2021 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2021 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 37th 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 sixth league title the previous season. Shamrock Rovers went on to retain the title.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports in the Republic of Ireland, the FAI met with the National League Executive Committee on 2 January 2021 and a decision was reached to move the start date for the Premier Division until at least 19 March 2021.

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 are Drogheda United and Longford Town, after respective top flight absences of four and five years. They replaced Cork City (relegated after nine years in the top flight), and Shelbourne (relegated via play-off after only a year back in the top flight).

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity Bohemians Dublin 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 Longford Town Longford Bishopsgate 5,097 St Patrick's Athletic Dublin Richmond Park 5,340 Shamrock Rovers Dublin Tallaght Stadium 8,000 Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds 3,873 Waterford Waterford Regional Sports Centre 5,500

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 sponsorBohemians Keith Long Keith BuckleyO'Neills Des Kelly InteriorsDerry City Ruaidhrí Higgins Eoin ToalAdidasDiamond CorrugatedDrogheda United Tim Clancy Jake HylandUmbroScotch Hall Shopping CenterDundalk Vinny Perth Brian GartlandUmbroBet RegalFinn Harps Ollie Horgan David WebsterJoma Guild EsportsLongford Town John Martin Dean ZambraMacron BishopsgateSt Patrick's Athletic Stephen O'Donnell Ian BerminghamUmbroMIG Insurance BrokersShamrock Rovers Stephen Bradley Ronan FinnUmbro888sportSligo Rovers Liam Buckley David CawleyJomaAvant MoneyWaterford Marc Bircham Oscar BrennanUmbroWIT Arena

Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner ofdepartureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment Dundalk Filippo Giovagnoli Change of role 10 March 2021 Pre-season Shane Keegan 10 March 2021 Dundalk Shane Keegan Resigned 19 April 2021 9th Jim Magilton (interim) 19 April 2021 Derry City Declan Devine Sacked 22 April 2021 10th Ruaidhrí Higgins 23 April 2021 Waterford Kevin Sheedy Resigned 5 May 2021 10th Mike Geoghegan (interim) 5 May 2021 Waterford Mike Geoghegan (interim) End of interim spell 12 May 2021 10th Marc Bircham 12 May 2021 Dundalk Jim Magilton (interim) End of interim spell 16 June 2021 8th Vinny Perth 16 June 2021 Longford Town Daire Doyle Sacked 2 November 2021 10th John Martin (interim) 2 November 2021 Waterford Marc Bircham Sacked 23 November 2021 9th Ian Hendon 24 November 2021

League table Standings

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.

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

Matches 1–18

*Note Sligo Rovers were awarded a 3–0 victory by the FAI after Waterford opted out of playing the game due to COVID-19 cases in their squad.

Matches 19–36

Season statistics Top scorers Last updated after fixtures on 19 November 2021. RankPlayerClubGoals1 Georgie KellyBohemians212 Danny MandroiuShamrock Rovers153 Mark DoyleDrogheda United134 Patrick HobanDundalk125 Matty SmithSt Patrick's Athletic11 Johnny KennySligo Rovers Graham BurkeShamrock Rovers8 John MartinWaterford10 Tunde OwolabiFinn Harps10 Chris LyonsDrogheda United9 Liam BurtBohemians

Clean sheets Last updated after fixtures on 19 November 2021. RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Alan MannusShamrock Rovers132 Ed McGintySligo Rovers123 Vítězslav JarošSt Patrick's Athletic114 Nathan GartsideDerry City95 James TalbotBohemians86 David OdumosuDrogheda United77 Mark McGinleyFinn Harps68 Peter CherrieDundalk59 Brian MurphyWaterford3 Alessio AbibiDundalk

Play-offs First Division play-off Semi-finals First leg

Second leg

First Division play-off Final

Promotion/relegation play-off

Awards Monthly awards MonthPlayer of the MonthRef.PlayerClubMarch/April Chris ForresterSt Patrick's AthleticMay Greg BolgerSligo RoversJune Georgie KellyBohemiansJuly Dawson DevoyBohemiansAugust Ali CooteBohemiansSeptember Georgie KellyBohemiansOctober Danny MandroiuShamrock RoversNovember Colm WhelanUCD

Annual awards Award Winner ClubPFAI Player of the Year Georgie KellyBohemiansPFAI Young Player of the Year Dawson DevoyBohemiansPFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year Stephen BradleyShamrock Rovers PFAI Team of the YearGoalkeeper James Talbot (Bohemians)Defenders Ronan Boyce (Derry City) Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers) Liam Scales (Shamrock Rovers) James Brown (Drogheda United)Midfielders Chris Forrester (St Patrick's Athletic) Dawson Devoy (Bohemians) Will Patching (Derry City/Dundalk)Forwards Rory Gaffney (Shamrock Rovers) Georgie Kelly (Bohemians) Liam Burt (Bohemians)

2021 League of Ireland Premier Division

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