The1998–99 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 14th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams.St Patrick's Athletic F.C. won the title. For sponsorship purposes, it was known as theFAI Harp Lager National League.
The season saw each team playing three rounds of games, playing every other team three times, totalling 33 games.[2][3]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Patrick's Athletic(C) | 33 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 58 | 21 | +37 | 73 | Qualification toChampions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Cork City | 33 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 62 | 25 | +37 | 70 | Qualification toUEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Shelbourne | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 47 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup first round |
| 4 | Finn Harps | 33 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 46 | |
| 5 | Derry City | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 45 | |
| 6 | UCD | 33 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 42 | |
| 7 | Waterford United | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 21 | 37 | −16 | 42 | |
| 8 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 40 | |
| 9 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 38 | |
| 10 | Bohemians(O) | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 37 | Qualification toRelegation play-off |
| 11 | Bray Wanderers(R) | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 30 | 45 | −15 | 32 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division and qualification toUEFA Cup qualifying round[a] |
| 12 | Dundalk(R) | 33 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 23 | 40 | −17 | 27 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | HOM | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Cork City | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | — | 5–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Finn Harps | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 |
| Home Farm Everton | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 6–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Shelbourne | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 5–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 |
| UCD | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | HOM | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | — |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–5 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–0 |
| Cork City | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | — |
| Derry City | — | 5–2 | 0–2 | — | — | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–0 | — |
| Dundalk | — | — | 0–4 | 2–4 | — | — | — | 4–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | — |
| Finn Harps | 3–3 | — | — | 0–1 | 5–0 | — | 3–2 | 1–2 | — | 3–4 | — | — |
| Home Farm Everton | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 | — | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| Shamrock Rovers | — | 2–2 | — | — | — | — | 2–3 | — | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Shelbourne | 0–1 | — | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | — | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | — | 3–2 | — | — | — | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | — | 4–2 | — | — |
| UCD | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | — | — | — | — | 2–0 | — |
Bohemians who finished in tenth place played off againstCobh Ramblers, the third placed team from the1998–99 League of Ireland First Division.
| 5 May 1999 | Cobh Ramblers | 0–5 | Bohemians |
| 8 May 1999 | Bohemians | 2–0 | Cobh Ramblers |
Bohemians won 7–0 on aggregate and retained their place in thePremier Division.[2][4]