# 2022 League of Ireland First Division

The 2022 League of Ireland First Division season was the 38th season of the League of Ireland First Division, the second tier of the Republic of Ireland's association football league. The title was won by Cork City.

## Overview

The First Division has 9 teams. Each side plays each other four times for a total of 32 matches in the season. The team that finishes in first place achieve automatic promotion to the Premier Division. Teams finishing second to fifth place will enter the play-offs to determine the side to contest for a place in the 2023 Premier Division against the ninth placed (second last) Premier Division team.
Declan Carey finished the season with the Golden Boot, scoring 20 goals for City, including a brace on the final day of the season vs Bray.

## Teams
### Team changes

Bray Wanderers and Cabinteely F.C. merged in the pre-season to create a revamped Bray Wanderers. Shelbourne were promoted as 2021 champions and UCD as playoff winners, to the Premier Division. Waterford F.C. and Longford Town F.C. joined following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2021 season.

### Additional teams

No other teams applied for a First Division Licence.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Athlone Town | Athlone | Athlone Town Stadium | 5,000 |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds | 4,000 |
| Cobh Ramblers | Cobh | St. Colman's Park | 3,000 |
| Cork City | Cork | Turners Cross | 7,845 |
| Galway United | Galway | Eamonn Deacy Park | 5,000 |
| Longford Town | Longford | Bishopsgate | 5,097 |
| Treaty United | Limerick | Markets Field | 5,000 |
| Waterford | Waterford | RSC | 5,160 |
| Wexford | Crossabeg | Ferrycarrig Park | 2,500 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Athlone Town | Martin Russell | Resigned | 10 April 2022 | 9th | Dermot Lennon | 10 April 2022 |
| Waterford FC | Ian Morris | Mutual Consent | 20 April 2022 | 5th | Gary Hunt | 20 April 2022 |
| Waterford FC | Gary Hunt | Permanent Replacement | 14 June 2022 | 4th | Danny Searle | 14 June 2022 |
| Cobh Ramblers | Darren Murphy | Mutual Consent | 19 June 2022 | 8th | Shane Keegan | 19 June 2022 |

### 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 | Dermot Lennon | Micheal Schlingermann | Umbro | Hayden & Co. Solicitors |
| Bray Wanderers | Pat Devlin | Hugh Douglas | Nike | MyClub |
| Cobh Ramblers | Shane Keegan | John Kavanagh | Joma | McCarthy Insurance Group |
| Cork City | Colin Healy | Cian Coleman | Adidas | University College Cork |
| Galway United | John Caulfield | Conor McCormack | O'Neill's | Comer Property Management |
| Longford Town | Gary Cronin | Sam Verdon | Macron | Bishopsgate |
| Treaty United | Tommy Barrett | Jack Lynch | Umbro | Derrin Homes |
| Waterford | Danny Searle | Eddie Nolan | Umbro | DG FOODS LTD |
| Wexford | Ian Ryan | Joe Manley | Umbro | Wallace |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cork City (C, P) | 32 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 63 | 22 | +41 | 68 | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Waterford | 32 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 70 | 34 | +36 | 64 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Galway United | 32 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 60 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Longford Town | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 52 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 5 | Treaty United | 32 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 37 | 43 | −6 | 44 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 6 | Wexford | 32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 41 | |
| 7 | Bray Wanderers | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 30 | 62 | −32 | 27 | |
| 8 | Athlone Town | 32 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 44 | 75 | −31 | 24 | |
| 9 | Cobh Ramblers | 32 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 37 | 78 | −41 | 17 | |

## Play-offs
### Bracket

| First Division play-off Semi-finals | First Division play-off Semi-finals | First Division play-off Semi-finals | First Division play-off Semi-finals | First Division play-off Semi-finals | First Division play-off Final | First Division play-off Final | First Division play-off Final | Promotion/relegation play-off | Promotion/relegation play-off | Promotion/relegation play-off |
| 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | | | | | | |
| 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | | | | 11 November 2022 | 11 November 2022 | 11 November 2022 |
| Treaty United | Treaty United | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | 11 November 2022 | 11 November 2022 | 11 November 2022 |
| Treaty United | Treaty United | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 November 2022 | 4 November 2022 | 4 November 2022 | UCD | UCD | 1 |
| Waterford | Waterford | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 November 2022 | 4 November 2022 | 4 November 2022 | UCD | UCD | 1 |
| Waterford | Waterford | 4 | 3 | 7 | Waterford | Waterford | 3 | Waterford | Waterford | 0 |
| 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | Waterford | Waterford | 3 | Waterford | Waterford | 0 |
| 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | 26/29 October 2022 | Galway United | Galway United | 0 | | | |
| Longford Town | Longford Town | 2 | 0 | 2 | Galway United | Galway United | 0 | | | |
| Galway United | Galway United | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | |