Football League of Ireland
| Football League of Ireland | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Football |
| Founded | 1921 |
| No. of teams | 21 (2006) |
| Country/ Countries |
 Ireland |
| Most recent champion(s) | Shelbourne F.C. (2006) |
The Football League of Ireland, usually known simply as the League of Ireland or later the eircom League (from the league's sponsorship by Irish telecommunications company eircom), was the old league of football clubs in Ireland that existed from 1921 until 2006. Beginning in the 2007 season, it was succeeded by the FAI League of Ireland. It should not be confused with the Irish Football League, which is the league in Northern Ireland.
The Football League of Ireland included one club from across the border, Derry City. Derry City formerly played in the Irish Football League, but was forced to leave that league following the 1972-73 season because of safety and security concerns. Derry City joined the Republic's league at the second level in 1985, after a special dispensation from the Irish Football Association (IFA) and UEFA. It won promotion in 1987, and has stayed in the top flight ever since. No teams from the Republic play in the northern league.
History
Formed in 1921, the league originally contained 8 teams, all of which were from Dublin, and was first won by St. James' Gate FC. Over the next forty years the league grew to eventually twenty-two clubs, and spread right across the country, with the introduction of 6 teams in 1985, when a first division was introduced. The new Premier Division contained 12 teams and the First Division, 10. Clubs were promoted and relegated between the Premier and First divisions at the end of each season. Also, the club which finished bottom of the First had to reapply for league membership.
League of Ireland football was well attended up to late 1960s when spectator numbers started to dwindle. The exposure to far bigger football leagues in England and Scotland saw most Irish football fans pick a British side to follow rather than their local team. Reflecting this, local media steadily started to focus more and more on the foreign leagues and it wasn't until 1997 that a League of Ireland game was shown live on television. In the late 1990s, as teams sought to become fully professional, crowds started to come back. Recent excellent european runs by Bohemians, Cork City, Shelbourne and Derry City sparked an increase in media attention and consequently, attendances are improving.
Until recently the league followed the pattern of the other leagues in the western
Europe of starting their league campaigns towards the end of
However, professionalism has cost some clubs. Former greats Shamrock Rovers, without a home ground since the sale of Glenmalure Park in 1987, were put into administration in 2005 and subsequently taken over by a fans' group, the 400 Club now known as the SRFC Members Club. Rovers suffered their first ever relegation by losing a two-legged play-off 3-2 to Dublin City at the end of the 2005 season. The Hoops went on to win the 2006 First Division Title.
However in the emergence and re-emergence of clubs such as Bohemians, Cork City, Derry City, Drogheda United and Shelbourne, among others, have helped improve the fortunes of the league in the past several seasons.
Dublin City (formerly Home Farm F.C.) resigned their league membership on 19 July 2006 after the Company which owned the club ceased trading. Games the club had played in the Premier Division during the season were expunged from the record, with the league table recalculated.
The FAI and the League of Ireland merged for the 2007 season to create a new FAI National League - a continuation of the old league. The composition of the new league's tiers was decided by an Independent Assessment Group (IAG). The selection of teams was based on the 2006 league results, the previous 5 years performance, infrastructure, strategic planning, licensing and population densities[1].
List of Winners of the League
Footnotes
- ^ St. Patrick's Athletic were deducted 15 points due to fielding an ineligible player. Without that deduction they would have been champions. For more on this see St Patrick's Athletic.
Record League Champions
| Rank | Club | # titles | Last title | First title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers | 15 | 1994 | 1923 |
| 2 | Shelbourne | 13 | 2006 | 1926 |
| 3 | Bohemians | 9 | 2003 | 1924 |
| Dundalk | 9 | 1995 | 1933 | |
| 5 | St. Patrick's Athletic | 7 | 1999 | 1952 |
| Cork United/Cork Athletic | 7 | 1951 | 1941 | |
| 7 | Waterford United | 6 | 1973 | 1966 |
| 8 | Drumcondra | 5 | 1965 | 1948 |
| 9 | Cork City | 2 | 2005 | 1993 |
| Derry City | 2 | 1997 | 1989 | |
| Athlone Town | 2 | 1983 | 1981 | |
| Limerick | 2 | 1980 | 1960 | |
| Sligo Rovers | 2 | 1977 | 1937 | |
| St James's Gate | 2 | 1940 | 1922 | |
| 15 | Drogheda United | 1 | 2007 | 2007 |
| Cork Celtic | 1 | 1974 | 1974 | |
| Cork Hibernians | 1 | 1971 | 1971 | |
| Dolphins | 1 | 1935 | 1935 |
Existing clubs in bold
First Division Winners
- 1985/86 Bray Wanderers
- 1986/87 Derry City
- 1987/88 Athlone Town
- 1988/89 Drogheda United
- 1989/90 Waterford United
- 1990/91 Drogheda United
- 1991/92 Limerick City
- 1992/93 Galway United
- 1993/94 Sligo Rovers
- 1994/95 UCD
- 1995/96 Bray Wanderers
- 1996/97 Kilkenny City
- 1997/98 Waterford United
- 1998/99 Drogheda United
- 1999/00 Bray Wanderers
- 2000/01 Dundalk
- 2001/02 Drogheda United
- 2002/03 Waterford United
- 2003 Dublin City
- 2004 Finn Harps
- 2005 Sligo Rovers
- 2006 Shamrock Rovers
Record First Division Champions
| Rank | Club | # titles | Last title | First title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drogheda United | 4 | 2002 | 1989 |
| 2 | Waterford United | 3 | 2003 | 1990 |
| Bray Wanderers | 3 | 2000 | 1986 | |
| 4 | Sligo Rovers | 2 | 2005 | 1994 |
| 5 | Shamrock Rovers | 1 | 2006 | 2006 |
| Finn Harps | 1 | 2004 | 2004 | |
| Dublin City | 1 | 2003 | 2003 | |
| Dundalk | 1 | 2001 | 2001 | |
| Kilkenny City | 1 | 1997 | 1997 | |
| UCD | 1 | 1995 | 1995 | |
| Galway United | 1 | 1993 | 1993 | |
| Limerick City | 1 | 1992 | 1992 | |
| Athlone Town | 1 | 1988 | 1988 | |
| Derry City | 1 | 1987 | 1987 |
Former members
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References
- ^ FAI / eircomLeague Implementation Committee Proposals on the strategic direction of the National League 2007-2012 (PDF: 217K)
- ^ RSSSF (Republic of) Ireland League Tables - Second Level
- ^ RSSSF League of Ireland All-time table
See also
- Football League of Ireland Cup
- FAI Cup
- Professional Footballers Association of Ireland
- Category:Football League of Ireland players - past and present
Media coverage
Eircom Premier League matches are broadcast live in Ireland by Setanta Ireland, RTÉ Two and TG4.
External links
- Football League of Ireland Website
- League of Ireland spreadsheet — computes standings from scores; includes historical results.
- WalkTheChalk.com - Stats & Opinion on Irish Football
- RSSSF.com - History of standings
- RSSSF.com - History of top scorers
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