| Season | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Shamrock Rovers (16th title) |
| UEFA Champions League | Shamrock Rovers |
| UEFA Europa League | Bohemians Sligo Rovers St. Patrick's Athletic |
| Setanta Cup | Shamrock Rovers Bohemians Sligo Rovers St. Patrick's Athletic Dundalk UCD |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 479 (2.66 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gary Twigg: 20 (Shamrock Rovers)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Sligo Rovers 6–0Drogheda United |
| Biggest away win | Bray Wanderers 0–6UCD |
| Highest scoring | Sligo Rovers 4–3Sporting Fingal |
| Longest winning run | Shamrock Rovers (6) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Shamrock Rovers (17) |
| Longest losing run | Drogheda United (5)[citation needed] |
| Highest attendance | Shamrock Rovers–St. Patrick's Athletic (5500) |
| Lowest attendance | Bray Wanderers–Sligo Rovers (300)[citation needed] |
| Average attendance | 1,657[citation needed] |
←2009 2011 → | |
The2010 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 26th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams.Shamrock Rovers were champions whileBohemians finished as runners-up.
Airtricity were announced as the new main sponsor for theLeague of Ireland on 26 February.[2][3] The prize fund for the season was set at €911,000.[4][5] The 2010 Premier Division featured 10 clubs. The regular season began on 5 March and concluded on 29 October. Each team played every other team four times, totalling 36 matches.[6] On the final day of the season,Shamrock Rovers won the title with a 2–2 draw away toBray Wanderers.[7][8] Second placedBohemians finished level on points with Rovers but lost out ongoal difference.[9][10]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers(C) | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 67 | Qualification forChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Bohemians | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 50 | 29 | +21 | 67 | Qualification forEuropa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Sligo Rovers | 36 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 61 | 36 | +25 | 63 | Qualification forEuropa League third qualifying round[a] |
| 4 | Sporting Fingal(R) | 36 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 60 | 38 | +22 | 62 | Withdrew from league[b] |
| 5 | St Patrick's Athletic | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 57 | Qualification forEuropa League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Dundalk | 36 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 48 | |
| 7 | UCD | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 41 | |
| 8 | Galway United(O) | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 59 | −21 | 38 | Qualification forrelegation play-off |
| 9 | Bray Wanderers(O) | 36 | 6 | 9 | 21 | 35 | 72 | −37 | 27 | |
| 10 | Drogheda United | 36 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 30 | 74 | −44 | 21 | Spared from relegation[c] |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | DRO | DUN | GAL | SHM | SLI | SFI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–6 |
| Drogheda United | 2–4 | 0–0 | — | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 |
| Dundalk | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Galway United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–2 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Sporting Fingal | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | 1–2 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 |
| UCD | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | DRO | DUN | GAL | SHM | SLI | SFI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Bray Wanderers | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Drogheda United | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| Galway United | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | — | 4–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Sporting Fingal | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 |
| UCD | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | — |
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gary Twigg | Shamrock Rovers[1] | 20 |
| 2 |  Pádraig Amond | Sligo Rovers | 17 |
| 3 | Ciarán Kilduff | UCD | 15 |
| 4 | Jake Kelly | Bray Wanderers | 14 |
| 5 | Jason Byrne | Bohemians | 12 |
 Fahrudin Kuduzović | Dundalk | 12 |
The eighth and ninth placed teams from the Premier Division,Galway United andBray Wanderers, played off after the regular season was completed. The winner would retain a place in the2011 Premier Division. The loser would play off against the winner of the2010 First Division play off. The winner of this match would also gain a place in the 2010 Premier Division.
| 2 November 2010 | Galway United | 1 – 0 | Bray Wanderers | Terryland Park |
| 19:45GMT | Karl Sheppard 16'Derek O'Brien  90+2' | Report | Adam Mitchell 82' | Attendance: 1,432 Referee: Damien Hancock (Dublin) |
Galway United retained their place in the2011 Premier Division
| 5 November 2010 | Monaghan United | 0 – 0 | Bray Wanderers | Kingspan Century Park |
| 19.45GMT | Report | Matt Gregg 89' | Referee: Damien Hancock (Dublin) |
| 8 November 2010 | Bray Wanderers | 1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (7 – 6p) | Monaghan United | Carlisle Grounds |
| 19.45GMT | Jake Kelly 120+2' | Report | Chris Shields 118' (o.g.) | Referee: Declan Hanney (Dublin) |
| Penalties | ||||
Gary Dempsey Jake Kelly Gary Shaw  Dane Massey Danny O'Connor Daire Doyle Shane O'Neill Chris Shields | Karl BerminghamPhilip HughesBrian Gartland Barry Clancy Alan Byrne Dom Tierney Stephen McCrossan Paul Whelan | |||
Bray Wanderers won 7 – 6 on penalties and retained their place in thePremier Division
