2014 League of Ireland Premier Division
# 2014 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2014 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 30th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. Dundalk were champions and Cork City finished as runners-up.

## Teams

### Stadia and locations

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

### Personnel and kits

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 | Mick Cooke Keith Long | Aidan Collins | Nike | Nitro Sports |
| Bohemians | Owen Heary | Dave Mulcahy | Macron | Mr Green |
| Bray Wanderers | Alan Mathews | Danny O'Connor | Macron | Volkswagen |
| Cork City | John Caulfield | John Dunleavy | Umbro | Clonakilty Sausages |
| Derry City | Roddy Collins Peter Hutton | Barry Molloy | Umbro | Diamond Corrugated |
| Drogheda United | Robbie Horgan Damien Richardson | Gavin Brennan | Nike | Scotch Hall Shopping Center |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Limerick | Stuart Taylor Martin Russell | Shane Duggan | Macron | Pacdog.ie |
| Shamrock Rovers | Trevor Croly Pat Fenlon | Conor Kenna | Warrior | Pepper |
| Sligo Rovers | Ian Baraclough John Coleman Gavin Dykes | Gavin Peers | Umbro | Volkswagen |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Ger O'Brien | Umbro | Clune Construction Company L.P. |
| UCD | Aaron Callaghan | Robbie Benson | O'Neills | O'Neills |

## Overview

The 2014 Premier Division featured 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, for a total of 33 games each. The regular season began 7 March and concluded 24 October. Dundalk won the title on the final day of the season with a 2-0 win at home against Cork City. It was the first time Dundalk had won the Premier Division since 1994–95.

## Final Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dundalk (C) | 33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 73 | 24 | +49 | 74 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Cork City | 33 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 72 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 66 | 37 | +29 | 65 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 62 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 43 | |
| 6 | Limerick | 33 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 41 | |
| 7 | Bohemians | 33 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 40 | |
| 8 | Derry City | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 38 | |
| 9 | Drogheda United | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 40 | 63 | −23 | 36 | |
| 10 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 61 | −33 | 26 | |
| 11 | UCD (R) | 33 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 71 | −44 | 25 | Qualification to Relegation play-off and qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 12 | Athlone Town (R) | 33 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 22 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |

* ↑ UCD qualified for the UEFA Europa League via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking system. After the FAI finished third in the 2014–15 rankings, they nominated UCD for the extra European place.

## Results

### Matches 1–22

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

### Matches 23–33

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

## Promotion/relegation playoff

UCD, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division played off against Galway, the winner of the 2014 First Division play off, to decide who would play in the 2015 Premier Division.

Galway won 5–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the Premier Division. UCD are relegated to the First Division.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic | 20 |
| 1 | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 20 (1 pen.) |
| 3 | Conan Byrne | St Patrick's Athletic | 18 (2 pen.) |
| 4 | Rory Gaffney | Limerick | 14 |
| 5 | Billy Dennehy | Cork City | 13 (5 pen.) |
| 5 | Daniel Corcoran | Bohemians | 13 (3 pen.) |

Source:

## Awards

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| - | - | - |
| March | Gary O'Neill | Drogheda United |
| April | Christopher Forrester | St Patrick's Athletic |
| May | Daryl Horgan | Dundalk |
| June | Mark O'Sullivan | Cork City |
| July | Richie Towell | Dundalk |
| August | Rory Gaffney | Limerick |
| September | Dane Massey | Dundalk |
| October | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk |
| November | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic |

### PFAI Players' Player of the Year

| Winner | Club |
| - | - |
| Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic |

### PFAI Young Player of the Year

| Winner | Club |
| - | - |
| Daryl Horgan | Dundalk |

### Team of the Year

| No. | Pos. | Player | Club |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1GK | Mark McNulty | Cork City |
| 2 | 2DF | Seán Gannon | Dundalk |
| 3 | 2DF | Andy Boyle | Dundalk |
| 4 | 2DF | Brian Gartland | Dundalk |
| 5 | 2DF | Ian Bermingham | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 6 | 3MF | Colin Healy | Cork City |
| 7 | 3MF | Daryl Horgan | Dundalk |
| 8 | 3MF | Richie Towell | Dundalk |
| 9 | 4FW | Christy Fagan | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 10 | 4FW | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk |
| 11 | 4FW | Mark O'Sullivan | Cork City |

## Television coverage

The rights to 10 games was awarded to Setanta Sports while RTÉ Two will also show games during the season. MNS on RTÉ Two was the highlights programme between 2008 and 2013 but in 2014 it was replaced by a new programme called Soccer Republic which will show match highlights and analysis on each Monday night during the season and will also include UEFA Champions League highlights.

