# 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 33rd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on Friday 24 February 2017 and concluded on 27 October 2017. Fixtures were announced on 9 December 2016.
On 17 October, Cork City won the title after a 0-0 draw at home to Derry City.

## Overview

The Premier Division consists of 12 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 33 matches in the season.
Limerick, the 2016 First Division champion and Drogheda United, winners of the promotion/relegation playoffs, were promoted to the league, both bouncing straight back after having been relegated the previous season.
On 22 December 2016, the Football Association of Ireland announced that the league would be restructured into two 10-team divisions from the 2018 season onwards, one of the recommendations made in the 2015 Conroy Report. This meant the cancellation of the promotion/relegation playoff and relegation at the end of the 2017 season of 3 teams, with only the champions of the First Division promoted in return.

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium |
| Bohemians | Phibsborough | Dalymount Park |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds |
| Cork City | Cork | Turners Cross |
| Derry City | Buncrana | Maginn Park |
| Drogheda United | Drogheda | United Park |
| Dundalk | Dundalk | Oriel Park |
| Finn Harps | Ballybofey | Finn Park |
| Galway United | Galway | Eamonn Deacy Park |
| Limerick | Limerick | Markets Field |
| Shamrock Rovers | Tallaght | Tallaght Stadium |
| Sligo Rovers | Sligo | The Showgrounds |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Inchicore | Richmond 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 | University College Cork |
| Derry City | Kenny Shiels | Gerard Doherty | Hummel | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Pete Mahon | Sean Thornton | CX+ Sport | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | CX+ Sport | Fyffes |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | Ciaran Coll | Joma | McGettigan Group |
| Galway United | Shane Keegan | Colm Horgan | Uhlsport | Comer Property Management |
| Limerick | Neil McDonald | Shane Duggan | Hummel | |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Bradley | Ronan Finn | New Balance | Pepper Asset Servicing |
| Sligo Rovers | Gerard Lyttle | Craig Roddan | Joma | Volkswagen |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Ian Bermingham | Umbro | Pieta House |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Limerick | Martin Russell | Mutual consent | 3 April 2017 | 8th | Neil McDonald | 18 May 2017 |
| Sligo Rovers | Dave Robertson | Mutual consent | 5 April 2017 | 11th | Gerard Lyttle | 21 April 2017 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Cork City (C) | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 67 | 23 | +44 | 76 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Dundalk | 33 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 72 | 24 | +48 | 69 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 54 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Derry City | 33 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 51 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Bohemians | 33 | 14 | 5 | 14 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 47 | |
| 6 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 52 | +3 | 46 | |
| 7 | Limerick | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 40 | |
| 8 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 39 | |
| 9 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 8 | 15 | 10 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 39 | |
| 10 | Galway United (R) | 33 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 35 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
| 11 | Finn Harps (R) | 33 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 35 | 67 | −32 | 30 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
| 12 | Drogheda United (R) | 33 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 22 | 65 | −43 | 22 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |

## Results
### Matches 1–22

Teams played each other twice (once at home, once away).
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | FHA | GAL | LIM | STP | SHM | SLI |
| Bohemians | — | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 |
| Cork City | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Derry City | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Drogheda United | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | — | 0–6 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Dundalk | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Finn Harps | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Galway United | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Limerick | 0–1 | 5–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–2 | 5–1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |

### Matches 23–33

Teams played each other once.
| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | FHA | GAL | LIM | STP | SHM | SLI |
| Bohemians | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–2 | — | — |
| Bray Wanderers | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | — |
| Cork City | — | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | — | — | — | 0–1 |
| Derry City | — | 0–5 | — | — | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | — |
| Drogheda United | 1–4 | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Dundalk | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | — | 3–0 | — | — | — | 3–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | — |
| Finn Harps | — | — | 0–1 | — | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | — | — | — | 1–2 |
| Galway United | — | — | — | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–4 | — | — | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Limerick | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | — | — | — | 0–0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | — | 3–1 | 4–2 | — | — | — | 4–0 | — | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | — |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 0–2 | — | — | 4–1 | — | 2–1 | — | — | 1–1 |
| Sligo Rovers | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | — |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sean Maguire | Cork City | 20 |
| 2 | David McMillan | Dundalk | 16 |
| 3 | Dinny Corcoran | Bohemians | 15 |
| 3 | Gary McCabe | Bray Wanderers | 15 |
| 5 | Rodrigo Tosi | Limerick City | 14 |
| 6 | Ronan Murray | Galway United | 13 |
| 7 | Aaron Greene | Bray Wanderers | 12 |
| 8 | Gary Shaw | Shamrock Rovers | 11 |
| 9 | Patrick McEleney | Dundalk | 10 |
| 9 | Barry McNamee | Derry City | 10 |
| 9 | Kurtis Byrne | Bohemians | 10 |