The League of Ireland U19 Division is the under-19 division of the League of Ireland. The current division is the successor of earlier U21 and U20 divisions. Like the Premier Division and First Division, the U19 Division is currently sponsored by Airtricity and as a result it is also known as the SSE Airtricity U19 League. The earlier U21 and U20 divisions were sponsored by Eircom and as a result were referred to as the Eircom U21 League or the Eircom U20 League. The division is also sometimes referred to as the Dr Tony O'Neill League because the winners are awarded the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup. In 2016 Cork City became the first team to represent the division in the UEFA Youth League.
History
Eircom U21 League The inaugural season of the U21 division took place in 2000–01 and St Patrick's Athletic finished as the first champions. In 2001–02 Waterford United won the title before Cork City won their first title in 2002–03. City then retained the title in 2003–04. UCD subsequently won three of four remaining titles during the U21 era. As well as featuring the youth teams of contemporary League of Ireland clubs, the division also featured the representative teams of junior leagues such as the Kerry District League, the Mayo Association Football League and the Sligo/Leitrim League. In 2004 Sligo/Leitrim reached the final of the Enda McGuill Cup. In addition to featuring UCD, the division also featured three other university teams – NUI Galway, the University of Limerick and Dublin University. The division was also used by the League of Ireland as an avenue for future members of its senior divisions. Both Salthill Devon and Mervue United began their League of Ireland careers in the U21 division. In 2003 Mervue United were Enda McGuill Cup finalists and in 2006 Salthill Devon became the first club to win the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup without having a team in the senior divisions. Letterkenny Rovers entered a team in 2006. In addition to competing for the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup and the Enda McGuill Cup, teams in the U21 division also played in several other competitions including pre-season tournaments in 2006 and 2007 and a futsal league in 2007 which was won by Shamrock Rovers. This latter competition evolved into the FAI Futsal Cup.
Eircom U20 League In 2008, as part of a restructuring of the League of Ireland that also saw the introduction of the A Championship, the U21 division was relaunched as a U20 division. The new division featured the youth teams of the 22 clubs in the Premier Division and First Division plus four other teams – F.C. Carlow, Kilkenny City, Salthill Devon and Mervue United. Cork City were the first U20 champions in 2008–09 followed by UCD in 2009. In 2010 Andrew Myler guided Shamrock Rovers to their first title.
Airtricity U19 League The Under-19 version of the competition began in 2011. At the start of the U19 era Cork City established themselves as the dominant team, winning the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup four seasons out of five and winning the Enda McGuill Cup on three occasions. In 2016 Cork City also became the first team to represent the division in the UEFA Youth League. EA Sports reached a sponsorship agreement to become title sponsor for all of the National Underage Leagues in 2021, including the Under-19 league. In 2022, a rule change saw the introduction of overage players to the league.
Return to U20 league In 2024, the league returned to an Under-20 competition when the League of Ireland (LOI) introduced the EA Sports LOI Academy MU20 League to replace the existing MU19 league.
Format During the U21 and U20 eras teams playing in the division were divided into four regionalised groups, more or less corresponding to North and South Leinster, Munster and Connacht/Ulster. The top two teams from each group then qualified for the quarter-finals and the remainder of the competition was decided on a knock-out basis. Between 2011–12 and 2013–14 teams playing in the division were divided into the three groups. One of these groups, the Elite Division, was a national division. The remaining teams were divided into Southern and Northern divisions. During these three seasons the winners of the Elite Division were awarded the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup. The 2014–15 season saw the introduction of two regional divisions known as the Northern Elite Division and the Southern Elite Division and a play-off system was again used to decide the overall champions. The 2015 season featured three regional groups simply numbered one to three. The 2016 season saw the return of the Northern Elite Division and the Southern Elite Division format.
Teams
Northern Elite Division
Team Location Stadium Athlone Town U19 Athlone Lissywollen Bohemians U19 Phibsborough IT Blanchardstown Derry City U19 Derry Brandywell Stadium Drogheda United U19 Drogheda United Park Dundalk U19 Dundalk Oriel Park Finn Harps U19 Ballybofey Killygordon Longford Town U19 Longford Strokestown Road Monaghan United Cavan Football Partnership U19 Monaghan Gortakeegan Shelbourne U19 Drumcondra, Dublin AUL Complex Sligo Rovers U19 Sligo The Showgrounds St Patrick's Athletic U19 Inchicore IT Blanchardstown
Southern Elite Division Team Hometown/Suburb Ground Bray Wanderers U19 Bray Carlisle Grounds Cabinteely U19 Cabinteely AUL Complex Cobh Ramblers U19 Cobh St. Colman's Park Cork City U19 Cork Bishopstown Stadium Galway United U19 Galway Eamonn Deacy Park Limerick U19 Limerick Jackman Park Kerry U19 Tralee Mounthawk Park Shamrock Rovers U19 Tallaght Tallaght Stadium Wexford Youths U19Crossabeg Ferrycarrig Park Waterford United U19WaterfordWaterford RSC UCD U19Belfield, DublinUCD Bowl
Dr Tony O'Neill Cup The main league championship trophy is named after Dr Tony O'Neill, the former general manager of University College Dublin A.F.C. O'Neill was a founding member of the Irish Universities Football Union, a former general secretary of the FAI and a member of various UEFA committees. He also served as Director of Sport at UCD and was credited with revitalising sport at the university following the introduction of a scholarship scheme. This competition should not be confused with the other Dr Tony O'Neill Cup, a national competition organised by the FAI for schools teams.
Season Winner Score Runners-up Venue2000–01 St Patrick's Athletic U21 1–0Longford Town U21 2001–02 Waterford United U212–2 Athlone Town U21 2002–03Cork City U212–1 Bohemians U21 2003 Cork City U212–1St Patrick's Athletic U21 2004 UCD U21 3–2 Cork City U21 2005 UCD U21 2–1Shelbourne U21 2005–06 Salthill Devon U212–1 Cork City U21 2007 UCD U21 0–0 St Patrick's Athletic U21 Belfield Park 2008–09 Cork City U20 1–0 Bohemians U20 O’Shea Park, Blarney 2009 UCD U20 5–3 Salthill Devon U20 UCD Bowl 2010 Shamrock Rovers U20 1–1 Bohemians U20 Tallaght Stadium2011–12 Cork City U19 Shamrock Rovers U19 n/a2012–13Cork City U19 Shelbourne U19 n/a2013–14 Cork City U19 Shamrock Rovers U19 n/a2014–15 St Patrick's Athletic U19 3–2 Derry City U19 Maginn Park, Buncrana
Notes
Enda McGuill Cup The Enda McGuill Memorial Cup is the division's league cup. It is named after Enda McGuill, a former chairman of Dundalk F.C. and a former president of the League of Ireland.
Season Winner Score Runners-up Venue2001–02 Waterford United U21 0–0 Shelbourne U21 2002–03 Longford Town U21 4–2Mervue United U21 2003 Shelbourne U214–3St Patrick's Athletic U21 2004 Cork City U21 3–0Sligo/Leitrim League 2005Bray Wanderers U21 1–1 St Patrick's Athletic U21 2006 Cork City U21 1–0Kildare County U21 2007Derry City U21 1–0Bray Wanderers U21 2011–12 Cork City U193–2Dundalk U19Oriel Park2012–13Cork City U193–1 Shelbourne U19Turners Cross2013–14 Cobh Ramblers U193–2Drogheda United U19St Colman's Park 2014–15 UCD U193–2Derry City U19UCD Bowl 2016Cork City U192–0St Patrick's Athletic U19Turners Cross2017Dundalk U192-1 a.e.t.UCD U19Richmond Park2018Bohemians U192-1St Patrick's Athletic U19UCD Bowl2019Shamrock Rovers U194–1Bohemians U19Dalymount Park2020Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland2021 Derry City U191–1 a.e.t. Bohemians U19Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium2022Bohemians U191–0 St Patrick's Athletic U19Dalymount Park2023Shamrock Rovers U19s2-1Galway United U19sEamonn Deacy Park2024UCD U20s2-1 a.e.t.Sligo Rovers U20sUCD Bowl2025Shelbourne U20s2-0UCD U20sCarlisle Grounds
Notes
League of Ireland U19 Champions Year Winner Runner up Result Venue 2015 Cork City Limerick 2-1 Markets Field 2016 UCD Galway United 4-1 UCD Bowl 2017 Bohemians St Patrick's Athletic 1-0 Dalymount Park 2018 Bohemians Shamrock Rovers 1-0 Tallaght Stadium 2019 Waterford Galway United 3–1 Eamonn Deacy Park 2020 St Patrick's Athletic Bohemians 2–1 (a.e.t.) UCD Bowl2021Shamrock RoversSligo Rovers2-1Tallaght Stadium
Player of the season Year Winner Team2017John MartinWaterford 2018 Andy Lyons Bohemians2023Cian CurtisShamrock Rovers2024Bridel BosakaniDrogheda United
Selected former teams The vast majority of teams that have competed in the division have been the youth teams of League of Ireland clubs. The following clubs and representative teams have also competed without ever having entered a team in either the Premier Division or the First Division.
Team Hometown/Suburb Years F.C. Carlow County Carlow 2008, 2011–12 Castlebar Celtic Castlebar 2007 Dublin University Trinity College Dublin Fanad United Fanad 2011–13 Garda 2002–NUI Galway NUI Galway Letterkenny Rovers Letterkenny 2006–07, 2012–15 University of Limerick Limerick 2003– Mayo Association Football League Mullingar Athletic Mullingar 2002– Sligo/Leitrim League –2005Tralee Dynamos Tralee
References
External links LOI Men's Under-20 League at Final Whistle League of Ireland U19 Division on Facebook