# 2003 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2003 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 19th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Shelbourne were champions.

## Regular season

The 2003 season would see the League of Ireland Premier Division change from a winter league to a summer league. Each team played four rounds of games, totalling 36 games each.

### Final table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Shelbourne (C) | 36 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 69 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Bohemians | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 64 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Cork City | 36 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 53 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round |
| 4 | Longford Town | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 48 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 5 | St Patrick's Athletic | 36 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 46 | |
| 6 | Waterford United | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 44 | 58 | −14 | 45 | |
| 7 | Shamrock Rovers | 36 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 44 | |
| 8 | Drogheda United | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 37 | |
| 9 | Derry City (O) | 36 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 36 | Qualification to Relegation play-off |
| 10 | UCD (R) | 36 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 34 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
* ↑ Longford Town qualified for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round after winning the 2003 FAI Cup.

### Results
#### Matches 1–18

| Home \ Away | BOH | COR | DER | DRO | LON | SHM | SHE | StP | UCD | WAT |
| Bohemians | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Cork City | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Derry City | 3–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| Drogheda United | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Longford Town | 1–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Shelbourne | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| UCD | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Waterford United | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 1–1 | — |

#### Matches 19–36

| Home \ Away | BOH | COR | DER | DRO | LON | SHM | SHE | StP | UCD | WAT |
| Bohemians | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Cork City | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Derry City | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Drogheda United | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–5 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Longford Town | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Shelbourne | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| UCD | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 |
| Waterford United | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — |

### Top scorers

| Player | Club | Goals |
| Jason Byrne | Shelbourne | 21 |
| Glen Crowe | Bohemians | 19 |
| John O'Flynn | Cork City | 14 |
| Andrew Myler | Drogheda United | 14 |
| Tony Bird | St Patrick's Athletic | 14 |
Source:

## Promotion/relegation play-off

Four teams entered the promotion/relegation play-off. The second, third and fourth placed teams from the 2003 League of Ireland First Division were joined by the ninth placed team from the Premier Division.

### Semi-final
#### 2nd Legs

Derry City win 4–0 on aggregate
Finn Harps win 3–1 on aggregate

### Final

Derry City win 2–1 on aggregate and retain their place in the Premier Division.

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | Cork City | 4,147 |
| 2 | St. Patrick's Athletic | 2,971 |
| 3 | Bohemians | 2,741 |
| 4 | Shelbourne | 2,573 |
| 5 | Waterford United | 2,467 |
| 6 | Derry City | 2,265 |
| 7 | Shamrock Rovers | 2,038 |
| 8 | Drogheda United | 2,038 |
| 9 | Longford Town | 1,586 |
| 10 | UCD AFC | 783 |