2022 League of Ireland Premier Division

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season	2022
Dates	18 February – 4 November 2022
Champions	Shamrock Rovers (20th title)
Relegated	Finn Harps
Matches played	180
Goals scored	472 (2.62 per match)
Top goalscorer	Aidan Keena; (18 goals)
Biggest home win	Derry City 7–1 UCD; (22nd April 2022); Shelbourne 6-0 Drogheda United; (28th October 2022)
Biggest away win	St Patrick's Athletic 0–4 Derry City; (29 April 2022); Drogheda United 0–4 St Patrick's Athletic; (6 May 2022)
Highest scoring	Derry City 7–1 UCD; (22nd April 2022); Shelbourne 4–4 St Patrick's Athletic; (3 October 2022)
Longest winning run	Derry City (6 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Derry City (16 games)
Longest winless run	UCD (14 games)
Longest losing run	Finn Harps (4 games); UCD (4 games); Drogheda United (4 games)
Highest attendance	7,726; Shamrock Rovers 1–0 Derry City; (30 October 2022)
Lowest attendance	473; UCD 0–2 Derry City; (4 April 2022)
Total attendance	486,365
Average attendance	2,687
	← 2021 2023 → All statistics correct as of 7 November 2022.

The 2022 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 38th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1985. Shamrock Rovers were the defending champions, having won their nineteenth Premier Division title the previous season.^[3] They retained the title on 24 October as a result of Derry City drawing 0-0 away to Sligo Rovers.^[4]^[5]

Teams

Ten teams compete in the league – the top eight teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Shelbourne and UCD, after respective top flight absences of one and three years.^[6] They replaced Longford Town (relegated after just one year back in the top flight), and Waterford (relegated via play-off after four years back in the top flight).^[7]^[8]

Stadiums and locations

Dublin

Dublin teams
Bohemians
St Patrick's Athletic
Shamrock Rovers
Shelbourne
UCD

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Locations of Premier Division teams

Bohemians

St Patrick's Athletic

Locations of Dublin Premier Division teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Bohemians	Dublin (Phibsborough)	Dalymount Park	3,640
Derry City	Derry	Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium	3,700
Drogheda United	Drogheda	Head In The Game Park	3,500
Dundalk	Dundalk	Oriel Park	4,500
Finn Harps	Ballybofey	Finn Park	6,000
St Patrick's Athletic	Dublin (Inchicore)	Richmond Park	5,340
Shamrock Rovers	Dublin (Tallaght)	Tallaght Stadium	8,000
Shelbourne	Dublin (Drumcondra)	Tolka Park	4,400
Sligo Rovers	Sligo	The Showgrounds	3,873
UCD	Dublin (Belfield)	UCD Bowl	3,000

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	Declan Devine	Conor Levingston	O'Neills	Des Kelly Interiors
Derry City	Ruaidhrí Higgins	Eoin Toal	O'Neills	Diamond Corrugated
Drogheda United	Kevin Doherty	Dane Massey	Umbro	Drogheda Credit Union
Dundalk	Stephen O'Donnell	Brian Gartland	Umbro	Bet Regal
Finn Harps	Ollie Horgan	David Webster	Joma	Guild Esports
St Patrick's Athletic	Tim Clancy	Ian Bermingham	Umbro	Manguard Plus
Shamrock Rovers	Stephen Bradley	Ronan Finn	Umbro	888sport
Shelbourne	Damien Duff	Luke Byrne	Umbro	Hamptons Homes
Sligo Rovers	John Russell	David Cawley	Joma	Avant Money
UCD	Andrew Myler	Jack Keaney	O'Neills	Jigsaw

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Shelbourne	Ian Morris	Sacked	30 October 2021	Pre-season	Damien Duff	3 November 2021
Dundalk	Vinny Perth	End of contract	30 November 2021		Stephen O'Donnell	11 December 2021
St Patrick's Athletic	Stephen O'Donnell	Moved to Dundalk	2 December 2021		Tim Clancy	2 December 2021
Drogheda United	Tim Clancy	Moved to St Patrick's Athletic	2 December 2021		Kevin Doherty	2 December 2021
Sligo Rovers	Liam Buckley	Mutual Consent	22 May 2022	6th	John Russell	22 May 2022
Bohemians	Keith Long	Sacked	30 August 2022	6th	Derek Pender (interim)	30 August 2022
Bohemians	Derek Pender	Permanent appointment	14 October 2022	6th	Declan Devine	14 October 2022

League table

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Shamrock Rovers (C)	36	24	7	5	61	22	+39	79	Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2	Derry City	36	18	12	6	53	27	+26	66	Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3	Dundalk	36	18	12	6	53	30	+23	66
4	St Patrick's Athletic	36	18	7	11	57	37	+20	61
5	Sligo Rovers	36	13	10	13	47	44	+3	49
6	Bohemians	36	12	10	14	45	46	−1	46
7	Shelbourne	36	10	11	15	40	49	−9	41
8	Drogheda United	36	9	11	16	34	58	−24	38
9	UCD (O)	36	6	8	22	28	67	−39	26	Qualification for relegation play-offs
10	Finn Harps (R)	36	4	8	24	33	71	−38	20	Relegation to 2023 League of Ireland First Division

Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.^[9]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Team ╲ Round
Bohemians	5	7	4	5	6	6	6	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Derry City	3	1	3	1	4	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Drogheda United	5	10	10	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Dundalk	3	6	2	2	5	5	5	5	5	3	5	5	3	4	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Finn Harps	5	8	9	9	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	10	10	10
St Patrick's Athletic	1	2	7	4	2	1	3	3	3	4	3	3	5	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Shamrock Rovers	1	2	1	2	1	4	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Shelbourne	10	5	6	7	7	7	7	6	7	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Sligo Rovers	5	4	5	6	3	2	2	4	4	5	4	4	4	5	5	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
UCD	10	9	8	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	9	9	10	10	10	9	9	9

Source: Extratime.com
= Leader and UEFA Champions League first qualifying round; = UEFA Conference League first qualifying round; = Qualification to the Relegation play-offs; = Relegation to the League of Ireland First Division

Results

Teams will play each other four times (twice at home, twice away).

Home \ Away	BOH	DER	DRO	DUN	FHA	STP	SHM	SHE	SLI	UCD
Bohemians		1–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–0	1–3	1–1	2–1	3–0
	2–3	0–1	0–1	2–2	1–3	1–0	1–0	3–1	1–0
Derry City	1–1		2–0	1–2	2–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	7–1
1–0		1–1	0–1	3–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	3–0
Drogheda United	1–1	1–1		1–0	3–1	0–4	1–0	0–2	0–3	4–2
0–1	1–1		1–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–1
Dundalk	3–1	2–2	4–1		3–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	2–0
2–1	1–1	2–0		3–0	1–2	1–0	0–0	3–3	3–0
Finn Harps	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–1		0–2	0–3	1–0	0–1	0–1
0–2	1–2	3–0	1–2		2–2	0–1	1–1	3–2	1–3
St Patrick's Athletic	3–0	0–4	1–1	0–0	2–0		1–0	1–2	1–2	2–0
3–1	0–1	3–0	1–1	2–1		1–2	4–0	1–0	2–1
Shamrock Rovers	1–0	1–0	3–1	1–0	3–1	1–0		2–0	2–2	3–0
1–0	1–0	1–1	3–0	5–1	4–1		3–2	3–1	1–0
Shelbourne	1–4	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–3	0–3	1–2		2–1	2–0
1–1	0–1	6–0	0–0	3–1	4–4	0–0		0–2	1–1
Sligo Rovers	0–1	2–1	3–2	0–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–1		2–2
2–1	0–0	2–0	0–3*	3–0	1–0	1–3	3–1		0–2
UCD	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–0	1–2	0–3	0–0	1–1
1–3	0–1	2–1	3–2	2–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	0–2

Source: [1], Extratime.ie
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

*Note Sligo Rovers defeated Dundalk 2–0 but the result was overturned by the Football Association of Ireland to a 3–0 win for Dundalk after it was ruled that Sligo had fielded a suspended player.^[10]

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[11]
1	Aidan Keena	Sligo Rovers	18
2	Eoin Doyle	St Patrick's Athletic	14
3	Graham Burke	Shamrock Rovers	11
	Jamie McGonigle	Derry City
	Sean Boyd	Shelbourne
6	Will Patching	Derry City	10
6	Rory Gaffney	Shamrock Rovers	10
8	Patrick Hoban	Dundalk	9
9	Dawson Devoy	Bohemians	8
10	Max Mata	Sligo Rovers	7
	Andy Lyons	Shamrock Fovers
	Danny Mandroiu	Shamrock Rovers
	Jack Moylan	Shelbourne

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets^[12]
1	Alan Mannus	Shamrock Rovers	15
1	Brian Maher	Derry City	15
3	Nathan Sheppard	Dundalk	12
4	Joseph Anang	St Patrick’s Athletic	10
5	Brendan Clarke	Shelbourne	8
6	Ed McGinty	Sligo Rovers	5
7	Richard Brush	Sligo Rovers	3
	Colin McCabe	Drogheda United
	Tadhg Ryan	Bohemians
	Lorcan Healy	UCD
	Sam Long	Drogheda United
	Mark McGinley	Finn Harps
	James Talbot	Bohemians

Play-offs

Bracket


First Division play-off Semi-finals				First Division play-off Final		Promotion/relegation play-off

26/29 October 2022
						11 November 2022
Treaty United	1	3	4
				4 November 2022		UCD	1
Waterford	4	3	7
				Waterford	3	Waterford	0
26/29 October 2022
				Galway United	0
Longford Town	2	0	2

Galway United	2	3	5

First Division play-off Semi-finals

First leg

26 October 2022	Treaty United	1–4	Waterford	Limerick
19:45 IST	Enda Curran 62' (pen.)	Report	Phoenix Patterson 5' Phoenix Patterson 29' Junior Quitirna 70' Sean Guerins 90+4' (o.g.)	Stadium: Markets Field Referee: Damien MacGraith

26 October 2022	Longford Town	2–2	Galway United	Longford
19:45 IST	Jordan Adeyemo 28' Jordan Adeyemo 54'	Report	Mikie Rowe 49' Mikie Rowe 61'	Stadium: Bishopsgate Referee: Kevin O'Sullivan

Second leg

29 October 2022	Waterford	3–3	Treaty United	Waterford
19:45 IST	Timi Sobowale 22' Wassim Aouachria 48' (pen.) Phoenix Patterson 54'	Report	Mark Ludden 9' (pen.) Mark Ludden 26' Lee Molloy 29'	Stadium: RSC Attendance: 2,585 Referee: Paul Norton

30 October 2022	Galway United	3–0	Longford Town	Galway
16:00 IST	David Hurley 24' Mikie Rowe 90' Rob Manley 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Eamonn Deacy Park Referee: Damien McGraith

First Division play-off Final

4 November 2022	Galway United	0–3	Waterford	County Limerick
19:45 IST		Report	Junior Quitirna 9' Wassim Aouachria 45+1' Junior Quitirna 81'	Stadium: Markets Field Referee: Alan Patchell

Promotion/relegation play-off

11 November 2022	UCD	1–0	Waterford	County Dublin
19:45 IST	Tommy Lonergan 15'	Report		Stadium: Richmond Park Attendance: 2781 Referee: Rob Harvey

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month		Ref.
Month	Player	Club	Ref.
February	Steven Bradley	Dundalk	^[13]
March	Aidan Keena	Sligo Rovers	^[14]
April	Jamie McGonigle	Derry City	^[15]
May	Daniel Kelly	Dundalk	^[16]
June	Mark Connolly	Dundalk	^[17]
July	Aidan Keena	Sligo Rovers	^[18]
August	Andy Lyons	Shamrock Rovers	^[19]
September	Phoenix Patterson	Waterford	^[20]
October	Rory Gaffney	Shamrock Rovers	^[21]
November	Cameron McJannet	Derry City	^[22]

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
PFAI Player of the Year	Rory Gaffney	Shamrock Rovers
PFAI Young Player of the Year	Andy Lyons	Shamrock Rovers
PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year	Stephen Bradley	Shamrock Rovers

PFAI Team of the Year
Goalkeeper	Brian Maher (Derry City)
Defenders	Cameron Dummigan (Derry City)	Mark Connolly (Derry City)	Joe Redmond (St Patrick's Athletic)		Andy Lyons (Shamrock Rovers)
Midfielders	Will Patching (Derry City)	Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers)		Chris Forrester (St Patrick's Athletic)
Forwards	Aidan Keena (Sligo Rovers)	Rory Gaffney (Shamrock Rovers)		Sean Boyd (Shelbourne)

References

^ "Rory Gaffney's winner ensures Shamrock Rovers enjoy the party that little bit more in Tallaght". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ "League of Ireland enjoys huge increase in crowds since last pre-Covid season". the42. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^ "Preview: Rovers remain team to beat in 2022 title race". RTE Sport. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
^ "Shamrock Rovers complete league three-in-a-row after Derry City play out draw with Sligo". The 42. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
^ "Shamrock Rovers win 20th LOI Premier Division title after Derry City draw with Sligo". Irish Independent. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
^ "A guide to the 2022 League of Ireland Season". Extra Time. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^ Fenton, James (2 October 2021). "Shelbourne seal promotion back to Premier Division". Pundit Arena.
^ "UCD secure promotion and cap off a dismal week for Waterford". The Irish Times.
^ "Premier Division 2022". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
^ Lhttps://www.sseairtricityleague.ie/news/fai-statement/id-4432
^ "Summary - Premier Division - Republic of Ireland - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
^ "LOI Premier Division Clean Sheets". Final Whistle. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
^ Cooney, Gavin (10 March 2022). "Dundalk's Steven Bradley scoops Player of the Month prize". The42.
^ Team, The42 (31 March 2022). "Sligo Rovers striker Aidan Keena earns Player of the Month award". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Jamie McGonigle named Soccer Writers' Player of the Month for April!". 12 May 2022.
^ "Dundalk winger Kelly bags Player of Month award for May". RTÉ.ie. 16 June 2022.
^ "Dundalk defender Mark Connolly scoops Player of the Month award". 14 July 2022.
^ "TheJournal.ie - LOI's top goalscorer claims Player of the Month award for July". 18 August 2022.
^ "TheJournal.ie - Shamrock Rovers' Andy Lyons scoops Player of the Month award for August". 6 September 2022.
^ "Phoenix Patterson rises to win Player of the Month". 13 October 2022.
^ Whelan, James (9 November 2022). "Shamrock Rovers striker Rory Gaffney named Player of the Month for October". Irish Examiner.
^ Team, The42 (7 December 2022). "Cameron McJannet named November player of the month after FAI Cup win". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

[Highest_attendance_2022-1] "Rory Gaffney's winner ensures Shamrock Rovers enjoy the party that little bit more in Tallaght". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[2022_Attendance-2] "League of Ireland enjoys huge increase in crowds since last pre-Covid season". the42. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.

[3] "Preview: Rovers remain team to beat in 2022 title race". RTE Sport. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

[4] "Shamrock Rovers complete league three-in-a-row after Derry City play out draw with Sligo". The 42. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.

[5] "Shamrock Rovers win 20th LOI Premier Division title after Derry City draw with Sligo". Irish Independent. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.

[6] "A guide to the 2022 League of Ireland Season". Extra Time. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.

[7] Fenton, James (2 October 2021). "Shelbourne seal promotion back to Premier Division". Pundit Arena.

[8] "UCD secure promotion and cap off a dismal week for Waterford". The Irish Times.

[9] "Premier Division 2022". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

[10] Lhttps://www.sseairtricityleague.ie/news/fai-statement/id-4432

[11] "Summary - Premier Division - Republic of Ireland - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.

[12] "LOI Premier Division Clean Sheets". Final Whistle. Retrieved 21 April 2022.

[13] Cooney, Gavin (10 March 2022). "Dundalk's Steven Bradley scoops Player of the Month prize". The42.

[14] Team, The42 (31 March 2022). "Sligo Rovers striker Aidan Keena earns Player of the Month award". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[15] "Jamie McGonigle named Soccer Writers' Player of the Month for April!". 12 May 2022.

[16] "Dundalk winger Kelly bags Player of Month award for May". RTÉ.ie. 16 June 2022.

[17] "Dundalk defender Mark Connolly scoops Player of the Month award". 14 July 2022.

[18] "TheJournal.ie - LOI's top goalscorer claims Player of the Month award for July". 18 August 2022.

[19] "TheJournal.ie - Shamrock Rovers' Andy Lyons scoops Player of the Month award for August". 6 September 2022.

[20] "Phoenix Patterson rises to win Player of the Month". 13 October 2022.

[21] Whelan, James (9 November 2022). "Shamrock Rovers striker Rory Gaffney named Player of the Month for October". Irish Examiner.

[22] Team, The42 (7 December 2022). "Cameron McJannet named November player of the month after FAI Cup win". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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