1951–52 League of Ireland

The 1951–52 League of Ireland was the 31st season of senior football in the Republic of Ireland.

League of Ireland

Season	1951–52
Champions	St Patrick's Athletic (1st title)
Matches played	132
Goals scored	521 (3.95 per match)
Top goalscorer	Shay Gibbons (26 goals)
Biggest home win	Dundalk 6–0 Limerick Shamrock Rovers 6–0 Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers 6–0 Limerick
Biggest away win	Bohemians 1–5 St Patrick's Athletic
Highest scoring	Shelbourne 4–4 Drumcondra Shelbourne 6–2 Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers 4–4 Shelbourne Waterford 2–6 Transport
← 1950–51 1952–53 →

Cork Athletic were the two-time defending champions.

Changes from 1950–51

Two new teams were elected to the League: Evergreen United and St Patrick's Athletic.

Teams

Dublin

Bray

Cork

Dundalk

Sligo

Limerick

Waterford

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Locations of the 1951–52 League of Ireland teams

Team	Location	Stadium
Bohemians	Dublin (Phibsborough)	Dalymount Park
Cork Athletic	Cork (Mardyke)	Mardyke
Drumcondra	Dublin (Clonturk)	Clonturk Park
Dundalk	Dundalk	Oriel Park
Evergreen United	Cork (Turners Cross)	Turners Cross
Limerick	Limerick	Markets Field
Shamrock Rovers	Dublin (Milltown)	Glenmalure Park
Shelbourne	Dublin (Ringsend)	Shelbourne Park
Sligo Rovers	Sligo	The Showgrounds
St Patrick's Athletic	Dublin (Inchicore)	Richmond Park
Transport	Bray	Carlisle Grounds
Waterford	Waterford	Kilcohan Park

Season overview

St Patrick's Athletic won their first title.

Final classification

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	St Patrick's Athletic	22	16	2	4	59	34	+25	34
2	Shelbourne	22	13	5	4	59	44	+15	31
3	Shamrock Rovers	22	12	5	5	43	18	+25	29
4	Sligo Rovers	22	13	3	6	49	46	+3	29
5	Evergreen United	22	11	2	9	44	42	+2	24
6	Drumcondra	22	9	5	8	47	33	+14	23
7	Bohemians	22	8	3	11	37	41	−4	19
8	Waterford	22	8	3	11	47	54	−7	19
9	Transport	22	7	3	12	43	50	−7	17
10	Cork Athletic	22	6	3	13	36	44	−8	15
11	Dundalk	22	4	7	11	37	50	−13	15
12	Limerick	22	2	5	15	20	65	−45	9

Source: RSSSF, foot.dk

Results

Home \ Away	BOH	CAT	DRU	DUN	EVE	LIM	SHM	SHE	SLI	STP	TRA	WAT
Bohemians	—	4–1	3–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–4	3–2	1–2	1–5	3–0	1–4
Cork Athletic	2–2	—	1–0	2–2	1–3	5–0	2–1	3–4	1–4	0–1	2–2	3–1
Drumcondra	0–0	0–2	—	3–2	4–1	4–0	1–0	6–1	3–1	1–3	5–0	2–3
Dundalk	1–1	2–5	2–1	—	2–1	6–0	0–2	0–3	1–1	1–1	3–3	4–0
Evergreen United	1–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	—	1–1	0–3	1–2	5–0	1–1	4–2	4–3
Limerick	0–3	3–0	0–0	3–3	2–5	—	0–3	1–1	1–2	2–3	1–1	3–1
Shamrock Rovers	1–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	—	3–2	6–0	3–1	0–1	1–2
Shelbourne	2–1	3–2	4–4	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	—	6–2	3–1	5–2	1–1
Sligo Rovers	3–0	1–0	2–1	4–2	3–1	6–0	1–1	4–4	—	2–1	2–1	3–2
St Patrick's Athletic	3–2	1–0	1–2	5–2	5–1	4–2	1–0	6–1	3–1	—	4–3	3–2
Transport	2–1	2–1	1–3	3–0	0–1	5–1	0–3	1–2	2–3	1–2	—	5–2
Waterford	4–2	3–2	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	4–2	3–4	2–6	—

Source: extratime.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Shay Gibbons	St Patrick's Athletic	26
2	Rory Dwyer	Shelbourne	22
3	Dessie Glynn	Drumcondra	20
4	Billy Burns	Shamrock Rovers	15
	Seán McCarthy	Evergreen United
6	Jack Fitzgerald	Waterford	14
7	Joey Dunne	Bohemians	12
8	Liam Coll	Sligo Rovers	11
	Bernie Lester	Transport
10	Johnny Armstrong	Sligo Rovers	10
	Jimmy Nelson	Waterford
	Johnny Vaughan	Cork Athletic