| Season | 1995–96 |
|---|---|
| Champions | St Patrick's Athletic (5th title) |
| Relegated | Athlone Town Drogheda United Galway United |
| UEFA Cup | St Patrick's Athletic Bohemians |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Shelbourne |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | Sligo Rovers |
| Top goalscorer | Stephen Geoghegan: 19 (Shelbourne)[1][2] |
1996–97 → | |
The1995–96 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 11th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams.St Patrick's Athletic F.C. won the title.
This season saw each team playing three rounds of games, playing every other team three times, totalling 33 games.[2][3][4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Patrick's Athletic(C) | 33 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 67 | Qualification toUEFA Cup preliminary round |
| 2 | Bohemians | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 60 | 29 | +31 | 62 | |
| 3 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 55 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup group stage |
| 4 | Shelbourne | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 54 | Qualification toCup Winners' Cup qualifying round[a] |
| 5 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 50 | |
| 6 | Derry City | 33 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 46 | |
| 7 | Dundalk | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 42 | |
| 8 | UCD | 33 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 42 | |
| 9 | Cork City[b] | 33 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 41 | |
| 10 | Athlone Town(R) | 33 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 38 | 59 | −21 | 31 | Qualification toRelegation play-off |
| 11 | Drogheda United(R) | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 30 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
| 12 | Galway United(R) | 33 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 26 | 67 | −41 | 21 |
| Home \ Away | ATH | BOH | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | GAL | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | — | 2–5 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Bohemians | 3–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Cork City | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Derry City | 5–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 3–1 |
| Drogheda United | 0–1 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Dundalk | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 |
| Galway United | 2–2 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Shelbourne | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | 4–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 3–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 |
| UCD | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — |
| Home \ Away | ATH | BOH | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | GAL | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | — | 0–3 | — | — | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 4–3 | — | 2–2 | — |
| Bohemians | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Cork City | 0–2 | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | — |
| Derry City | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 4–0 | — | 1–1 |
| Drogheda United | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 2–1 | 6–1 | — | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | — |
| Dundalk | — | 2–4 | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Galway United | — | 0–2 | — | 0–3 | — | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | — | 0–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2–0 |
| Shelbourne | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | — | — |
| Sligo Rovers | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | — | — | — | 0–2 | 3–1 | — | — | 1–1 | — |
| St Patrick's Athletic | — | — | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | — | — | 2–0 |
| UCD | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 0–0 | — | — | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | — |
Athlone Town who finished in tenth place played off againstHome Farm Everton, the third placed team from the1995–96 League of Ireland First Division.
Home Farm Everton won 4–3 on penalties and were promoted to thePremier Division.[2][5]