| Season | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dundalk (10th title) |
| Relegated | Athlone Town UCD |
| Champions League | Dundalk |
| Europa League | Cork City St. Patrick's Athletic Shamrock Rovers UCD |
| Matches | 198 |
| Goals | 528 (2.67 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Christy Fagan: 20 (St. Patrick's Athletic)[1] |
| Highest attendance | 6,219[2]Cork City 1–0Bohemians F.C. |
| Total attendance | 295,384 |
| Average attendance | 1,523[3][note 1] |
←2013 2015 → | |
The2014 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 30th season of theLeague of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams.Dundalk were champions andCork City finished as runners-up.[4]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town |  Aidan Collins | Nike | Nitro Sports | |
| Bohemians | Owen Heary | Dave Mulcahy | Macron | Mr Green |
| Bray Wanderers | Alan Mathews | Danny O'Connor | Macron | Volkswagen |
| Cork City | John Caulfield | John Dunleavy | Umbro | Clonakilty Sausages |
| Derry City | Peter Hutton | Barry Molloy | Umbro | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Damien Richardson | Gavin Brennan | Nike | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Limerick | Martin Russell | Shane Duggan | Macron | Pacdog.ie |
| Shamrock Rovers | Pat Fenlon | Conor Kenna | Warrior | Pepper |
| Sligo Rovers | Gavin Dykes | Gavin Peers | Umbro | Volkswagen |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Ger O'Brien | Umbro | Clune Construction Company L.P. |
| UCD | Aaron Callaghan | Robbie Benson | O'Neills | O'Neills |
The 2014 Premier Division featured 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, for a total of 33 games each. The regular season began 7 March and concluded 24 October.[5]Dundalk won the title on the final day of the season with a 2-0 win at home againstCork City.[6] It was the first time Dundalk had won the Premier Division since1994–95.[7][8][9]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundalk(C) | 33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 73 | 24 | +49 | 74 | Qualification forChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Cork City | 33 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 72 | Qualification forEuropa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 66 | 37 | +29 | 65 | |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 62 | |
| 5 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 43 | |
| 6 | Limerick | 33 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 41 | |
| 7 | Bohemians | 33 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 40 | |
| 8 | Derry City | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 38 | |
| 9 | Drogheda United | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 40 | 63 | −23 | 36 | |
| 10 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 61 | −33 | 26 | |
| 11 | UCD(R) | 33 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 71 | −44 | 25 | Qualification forrelegation play-off and Europa League first qualifying round[a] |
| 12 | Athlone Town(R) | 33 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 22 | Relegation toLeague of Ireland First Division |
| Home \ Away | ATH | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | LIM | SHM | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Bohemians | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–1 | 0–5 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–5 |
| Cork City | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Derry City | 3–2 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Drogheda United | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 4–0 |
| Dundalk | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 |
| Limerick | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 4–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 5–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 5–2 | 6–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–2 |
| UCD | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |
| Home \ Away | ATH | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | LIM | SHM | SLI | StP | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | — | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — |
| Bohemians | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | — |
| Bray Wanderers | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | — | — | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 |
| Cork City | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — |
| Derry City | 1–1 | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Drogheda United | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | — | 2–3 | — |
| Dundalk | — | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 5–0 | — | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | — | — |
| Limerick | 4–2 | — | 4–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | — |
| Shamrock Rovers | — | — | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | — | 3–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 1–4 | 4–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0–2 | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | — | 3–2 |
| UCD | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–4 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | — | — | — |
UCD, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division played off againstGalway, the winner of the2014 First Division play off, to decide who would play in the2015 Premier Division.[5]
| 27 October 2014 | UCD | 1 – 2 | Galway | UCD Bowl |
| 19:45 | Timmy Molloy 18'Colm Crowe  27'Gareth Matthews 39' | Report | Jason Molloy 23' Paddy Barrett 89'Ryan Manning 90' | Attendance: 643 Referee: James McKell |
| 31 October 2014 | Galway | 3 – 0 | UCD | Eamonn Deacy Park |
| 20:45 | Alex Byrne 20' Gary Shanahan 45'Ryan Manning 71'Alex Byrne 80' | Report | Attendance: 2,890 Referee: Dave McKeon |
Galway won 5–1 on aggregate and were promoted to thePremier Division. UCD are relegated to theFirst Division.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic | 20 |
| 1 | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 20 (1 pen.) |
| 3 | Conan Byrne | St Patrick's Athletic | 18 (2 pen.) |
| 4 | Rory Gaffney | Limerick | 14 |
| 5 | Billy Dennehy | Cork City | 13 (5 pen.) |
| 5 | Daniel Corcoran | Bohemians | 13 (3 pen.) |
| Month | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| March | Gary O'Neill | Drogheda United |
| April | Christopher Forrester | St Patrick's Athletic |
| May | Daryl Horgan | Dundalk |
| June | Mark O'Sullivan | Cork City |
| July | Richie Towell | Dundalk |
| August | Rory Gaffney | Limerick |
| September | Dane Massey | Dundalk |
| October | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk |
| November | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Winner | Club |
|---|---|
| Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Winner | Club |
|---|---|
| Daryl Horgan | Dundalk |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1GK | Mark McNulty | Cork City | ||
| 2 | 2DF | Seán Gannon | Dundalk | ||
| 3 | 2DF | Andy Boyle | Dundalk | ||
| 4 | 2DF | Brian Gartland | Dundalk | ||
| 5 | 2DF | Ian Bermingham | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| 6 | 3MF | Colin Healy | Cork City | ||
| 7 | 3MF | Daryl Horgan | Dundalk | ||
| 8 | 3MF | Richie Towell | Dundalk | ||
| 9 | 4FW | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| 10 | 4FW | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | ||
| 11 | 4FW | Mark O'Sullivan | Cork City |
The rights to 10 games was awarded toSetanta Sports whileRTÉ Two will also show games during the season.MNS on RTÉ Two was the highlights programme between 2008 and 2013 but in 2014 it was replaced by a new programme calledSoccer Republic which will show match highlights and analysis on each Monday night during the season and will also includeUEFA Champions League highlights.[13]
| # | Football club | Average attendance[14] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cork City FC | 3,777 |
| 2 | Dundalk FC | 2,534 |
| 3 | Shamrock Rovers | 2,319 |
| 4 | Sligo Rovers | 2,087 |
| 5 | Bohemians FC | 1,480 |
| 6 | St. Patrick's Athletic FC | 1,359 |
| 7 | Derry City FC | 1,298 |
| 8 | Drogheda United | 1,023 |
| 9 | Limerick FC | 865 |
| 10 | Bray Wanderers | 855 |
| 11 | Athlone Town AFC | 682 |
| 12 | UCD AFC | 431 |
