2019 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division is the 35th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began in February 2019 and concluded in October 2019. Fixtures were announced in December 2018.[3][4]

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2019
Dates15 February – 25 October 2019
ChampionsDundalk (14th title)
RelegatedUCD
Champions LeagueDundalk
Europa LeagueShamrock Rovers
Bohemians
Derry City
Matches played180
Goals scored431 (2.39 per match)
Top goalscorerJunior Ogedi-Uzokwe (14 goals)
Biggest home winBohemians 10–1 UCD
(16 August 2019)
Biggest away winUCD 0–5 Dundalk
(30 August 2019)
Highest scoringBohemians 10–1 UCD
(16 August 2019)
Longest winning runDundalk (21 games)
Longest unbeaten runDundalk (23 games)
Longest winless runUCD (12 games)
Longest losing runUCD (11 games)
Highest attendance7,021[1] Shamrock Rovers 1–0 Bohemians
(30 August 2019)
Total attendance375,705
Average attendance2,087[2]
2018
2020
All statistics correct as of 26 October 2019.

On 23 September, Dundalk won the title after a 3–2 win over Shamrock Rovers.[5][6]

Overview

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The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Each team plays each other four times for 36 matches in the season.

UCD, the 2018 First Division champion, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2014, and Finn Harps, winners of the promotion/relegation playoffs, were promoted to the league, returning after the absence in the previous season.[7][8]

Teams

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Stadia and locations

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Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Bohemians Dublin (Phibsborough) Dalymount Park 3,640
Cork City Cork Turners Cross 7,845
Derry City Derry Brandywell Stadium 3,700
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park 4,500
Finn Harps Ballybofey Finn Park 6,000
Shamrock Rovers Dublin (Tallaght) Tallaght Stadium 8,000
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds 5,500
St Patrick's Athletic Dublin (Inchicore) Richmond Park 5,340
UCD Dublin (Belfield) UCD Bowl 3,000
Waterford Waterford Regional Sports Centre 5,500

Personnel and kits

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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Bohemians   Keith Long   Derek Pender O'Neills Mr Green Sport
Cork City   Neale Fenn   Conor McCormack Adidas University College Cork
Derry City   Declan Devine   Barry McNamee Adidas Diamond Corrugated
Dundalk   Vinny Perth   Brian Gartland CX+ Sport Fyffes
Finn Harps   Ollie Horgan   Keith Cowan Joma KN Group
St Patrick's Athletic   Stephen O'Donnell   Ian Bermingham Umbro MIG Insurance Brokers
Shamrock Rovers   Stephen Bradley   Ronan Finn New Balance Pepper Money
Sligo Rovers   Liam Buckley   Kyle Callan-McFadden Joma Volkswagen
UCD   Maciej Tarnogrodzki   Liam Scales O'Neills O'Neills
Waterford   Alan Reynolds   Kenny Browne Umbro 21Bet

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure
Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Dundalk   Stephen Kenny Signed by Republic of Ireland U21 24 November 2018 Pre-season   Vinny Perth 22 December 2018
Cork City   John Caulfield Mutual consent[9] 1 May 2019 8th   John Cotter[10] 2 May 2019
  John Cotter Appointed first-team head coach[11] 30 June 2019 7th   Frank Kelleher[11] 30 June 2019
UCD   Collie O'Neill Sacked[12] 19 August 2019 10th   Maciej Tarnogrodzki[13] 21 August 2019
St Patrick's Athletic   Harry Kenny Mutual consent[14] 24 August 2019 5th   Stephen O'Donnell[15] 31 August 2019
Cork City   Frank Kelleher Change of role[16] 26 August 2019 7th   Neale Fenn[16] 26 August 2019

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dundalk (C) 36 27 5 4 73 18 +55 86 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2 Shamrock Rovers 36 23 6 7 62 21 +41 75 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round[a]
3 Bohemians 36 17 9 10 47 28 +19 60
4 Derry City 36 15 12 9 56 34 +22 57
5 St Patrick's Athletic 36 14 10 12 29 35 −6 52
6 Waterford 36 12 7 17 46 53 −7 43
7 Sligo Rovers 36 10 12 14 38 47 −9 42
8 Cork City 36 9 10 17 29 49 −20 37
9 Finn Harps 36 7 7 22 26 64 −38 28 Qualification to Relegation play-offs
10 UCD (R) 36 5 4 27 25 82 −57 19 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[17]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Since the winners of the 2019 FAI Cup (Shamrock Rovers) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team i.e fourth-placed team.

Results

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Matches 1–18

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Teams played each other twice (once at home, once away).

Home \ Away BOH COR DER DUN FHA STP SHM SLI UCD WAT
Bohemians 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 3–0 0–0
Cork City 2–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 0–0 2–0 0–2
Derry City 0–2 2–0 0–2 4–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 3–2
Dundalk 1–0 1–0 2–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 4–0
Finn Harps 0–1 3–4 2–3 1–1 0–2 0–1 1–2 3–0 3–2
St Patrick's Athletic 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–3
Shamrock Rovers 0–1 2–0 2–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 3–1 2–1
Sligo Rovers 0–2 1–2 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–0
UCD 0–2 2–1 0–2 1–3 3–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 4–1
Waterford 0–0 2–0 2–2 0–3 4–0 2–0 1–2 3–3 1–0
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Extratime.ie
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Matches 19–36

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Teams will play each other twice (once home, once away).

Home \ Away BOH COR DER DUN FHA STP SHM SLI UCD WAT
Bohemians 1–0 0–0 2–1 5–3 3–0 2–1 2–1 10–1 1–2
Cork City 0–0 1–4 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 2–4 3–2 1–2
Derry City 0–0 4–0 2–2 4–0 1–3 0–2 3–0 0–0 2–0
Dundalk 2–1 1–0 1–0 5–0 4–0 3–2 4–0 3–0 3–0
Finn Harps 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–3 1–2 0–3 2–0 0–0 1–0
St Patrick's Athletic 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–2 2–1 0–0 0–2
Shamrock Rovers 1–0 3–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 7–0 2–1
Sligo Rovers 1–1 1–1 1–2 0–2 3–1 1–1 0–0 5–1 0–0
UCD 3–0 0–1 1–3 0–5 1–0 0–1 0–3 0–2 1–2
Waterford 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 1–5 2–0 4–2
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Promotion/relegation playoff

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Finn Harps, who finished ninth in the Premier Division, faced the First Division's Drogheda United to determine which club would participate in the 2020 Premier Division.

28 October 2019 Drogheda United1–0 Finn Harps United Park
19:45 Chris Lyons   90+4' Report Attendance: 1,400 (Est.)
Referee: Rob Hennessey
1 November 2019 Finn Harps 2–0 (a.e.t.)
(2–1 agg.)
Drogheda UnitedFinn Park
19:45 Mark Russell   7' Harry Ascroft   107' Report Referee: Neil Doyle

Season statistics

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe Derry City 14
2   Patrick Hoban Dundalk 13
3   Michael Duffy Dundalk 12
4   Danny Mandroiu Bohemians 11
  David Parkhouse Derry City 11
  Aaron Greene Shamrock Rovers 11
  Romeo Parkes Sligo Rovers 11
8   Aaron McEneff Shamrock Rovers 10
9   Daniel Kelly Dundalk 9
10   Georgie Kelly Dundalk 8
  Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers 8
  Graham Cummins Shamrock Rovers 8
  Ronan Coughlan Sligo Rovers 8

Awards

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Player of the Month

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Month Player Club References
February   Daniel Corcoran Bohemians [18]
March   Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers [19]
April   James Talbot Bohemians [20]
May   Sean Gannon Dundalk [21]
June   Danny Mandroiu Bohemians [22]
July   Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers [23]
August   Daniel Cleary Dundalk [24]
September   Michael Duffy Dundalk [25]

Annual awards

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Award Winner Club
PFAI Player of the Year   Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers
PFAI Young Player of the Year   Danny Mandroiu Bohemians
PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year   Vinny Perth Dundalk
PFAI Team of the Year
Goalkeeper   Alan Mannus (Shamrock Rovers)
Defenders   Sean Gannon (Dundalk)   Seán Hoare (Dundalk)   Lee Grace (Shamrock Rovers)   Seán Kavanagh (Shamrock Rovers)
Midfielders   Danny Mandroiu (Bohemians)   Chris Shields (Dundalk)   Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers)
Forwards   David Parkhouse (Derry City)   Patrick Hoban (Dundalk)   Michael Duffy (Dundalk)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "From the Archives - extratime.ie League of Ireland Attendance Report 2019". extra time. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. ^ "League of Ireland enjoys huge increase in crowds since last pre-Covid season". the42. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  3. ^ "2019 League of Ireland fixture list revealed". buzz.ie. Independent Star Limited. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  4. ^ "SSE Airtricity League 2019 Season Fixture List" (PDF). sseairtricityleague.ie. SSE Airtricity League. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Dundalk crowned SSE Airtricity League champions as Duffy screamer sees off Shamrock Rovers". The 42. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Dundalk defeat Shamrock Rovers to claim title". RTÉ Sport. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  7. ^ "UCD top of the class as they make return to Premier Division". Irish Times. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Finn Harps dominate Limerick in play-off second leg to earn promotion back to top flight". Irish Times. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  9. ^ Mackey, Liam (2 May 2019). "City chairman: Caulfield exit in best interests of club". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  10. ^ Barry, Stephen (2 May 2019). "John Cotter appointed as interim Cork City manager". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  11. ^ a b Claffey, Martin (30 June 2019). "Frank Kelleher appointed Cork City manager". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  12. ^ "STATEMENT: Collie O'Neill departs". University College Dublin A.F.C. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  13. ^ Claffey, Martin (21 August 2019). "UCD name Maciej Tarnogrodzki as Collie O'Neil's replacement". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Club Statement: Kenny Departs Saints". St Patrick's Athletic F.C. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Club Announcement: O'Donnell Joins Saints". St Patrick's Athletic F.C. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Fenn Appointed First Team Head Coach". Cork City F.C. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Premier Division 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Bohemians' Dinny Corcoran wins player of the month award". THE IRISH TIMES. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Jack Byrne continues flying start at Rovers with Player of the Month award". The42.ie. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Bohemians keeper and ex-Sunderland youth lands Player of the Month award". The42.ie. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  21. ^ "DUNDALK'S SEAN GANNON WINS MAY PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD". The42.ie. 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  22. ^ "Danny scoops June prize after derby heroics". Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Byrne named Player of the Month for July". Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland. 15 August 2019. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  24. ^ "DUNDALK DEFENDER DANIEL CLEARY WINS THE PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD". 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  25. ^ "An incredible month for Dundalk match-winner Duffy". Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland. 17 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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