2021 League of Ireland First Division

37th edition of the 2nd tier competition in association football in Ireland

Football league season

League of Ireland First DivisionSeason| 2021

|

Dates| 26 March 2021 – 29 October 2021
Champions| Shelbourne (2nd title)
Promoted| Shelbourne, UCD
Matches played| 180
Goals scored| 366 (2.03 per match)
Top goalscorer| Colm Whelan (18 league goals + 3 playoff goals)
Biggest home win| UCD 6-0 Galway United
(13 August 2021)
Biggest away win| Wexford 0–6 UCD
(30 April 2021)
Highest scoring| Wexford 4-4 Athlone
(21 July 2021)

← 2020

2022 →

All statistics correct as of 30 October 2021.

The 2021 League of Ireland First Division season was the 37th season of the League of Ireland First Division, the second tier of Ireland's association football league. The fixture list was released on 8 February 2021 and the competition commenced on 26 March 2021.[1] Shelbourne were confirmed Champions and promoted to the League of Ireland Premier Division on 1 October 2021.[2]

## Overview

[edit]

The First Division has 10 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 27 matches in the season.

## Teams

[edit]

Athlone Town

Bray Wanderers

Cobh Ramblers

Cork City

Treaty United

Galway United

Wexford

Dublin

Dublin teams
Cabinteely
Shelbourne
UCD

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the First Division teams

Cabinteely

UCD

Shelbourne

class=notpageimage|

Locations of Dublin First Division teams

### Team changes

[edit]

Shelbourne and Cork City joined following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2020 season.[3][4] Drogheda United and Longford Town departed following their promotion from the 2020 First Division.[5][4]

### Additional teams

[edit]

On 10 November 2020 a newly formed Limerick based club Treaty United announced that they would apply for a 2021 League of Ireland licence. [6] Former Dublin based League of Ireland club St Francis FC and Wexford based Yola FC also both expressed interest in joining for 2021 by the deadline for expressions of interest which was 10 November 2020. An application was made by a brand new entity under the name Dublin County F.C. but did not ultimately materialise. [7] Bray Wanderers and Cabinteely F.C. merged at the end of the season, keeping the name Bray Wanderers.[8]

### Stadia and locations

[edit]

Team  | Location  | Stadium  | Capacity

|
|
|

Athlone Town | Athlone | Athlone Town Stadium | 5,000
Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds | 4,000
Cabinteely | Dublin (Cabinteely) | Stradbrook Road | 1,620
Cobh Ramblers | Cobh | St. Colman's Park | 3,000
Cork City | Cork | Turners Cross | 7,845
Galway United | Galway | Eamonn Deacy Park | 5,000
Shelbourne | Dublin (Drumcondra) | Tolka Park | 3,700
Treaty United | Limerick | Markets Field | 5,000
UCD | Dublin (Belfield) | UCD Bowl | 3,000
Wexford | Crossabeg | Ferrycarrig Park | 2,500

### Personnel and kits

[edit]

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 |  Paul Doolin |  Kurtis Byrne | Nike | Hayden & Co. Solicitors
Bray Wanderers |  Gary Cronin  |  Aaron Barry | Umbro | Matt Britton Carpets
Cabinteely |  Pat Devlin |  Daniel Blackbyrne  | Nike  | Edufit
Cobh Ramblers |  Darren Murphy (interim)  |  John Kavanagh  | Joma | Metropole Hotel
Cork City |  Colin Healy |  Gearoid Morrissey | Adidas | University College Cork
Galway United |  John Caulfield |  Conor McCormack | O'Neill's | Comer Property Management
Shelbourne |  Ian Morris |  Luke Byrne  | Umbro  | Hamptons Homes
Treaty United |  Tommy Barrett  |  Jack Lynch  | Umbro  | UPMC
UCD |  Andy Myler |  Jack Keaney  | O'Neill's  | O'Neill's
Wexford |  Ian Ryan  |  Karl Manahan  | Bodibro  | Wallace's Asti

### Managerial changes

[edit]

Team  | Outgoing manager  | Manner of
departure  | Date of vacancy  | Position in table  | Incoming manager  | Date of
appointment

|
|
|
|
|
|

Wexford |  Brian O'Sullivan  | Mutual Consent  | 10 May 2021[9] | 10th  |  Ian Ryan  | 15 May 2021[10]
Cobh Ramblers |  Stuart Ashton  | Sacked  | 22 July 2021[11] | 9th  |  Darren Murphy (interim)  | 23 July 2021[12]
Athlone Town |  Adrian Carberry  | Sacked  | 17 August 2021[13] | 6th  |  Paul Doolin | 18 August 2021[14]
Shelbourne |  Ian Morris | Mutual Consent  | 29 October 2021[15] | 1st  |  Damien Duff | 3 November 2021[16]

## League table

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Shelbourne (C, P) | 27  | 16  | 9  | 2  | 49  | 23  | +26  | 57  | Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division
2  | Galway United | 27  | 15  | 6  | 6  | 39  | 25  | +14  | 51  | Qualification for Promotion play-offs
3  | UCD (O, P) | 27  | 13  | 7  | 7  | 55  | 38  | +17  | 46
4  | Treaty United | 27  | 11  | 9  | 7  | 36  | 27  | +9  | 42
5  | Bray Wanderers | 27  | 9  | 10  | 8  | 36  | 31  | +5  | 37
6  | Cork City | 27  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 37  | 28  | +9  | 33  |
7  | Athlone Town | 27  | 9  | 6  | 12  | 32  | 43  | −11  | 33
8  | Cobh Ramblers | 27  | 8  | 4  | 15  | 25  | 46  | −21  | 28
9  | Cabinteely | 27  | 8  | 1  | 18  | 26  | 47  | −21  | 25
10  | Wexford | 27  | 6  | 3  | 18  | 29  | 56  | −27  | 21

Source: sseairtricityleague, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

## Results

[edit]

### Matches 1–18

[edit]

Teams play each other twice (once at home, once away).

Home \ Away  | ATH | BRW | CAB | COB | COR | GAL | SHE | TRU | UCD | WEX

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Athlone Town | —  | 0–0  | 1–2  | 2–1  | 0–2  | 3–1  | 1–3  | 1–4  | 2–3  | 3–0
Bray Wanderers | 1–2  | —  | 3–0  | 2–1  | 0–0  | 0–0  | 1–4  | 0–0  | 4–0  | 3–1
Cabinteely | 0–1  | 0–3  | —  | 1–0  | 1–0  | 0–3*  | 1–3  | 2–1  | 1–2  | 0–2
Cobh Ramblers | 0–0  | 1–1  | 1–0  | —  | 1–0  | 0–4  | 1–2  | 0–2  | 0–4  | 3–2
Cork City | 0–1  | 2–2  | 0–2  | 2–1  | —  | 1–1  | 1–3  | 2–3  | 1–1  | 5–0
Galway United | 2–1  | 1–2  | 1–0  | 2–0  | 2–3  | —  | 0–0  | 1–1  | 2–2  | 1–0
Shelbourne | 1–0  | 3–3  | 1–0  | 2–2  | 2–1  | 4–0  | —  | 2–2  | 3–1  | 1–0
Treaty United | 1–0  | 2–0  | 1–4  | 1–1  | 2–1  | 0–1  | 1–1  | —  | 2–1  | 1–0
UCD | 2–2  | 0–0  | 4–1  | 1–2  | 0–0  | 0–2  | 0–0  | 3–2  | —  | 2–1
Wexford | 4–4  | 0–1  | 2–3  | 1–2  | 0–0  | 1–3  | 0–1  | 1–2  | 0–6  | —

Updated to match(es) played on 7 August 2021. Source: SSE Airtricity League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

*Note Cabinteely v Galway Utd postponed on 9 April 2021 (Galway awarded a 3-0 victory by FAI[17]).

### Matches 19-27

[edit]

Home \ Away  | ATH | BRW | CAB | COB | COR | GAL | SHE | TRU | UCD | WEX

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Athlone Town | —  | —  | 2–1  | 1–2  | —  | 1–0  | —  | —  | —  | 0–2
Bray Wanderers | 0–1  | —  | 1–2  | —  | 0–0  | —  | —  | 1–0  | —  | —
Cabinteely | —  | —  | —  | 1–2  | 2–2  | 0–1  | 0–2  | 0–2  | —  | —
Cobh Ramblers | —  | 1–2  | —  | —  | —  | 0–1  | 2–0  | —  | 0–2  | —
Cork City | 3–1  | —  | —  | 4–0  | —  | 3–0  | 0–2  | —  | —  | 4–0
Galway United | —  | 1–0  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 3–1  | 0–0  | 4–1  | 2–1
Shelbourne | 1–1  | 1–1  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 1–0  | 1–1  | 4–0
Treaty United | 1–1  | —  | —  | 3–0  | 0–0  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 1–1
UCD | 6–0  | 4–3  | 5–2  | —  | 1–0  | —  | —  | 2–1  | —  | —
Wexford | —  | 4–2  | 2–1  | 3–1  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 2–1  | —

Updated to match(es) played on 29 October 2021. Source: SSE Airtricity League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

## Season statistics

[edit]

### Top scorers

[edit]

Source: https://www.sseairtricityleague.ie

As of matches played 29 October 2021.
Rank  | Player  | Club  | Goals

|
|
|

1  |  Colm Whelan | UCD | 19
2  |  Ryan Brennan | Shelbourne | 15
3  |  Liam Kerrigan | UCD | 12
4  |  Cian Murphy  | Cork City | 11
5  |  Kyle Robinson | Wexford | 9
Ruairí Keating | Galway United

## Play-offs

[edit]

### First Division play-off Semi-finals

[edit]

#### First leg

[edit]

Bray Wanderers v Galway United 3 November 2021 |  Bray Wanderers | 0–0|  Galway United | Carlisle Grounds

|
|
|
|

19:45 IST |  | Report |  |

Treaty United v UCD 3 November 2021 |  Treaty United | 0–3|  UCD | Markets Field

|
|
|
|

19:45 IST |  | Report | Paul Doyle 34'
Colm Whelan 79', 92' |

#### Second leg

[edit]

Galway United v Bray Wanderers 7 November 2021 |  Galway United | 0–1
(0–1 agg.)|  Bray Wanderers | Eamonn Deacy Park

|
|
|
|

17:00 IST |  | Report | Brandon Kavanagh 22' | Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan

UCD v Treaty United 7 November 2021 |  UCD | 1–2
(4–2 agg.)|  Treaty United | UCD Bowl

|
|
|
|

17:00 IST | Adam Verdon  67' | Report | Conor Melody  8'
Anthony O’Donnell  52' | Referee: Alan Patchell

### First Division play-off Final

[edit]

Bray Wanderers v UCD 19 November 2021 |  Bray Wanderers | 0–2|  UCD | Dalymount Park

|
|
|
|

19:45 IST |  | Report | Colm Whelan 68'
Paul Doyle 86' | Referee: Oliver Moran

### Promotion/relegation play-off

[edit]

Waterford v UCD 26 November 2021 |  Waterford | 1–2|  UCD | Richmond Park

|
|
|
|

19:45 IST | Anthony Wordsworth 5'
Niall O'Keeffe  87'  | Report | Dara Keane  26'
Colm Whelan 34' | Referee: Paul McLaughlin

## See also

[edit]

* 2021 League of Ireland Premier Division
* 2021 FAI Cup

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "SSE Airtricity League 2021 Season First Division Fixture List" (PDF). SSE Airtricity League. SSE Airtricity League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
2. ^ Donnelly, Dave. "Poynton penalty sees Shelbourne secure First Division title and top-tier promotion". the42.ie. the42,ie. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
3. ^ "Premier Division 2020". SSE Airtricity League. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
4. ^ a b Donnelly, Dave (15 November 2020). "Longford earn promotion as Shels' collapse completed". RTE Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
5. ^ "First Division 2020". SSE Airtricity League. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
6. ^ "Treaty United to Pursue First Division Licence for 2021 Season". The Limerick Post. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
7. ^ "Treaty United, St Francis and Yola FC set to apply for LOI First Division licences". The42.ie. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
8. ^ "Bray Wanderers FC and Cabinteely FC to form new force in League of Ireland Football | Cabinteely FC".
9. ^ Dempsey, Andrew. "Wexford part company with Brian O'Sullivan". extratime.com. ExtraTime.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
10. ^ Dempsey, Andrew. "Wexford appoint Ian Ryan as new first-team boss". extratime.com. ExtraTime.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
11. ^ Fallon, John (22 July 2021). "Stuart Ashton departure in 'best interests' of Cobh Ramblers, club says". Irish Examiner. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
12. ^ Slattery, Joel (23 July 2021). "Darren Murphy appointed Cobh Ramblers manager until end of the season". Irish Examiner. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
13. ^ Dollery, Paul. "Athlone Town on the hunt for a new manager as Adrian Carberry departs". The42.ie. The42.ie. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
14. ^ 42 Team, The. "Paul Doolin named new Athlone Town manager". The42.ie. The42.ie. Retrieved 31 August 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
15. ^ McDonnell, Daniel. "Ian Morris to depart role as Shelbourne boss despite promotion". Independent.ie. Independent.ie. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
16. ^ "Damien Duff confirmed as Shelbourne manager". rte.ie. rte.ie. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
17. ^ Fitzmaurice, Aidan. "FAI award Galway United 3-0 win after Cabinteely postponement". independent.ie. Independent Newspapers. Retrieved 14 May 2021.

* v
* t
* e

League of Ireland First Division

2025 clubs|

* Athlone Town
* Bray Wanderers
* Cobh Ramblers
* Dundalk
* Finn Harps
* Kerry
* Longford Town
* Treaty United
* UCD
* Wexford

Seasons|

* 1985–86
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See also|

Shield

* v
* t
* e

2021 in Republic of Ireland football

Leagues|

* Premier Division
* First Division
* Women's National League

Cup competitions|

* FAI Cup (Final)
* FAI Women's Cup (Final)
* League of Ireland Cup (Final)
* President's Cup
* 2020–21 Leinster Senior Cup
* 2020–21 Munster Senior Cup
* FAI Intermediate Cup (2020–21)

National teams|

* Men
* Women

Club seasons|

* Athlone Town
* Bohemians
* Bray Wanderers
* Cabinteely
* Cobh Ramblers
* Cork City
* Derry City
* Drogheda United
* Dundalk
* Finn Harps
* Galway United
* Longford Town
* St Patrick's Athletic
* Shamrock Rovers
* Shelbourne
* Sligo Rovers
* Treaty United
* UCD
* Waterford
* Wexford

|

See also|

UEFA Euro 2020 (co-hosted by Republic of Ireland - rescheduled for 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic)
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template