2025 League of Ireland First Division

40th edition of the 2nd tier competition in association football in Ireland

Football league season

League of Ireland First DivisionSeason| 2025

|

Dates| 14 February 2025 – 17 October 2025
Matches played| 44
Goals scored| 107 (2.43 per match)
Top goalscorer| Mikie Rowe
(7 goals)
Biggest home win| Cobh Ramblers 5–0 Longford Town
(7 March 2025)
Finn Harps 5–0 Bray Wanderers
(21 March 2025)
Biggest away win| Athlone Town 0–5 Treaty United
(21 February 2025)
Highest scoring| Treaty United 2–3 Cobh Ramblers
(14 February 2025)
Athlone Town 0–5 Treaty United
(14 February 2025)
Cobh Ramblers 5–0 Longford Town
(7 March 2025)
Longford Town 3–2 Kerry
(15 March 2025)
Finn Harps 5–0 Bray Wanderers
(21 March 2025)
Longest winning run| Dundalk
(5 matches)
Longest unbeaten run| Dundalk
(9 matches)
Longest winless run| Athlone Town
Finn Harps
Kerry
Treaty United
UCD
(4 matches)
Longest losing run| Athlone Town
(4 matches)
Highest attendance| 2,600
Dundalk 1–0 Athlone Town
(14 February 2025)
Lowest attendance| 224
UCD 1–1 Cobh Ramblers
(28 February 2025)
Total attendance| 38,695
Average attendance| 1,046

← 2024

2026 →

All statistics correct as of 11 April 2025.

The 2025 League of Ireland First Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the 41st season of the League of Ireland First Division. The competition began on 14 February 2025,[2] and will conclude on 17 October 2025.[3]

## Teams

[edit]

Athlone Town

Bray Wanderers

Dundalk

Cobh Ramblers

Finn Harps

Treaty United

UCD

Wexford

Longford Town

Kerry

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the 2024 First Division teams

### Team changes

[edit]

The team relegated to the First Division was Dundalk, the bottom-placed team of the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division. They replaced one team promoted from the 2024 League of Ireland First Division, champions Cork City.

### Stadia and locations

[edit]

Team  | Location  | Stadium  | Capacity

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Athlone Town | Athlone | Athlone Town Stadium | 5,000
Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds | 4,000
Cobh Ramblers | Cobh | St. Colman's Park | 3,000
Dundalk | Dundalk | Oriel Park | 4,500
Finn Harps | Ballybofey | Finn Park | 6,000
Kerry | Tralee | Mounthawk Park | 1,200
Longford Town | Longford | Bishopsgate | 5,097
Treaty United | Limerick | Markets Field | 5,000
UCD | Dublin | 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

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Athlone Town | Vacant |  Oisín Duffy  | Nike | Valeo Futbol
Bray Wanderers |  Paul Heffernan |  Kilian Cantwell  | Capelli Sport | OutdoorLiving.ie
Cobh Ramblers |  Gary Hunt  |  Jason Abbott  | Uhlsport | McCarthy Insurance Group
Dundalk |  Ciarán Kilduff |  Daryl Horgan | Playr-Fit  | ZOMA
Finn Harps |  Kevin McHugh |  Tony McNamee  | Joma | So-Lo Stores
Kerry |  Conor McCarthy  |  Sean McGrath  | Macron | Kerry Airport
Longford Town |  Wayne Groves  |  Dean O'Shea  | Macron  | Bishopsgate
Treaty United |  Tommy Barrett  |  Mark Walsh  | O'Neills | Trade Electric Group
UCD |  William O’Connor  |  Ronan Finn | O'Neills  | Maples Group
Wexford |  Stephen Elliott |  Ethan Boyle  | Macron  | Campion Insurance

### Managerial changes

[edit]

Team  | Outgoing manager  | Manner of

departure

| Date of vacancy  | Position in table  | Incoming manager  | Date of

appointment

|
|
|
|
|
|

Dundalk |  Jon Daly[4] | Resigned  | 2 November 2024  | Pre-season |  Ciarán Kilduff[5] | 6 November 2024
Wexford |  James Keddy[6] | 6 November 2024  |  Stephen Elliott[7] | 26 November 2024
Finn Harps |  Darren Murphy[8] | Signed by Loughgall | 25 March 2025  | 8th  |  Kevin McHugh[9] | 2 April 2025
Athlone Town |  Dario Castelo[10] | Mutual consent  | 12 April 2025  | 10th  |  |

## League table

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification

|
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1  | Dundalk | 9  | 8  | 1  | 0  | 15  | 4  | +11  | 25  | Promotion to 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division
2  | Bray Wanderers | 9  | 6  | 0  | 3  | 9  | 12  | −3  | 18  | Qualification for League of Ireland Premier Division play-off
3  | Cobh Ramblers | 9  | 4  | 2  | 3  | 15  | 10  | +5  | 14
4  | Wexford | 9  | 4  | 1  | 4  | 12  | 13  | −1  | 13
5  | Treaty United | 9  | 3  | 2  | 4  | 16  | 11  | +5  | 11
6  | Longford Town | 9  | 3  | 2  | 4  | 10  | 15  | −5  | 11  |
7  | Finn Harps | 8  | 2  | 3  | 3  | 12  | 10  | +2  | 9
8  | UCD | 9  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 9
9  | Kerry | 8  | 2  | 1  | 5  | 7  | 10  | −3  | 7
10  | Athlone Town | 9  | 2  | 1  | 6  | 4  | 15  | −11  | 7

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2025. Source: SSE Airtricity League of Ireland First Division
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

## Results

[edit]

Teams play each other four times (twice at home and twice away).

Home \ Away  | ATH | BRW | COB | DUN | FIN | KER | LON | TRU | UCD | WEX

|
|
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Athlone Town | -- | 0–1  |  |  |  |  |  | 0–5  | 2–1  |
-- |  |  |  | 0–1  |  |  |  |  |
Bray Wanderers | 1–3  | -- |  |  |  |  |  | 2–1  |  |
| -- | 2–1  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cobh Ramblers | 2–0  |  | -- |  |  | 0–0  | 5–0  |  |  | 1–3
|  | -- |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Dundalk | 1–0  |  | 1–0  | -- |  |  | 2–1  | 2–2  |  |
|  |  | -- |  |  |  |  |  | 3–0
Finn Harps |  | 5–0  | 1–2  | 0–1  | -- |  | 1–1  |  |  |
|  |  |  | -- |  |  |  |  |
Kerry | 3–0  | 0–1  |  | 0–1  | ~~2–0~~ [a] | -- |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  | -- |  |  | 0–1  |
Longford Town | 1–1  | 0–1  |  |  |  | 3–2  | -- | 2–0  | 0–1  |
|  |  |  |  |  | -- |  |  |
Treaty United |  |  | 2–3  |  | 3–1  | 3–0  |  | -- |  | 0–1
|  |  |  |  |  |  | -- |  |
UCD |  | 0–1  | 1–1  | 0–1  | 1–1  |  |  | 0–0  | -- | 3–0[b]
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | -- |
Wexford | 0–1  | 2–0  |  |  | 2–2  | 1–2  | 3–1  |  |  | --
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | --

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2025. Source: SSE Airtricity League of Ireland First Division
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Notes:

1. ^ Result voided after both teams fielded ineligible players.
2. ^ Awarded.

## Positions by round

[edit]

To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.

Team ╲ Round| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| 17| 18| 19| 20| 21| 22| 23| 24| 25| 26| 27| 28| 29| 30| 31| 32| 33| 34| 35| 36

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Dundalk| 4| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Bray Wanderers| 3| 5| 6| 4| 6| 7| 4| 2| 2| 2| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Cobh Ramblers| 2| 2| 3| 2| 2| 2| 2| 3| 3| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Wexford| 10| 9| 5| 7| 5| 6| 8| 6| 4| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
UCD| 1| 4| 4| 5| 7| 5| 3| 5| 5| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Treaty United| 7| 3| 2| 3| 3| 3| 5| 4| 6| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Finn Harps| 5| 7| 10| 8| 9| 8| 6| 7| 7| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Longford Town| 9| 8| 7| 10| 10| 10| 10| 8| 8| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Kerry| 6| 6| 8| 9| 8| 9| 9| 10| 9| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Athlone Town| 8| 10| 9| 6| 4| 4| 7| 9| 10| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| Promotion to 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division

|

| Qualification for League of Ireland Premier Division play-off

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2025. Source: [citation needed]

## Season statistics

[edit]

### Top scorers

[edit]

As of 11 April 2025[11]
Rank  | Player  | Club  | Goals

|
|
|

1  |  Mikie Rowe | Wexford  | 7
2  |  Lee Devitt  | Treaty United  | 6
3  |  Barry Coffey  | Cobh Ramblers  | 4
Dean Ebbe | Dundalk
Calum Flynn  | Wexford
Cian Murphy  | Cobh Ramblers
7  |  Aaron Doran  | Longford Town  | 3
Leo Gaxha | Dundalk
Luke Palmer  | Kerry
Dara McGuinness  | Finn Harps
Max Murphy  | Bray Wanderers

### Hat-tricks

[edit]

Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Lee Devitt  | Treaty United  | Athlone Town  | 5–0 (A)  | 21 February 2025  | [12]

## See also

[edit]

* 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division
* 2025 League of Ireland Women's Premier Division
* 2025 FAI Cup

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "League of Ireland and SSE Airtricity announce rise in prize money ahead of 2025 season". Irish Mirror. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
2. ^ "SLeague journey begins amid beauty of unpredictability". RTÉ Sport. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
3. ^ "2025 SSE Airtricity Men's First Division Fixture List". League of Ireland. 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
4. ^ "Dundalk to appoint new boss on Wednesday as Jon Daly exits". RTÉ Sport. 5 November 2024. "Dundalk will announce a new manager on Wednesday after confirming the resignation of Jon Daly following the conclusion of the season."
5. ^ Wallace, Keith (6 November 2024). "HISTORY MAKER KILDUFF RETURNS TO DUNDALK FC". Dundalk F.C. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
6. ^ "James Keddy departs Wexford FC". Wexford F.C. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
7. ^ "Former Irish international Stephen Elliott unveiled as new Wexford FC manager as he looks to replicate Damien Duff's energy". Irish Independent. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
8. ^ Lee, Ethan (25 March 2025). "Club Statement: Darren Murphy Departs - Finn Harps FC Official Website". finnharps.ie. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
9. ^ "Club stalwart Kevin McHugh appointed Finn Harps manager". RTÉ. 2 April 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
10. ^ Admin (12 April 2025). "Club Statement: Dário Castelo". Athlone Town AFC. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
11. ^ "Top scorers". Extra Time. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
12. ^ Mackey, Éanna (21 February 2025). "WATCH: Five-star Treaty United score resounding win over Athlone Town in First Division". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 9 March 2025.

* 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|

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See also|

Shield

* v
* t
* e

2025 in Republic of Ireland football

Leagues|

* Premier Division
* First Division
* Women's Premier Division

Cup competitions|

* FAI Cup (Final)
* FAI Women's Cup (Final)
* President's Cup
* 2024–25 Leinster Senior Cup
* 2024–25 Munster Senior Cup
* FAI Intermediate Cup (2024–25)

National teams|

* Men
* Women

Club seasons|

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

|

*[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