# 2012 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2012 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 28th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. Sligo Rovers were champions, winning their first top league title since 1976–77. Drogheda United finished as runners-up.

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

| 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 |
| Monaghan United | Monaghan | Kingspan Century Park |
| Shamrock Rovers | Tallaght | Tallaght Stadium |
| Shelbourne | Drumcondra | Tolka Park |
| Sligo Rovers | Sligo | The Showgrounds |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | Inchicore | Richmond Park |
| UCD | Belfield | UCD Bowl |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Bohemians | Aaron Callaghan | Owen Heary | Macron | DHL |
| Bray Wanderers | Pat Devlin | Danny O'Connor | Adidas | Sinnot Autos Volkswagen |
| Cork City | Tommy Dunne | Dan Murray | Umbro | Clonakilty Blackpudding |
| Derry City | Declan Devine | Kevin Deery | Hummel | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Mick Cooke | Paul Crowley | Vandanel | Scotch Hall Shopping Centre |
| Dundalk | Darius Kierans | Chris Shields | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Monaghan United | Roddy Collins | Alan Byrne | Nike | None |
| Shamrock Rovers | Brian Laws | Ken Oman | Umbro | SEAT |
| Shelbourne | Alan Mathews | David Cassidy | Macron | Cab 2000 |
| Sligo Rovers | Ian Baraclough | Danny Ventre | Jako | Connolly's Volkswagen |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Conor Kenna | Umbro | Nissan Motors |
| UCD | Martin Russell | Michael Leahy | O'Neills | O'Neills Soccer |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Dundalk | Ian Foster | Contract Ended | 29 October 2011 | Pre-season | Sean McCaffrey | 23 December 2011 |
| Bohemians | Pat Fenlon | Signed by Hibernian | 25 November 2011 | Pre-season | Aaron Callaghan | 31 December 2011 |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | Pete Mahon | Contract Ended | 2 December 2011 | Pre-season | Liam Buckley | 2 December 2011 |
| Derry City | Stephen Kenny | Resigned | 24 December 2011 | Pre-season | Declan Devine | 6 January 2012 |
| Shamrock Rovers | Michael O'Neill | Signed by Northern Ireland | 24 December 2011 | Pre-season | Stephen Kenny | 27 December 2011 |
| Sligo Rovers | Paul Cook | Signed by Accrington Stanley | 13 February 2012 | Pre-season | Ian Baraclough | 27 February 2012 |
| Dundalk | Sean McCaffrey | Mutual Consent | 12 January 2012 | 10th | Stephen Kenny | N/A |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Kenny | Sacked | 11 September 2012 | 4th | Brian Laws | 17 September 2012 |
| Bray Wanderers | Keith Long | Mutual Consent | September 2012 | 9th | Pat Devlin | September 2012 |

## Overview

There was a mid-season break coinciding with the Republic of Ireland national football team's UEFA Euro 2012 finals campaign. On 18 June 2012, Monaghan United announced their withdrawal from the league. Their record was subsequently expunged. The Premier Division title was won by Sligo Rovers, their first title in thirty five years.

## Final table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sligo Rovers (C) | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 61 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Drogheda United | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 57 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | St Patrick's Athletic | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 55 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 52 | |
| 5 | Derry City | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 39 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Cork City | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 36 | |
| 7 | Bohemians | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 36 | |
| 8 | Shelbourne | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 35 | |
| 9 | UCD | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 31 | |
| 10 | Bray Wanderers | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 25 | |
| 11 | Dundalk (O) | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 63 | −40 | 20 | Qualification to Relegation play-off |
| 12 | Monaghan United (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew from league |
* ↑ Derry City qualified for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round after winning the 2012 FAI Cup Final.
* ↑ Monaghan United withdrew after 14 games. Their record was expunged.

## Results
### Matches 1–22

| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
| Bohemians | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 2–1 | — | 0–3 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 |
| Cork City | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Drogheda United | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 6–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Shelbourne | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 |
| UCD | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |

### Matches 23–33

| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
| Bohemians | — | — | 1–1 | — | 1–4 | — | — | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | — |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–4 | — | — | 0–0 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | — | — |
| Cork City | — | 2–0 | — | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | — | — |
| Derry City | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 4–0 | — | — | — | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Drogheda United | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | — |
| Dundalk | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 0–1 | — | — | 1–3 | — | 7–0 | — | 2–2 | — | — | 2–1 |
| Shelbourne | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | — |
| Sligo Rovers | 3–1 | — | — | 4–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | — | — | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | — | — | 5–0 |
| UCD | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | — |

## Promotion/relegation play-off

Dundalk, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division, played Waterford United, the winner of the First Division play-off. The winner of this play off would play in the 2013 Premier Division.
Dundalk win 4–2 on aggregate and retained their place in the Premier Division. Waterford United appealed the result of the playoff, claiming Michael Rafter was ineligible as Dundalk had incorrectly registered him when they signed him earlier that season. However the appeal was unsuccessful.

## Awards
### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Gary Twigg | Shamrock Rovers | 22 |
| 2 | Danny North | Sligo Rovers | 15 |
| 3 | Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers | 14 |

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| March | Gary Twigg | Shamrock Rovers |
| April | Christopher Forrester | St Patrick's Athletic |
| May | Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers |
| June | Danny North | Sligo Rovers |
| July | Chris Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic |
| August | Mark Quigley | Sligo Rovers |
| September | Jason McGuinness | Sligo Rovers |
| October | Gary Twigg | Shamrock Rovers |
| November | Rory Patterson | Derry City |