
*Jacobs (coffee), a brand of coffee
* Jacobs Aircraft Engine Company, former American aircraft engine compan ...
,
Olympia,
St. James's Gate,
Shelbourne and
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
.
The eight founding members had spent the 1920–21 season playing in the
Leinster Senior League. Bohemians and Shelbourne had played in the
1919–20 Irish League
The Irish League in season 1919–20 comprised eight teams. An all Ireland league championship resumed after a four-year suspension due to the First World War; during the war teams had competed locally in the Belfast & District League or th ...
. St James's Gate were the inaugural champions. Gate also went on to complete a treble having already won both the
1921–22 FAI Cup
The FAI Cup 1921–22 was the first ever edition of Ireland's premier cup competition, The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup or FAI Cup. The tournament began on 14 January 1922 and concluded on 8 April with the final replay held at ...
and 1921–22
Leinster Senior Cup. In
1922–23 the league was expanded to twelve clubs. Among the new members were
Shamrock Rovers, who finished as champions, and
Athlone Town
Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...
who became the first team from outside County Dublin to compete in the league. Together with fellow Dublin clubs teams, Bohemians and Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers would go onto dominate the league during the 1920s and the 1930s.
In
1924–25 Bray Unknowns
Bray Unknowns Football Club was an Irish association football club based in Bray, County Wicklow. During the 1920s and 1930s the Unknowns were the dominant football club in Bray, playing in the League of Ireland for nineteen seasons from 1924 ...
and
Fordsons became the second and third teams from outside County Dublin to join the league. Fordsons also became the first team from
Munster to play in the league.
The league continued to expand numerically and geographically during its first two decades of existence. In
1926–27 Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
were elected to the league and in
1932–33 became the first club from outside County Dublin to win the title. Dundalk were subsequently joined by
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
in
1930–31
Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...
,
Cork Bohemians in
1932–33,
Sligo Rovers in
1934–35 and
Limerick F.C.
Limerick Football Club ( ga, Club Peile Luimnigh) was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland.
The first Limerick ...
in
1937–38. In
1936–37, Sligo Rovers became the second club from outside County Dublin to win the title.
During
The Emergency/
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
era
Cork United emerged as the league's strongest team. The club won five league titles between
1940–41 and
1945–46, including three in succession. However they subsequently resigned from the league in
1948.
The 1950s was marked by the emergence of
St Patrick's Athletic and the re-emergence of Shamrock Rovers. The former succeeded in winning the title at the first attempt in
1951–52 and claimed a further two in the middle of the decade. In
1953–54 the ''Coad's Colts'' earned Shamrock Rovers their first title in fifteen years.
Drumcondra and Dundalk claimed two League of Ireland titles each during the 1960s but Waterford secured their status as the team of the decade with four league titles, including three in succession between
1967–68 and
1969–70. Six clubs won the League of Ireland title during the 1970s with Waterford, Bohemians and Dundalk winning two titles each.
Athlone Town
Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...
won two league titles at the start of the 1980s but the decade was marked by the four successive league 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
League of Ireland Premier Division.
Second level
The League of Ireland first organised a second level division in 1964–65. The
B Division B Division, Division B, or variant may refer to:
* ''B Division'' (New York City Subway)
* ''B Division'' (Irish League), association football
* ''Division B'' (Scottish Football League)
* ''Divizia B'' (Romanian Football League)
* Moldovan "B ...
featured
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
s and
emerging senior teams. Although there was no
relegation and promotion
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
to and from the A Division, a number of B Division teams, including
Home Farm,
Bray Wanderers,
Athlone Town
Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...
,
UCD,
Longford Town
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
and
Monaghan United
Monaghan United F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Mhuineacháin Aontaithe) is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Ulster Senior League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to pl ...
, were subsequently elected to the A Division.
In
1985–86 the B Division was replaced as the second level division by the
First Division. The First Division featured first teams and a relegation and promotion system operated with the new
Premier Division.
Third level
Between
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2011 the
FAI organised a short lived national third level league known as the
A Championship
The A Championship, also known as the Newstalk A Championship, was an association football league featuring League of Ireland reserve teams and emerging senior teams. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...
. Like the earlier the
B Division B Division, Division B, or variant may refer to:
* ''B Division'' (New York City Subway)
* ''B Division'' (Irish League), association football
* ''Division B'' (Scottish Football League)
* ''Divizia B'' (Romanian Football League)
* Moldovan "B ...
, the A Championship featured a mixture of League of Ireland
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
s and
emerging senior teams. Unlike the B Division, a
promotion and relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...
system operated between the
Premier Division, the
First Division and the A Championship.
Youth leagues
Since 2000–01 the League of Ireland has organised a youth league. It was originally an under-21 league, later becoming an under-20 league, but is now an
U19 league. The winners of the overall competition are awarded the
Dr Tony O'Neill Cup.
In 2015, the League of Ireland also introduced an
U17 league. An under-15 league was introduced in 2017, beginning with a truncated season, before fully aligning with the League of Ireland calendar in 2018. An under-13 league is planned to start April 2019.
League of Ireland clubs
2023 Premier Division
2023 First Division
Former League of Ireland clubs
Champions
List of winners by season
A Division
League of Ireland Premier Division
General Statistics
List of winners by club
List of winners by county
Media coverage
League of Ireland games are broadcast by both
RTÉ and
Eir Sport
Eir Sport (stylised as eir Sport; formerly Setanta Sports) was a group of Irish television sports channels operated by Eircom Sport Limited, a subsidiary of Eir. In December 2015, Eir purchased original Setanta Sports operations in the Republi ...
. In 2014 it was announced that RTÉ will 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
''Soccer Republic'' is RTÉ's main football television programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two on Monday nights during the Irish football season, showing highlights of recent matches in Irish football's top division, the League of Ireland Premier Divis ...
'', throughout the season.
In 2015 the FAI agreed a deal with TrackChamp to stream all Premier Division and
First Division outside Ireland - though customers criticised this as they had to sign up for a betting account first.
Premier Division Attendance
European record
UEFA Champions League
1QR/2QR/3QR = First/Second/Third qualifying round; PO = Playoff
UEFA Europa League
1QR/2QR/3QR = First/Second/Third qualifying round; PO = Playoff; Group = Group stage
UEFA Europa Conference League
1QR/2QR/3QR = First/Second/Third qualifying round; PO = Playoff
See also
*
List of association football competitions
This is a list of the association football competitions past and present for international teams and for club football, in individual countries and internationally. Confirmed future competitions are also included.
The competitions are grouped b ...
*
List of foreign League of Ireland players
Notes
References
External links
Official WebsiteExtratime.ieLeagueofIreland.ie
{{Authority control
Sports leagues established in 1921
1921 establishments in Ireland