# 2018 League of Ireland First Division

The 2018 League of Ireland First Division season was the 34th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 23 February 2018 and concluded on 22 September 2018. Contrary to the previous editions, this tournament had 10 teams, which was the largest number since the 2011 season, and saw the return of the promotion/relegation playoffs.

## Overview

The First Division has 10 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 27 matches in the season.
On 22 December 2016, the FAI 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.

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium |
| Athlone Town | Athlone | Athlone Town Stadium |
| Cabinteely | Cabinteely | Stradbrook Road |
| Cobh Ramblers | Cobh | St. Colman's Park |
| Drogheda United | Drogheda | United Park |
| Finn Harps | Ballybofey | Finn Park |
| Galway United | Galway | Eamonn Deacy Park |
| Longford Town | Longford | City Calling Stadium |
| Shelbourne | Drumcondra | Tolka Park |
| UCD | Belfield | UCD Bowl |
| Wexford | 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 |
| Athlone Town | Aaron Callaghan | Niall Scullion | Nike | Nitro Sports |
| Cabinteely | Pat Devlin | Daire Doyle | Uhlsport | Geoghegan Home Extensions |
| Cobh Ramblers | Stephen Henderson | Paul Hunt | Legea | Tony & William O'Shea Fuels Rushbrooke |
| Drogheda United | Tim Clancy | Sean Thornton | CX+ Sport | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | Ciaran Coll | Joma | McGettigan Group |
| Galway United | Shane Keegan | Colm Horgan | Uhlsport | Comer Property Management |
| Longford Town | Neale Fenn | Kevin O'Connor | Legea | City Calling |
| Shelbourne | Owen Heary | Dean Delaney | Macron | Dublin City University |
| UCD | Collie O'Neill | Gary O'Neill | O'Neills | O'Neills |
| Wexford | Damian Locke | Craig McCabe | Bodibro | Premier Tickets |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | UCD (C, P) | 27 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 57 | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Finn Harps (Q) | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 46 | 22 | +24 | 54 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Shelbourne (Q) | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 52 | 21 | +31 | 50 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Drogheda United (Q) | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 27 | +23 | 49 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 5 | Longford Town | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 45 | |
| 6 | Galway United | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 37 | |
| 7 | Cabinteely | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 32 | 45 | −13 | 30 | |
| 8 | Cobh Ramblers | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 29 | |
| 9 | Wexford | 27 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 59 | −36 | 17 | |
| 10 | Athlone Town | 27 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 16 | 81 | −65 | 7 | |

## Top scorers

    As of 22 September 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | David O'Sullivan | Shelbourne | 15 |
| 2 | Georgie Kelly | UCD | 14 |
| 3 | Dylan McGlade | Longford Town | 13 |
| 4 | Sean Brennan | Drogheda United | 11 |
| 4 | James English | Shelbourne | 11 |
| 6 | Conor Barry | Galway United | 10 |
| 7 | Eoin McCormack | Galway United | 9 |
| 7 | Gary O'Neill | UCD | 9 |
| 7 | Mikey Place | Finn Harps | 9 |
| 7 | Sam Verdon | Longford Town | 9 |

## Play-Offs

The second, third and fourth placed First Division teams played off to decide who would play Limerick, the ninth placed team from the Premier Division. The winner of this play off would play in the 2019 Premier Division.

### Semi-finals

2–2 on aggregate. Drogheda United win on penalties.

### Finals

Finn Harps win 3–1 on aggregate.

### Relegation-promotion match

Finn Harps won 3–0 on aggregate and were promoted to 2019 Premier Division. Limerick were relegated to the 2019 First Division.