2018 League of Ireland Premier Division

League of Ireland Premier Division 2018
Season information
Dates	16 February – 26 October 2018
Winners	Dundalk
Relegated	Limerick Bray Wanderers
Continental cup qualifiers
Champions League	Dundalk
Europa League	Cork City Shamrock Rovers Waterford
Season statistics
Matches played	180
Goals scored	501
Average	(2.78 per match)
Top goalscorer	Patrick Hoban (29 Goals)
Biggest home win	Dundalk 8-0 Limerick
Biggest away win	Bray Wanderers 0-5 Bohemians
Highest scoring	Waterford 3-6 Limerick
← 2017	2019 →

The 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 34th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 16 February 2018 and concluded in 26 October 2018.

On 5 October, Dundalk won the title after a 1-1 draw with St Patrick's Athletic.

Overview

The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Each team plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season.

Waterford, the 2017 First Division champion, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2007.

On 22 December 2016, the Football Association of Ireland announced that the league would be restructured into two 10-team divisions from the 2018 season onwards, one of the recommendations made in the 2015 Conroy Report.

Teams

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium
Bohemians	Phibsborough	Dalymount Park
Bray Wanderers	Bray	Carlisle Grounds
Cork City	Cork	Turners Cross
Derry City	Derry	The Brandywell
Dundalk	Dundalk	Oriel Park
Limerick	Limerick	Markets Field
St Patrick's Athletic	Inchicore	Richmond Park
Shamrock Rovers	Tallaght	Tallaght Stadium
Sligo Rovers	Sligo	The Showgrounds
Waterford	Waterford	RSC

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Bohemians	Keith Long	Derek Pender	Hummel	Mr Green Sport
Bray Wanderers	Dave Mackey	Gary McCabe	Nike	O Driscoll O Neil Insurance
Cork City	John Caulfield	Conor McCormack	Adidas	University College Cork
Derry City	Kenny Shiels	Gerard Doherty	Adidas	Diamond Corrugated
Dundalk	Stephen Kenny	Stephen O'Donnell	CX+ Sport	Fyffes
Limerick	Tommy Barrett	Shane Duggan	Umbro	Betsat.com
St Patrick's Athletic	Liam Buckley	Ian Bermingham	Umbro	MIG Insurance Brokers
Shamrock Rovers	Stephen Bradley	Ronan Finn	New Balance	Pepper Money
Sligo Rovers	Gerard Lyttle	Kyle Callan-McFadden	Joma	Volkswagen
Waterford	lan Reynolds	Paul Keegan	Umbro	21 Bet

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Limerick	Neil McDonald	Signed by Scunthorpe United	4 January 2018	Pre-season	Tommy Barrett	14 January 2018
Bray Wanderers	Dave Mackey	Resigned	8 April 2018	10th	Graham Kelly	10 April 2018<
Bray Wanderers	Graham Kelly	End of caretaker spell	8 July 2018	10th	Martin Russell	8 July 2018
Derry City	Kenny Shiels	Sacked	27 October 2018	8th	Declan Devine	16 November 2018

League table

2018 League of Ireland Premier Division table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dundalk  (C)	36	27	6	3	85	20	+65	87	Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2	Cork City	36	24	5	7	71	27	+44	77	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3	Shamrock Rovers	36	18	8	10	57	27	+30	62
4	Waterford	36	18	5	13	52	44	+8	59
5	St Patrick's Athletic	36	15	5	16	51	47	+4	50	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
6	Bohemians	36	13	9	14	52	45	+7	48
7	Sligo Rovers	36	12	6	18	38	50	−12	42
8	Derry City	36	13	3	20	47	70	−23	42
9	Limerick  (R)	36	7	6	23	25	75	−50	27	Qualification to Relegation play-offs
10	Bray Wanderers  (R)	36	5	3	28	23	96	−73	18	Relegation to League of Ireland First Division

Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round; (Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament

Promotion/relegation playoff

Limerick, the ninth-placed team from the Premier Division took part in a two-legged play-off against Finn Harps, the winners of the 2018 First Division play-off, to decide who will play in the 2019 Premier Division.

29 October 2018	Finn Harps	1–0	Limerick	Finn Park
19:45 GMT	McCourt  35' (pen.)	Report		Attendance: 2,379 Referee: Robert Harvey

2 November 2018	Limerick	0–2	Finn Harps	Markets Field
19:45 GMT		Report	Timlin  45+1' Boyle  80'	Referee: Graham Kelly

Finn Harps won 3–0 on aggregate and were promoted to 2019 Premier Division. Limerick were relegated to the 2019 First Division.

Season statistics

As of 2 November 2018

Scoring

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Patrick Hoban	Dundalk	29
2	Kieran Sadlier	Cork City	16
3	Graham Cummins	Cork City	15
4	Graham Burke	Shamrock Rovers	13
	Michael Duffy	Dundalk	13
6	Daniel Carr	Shamrock Rovers	11
	Daniel Corcoran	Bohemians	11
8	Courtney Duffus	Waterford	10
	Aaron McEneff	Derry City	10
10	Robbie Benson	Dundalk	9

Last updated: 2 November 2018
Source: SSEAirtricity League

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Corcoran, DinnyDinny Corcoran	Bohemians	Bray Wanderers	5–0 (A)	02018-10-19-19 October 2018
Cummins, GrahamGraham Cummins	Cork City	Sligo Rovers	4–1 (A)	02018-02-24-24 February 2018
Graham Burke4	Shamrock Rovers	Derry City	6-1 (H)	02018-03-09-9 March 2018
Hale, RonanRonan Hale	Derry City	Limerick	5–0 (H)	02018-03-12-12 March 2018
Hoban, PatrickPatrick Hoban	Dundalk	Limerick	4–0 (H)	02018-06-08-8 June 2018

Discipline

Club

• Most yellow cards: 94
  • Sligo Rovers

• Most red cards: 7
  • Waterford

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month		Goal of the Month
	Player	Club	Player	Club
February	Graham Cummins	Cork City	Bastien Héry	Waterford
March	Graham Burke	Shamrock Rovers
April	Michael Duffy	Dundalk
May	Seán Hoare	Dundalk
June	Patrick Hoban	Dundalk
July	Gavin Bazunu	Shamrock Rovers

See also

• 2018 League of Ireland First Division
• 2018 FAI Cup
• 2018 League of Ireland Cup

External links

• Official website
• Full Results and Fixtures

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