# 2016 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2016 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 32nd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 4 March 2016 and concluded on 28 October 2016; the relegation play-offs followed on 31 October and 4 November 2016. The prize fund for the SSE Airtricity League Premier and First Divisions was €475,500 for the 2016 season.
Dundalk successfully defended its title for the third consecutive season on 23 October after a 2–1 win against Bohemians.

## Overview

The Premier Division consisted of 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, a total of 33 matches in the season.
Wexford Youths, the 2015 First Division champion, entered the top level for the first time in their history. Finn Harps were promoted after winning the promotion/relegation playoffs.
The 12 clubs competed for €371,500 in prize money ranging from €110,000 for the winners to €17,000 for the team finishing bottom of the table.

## Teams

| Team | Home city/suburb | Stadium |
| Bohemians | Phibsborough, Dublin | Dalymount Park |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds |
| Cork City | Cork | Turner's Cross |
| Derry City | Derry | Brandywell Stadium |
| Dundalk | Dundalk | Oriel Park |
| Finn Harps | Ballybofey | Finn Park |
| Galway United | Galway | Eamonn Deacy Park |
| Longford Town | Longford | City Calling Stadium |
| Shamrock Rovers | Tallaght, Dublin | Tallaght Stadium |
| Sligo Rovers | Sligo | The Showgrounds |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Inchicore, Dublin | Richmond Park |
| Wexford Youths | Crossabeg | Ferrycarrig Park |

### 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 | Keith Long | Derek Pender | Hummel | Mr Green |
| Bray Wanderers | Harry Kenny | Conor Kenna | Nike | Sonas Bathrooms |
| Cork City | John Caulfield | John Dunleavy | Nike | Clonakilty Sausages |
| Derry City | Kenny Shiels | Ryan McBride | Hummel | Diamond Corrugated |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | CX+ Sport | Fyffes |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | Kevin McHugh | Legea | McGettigan Group |
| Galway United | Tommy Dunne | Ryan Connolly | Uhlsport | Comer Property Management |
| Longford Town | Tony Cousins | Mark Salmon | Macron | City Calling |
| Shamrock Rovers | Pat Fenlon | Conor Kenna | New Balance | Pepper |
| Sligo Rovers | Dave Robertson | Gavin Peers | Joma | Volkswagen |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Ger O'Brien | Umbro | Clune Construction Company L.P. |
| Wexford Youths | Shane Keegan | Graham Doyle | Bodibro | SBOBET |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dundalk (C) | 33 | 25 | 2 | 6 | 73 | 28 | +45 | 77 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Cork City | 33 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 65 | 23 | +42 | 70 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Derry City | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 62 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 55 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 35 | +7 | 49 | |
| 6 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 46 | |
| 7 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 45 | |
| 8 | Bohemians | 33 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 41 | |
| 9 | Galway United | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 38 | |
| 10 | Finn Harps | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 23 | 49 | −26 | 32 | |
| 11 | Wexford Youths (R) | 33 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 23 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Longford Town (R) | 33 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 25 | 71 | −46 | 14 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
* ↑ Cork City qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2016 FAI Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.

## Results
### Matches 1–22

Teams played each other twice (once at home, once away).
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | GAL | LON | SHM | SLI | StP | WEX |
| Bohemians | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 |
| Bray Wanderers | 0–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Cork City | 2–0 | 4–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Finn Harps | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–7 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Galway United | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–2 |
| Longford Town | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–0 |
| Wexford Youths | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | — |
* ↑ Match abandoned due to floodlight failure. League Director ruled that the score would stand.

### Matches 23–33

Teams played each other once.
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DUN | FHA | GAL | LON | SHM | SLI | StP | WEX |
| Bohemians | — | — | — | — | 1–2 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | — |
| Cork City | 0–0 | — | — | — | — | 2–0 | — | 5–2 | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | 5–0 |
| Derry City | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — |
| Dundalk | — | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | — | — | 0–3 | — | — |
| Finn Harps | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–5 | — | — | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | — |
| Galway United | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–5 | — | — | 3–2 | — | 0–0 | — | — | — | — |
| Longford Town | — | 0–2 | — | 2–3 | 0–3 | — | — | — | 2–4 | — | 0–1 | — |
| Shamrock Rovers | — | 0–0 | — | — | 0–3 | — | 4–2 | — | — | — | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | — | — | 0–0 | — | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | — | 5–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | — | — | 0–2 | 5–2 | — | 1–0 | — | — | 0–0 | — | 4–1 |
| Wexford Youths | — | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 2–0 | — | — | — | — |

## Promotion/relegation playoffs

Wexford Youths, the eleventh-placed team from the Premier Division took part in a two-legged play-off against Drogheda United, the winners of the 2016 First Division play-off, to decide who will play in the 2017 Premier Division.

### Second leg

Drogheda United are promoted to the 2017 Premier Division; Wexford Youths are relegated to the 2017 First Division.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sean Maguire | Cork City | 18 |
| 2 | Rory Patterson | Derry City | 17 |
| 3 | David McMillan | Dundalk | 16 |
| 4 | Vincent Faherty | Galway United | 12 |
| 5 | Conan Byrne | St Patrick's Athletic | 11 |
| 6 | Raffaele Cretaro | Sligo Rovers | 10 |
| 6 | Kurtis Byrne | Bohemians | 10 |
| 6 | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic | 10 |
| 6 | Gary McCabe | Shamrock Rovers | 10 |
| 10 | Daryl Horgan | Dundalk | 9 |