| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dundalk (12th title) |
| Relegated | Longford Town Wexford Youths |
| Champions League | Dundalk |
| Europa League | Cork City Derry City Shamrock Rovers |
| Matches | 198 |
| Goals | 511 (2.58 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sean Maguire (18 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Cork City 6–0Longford Town (14 March 2016)[1] |
| Biggest away win | Finn Harps 0–7Dundalk (13 May 2016)[2] |
| Highest scoring | Wexford Youths 5–4Galway United (14 October 2016)[3] |
| Highest attendance | 5,453[4]Cork City 1–0Dundalk F.C. |
| Total attendance | 291,258 |
| Average attendance | 1,471[5] |
←2015 2017 → | |
The2016 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 32nd season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 4 March 2016[6] and concluded on 28 October 2016; the relegation play-offs followed on 31 October and 4 November 2016. The prize fund for the SSE Airtricity League Premier and First Divisions was €475,500 for the 2016 season.[7]
Dundalk successfully defended its title for the third consecutive season on 23 October after a 2–1 win againstBohemians.[8][9][10]
The Premier Division consisted of 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, a total of 33 matches in the season.
Wexford Youths, the2015 First Division champion, entered the top level for the first time in their history.Finn Harps were promoted after winning the promotion/relegation playoffs.
The 12 clubs competed for €371,500 in prize money ranging from €110,000 for the winners to €17,000 for the team finishing bottom of the table.[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined underFIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians |  Keith Long | Derek Pender | Hummel | Mr Green |
| Bray Wanderers | Harry Kenny | Conor Kenna | Nike | Sonas Bathrooms |
| Cork City | John Caulfield | John Dunleavy | Nike | Clonakilty Sausages |
| Derry City |  Kenny Shiels | Ryan McBride | Hummel | Diamond Corrugated |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | CX+ Sport | Fyffes |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | Kevin McHugh | Legea | McGettigan Group |
| Galway United | Tommy Dunne | Ryan Connolly | Uhlsport | Comer Property Management |
| Longford Town | Tony Cousins | Mark Salmon | Macron | City Calling |
| Shamrock Rovers | Pat Fenlon | Conor Kenna | New Balance | Pepper |
| Sligo Rovers |  Dave Robertson | Gavin Peers | Joma | Volkswagen |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Ger O'Brien | Umbro | Clune Construction Company L.P. |
| Wexford Youths | Shane Keegan | Graham Doyle | Bodibro | SBOBET |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundalk(C) | 33 | 25 | 2 | 6 | 73 | 28 | +45 | 77 | Qualification forChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Cork City | 33 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 65 | 23 | +42 | 70 | Qualification forEuropa League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Derry City | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 62 | |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 55 | |
| 5 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 35 | +7 | 49 | |
| 6 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 46 | |
| 7 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 45 | |
| 8 | Bohemians | 33 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 41 | |
| 9 | Galway United | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 38 | |
| 10 | Finn Harps | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 23 | 49 | −26 | 32 | |
| 11 | Wexford Youths(R) | 33 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 23 | Qualification forrelegation play-offs |
| 12 | Longford Town(R) | 33 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 25 | 71 | −46 | 14 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
Teams played each other twice (once at home, once away).
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | GAL | LON | SHM | SLI | StP | WEX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 |
| Bray Wanderers | 0–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Cork City | 2–0 | 4–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Finn Harps | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–7 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Galway United | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–2 |
| Longford Town | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1[a] | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–0 |
| Wexford Youths | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | — |
Teams played each other once.
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | GAL | LON | SHM | SLI | StP | WEX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | — | — | — | 1–2 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | — |
| Cork City | 0–0 | — | — | — | — | 2–0 | — | 5–2 | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | 5–0 |
| Derry City | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — |
| Dundalk | — | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | — | — | 0–3 | — | — |
| Finn Harps | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–5 | — | — | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | — |
| Galway United | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–5 | — | — | 3–2 | — | 0–0 | — | — | — | — |
| Longford Town | — | 0–2 | — | 2–3 | 0–3 | — | — | — | 2–4 | — | 0–1 | — |
| Shamrock Rovers | — | 0–0 | — | — | 0–3 | — | 4–2 | — | — | — | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | — | — | 0–0 | — | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | — | 5–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | — | — | 0–2 | 5–2 | — | 1–0 | — | — | 0–0 | — | 4–1 |
| Wexford Youths | — | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 2–0 | — | — | — | — |
Wexford Youths, the eleventh-placed team from the Premier Division took part in a two-legged play-off againstDrogheda United, the winners of the2016 First Division play-off, to decide who will play in the2017 Premier Division.
| 31 October 2016 (2016-10-31) | Wexford Youths | 2–0 | Drogheda United | Crossabeg |
| 19:45GMT | Report | Stadium:Ferrycarrig Park Attendance: 616 Referee: Raymond Matthews |
| 4 November 2016 (2016-11-04) | Drogheda United | 3–0 (3–2agg.) | Wexford Youths | Drogheda |
| 19:45GMT | Report | Stadium:United Park Referee: Graham Kelly |
Drogheda United are promoted to the2017 Premier Division; Wexford Youths are relegated to the2017 First Division.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[13] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Maguire | Cork City | 18 |
| 2 | Rory Patterson | Derry City | 17 |
| 3 | David McMillan | Dundalk | 16 |
| 4 | Vincent Faherty | Galway United | 12 |
| 5 | Conan Byrne | St Patrick's Athletic | 11 |
| 6 | Raffaele Cretaro | Sligo Rovers | 10 |
| Kurtis Byrne | Bohemians | 10 | |
| Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic | 10 | |
| Gary McCabe | Shamrock Rovers | 10 | |
| 10 | Daryl Horgan | Dundalk | 9 |
