| Season | 2004–05 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Glentoran 22ndIrish title |
| Relegated | Crusaders Omagh Town |
| UEFA Champions League | Glentoran |
| UEFA Cup | Linfield Portadown |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | Lisburn Distillery |
| Matches | 240 |
| Top goalscorer | Chris Morgan (19 goals) |
2005–06 → | |
The2004–05 Irish Premier League was the 104th edition of theIrish League, the highest level of league competition inNorthern Irishfootball, and the 2nd edition in its current format (as theIrish Premier League) since its inception in 2003. The league consisted of 16 teams, andGlentoran won the championship.
Omagh Town were relegated after finishing bottom of the table and subsequently dissolved on 7 June 2005 owing to financial problems.Crusaders were relegated after a 3-1 defeat on aggregate toGlenavon in the promotion play-off.[1]
Before the start of the season Newry Town changed name toNewry City following the change in official status ofNewry in 2002.[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glentoran(C) | 30 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 73 | 22 | +51 | 74 | Qualification toChampions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Linfield | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 78 | 23 | +55 | 72 | Qualification toUEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Portadown | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 64 | 29 | +35 | 58 | |
| 4 | Dungannon Swifts | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 50 | |
| 5 | Limavady United | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 48 | |
| 6 | Coleraine | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 62 | 47 | +15 | 47 | |
| 7 | Lisburn Distillery | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 47 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup first round |
| 8 | Ballymena United | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 45 | |
| 9 | Institute | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 36 | |
| 10 | Newry City | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 38 | 63 | −25 | 35 | |
| 11 | Cliftonville | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 34 | |
| 12 | Loughgall | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 34 | 53 | −19 | 30 | |
| 13 | Larne | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 31 | 60 | −29 | 28 | |
| 14 | Ards | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 26 | |
| 15 | Crusaders(R) | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 27 | 48 | −21 | 24 | Qualification toPromotion/relegation play-off |
| 16 | Omagh Town(R) | 30 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 32 | 88 | −56 | 17 | Relegation toIrish First Division |
Each team played every other team twice (home and away) for a total of 30 games.
| Home \ Away | ARD | BYM | CLI | COL | CRU | DUN | GLT | INS | LRN | LIM | LIN | LIS | LOU | NEW | OMA | POR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ards | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Ballymena United | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Cliftonville | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Coleraine | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 3–4 | 2–2 | |
| Crusaders | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | |
| Dungannon Swifts | 7–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| Glentoran | 2–0 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | |
| Institute | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| Larne | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 5–2 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | |
| Limavady United | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | |
| Linfield | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | |
| Lisburn Distillery | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 6–1 | 2–0 | |
| Loughgall | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | |
| Newry City | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 0–6 | |
| Omagh Town | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–5 | 1–8 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |
| Portadown | 2–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 9–0 |
Crusaders, the club that finished in the relegation play-off place, facedGlenavon, the runners-up of the2004–05 Irish First Division in a two-legged tie for a place in next season'sIrish Premier League.
Glenavon won 3–2 on aggregate and were promoted, Crusaders were relegated.