# 1952–53 League of Ireland

The 1952–53 League of Ireland was the 32nd season of senior football in the Republic of Ireland.
St Patrick's Athletic were the defending champions.

## Changes from 1951–52

No new teams were elected to the League.

## Teams

| Team | Location | Stadium |
| Bohemians | Dublin (Phibsborough) | Dalymount Park |
| Cork Athletic | Cork (Mardyke) | Mardyke |
| Drumcondra | Dublin (Clonturk) | Clonturk Park |
| Dundalk | Dundalk | Oriel Park |
| Evergreen United | Cork (Turners Cross) | Turners Cross |
| Limerick | Limerick | Markets Field |
| Shamrock Rovers | Dublin (Milltown) | Glenmalure Park |
| Shelbourne | Dublin (Ringsend) | Shelbourne Park |
| Sligo Rovers | Sligo | The Showgrounds |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Dublin (Inchicore) | Richmond Park |
| Transport | Bray | Carlisle Grounds |
| Waterford | Waterford | Kilcohan Park |

## Season overview

Shelbourne won their sixth title.

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Shelbourne | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 24 | +22 | 30 |
| 2 | Drumcondra | 22 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 29 |
| 3 | Shamrock Rovers | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 27 |
| 4 | St Patrick's Athletic | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 24 |
| 5 | Sligo Rovers | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 23 |
| 6 | Dundalk | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 22 |
| 7 | Limerick | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 21 |
| 8 | Cork Athletic | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 21 |
| 9 | Transport | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 21 |
| 10 | Evergreen United | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 20 |
| 11 | Waterford | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 15 |
| 12 | Bohemians | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 27 | 58 | −31 | 11 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | BOH | CAT | DRU | DUN | EVE | LIM | SHM | SHE | SLI | STP | TRA | WAT |
| Bohemians | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–7 | 4–2 | 0–0 |
| Cork Athletic | 6–1 | — | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Drumcondra | 6–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–4 |
| Dundalk | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | — | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 4–0 |
| Evergreen United | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Limerick | 4–3 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 6–3 | 2–0 | — | 4–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–0 | 6–2 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Shelbourne | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | — | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–3 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2–0 | 6–2 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | — | 1–2 | 4–1 |
| Transport | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 3–3 | — | 5–1 |
| Waterford | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 3–5 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Shay Gibbons | St Patrick's Athletic | 22 |
| 2 | Jim Rowe | Drumcondra | 16 |
| 3 | Liam Coll | Sligo Rovers | 13 |
| 3 | Rory Dwyer | Shelbourne | 13 |
| 3 | Dessie Glynn | Drumcondra | 13 |
| 3 | Mick Lipper | Transport | 13 |
| 7 | Seán McCarthy | Evergreen United | 11 |
| 7 | Joe Martin | Dundalk | 11 |
| 9 | Paddy Collopy | Limerick | 10 |
| 9 | Tom McCabe | Dundalk | 10 |