| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Derry City (2nd title) |
| Relegated | Bray Wanderers Home Farm Everton |
| UEFA Champions League | Derry City |
| UEFA Cup | Bohemians |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Shelbourne |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | Cork City |
| Top goalscorer | Stephen Geoghegan: 16 (Shelbourne) Tony Cousins: 16 (Shamrock Rovers)[1][2] |
1997–98 → | |
The1996–97 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 12th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams.Derry City F.C. won the title.
The season saw each team playing three rounds of games, playing every other team three times, totalling 33 games.[2][3]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derry City(C) | 33 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 58 | 27 | +31 | 67 | Qualification toChampions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Bohemians | 33 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 57 | Qualification toUEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Shelbourne | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 54 | Qualification toCup Winners' Cup qualifying round[a] |
| 4 | Cork City | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 54 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup group stage |
| 5 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 53 | |
| 6 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 47 | |
| 7 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 43 | |
| 8 | UCD | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 43 | |
| 9 | Finn Harps | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 39 | |
| 10 | Dundalk(O) | 33 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 36 | Qualification toRelegation play-off |
| 11 | Bray Wanderers(R) | 33 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 59 | −29 | 23 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
| 12 | Home Farm Everton(R) | 33 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 26 | 53 | −27 | 19 |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | HOM | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Cork City | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | — | 5–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Finn Harps | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 |
| Home Farm Everton | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 6–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Shelbourne | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 5–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 |
| UCD | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | HOM | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | — |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–5 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–0 |
| Cork City | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | — |
| Derry City | — | 5–2 | 0–2 | — | — | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–0 | — |
| Dundalk | — | — | 0–4 | 2–4 | — | — | — | 4–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | — |
| Finn Harps | 3–3 | — | — | 0–1 | 5–0 | — | 3–2 | 1–2 | — | 3–4 | — | — |
| Home Farm Everton | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 | — | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| Shamrock Rovers | — | 2–2 | — | — | — | — | 2–3 | — | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Shelbourne | 0–1 | — | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | — | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | — | 3–2 | — | — | — | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | — | 4–2 | — | — |
| UCD | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | — | — | — | — | 2–0 | — |
Dundalk F.C. who finished in tenth place played off againstWaterford United, the third placed team from the1996–97 League of Ireland First Division.
Dundalk F.C. won 3–1 on aggregate and retained their place in thePremier Division.[2][4]