The Leinster Senior League is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
league organised by the
Leinster Football Association
The Leinster Football Association (LFA) is the governing body for association football in the Irish province of Leinster. It is responsible for organizing the Leinster Senior Cup and the Leinster Senior League as well as numerous other league ...
. In 2015–16 the Leinster Senior League operated twenty divisions. It also organises various cup competitions. Its
Senior Division is a third level division in the
Republic of Ireland football league system The Republic of Ireland football league system currently consists of 12 levels. Traditionally association football leagues in the Republic of Ireland have been classified as either senior, intermediate or junior. These leagues are effectively nation ...
. Leinster Senior League teams also compete in the
Leinster Senior Cup, the
FAI Cup, the
FAI Intermediate Cup
The FAI Intermediate Cup ( ga, Corn Comortais Peile na hÉireann), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for intermediate ...
and the
FAI Junior Cup. In recent seasons the winners of the Senior Division have also qualified to play in the
League of Ireland Cup
The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...
. The vast majority of its member clubs are based in the
Greater Dublin Area
The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its ...
.
History
Foundation
Within a few seasons of the
Leinster Football Association
The Leinster Football Association (LFA) is the governing body for association football in the Irish province of Leinster. It is responsible for organizing the Leinster Senior Cup and the Leinster Senior League as well as numerous other league ...
having been formed in
1892, the Leinster Senior League was established. Ciarán Priestley highlights a printed notice in the 4 September 1894 edition of ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
''. Under the headline "Leinster Football League" there is a report of "a general meeting of the league... held the other evening at 27
D'Olier Street
D'Olier Street ( ) is a street in the southern city-centre of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It and Westmoreland Street are two broad streets whose northern ends meet at the southern end of O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey. Its southern ...
". Priestley also lists
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 ...
, Britannia,
Dublin University
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
,
Leinster Nomads
Leinster Nomads was an association football club based in Dublin, Ireland, which was formed in 1890 by former members of Dublin Association F.C. Dublin Association had folded that same year after a dispute with the Irish Football Association su ...
, Phoenix and Montpelier as participants in the first season. The Leinster Senior League website states it was established in
1896. However other sources suggest the league started a little later and was first played for in 1897–98 and that an unidentified
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
regimental team were the inaugural winners while
Shelbourne were runners up.
League pyramid
There is currently no promotion or relegation system between the
League of Ireland First Division
The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...
(Level 2) and the provincial leagues (Level 3) in place.
2016–17 Senior divisions
Junior leagues
Representative team
A Leinster Senior League representative team competes in the FAI Intermediate Interprovincial Tournament against teams representing the
Ulster Senior League, the
Munster Senior League and
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...
.
Notes
References
{{Football in Republic of Ireland
1896 establishments in Ireland
Sports leagues established in 1896