# 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 29th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. St. Patrick's Athletic were champions, winning their eighth top level League of Ireland title. Dundalk finished as runners-up.

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium |
| Bohemians | Phibsborough | Dalymount Park |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds |
| Cork City | Cork | Turners Cross |
| Derry City | Derry | Brandywell Stadium |
| Drogheda United | Drogheda | Hunky Dorys Park |
| Dundalk | Dundalk | Oriel Park |
| Limerick | Limerick | Thomond Park |
| Shamrock Rovers | Tallaght | Tallaght Stadium |
| Shelbourne | Drumcondra | Tolka Park |
| Sligo Rovers | Sligo | The Showgrounds |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Inchicore | Richmond Park |
| UCD | Belfield | UCD Bowl |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Bohemians | Owen Heary | Owen Heary | Macron | Volkswagen |
| Bray Wanderers | Pat Devlin | Danny O'Connor | Adidas | Volkswagen |
| Cork City | Tommy Dunne Stuart Ashton/Paul O Brien | Kevin Murray | Umbro | Clonakilty Blackpudding |
| Derry City | Declan Devine | Kevin Deery | Umbro | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Mick Cooke | Derek Prendergast | Nike | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Limerick | Stuart Taylor | Joe Gamble | Macron | Greenheat Group |
| Shamrock Rovers | Trevor Croly | Patrick Sullivan | Umbro | SEAT |
| Shelbourne | John McDonnell | Ian Ryan | Macron | Volkswagen |
| Sligo Rovers | Ian Baraclough | Danny Ventre | Umbro | Volkswagen |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Conor Kenna | Umbro | Clune Construction LP |
| UCD | Martin Russell | Mick Leahy | O'Neills | O'Neills |

## Overview

The Premier Division featured 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, totalling 33 games. The regular season began on 8 March and concluded on 25 October. St. Patrick's Athletic clinched the title on 13 October 2013, with two games to go, after a 2–0 win against the holders, Sligo Rovers.

## Final Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | St Patrick's Athletic (C) | 33 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 56 | 20 | +36 | 71 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Dundalk | 33 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 55 | 30 | +25 | 68 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 53 | 22 | +31 | 66 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Derry City | 33 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 56 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 52 | |
| 6 | Cork City | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 46 | |
| 7 | Limerick | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 38 | 46 | −8 | 42 | |
| 8 | Drogheda United | 33 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 44 | 46 | −2 | 38 | |
| 9 | UCD | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 45 | 73 | −28 | 30 | |
| 10 | Bohemians | 33 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 27 | 47 | −20 | 29 | |
| 11 | Bray Wanderers (O) | 33 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 33 | 66 | −33 | 27 | Qualification to Relegation play-off |
| 12 | Shelbourne (R) | 33 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 25 | 56 | −31 | 21 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |

## Results
### Matches 1–22

| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | LIM | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
| Bohemians | — | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Bray Wanderers | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Cork City | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Derry City | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 |
| Drogheda United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| Dundalk | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 |
| Limerick | 2–1 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–1 | 7–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Shelbourne | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 |
| Sligo Rovers | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 5–2 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | — | 5–0 |
| UCD | 1–0 | 4–5 | 3–0 | 0–6 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — |

### Matches 23–33

| Home \ Away | BOH | BRW | COR | DER | DRO | DUN | LIM | SHM | SHE | SLI | StP | UCD |
| Bohemians | — | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | — | 0–2 | — | 1–3 |
| Bray Wanderers | — | — | 1–2 | — | — | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Cork City | 1–0 | — | — | 4–1 | — | — | — | — | 5–3 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 |
| Derry City | — | 2–0 | — | — | 0–2 | — | 6–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | — |
| Drogheda United | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | — | — | — | 3–0 | — | — | — | — | 1–0 |
| Dundalk | — | — | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | — | — |
| Limerick | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Shamrock Rovers | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | 1–2 | 0–4 | — |
| Shelbourne | 0–3 | — | — | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–2 | — | — | — | 1–2 |
| Sligo Rovers | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | — | — | — |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 1–1 | — | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | — |
| UCD | — | — | — | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | — | 1–4 | — | 0–3 | 1–3 | — |

## Promotion/relegation play-off

Bray Wanderers, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division, played off against Longford Town, the winners of the 2013 First Division play off. The winner of this play off would play in the 2014 Premier Division.
Bray Wanderers win 5–4 on aggregate and retained their place in the Premier Division.

## Goal scorers
### Top scorers

| Player | Club | Goals |
| Rory Patterson | Derry City | 18 (3 pen.) |
| Declan O'Brien | Drogheda United | 14 (3 pen.) |
| Ciarán Kilduff | Cork City | 13 |
| Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 13 |
| David McMillan | Sligo Rovers | 13 (6 pen.) |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Goals |
| Rory Patterson | Derry City | University College Dublin | 6–0 | 15 March 2013 | 3 |
| Chris Forrester | St Patrick's Athletic | Shelbourne | 4–0 | 15 April 2013 | 3 |
| Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers | Drogheda United | 3–2 | 24 May 2013 | 3 |
| Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers | UCD | 5–4 | 8 June 2013 | 4 |
| Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | Bohemians | 3–0 | 12 July 2013 | 3 |
| Conan Byrne | St Patrick's Athletic | Shamrock Rovers | 4–0 | 10 August 2013 | 4 |
| Danny Morrissey | Cork City | Derry City | 4–1 | 30 August 2013 | 3 |
| Richie Towell | Dundalk | Derry City | 3–0 | 30 September 2013 | 3 |
| Ciarán Kilduff | Cork City | Shelbourne | 5–3 | 10 October 2013 | 4 |
| David McDaid | Derry City | Limerick | 6–0 | 25 October 2013 | 3 |

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| March | Anthony Elding | Sligo Rovers |
| April | Barry McNamee | Derry City |
| May | Killian Brennan | St Patrick's Athletic |
| June | Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers |
| July | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk |
| August | Richie Towell | Dundalk |
| September | Anthony Flood | St Patrick's Athletic |
| October | Ciaran Kilduff | Cork City |
| November | Danny North | Sligo Rovers |

### PFAI Players' Player of the Year

| Winner | Club |
| Killian Brennan | St. Patrick's Athletic |

### PFAI Young Player of the Year

| Winner | Club |
| Richie Towell | Dundalk |

### Team of the Year

| No. | Pos. | Player | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Brendan Clarke | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 2 | 2DF | Ger O'Brien | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 3 | 2DF | Kenny Browne | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 4 | 2DF | Andy Boyle | Dundalk |
| 5 | 2DF | Ian Bermingham | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 6 | 3MF | Killian Brennan | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 7 | 3MF | Greg Bolger | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 8 | 3MF | Daryl Horgan | Cork City |
| 9 | 3MF | Richie Towell | Dundalk |
| 10 | 4FW | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk |
| 11 | 4FW | Rory Patterson | Derry City |

## Television coverage

Live coverage of matches in Ireland were shown on RTÉ Two and Setanta Sports. MNS on RTÉ Two showed match highlights and analysis on each Monday night during the season.