League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2015
ChampionsDundalk (11th title)
RelegatedLimerick
Drogheda United
Champions LeagueDundalk
Europa LeagueCork City
St. Patrick's Athletic
Shamrock Rovers
Matches played198
Goals scored546 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorerRichie Towell: 25
(Dundalk)[1]
Biggest home winDundalk 8-1 Bray Wanderers
(4 May 2015)
Biggest away winBray Wanderers 0-5 Galway United
(25 April 2015)
Highest scoringDundalk 8-1 Bray Wanderers
(4 May 2015)
Highest attendance6,900[2]
Total attendance324,332[3][note 1]
Average attendance1,638
← 2014
2016 →

The 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 31st season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. Dundalk were champions and Cork City finished as runners-up.

Teams

Stadia and locations

Map of the Republic of Ireland with the twelve League of Ireland Premier Division teams
Bray Wanderers
Cork City
Derry City
Drogheda United
Dublin
Dublin
Dundalk
Galway United
Limerick
Longford Town
Sligo Rovers
Dublin teams Bohemians Shamrock Rovers St Patrick's Athletic
Locations of Premier Division teams
Map of Dublin with the three League of Ireland Premier Division Dublin teams
Bohemians
St Patrick's Athletic
Shamrock Rovers
Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams
Team Location Stadium
Bohemians Phibsborough Dalymount Park
Bray Wanderers Bray Carlisle Grounds
Cork City Cork Turners Cross
Derry City Derry Brandywell Stadium
Drogheda United Drogheda United Park
Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park
Galway United Galway Eamonn Deacy Park
Limerick Limerick Markets Field
Longford Town Longford City Calling Stadium
Shamrock Rovers Tallaght Tallaght Stadium
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds
St Patrick's Athletic Inchicore Richmond Park

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 Republic of Ireland Keith Long Republic of Ireland Derek Pender Hummel Mr Green
Bray Wanderers Republic of Ireland Alan Mathews
Poland Maciej Tarnogrodzki
Republic of Ireland David Cassidy
Republic of Ireland Trevor Croly
Republic of Ireland David Cassidy
Republic of Ireland Mick Cooke 		Republic of Ireland David Cassidy Nike Royal Hotel
Cork City Republic of Ireland John Caulfield Republic of Ireland John Dunleavy Nike Clonakilty Sausages
Derry City Northern Ireland Peter Hutton
Republic of Ireland Paul Hegarty 		Northern Ireland Ryan McBride Umbro Diamond Corrugated
Drogheda United Republic of Ireland John McDonnell
Republic of Ireland Mark Kinsella 		Republic of Ireland Michael Daly Nike Scotch Hall Shopping Center
Dundalk Republic of Ireland Stephen Kenny Republic of Ireland Stephen O'Donnell Umbro Fyffes
Galway United Republic of Ireland Tommy Dunne Republic of Ireland Paul Sinnott Macron Comer Property Management
Limerick Republic of Ireland Martin Russell Republic of Ireland Shane Duggan Macron Galtee Fuels
Longford Town Republic of Ireland Tony Cousins Republic of Ireland Mark Salmon Macron City Calling
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland Pat Fenlon Republic of Ireland Conor Kenna Warrior Pepper
Sligo Rovers Republic of Ireland Owen Heary
Cameroon Joseph N'Do & Republic of Ireland Gavin Dykes
England Micky Adams 		Republic of Ireland Gavin Peers Umbro Volkswagen
St Patrick's Athletic Republic of Ireland Liam Buckley Republic of Ireland Ger O'Brien Umbro Clune Construction Company L.P.

Overview

The 2015 Premier Division consisted of 12 teams. Each team played each other three times for a total of 33 games. The season began on 6 March and concluded on 30 October.[4] On 9 October, with three games still remaining, Dundalk retained the title after a 1–1 draw with Shamrock Rovers.[5][6][7]

Final table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dundalk (C) 33 23 9 1 78 23 +55 78 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round[a]
2 Cork City 33 19 10 4 57 25 +32 67 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3 Shamrock Rovers 33 18 11 4 56 27 +29 65
4 St Patrick's Athletic 33 18 4 11 52 34 +18 58
5 Bohemians 33 15 8 10 49 42 +7 53
6 Longford Town 33 10 9 14 41 53 −12 39
7 Derry City 33 9 8 16 32 42 −10 35
8 Bray Wanderers 33 9 6 18 27 51 −24 33
9 Sligo Rovers 33 7 10 16 39 55 −16 31
10 Galway United 33 9 4 20 39 61 −22 31
11 Limerick (R) 33 7 8 18 46 73 −27 29 Qualification to Relegation play-offs
12 Drogheda United (R) 33 7 7 19 32 62 −30 28 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: League of Ireland, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[8]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Dundalk qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015 FAI Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.

Results

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away BOH BRW COR DER DRO DUN GAL LIM LON SHM SLI StP
Bohemians — 0–0 1–1 4–2 0–1 0–3 2–0 2–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–1
Bray Wanderers 0–1 — 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–5 4–0 0–1 0–3 1–0 1–0
Cork City 4–0 1–0 — 3–0 4–1 1–2 2–0 5–0 2–0 0–0 3–2 3–1
Derry City 1–2 0–0 0–2 — 3–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 0–3
Drogheda United 0–1 4–2 1–2 1–1 — 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–3 0–1 3–2 0–2
Dundalk 1–2 8–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 — 3–0 6–2 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–0
Galway United 5–3 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–0 2–4 — 3–2 1–2 1–2 0–1 1–4
Limerick 0–3 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–4 — 2–2 1–1 3–2 1–2
Longford Town 2–1 2–0 1–4 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 — 0–2 1–1 2–2
Shamrock Rovers 0–0 1–0 0–0 4–1 1–0 2–2 3–0 4–1 3–2 — 5–1 1–0
Sligo Rovers 0–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–2 1–2 — 0–3
St Patrick's Athletic 3–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 3–1 3–1 3–0 0–0 3–0 —
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Home \ Away BOH BRW COR DER DRO DUN GAL LIM LON SHM SLI StP
Bohemians — — 0–1 — — 2–2 3–0 — 1–1 — — 2–0
Bray Wanderers 3–1 — 0–0 — 1–0 — 1–1 2–2 — 2–2 — —
Cork City — — — 0–0 — 2–2 1–0 2–3 2–3 — — —
Derry City 2–3 3–1 — — 0–2 0–2 — — — 1–0 — —
Drogheda United 2–2 — 1–1 — — — — 1–4 0–3 — 0–4 —
Dundalk — 4–0 — — 6–0 — 0–0 — 0–0 — 2–2 4–1
Galway United — — — 0–4 1–1 — — 1–3 4–2 — 2–1 0–1
Limerick 4–3 — — 0–2 — 1–3 — — 3–3 0–2 — 3–1
Longford Town — 1–0 — 4–2 — — — — — 1–3 1–1 0–3
Shamrock Rovers 1–1 — 3–0 — 5–3 1–1 2–0 — — — — 0–2
Sligo Rovers 0–2 3–2 0–2 1–0 — — — 2–3 — 1–1 — —
St Patrick's Athletic — 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 — — — — — 0–2 —
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Republic of Ireland Richie Towell Dundalk 25
2 Republic of Ireland Karl Sheppard Cork City 13
3 Republic of Ireland Vinny Faherty Limerick 12
United States Jake Keegan Galway United
Republic of Ireland Enda Curran Galway United
Republic of Ireland Michael Drennan Shamrock Rovers
Republic of Ireland David McMillan Dundalk
Republic of Ireland Daniel Corcoran Sligo Rovers
9 Republic of Ireland Christopher Forrester St Patrick's Athletic 11
Republic of Ireland Brandon Miele Shamrock Rovers

Source:[1][9]

Awards

Team of the Year

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Micheál Schlingermann Drogheda United
2 2DF Seán Gannon Dundalk
3 2DF Brian Gartland Dundalk
4 2DF Andy Boyle Dundalk
5 2DF Dane Massey Dundalk
6 3MF Richie Towell Dundalk
7 3MF James Chambers St Patrick's Athletic
8 3MF Stephen O'Donnell Dundalk
9 4FW Brandon Miele Shamrock Rovers
10 4FW Mark O'Sullivan Cork City
11 4FW Daryl Horgan Dundalk

Promotion/relegation playoff

Limerick, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division played off against Finn Harps, the winner of the 2015 First Division play off, to decide who would play in the 2016 Premier Division.[4]

2 November 2015 Limerick 1–0 Finn Harps Markets Field
Kelly 34' Report Referee: Rob Rogers
6 November 2015 Finn Harps 2–0
(a.e.t.)		 Limerick Finn Park
Funston 38'
Banda 117'		 Attendance: 3,200
Referee: Derek Tomney

Finn Harps won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to 2016 Premier Division. Limerick are relegated to the 2016 First Division.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Total attendance figures based upon reported 9.8% increase from the 2014 season https://www.newstalk.com/sport/league-of-ireland-match-attendances-show-encouraging-rise-for-2015-627173

References

  1. ^ a b "Ireland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ "League Report: Cork City 1 - 2 Dundalk". extra time. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. ^ "League of Ireland Attendances 2016 - A complete breakdown (Updated)". extra time. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Ireland 2015". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Dundalk crowned champions with draw in Tallaght". www.rte.ie. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  6. ^ "We now have a Premier Division champion and the relegation battle is really hotting up". www.the42.ie. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  7. ^ "CHAMPIONS - Dundalk retain their title in Tallaght". www.independent.ie. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  8. ^ "PREMIER DIVISION 2015 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  9. ^ "2015 SSE Airtricity League Premier Division". inform.fai.ie. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
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