| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Shamrock Rovers (13th title) |
| Relegated | Shelbourne UCD |
| European Cup | Shamrock Rovers |
| UEFA Cup | Galway United |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Waterford United |
| Top goalscorer | Tommy Gaynor:15 (Limerick)[1][2] |
1986–87 → | |
The1985–86 League of Ireland Premier Division was the first season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The Premier Division was made up of 12 teams.
The Premier Division was contested by 12 teams andShamrock Rovers F.C. won the championship. The top 12 teams from the1984–85 League of Ireland automatically qualified for the Premier Division.[2][3][4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers(C) | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 44 | 17 | +27 | 33 | Qualification to1986–87 European Cup |
| 2 | Galway United | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 19 | +23 | 31 | Qualification to1986–87 UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Dundalk | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 30 | |
| 4 | Bohemians | 22 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 27 | |
| 5 | Waterford United | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 26 | Qualification to1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup[a] |
| 6 | St Patrick's Athletic | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 25 | |
| 7 | Limerick City | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 24 | |
| 8 | Athlone Town | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 19 | |
| 9 | Home Farm | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 30 | −15 | 15 | |
| 10 | Cork City | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 23 | 44 | −21 | 13 | |
| 11 | Shelbourne(R) | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 40 | −25 | 13 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
| 12 | UCD(R) | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 19 | 51 | −32 | 8 |
| Home \ Away | ATH | BOH | COR | DUN | GAL | HOM | LIM | SHM | SHE | StP | UCD | WAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Bohemians | 1–0 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Cork City | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Dundalk | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Galway United | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Home Farm | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Limerick | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | — | 3–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Shelbourne | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 5–3 | 0–2 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| UCD | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 |
| Waterford United | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — |
After winning the league title in the previous season, Shamrock Rovers received automatic qualification into the first round of the European Cup. Shamrock Rovers were drawn against Hungarian club,Budapest Honvéd,1984-85 Hungarian League Winners. Budapest Honvéd were the hosts for the first leg and won the game comfortably in a 2-0 defeat of Shamrock Rovers. In the return leg, Shamrock Rovers were defeated once again 3-1, thus eliminating them from the competition.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Budapest Honvéd | 5-1 |  Shamrock Rovers | 2 - 0 | 3 - 1 |
vShamrock Rovers| 18 September 1985 | Budapest Honvéd | 2 – 0 | Shamrock Rovers | Illovszky Rudolf Stadion (1960),Budapest |
Dajka 36'Détári 67' | Report |
vBudapest Honvéd| 2 October 1985 | Shamrock Rovers | 1 – 3 | Budapest Honvéd | Glenmalure Park,Dublin |
| Coady 84' | Report | Détári 69',74' Cseh 85' |
Budapest Honvéd won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | 4-7 |  Dundee United | 2 - 5 | 2 - 2 |
FAI Cup Runners-up,Galway United entered the European Cup Winners' Cup in the first round against Danish side,Lyngby BK. Galway United were defeated 1-0 in the away leg in Lyngby BK. In the second leg, United were defeated 3-2 atTerryland Park, ending their European campaign.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lyngby BK | 4-2 | Galway United | 1 - 0 | 3 - 2 |
