# 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 (Phibsborough) | 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 (Inchicore) | Richmond Park | 5,340 |
| Shamrock Rovers | Dublin (Tallaght) | 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 sponsor |
| Bohemians | Keith Long | Keith Buckley | O'Neills | Des Kelly Interiors |
| Derry City | Ruaidhrí Higgins | Eoin Toal | Adidas | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Tim Clancy | Jake Hyland | Umbro | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Dundalk | Vinny Perth | Brian Gartland | Umbro | Bet Regal |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | David Webster | Joma | Guild Esports |
| Longford Town | John Martin | Dean Zambra | Macron | Bishopsgate |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Stephen O'Donnell | Ian Bermingham | Umbro | MIG Insurance Brokers |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Bradley | Ronan Finn | Umbro | 888sport |
| Sligo Rovers | Liam Buckley | David Cawley | Joma | Avant Money |
| Waterford | Marc Bircham | Oscar Brennan | Umbro | WIT Arena |

#### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date 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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers (C) | 36 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 59 | 28 | +31 | 78 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | St Patrick's Athletic | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 42 | +14 | 62 | Qualification for Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Sligo Rovers | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 57 | Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Derry City | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 54 | Qualification for Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Bohemians | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 52 | |
| 6 | Dundalk | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 46 | −2 | 48 | |
| 7 | Drogheda United | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 45 | 43 | +2 | 44 | |
| 8 | Finn Harps | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 44 | 52 | −8 | 44 | |
| 9 | Waterford (R) | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 42 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 10 | Longford Town (R) | 36 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 22 | 71 | −49 | 15 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
* ↑ Since the winners of the 2021 FAI Cup (St Patrick's Athletic) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team, i.e. fourth-placed team.

### 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.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| Bohemians | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Derry City | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Drogheda United | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Dundalk | 4 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Finn Harps | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Longford Town | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sligo Rovers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Waterford | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

## Results

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

### Matches 1–18

| Home \ Away | BOH | DER | DRO | DUN | FHA | LON | SHM | SLI | STP | WAT |
| Bohemians | — | 1–2 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| Derry City | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Drogheda United | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Finn Harps | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Longford Town | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–0* |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Waterford | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–7 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
*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

| Home \ Away | BOH | DER | DRO | DUN | FHA | LON | SHM | SLI | STP | WAT |
| Bohemians | — | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| Derry City | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Drogheda United | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Dundalk | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 |
| Finn Harps | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Longford Town | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — | 2–1 |
| Waterford | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

Last updated after fixtures on 19 November 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Georgie Kelly | Bohemians | 21 |
| 2 | Danny Mandroiu | Shamrock Rovers | 15 |
| 3 | Mark Doyle | Drogheda United | 13 |
| 4 | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 12 |
| 5 | Matty Smith | St Patrick's Athletic | 11 |
| 5 | Johnny Kenny | Sligo Rovers | 11 |
| 5 | Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | 11 |
| 8 | John Martin | Waterford | 10 |
| 8 | Tunde Owolabi | Finn Harps | 10 |
| 10 | Chris Lyons | Drogheda United | 9 |
| 10 | Liam Burt | Bohemians | 9 |

### Clean sheets

Last updated after fixtures on 19 November 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Alan Mannus | Shamrock Rovers | 13 |
| 2 | Ed McGinty | Sligo Rovers | 12 |
| 3 | Vítězslav Jaroš | St Patrick's Athletic | 11 |
| 4 | Nathan Gartside | Derry City | 9 |
| 5 | James Talbot | Bohemians | 8 |
| 6 | David Odumosu | Drogheda United | 7 |
| 7 | Mark McGinley | Finn Harps | 6 |
| 8 | Peter Cherrie | Dundalk | 5 |
| 9 | Brian Murphy | Waterford | 3 |
| 9 | Alessio Abibi | Dundalk | 3 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Ref. |
| Month | Player | Club | Ref. |
| March/April | Chris Forrester | St Patrick's Athletic | |
| May | Greg Bolger | Sligo Rovers | |
| June | Georgie Kelly | Bohemians | |
| July | Dawson Devoy | Bohemians | |
| August | Ali Coote | Bohemians | |
| September | Georgie Kelly | Bohemians | |
| October | Danny Mandroiu | Shamrock Rovers | |
| November | Colm Whelan | UCD | |

### Annual awards

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