| Season | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Sligo Rovers (3rd title) |
| UEFA Champions League | Sligo Rovers |
| UEFA Europa League | Derry City Drogheda United St. Patrick's Athletic |
| Setanta Cup | Sligo Rovers Derry City Drogheda United St. Patrick's Athletic Shamrock Rovers Cork City |
| Matches | 165 |
| Goals | 437 (2.65 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gary Twigg: 22 (Shamrock Rovers)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Shamrock Rovers 7–0Dundalk |
| Biggest away win | Bray Wanderers 0–4Derry City |
| Highest scoring | Bray Wanderers 2–4Drogheda United St. Patrick's Athletic 5–1Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers 6–0Dundalk Bray Wanderers 3–3St. Patrick's Athletic Cork City 4–2UCD |
| Highest attendance | 6,097 Sligo Rovers 0–2Shamrock Rovers |
| Lowest attendance | 151 Monaghan United 0–1Bray Wanderers |
| Total attendance | 281,925[note 1] |
| Average attendance | 1,575[2][note 2] |
←2011 2013 → | |
The2012 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 28th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams.Sligo Rovers were champions, winning their first top league title since1976–77.Drogheda United finished as runners-up.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians |  Aaron Callaghan | Owen Heary | Macron | DHL |
| Bray Wanderers | Pat Devlin | Danny O'Connor | Adidas | Sinnot Autos Volkswagen |
| Cork City | Tommy Dunne |  Dan Murray | Umbro | Clonakilty Blackpudding |
| Derry City |  Declan Devine | Kevin Deery | Hummel | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Mick Cooke | Paul Crowley | Vandanel | Scotch Hall Shopping Centre |
| Dundalk | Darius Kierans | Chris Shields | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Monaghan United | Roddy Collins | Alan Byrne | Nike | None |
| Shamrock Rovers | Brian Laws[3] | Ken Oman | Umbro | SEAT |
| Shelbourne | Alan Mathews | David Cassidy | Macron | Cab 2000 |
| Sligo Rovers | Ian Baraclough | Danny Ventre | Jako | Connolly's Volkswagen |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Conor Kenna | Umbro | Nissan Motors |
| UCD | Martin Russell | Michael Leahy | O'Neills | O'Neills Soccer |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk | Ian Foster | Contract Ended | 29 October 2011 | Pre-season | Sean McCaffrey | 23 December 2011 |
| Bohemians | Pat Fenlon | Signed by Hibernian | 25 November 2011 | Pre-season | Aaron Callaghan | 31 December 2011 |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | Pete Mahon | Contract Ended | 2 December 2011 | Pre-season | Liam Buckley | 2 December 2011 |
| Derry City | Stephen Kenny | Resigned | 24 December 2011 | Pre-season | Declan Devine | 6 January 2012 |
| Shamrock Rovers | Michael O'Neill | Signed byNorthern Ireland | 24 December 2011 | Pre-season | Stephen Kenny | 27 December 2011 |
| Sligo Rovers | Paul Cook | Signed by Accrington Stanley | 13 February 2012 | Pre-season | Ian Baraclough | 27 February 2012 |
| Dundalk | Sean McCaffrey[4] | Mutual Consent | 12 January 2012 | 10th | Stephen Kenny | N/A |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Kenny | Sacked[5] | 11 September 2012 | 4th | Brian Laws | 17 September 2012[6] |
| Bray Wanderers | Keith Long | Mutual Consent | September 2012 | 9th | Pat Devlin | September 2012 |
There was a mid-season break coinciding with theRepublic of Ireland national football team'sUEFA Euro 2012 finals campaign. On 18 June 2012,Monaghan United announced their withdrawal from the league.[7][8][9] Their record was subsequently expunged.[10] The Premier Division title was won bySligo Rovers, their first title in thirty five years.[11][12][13][14][15]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sligo Rovers(C) | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 61 | Qualification forChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Drogheda United | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 57 | Qualification forEuropa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | St Patrick's Athletic | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 55 | |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 52 | |
| 5 | Derry City | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 39 | Qualification forEuropa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 6 | Cork City | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 36 | |
| 7 | Bohemians | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 36 | |
| 8 | Shelbourne | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 35 | |
| 9 | UCD | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 31 | |
| 10 | Bray Wanderers | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 25 | |
| 11 | Dundalk(O) | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 63 | −40 | 20 | Qualification forrelegation play-off |
| 12 | Monaghan United(R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew from league[b] |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 2–1 | — | 0–3 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 |
| Cork City | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Drogheda United | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 6–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Shelbourne | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 |
| UCD | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | — | 1–1 | — | 1–4 | — | — | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | — |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–4 | — | — | 0–0 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | — | — |
| Cork City | — | 2–0 | — | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | — | — |
| Derry City | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 4–0 | — | — | — | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Drogheda United | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | — |
| Dundalk | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 0–1 | — | — | 1–3 | — | 7–0 | — | 2–2 | — | — | 2–1 |
| Shelbourne | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | — |
| Sligo Rovers | 3–1 | — | — | 4–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | — | — | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | — | — | 5–0 |
| UCD | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | — |
Dundalk, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division, playedWaterford United, the winner of theFirst Division play-off. The winner of this play off would play in the2013 Premier Division.
| 30 October 2012 | Dundalk | 2–2 | Waterford United | Oriel Park[18] |
Lorcan Shannon 23'Stephen McDonnell 75' | [ Report] | Paul Phelan 50' Ben Ryan 60' | Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Monaghan) |
| 2 November 2012 | Waterford United | 0–2 | Dundalk | Waterford RSC[19] |
| [ Report] | Michael Rafter 45' (68) | Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Padraig Sutton (Clare) |
Dundalk win 4–2 on aggregate and retained their place in thePremier Division. Waterford United appealed the result of the playoff, claiming Michael Rafter was ineligible as Dundalk had incorrectly registered him when they signed him earlier that season. However the appeal was unsuccessful.[19][20][21]
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gary Twigg | Shamrock Rovers[1] | 22 |
| 2 | Danny North | Sligo Rovers | 15 |
| 3 | Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers | 14 |
