From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min
| Season | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Wexford Youths |
| Promoted | Finn Harps |
| Top goalscorer | Daniel Furlong: 30 (Wexford Youths)[1] |
← 2014 2016 → | |
The 2015 League of Ireland First Division season was the 31st season of the League of Ireland First Division. The First Division was contested by eight teams. Wexford Youths won the title and Finn Harps were also promoted after winning a play off.
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 | Nike | Nitro Sports | ||
| Cabinteely | Umbro | |||
| Cobh Ramblers | Nike | Eirgrid | ||
| Finn Harps | Legea | McGettigan Group | ||
| Shelbourne | Macron | |||
| UCD | O'Neills | O'Neills | ||
| Waterford United | Macron | SportsWorld | ||
| Wexford Youths | O'Neills | Galenisys |
The 2015 First Division featured eight teams. Each team played each other four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 28 matches during the season.[2] Wexford Youths secured their first League of Ireland First Division title and promotion to the Premier Division with a 3–0 victory against Athlone Town at Ferrycarrig Park. The Youths goals came from Danny Furlong, Eric Molloy and Aidan Keenan.[3]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wexford Youths (C, P) | 28 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 63 | 32 | +31 | 61 | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Finn Harps (O, P) | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 55 | Qualification for Promotion play-offs |
| 3 | UCD | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 49 | |
| 4 | Shelbourne | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 45 | |
| 5 | Athlone Town | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 33 | |
| 6 | Cobh Ramblers | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 45 | −18 | 30 | |
| 7 | Waterford United | 28 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 25 | 51 | −26 | 21 | |
| 8 | Cabinteely | 28 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 22 | 50 | −28 | 20 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wexford Youths | 30 | |
| 2 | UCD | 12 | |
| 3 | Athlone Town | 10 | |
| 4 | Finn Harps | 9 |
The second and third placed First Division teams, Finn Harps and UCD, played off to decide who would play Limerick, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division. The winner of this play off would play in the 2016 Premier Division.[2]
| 23 October 2015 | UCD | 0–1 | Finn Harps | UCD Bowl |
| 19:45 | Coll |
| 30 October 2015 | Finn Harps | 2–1 | UCD | Finn Park |
| 19:45 | Boyle Mailey |
O'Connor |
Finn Harps won 3 – 1 on aggregate
| 2 November 2015 | Limerick | 1–0 | Finn Harps | Markets Field |
| Kelly |
Report | Referee: Rob Rogers |
| 6 November 2015 | Finn Harps | 2–0 (a.e.t.) | Limerick | Finn Park |
| Funston Banda |
Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Derek Tomney |
Finn Harps won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to 2016 Premier Division. Limerick are relegated to the 2016 First Division.