2026 League of Ireland Premier Division

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2026
Dates6 February 2026 – 30 October 2026
Matches121
Goals338 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorerTommy Lonergan
(12 goals)
Biggest home winDundalk 5–0 Waterford
(13 March 2026)
Biggest away winSligo Rovers 0–4 Bohemians
(14 February 2026)
Highest scoringGalway United 4–3 Waterford
(16 March 2026)
Shelbourne 3–4 Drogheda United
(24 March 2026)
Longest winning run5 matches
Bohemians
Longest unbeaten run10 matches
Bohemians
Longest winless run16 matches
Waterford
Longest losing run5 matches
Waterford
Highest attendance21,472
Bohemians 0–0 St Patrick's Athletic
(8 February 2026)
Lowest attendance454
Galway United 0–1 Dundalk
(12 June 2026)
Total attendance497.024
Average attendance3,861
← 2025
2027 →
All statistics correct as of 16 May 2026.

The 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the 42nd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1985.

The competition began on 6 February 2026 and is set to conclude on 30 October 2026.[2]

Shamrock Rovers are the defending champions, having won their 10th Premier Division title the previous season.

Teams

The league consists of ten teams – the top nine teams from the previous season and one team promoted as champions from the First Division, Dundalk.[3] They replaced Cork City who were relegated after a single season in the top flight.[4]

Stadiums and locations

Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
BohemiansDublin (Phibsborough)Dalymount Park4,500
Dublin (Ballsbridge)Aviva Stadium[5]51,711
Derry CityDerryRyan McBride Brandywell Stadium6,242
Celtic Park[6] 18,500
Drogheda UnitedDroghedaSullivan and Lambe Park3,500
DundalkDundalkOriel Park4,500
Galway UnitedGalwayEamonn Deacy Park5,000
Galway (Salthill)Pearse Stadium[7]26,197
CorkTurners Cross[8]7,485
Shamrock RoversDublin (Tallaght)Tallaght Stadium10,500
ShelbourneDublin (Drumcondra)Tolka Park6,450
Sligo RoversSligoThe Showgrounds3,873
St Patrick's AthleticDublin (Inchicore)Richmond Park5,500
WaterfordWaterfordRSC5,160

Personnel and kits

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 Republic of Ireland Alan Reynolds Republic of Ireland Dawson Devoy O'Neills Des Kelly Interiors
Kneecap[note 1]
Massive Attack[note 2]
Derry City Republic of Ireland Mark Connolly (interim) Republic of Ireland Michael Duffy O'Neills Diamond Corrugated
Drogheda United Republic of Ireland Kevin Doherty Republic of Ireland Ryan Brennan Macron NoFo Brew Co[9]
Dundalk Republic of Ireland Ciarán Kilduff Republic of Ireland Daryl Horgan[10] Macron ZOMA[11]
Galway United Republic of Ireland John Caulfield Republic of Ireland Jimmy Keohane O'Neills Comer Property Management
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland Stephen Bradley Cape Verde Roberto Lopes Macron MASCOT Workwear
Shelbourne Republic of Ireland John Russell Republic of Ireland Paddy Barrett O'Neills Chadwicks[12]
Sligo Rovers England Darren Purse Republic of Ireland Carl McHugh Umbro Avant Money[13]
St Patrick's Athletic Republic of Ireland Stephen Kenny Republic of Ireland Joe Redmond Umbro Clune[14]
Elliott Group[note 3][15]
The Wolfe Tones[note 4][16]
Waterford Republic of Ireland Graham Coughlan Republic of Ireland Pádraig Amond[17] Puma WhiteBox[18]

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in the table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Waterford England Matt Lawlor (interim) End of interim spell 16 November 2025[19] Pre-season Republic of Ireland Jon Daly 16 November 2025[19]
Republic of Ireland Jon Daly Sacked 2 May 2026[20] 10th Republic of Ireland Brian Murphy (interim) 2 May 2026[21]
Republic of Ireland Brian Murphy (interim) End of interim spell 6 May 2026[22] 10th Republic of Ireland Graham Coughlan 6 May 2026[22]
Shelbourne Republic of Ireland Joey O'Brien Sacked 25 June 2026[23] 5th Republic of Ireland Lorcan Fitzgerald (interim) 25 June 2026[23]
Republic of Ireland Lorcan Fitzgerald (interim) End of interim spell 13 July 2026[24] 5th Republic of Ireland John Russell 13 July 2026[24]
Sligo Rovers Republic of Ireland John Russell Compensated by Shelbourne 13 July 2026[25] 10th Republic of Ireland Ryan Casey (interim) 13 July 2026[26]
Republic of Ireland Ryan Casey (interim) Departed to join Shelbourne 21 July 2026[27] 10th Republic of Ireland Declan Boyle (interim) 21 July 2026[27]
Republic of Ireland Declan Boyle (interim) End of interim spell 24 July 2026[28] 10th England Darren Purse 24 July 2026[28]
Derry City Northern Ireland Tiernan Lynch Sacked 5 August 2026[29] 6th Republic of Ireland Mark Connolly (interim) 5 August 2026[30]

League table

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Shamrock Rovers 27 16 6 5 43 24 +19 54 Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2 St Patrick's Athletic 29 14 8 7 45 25 +20 50 Qualification for Conference League second qualifying round
3 Bohemians 29 14 8 7 50 34 +16 50 Qualification for Conference League first qualifying round
4 Dundalk 29 10 10 9 46 45 +1 40
5 Shelbourne 27 8 11 8 35 37 −2 35
6 Derry City 28 7 12 9 38 37 +1 33
7 Galway United 28 8 10 10 36 42 −6 34
8 Waterford 29 7 11 11 39 48 −9 32
9 Drogheda United 29 6 10 13 33 48 −15 28 Qualification for promotion/relegation play-off
10 Sligo Rovers 29 5 8 16 23 48 −25 23 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Updated to match(es) played on 28 August 2026. Source: League of Ireland
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.

Results

Teams play each other four times (twice at home and twice away).

Home \ Away BOH DER DRO DUN GAL SHM SHE SLI STP WAT
Bohemians 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 3–2 2–2 1–2 0–0 1–1
5–3 18 Sep 1–2 1–1 1–2 a 3–0 2–0 16 Oct
Derry City 0–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 4–2
4–1 2–0 23 Oct 18 Sep 30 Aug 0–0 2–0 9 Oct 2–4
Drogheda United 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–3 0–0 1–2 1–0 1–3 2–0
0–2 16 Oct 2–3 0–0 0–0 2–2 11 Sep 0–2 3–3
Dundalk 1–3 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 2–0 5–0
9 Oct 2–1 1–2 1–2 30 Oct 18 Sep 1–1 14 Sep 2–3
Galway United 2–4 2–1 0–1 2–2 1–3 25 Sep 1–0 2–2 4–3
11 Sep 2–1 0–0 0–1 16 Oct 1–1 3–2 23 Oct 0–0
Shamrock Rovers 2–1 1–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 1–2 2–0 1–0
TBC 1–1 9 Oct 3–2 3–1 4 Oct 23 Oct 1–0 18 Sep
Shelbourne 0–0 1–2 3–4 2–3 1–1 2–2 0–0 2–3 2–1
0–3 11 Sep 14 Sep 2–1 1–1 2–1 9 Oct 1–2 30 Oct
Sligo Rovers 0–4 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–4 0–2 0–1 1–1 2–0
1–3 30 Oct 2–2 17 Oct 14 Sep 1–2 2–2 19 Sep 0–0
St Patrick's Athletic 3–1 0–0 4–1 4–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 4–1 4–1
30 Oct 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–0 11 Sep 16 Oct 2–0 0–2
Waterford 0–1 2–2 2–1 3–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–2
3–1 14 Sep 23 Oct 11 Sep 9 Oct 0–2 1–0 4–0 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 28 August 2026. Source: League of Ireland
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.

Positions by round

To preserve chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Shamrock Rovers78363333331121111111111111111
St Patrick's Athletic56922222112212222232233322222
Bohemians52111111223443333323322233333
Dundalk74588545444334444444444444444
Shelbourne3565645456678667555555555555
Derry City1343466687755555666666666666
Galway United109877878655667787777777777777
Waterford37791010101010101010101010101010101010109999888
Drogheda United21245787788998868888888888999
Sligo Rovers910101099999998799999999910101010101010
Leader and qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
Qualification for Conference League second qualifying round
Qualification for Conference League first qualifying round
Qualification for promotion/relegation play-off
Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Updated to match(es) played on 28 August 2026. Source: Extra Time

Season statistics

As of matches played on 28 August 2026

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals[31]
1 Republic of Ireland Tommy Lonergan Waterford 14 (6 pens)
2 Republic of Ireland Daryl Horgan Dundalk 10 (4 pens)
Republic of Ireland Colm Whelan Bohemians 10 (6 pens)
4 England Ryan Edmondson St Patrick's Athletic 9
Republic of Ireland Pádraig Amond Waterford
Republic of Ireland Mark Doyle Drogheda United 9 (1 pen)
England Harry Wood Shelbourne 9 (3 pens)
8 Republic of Ireland Ross Tierney Bohemians 8
Republic of Ireland Michael Duffy Derry City 8 (4 pens)
10 Canada Kris Twardek Galway United 7
Republic of Ireland Graham Burke Shamrock Rovers 7 (2 pens)
Republic of Ireland Gbemi Arubi Dundalk
13 Republic of Ireland Kian Leavy St Patrick's Athletic 6
Republic of Ireland John Martin Shelbourne
Republic of Ireland James Clarke Derry City
Republic of Ireland Michael Noonan Shamrock Rovers
Republic of Ireland Douglas James-Taylor Bohemians 6 (1 pen)
Republic of Ireland Aidan Keena St Patrick's Athletic 6 (3 pens)

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date Ref.
Republic of Ireland Colm Whelan Bohemians Sligo Rovers 4–0 (A) 14 February 2026 [32]
Republic of Ireland Michael Duffy Derry City Waterford 4–2 (H) 27 February 2026 [33]
Republic of Ireland Pádraig Amond Waterford Sligo Rovers 4–0 (H) 12 June 2026 [34]

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Republic of Ireland Edward McGinty Shamrock Rovers 10
2 Ghana Joseph Anang St Patrick's Athletic 7
Poland Kacper Chorążka Bohemians
4 Northern Ireland Stephen McMullan Waterford 6
England Sam Sargeant Sligo Rovers
Wales Eddie Beach Derry City/Shelbourne
United States Luke Dennison Drogheda United
8 Netherlands Wessel Speel Shelbourne 5
9 United States Paul Walters Bohemians 4
Republic of Ireland Enda Minogue Dundalk
11 Republic of Ireland Danny Rogers St Patrick's Athletic 3
12 Portugal Hugo Cunha Galway United 2
England Fynn Talley Drogheda United
14 Republic of Ireland Brian Maher Derry City 1
Wales Evan Watts Galway United

Discipline

Player

Club

  • Most yellow cards: 84
    • Shelbourne
  • Most red cards: 6
    • Dundalk

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Player of the Month Goal of the Month References
PlayerClub PlayerClub
February Republic of Ireland Michael Duffy Derry City Northern Ireland Eoin Kenny Dundalk [35][36]
March United States Patrick Hickey Bohemians Republic of Ireland Jack Henry-Francis Shelbourne [37][38]
April Republic of Ireland Will Fitzgerald Sligo Rovers Republic of Ireland Stephen Walsh Galway United [39][40]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Away & Third kits
  2. ↑ Fourth kit
  3. ↑ Away kit
  4. ↑ Third kit

References

  1. ↑ "Key dates - schedule confirmed for 2026 LOI season". League of Ireland. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  2. ↑ Duffy, Muireann (1 December 2025). "Premier Division gets early February kick-off as League of Ireland season dates confirmed". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Rogers, James (11 October 2025). "Dundalk FC complete hard fought resurrection with promotion to Premier Division". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "Shels nab late winner to confirm Cork City's relegation". RTE Sport. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "Bohs host St Pat's at Aviva Stadium as fixtures issued". 16 December 2025 – via www.rte.ie.
  6. ↑ Mike, McBride; Crumley, Odhran (24 April 2026). "A different ball game as Derry City play 'historic fixture' at GAA ground". BBC Sport.
  7. ↑ "Historic night as Galway United set for long-awaited first Pearse Stadium clash". Irish Independent. 19 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Horgan, Andrew (8 June 2026). "Turner's Cross to host John Caulfield's Galway United v Dundalk on Friday". Irish Examiner.
  9. ↑ "Drogheda United 2025 Kit Release: A New Era with NoFo Brew Co". Drogheda United. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "Horgan announced as new club captain". Dundalk. 7 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Dundalk FC welcome Zoma as principal partner". Dundalk. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  12. ↑ Woods, Caoimhe (4 November 2025). "Chadwicks extend Shelbourne FC partnership for a further two years". Shelbourne. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Avant Money renew Sligo Rovers sponsorship for three years". Sligo Rovers. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Clune Confirmed As Home Shirt Sponsor". St Patrick's Athletic. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  15. ↑ "Sponsorship Announcement - Elliott Group". St. Patrick's Athletic. 4 April 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "26/27 Third Jersey With The Wolfe Tones Released". St Patrick's Athletic. 25 February 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "Pádraig Amond Named as Captain for 2025". Waterford. 13 February 2025.
  18. ↑ "WhiteBox Partnership to Continue on Multi-Year Deal". Waterford. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  19. 1 2 "Welcome to Waterford FC, Jon Daly!". Waterford. 16 November 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  20. ↑ Fallon, John (2 May 2026). "Waterford sack Jon Daly after winless start to season". Irish Examiner.
  21. ↑ "Club Statement: Jon Daly – Waterford FC | Official Site". waterfordfc.ie.
  22. 1 2 "Graham Coughlan Appointed First-Team Head Coach – Waterford FC | Official Site". waterfordfc.ie.
  23. 1 2 Cleary, Darren (25 June 2026). "Joey O'Brien departs the Reds".
  24. 1 2 Cleary, Darren (13 July 2026). "John Russell Appointed Shelbourne FC Head Coach".
  25. ↑ "Club Statement: John Russell – Sligo Rovers". 13 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "Shelbourne appoint John Russell as manager, with Sligo Rovers now on lookout for new boss". Irish Independent. 13 July 2026.
  27. 1 2 "First Team Management Update – Sligo Rovers". 21 July 2026.
  28. 1 2 "Darren Purse appointed Sligo Rovers manager – Sligo Rovers". 24 July 2026.
  29. ↑ https://www.derrycityfc.net/2026/08/derry-city-club-statement-tiernan-lynch/
  30. ↑ https://www.derrycityfc.net/2026/08/derry-city-club-statement-tiernan-lynch/
  31. ↑ "League of Ireland Premier Division Top Scorers". Extra Time. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  32. ↑ Goulden, David (14 February 2026). "Wonderful Colm Whelan tears Sligo apart with hat-trick". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026.
  33. ↑ Keenan, Niall (27 February 2026). "Derry City: Michael Duffy hat-trick inspires Derry to comeback victory". BBC Sport.
  34. ↑ "Padraig Amond hits hat-trick as Waterford close gap on Sligo". Irish Independent. 12 June 2026.
  35. ↑ O'Connor, Seán (10 March 2026). "'I have come back to my roots' – Derry City's Michael Duffy wins Soccer Writers' Player of Month award". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  36. ↑ @LeagueofIreland (18 March 2026). "As voted for by the public, February's Rockshore 0.0 LOI Goal of the Month winner for the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division is Dundalk's Eoin Kenny ⚽️👏" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  37. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Aidan (9 April 2026). "'My father and mother lost friends over what's happened in USA' – Patrick Hickey says fans should have no fears at World Cup". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 10 April 2026.
  38. ↑ @LeagueofIreland (15 April 2026). "A strike worthy of winning any award ☄️
    Jack Henry-Francis' super hit is the Rockshore 0.0 LOI Goal of the Month winner for March in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division 🤩⚽️"     (Tweet). Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  39. ↑ "Sligo Rovers' Will Fitzgerald wins SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month for first time". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  40. ↑ @LeagueofIreland (6 May 2026). ""Oh that's a cracker!" 🤩
    Stephen Walsh's acrobatic finish is the Rockshore 0.0 LOI Goal of the Month winner for April in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division ⚽️👏"     (Tweet). Retrieved 16 May 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
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