| Season | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 February 2020 – 9 November 2020 |
| Champions | Shamrock Rovers (18th title) |
| Relegated | Cork City,Shelbourne |
| Champions League | Shamrock Rovers |
| Europa Conference League | Bohemians Dundalk Sligo Rovers |
| Matches played | 90 |
| Goals scored | 190 (2.11 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Patrick Hoban (10 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Shamrock Rovers 6–0Cork City (21 February 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Dundalk F.C 0-4Shamrock Rovers (27 September 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Shamrock Rovers 6–1Waterford (21 September 2020) |
| Longest winning run | Shamrock Rovers (7 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Shamrock Rovers (7 games) |
| Longest winless run | Finn Harps (7 games) |
| Longest losing run | Finn Harps (5 games) |
| Highest attendance | 7,522[1] |
| Total attendance | 65,700[note 1] |
| Average attendance | 2,986[2] |
←2019 2021 → All statistics correct as of 10 November 2020. | |
The2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as theSSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division.
The league began on 14 February 2020 and concluded on 9 November 2020. The fixtures were announced on 20 December 2019.[3] The season was halted in mid-March because of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland following the directive of the Irish government and theFootball Association of Ireland.[4][5] The FAI subsequently announced a contingency plan with a view to completing the domestic season at a later date with a reduced number of games.[6] It resumed on 31 July.[7] On 24 October,Finn Harps won 2–0 atBohemians which meantShamrock Rovers won the league andCork City were relegated.[8][9]
The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Ordinarily each team plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season. Following a meeting of the Football Association of Ireland regarding theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that the season would be played on an 18-match basis with teams playing each other twice: once at home and once away.[7]
Shelbourne, the2019 First Division champions, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2013, replacing fellowDublin sideUCD, who were relegated to theLeague of Ireland First Division after finishing bottom of the league in2019.[10]
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 | Keith Buckley | O'Neills | Des Kelly Interiors |
| Cork City | Colin Healy | Gearoid Morrissey | Adidas | University College Cork |
| Derry City |  Declan Devine | Conor McCormack | Adidas | Diamond Corrugated |
| Dundalk |  Filippo Giovagnoli | Brian Gartland | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | Gareth Harkin | Joma | KN Group |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Stephen O'Donnell | Ian Bermingham | Umbro | MIG Insurance Brokers |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Bradley | Ronan Finn | Umbro | JD Sports |
| Shelbourne | Ian Morris | Lorcan Fitzgerald | Umbro | FLYEfit |
| Sligo Rovers | Liam Buckley | Kyle Callan-McFadden | Joma | Avantcard |
| Waterford | Fran Rockett | Brian Murphy | Umbro | 24/7 Cardiac Care |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford | Alan Reynolds | Resigned | 16 June 2020[11] | 6th | John Sheridan[12] | 8 July 2020 |
| Dundalk | Vinny Perth | Sacked | 20 August 2020[13] | 3rd | Filippo Giovagnoli[14] | 25 August 2020 |
| Waterford | John Sheridan | Moved toWigan Athletic | 11 September 2020[15] | 4th | Fran Rockett[16] | 24 September 2020 |
| Cork City |  Neale Fenn | Resigned | 8 October 2020[17] | 10th | Colin Healy[a][18] | 9 October 2020 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers(C) | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 7 | +37 | 48 | Qualification forChampions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Bohemians | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 12 | +11 | 37 | Qualification forEuropa Conference League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Dundalk | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 26 | |
| 4 | Sligo Rovers | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 25 | |
| 5 | Waterford | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 24 | |
| 6 | St Patrick's Athletic | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 21 | |
| 7 | Derry City | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 20 | |
| 8 | Finn Harps | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 20 | |
| 9 | Shelbourne(R) | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 19 | Qualification forrelegation play-offs |
| 10 | Cork City(R) | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 30 | −20 | 11 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cork City | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Derry City | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Dundalk | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Finn Harps | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Shelbourne | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Sligo Rovers | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 10 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Waterford | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Teams will play each other twice (once at home, once away).
| Home \ Away | BOH | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | STP | SHM | SHE | SLI | WAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Cork City | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Derry City | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Finn Harps | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | — | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 4–0 | 6–1 |
| Shelbourne | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 |
| Waterford | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 10 |
| 2 | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers | 9 |
| 3 | Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | 8 |
| Andre Wright | Bohemians | ||
| 4 | Daniel Grant | Bohemians | 7 |
| Aaron Greene | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 5 | Ronan Coughlan | Sligo Rovers | 6 |
Last updated: 6 November 2020.
Source:Extratime.com
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | Cork City | 6–0 | 21 February 2020 | 5 |
| Daniel Grant | Bohemians | Shelbourne | 1–3 | 3 October 2020 | 3 |
| 31 October 2020 | Bray Wanderers | 0–1 | Galway United | Carlisle Grounds |
| 15:00 | Wilson Waweru 86' | Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors) |
| 31 October 2020 | UCD | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Longford Town | UCD Bowl |
| 15:00 | Colm Whelan18' Yousef Mahdy 110' | Joe Gorman90' Joe Gorman 113'Dean Byrne 120' | Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors) |
| 6 November 2020 | Galway United | 1–2 | Longford Town | UCD Bowl |
| 19:45 | Vinny Faherty88' | Report | Karl Chambers43' Aodh Dervin 82' | Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors) Referee: Mark Moynihan |
| 15 November 2020 | Shelbourne | 0–1 | Longford Town | Richmond Park |
| 14:30 | Report | Rob Manley46' | Attendance: 0 Referee: Neil Doyle |
Source:[20]
| Month | Player of the Month | References | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | ||
| February | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers | |
| August | Daniel Grant | Bohemians | |
| September | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers | |
| October | Sean Murray | Dundalk | |
| November | David McMillan | Dundalk | |
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| PFAI Player of the Year | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers |
| PFAI Young Player of the Year | Daniel Grant | Bohemians |
| PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year | Stephen Bradley | Shamrock Rovers |
| PFAI Team of the Year | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Alan Mannus (Shamrock Rovers) | |||||||||||
| Defenders | Andy Lyons (Bohemians) |  Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers) | Lee Grace (Shamrock Rovers) | Tyreke Wilson (Waterford) | ||||||||
| Midfielders | Keith Buckley (Bohemians) | Aaron McEneff (Shamrock Rovers) | Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers) | |||||||||
| Forwards | Daniel Grant (Bohemians) | Andre Wright (Bohemians) | Michael Duffy (Dundalk) | |||||||||
