2024 League of Ireland First Division

League of Ireland First Division
Season2024
DatesFebruary 2024 – October 2024
ChampionsCork City
(3rd title)
2023

The 2024 League of Ireland First Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division for sponsorship reasons,[1] was the 40th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The competition began on 16 February 2024,[2] and concluded in October 2024.[3]

Cork City won the title for the third time.[4]

Teams

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Team changes

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The teams relegated to the First Division were Cork City (losers of the 2023 League of Ireland Premier Division play-off) and UCD (the bottom-placed team of the 2023 League of Ireland Premier Division). They replaced the two teams promoted from the 2023 League of Ireland First Division (champions Galway United and Premier Division play-off winners Waterford).

Stadia and locations

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Team Location Stadium Capacity
Athlone Town Athlone Athlone Town Stadium 5,000
Bray Wanderers Bray Carlisle Grounds 4,000
Cobh Ramblers Cobh St. Colman's Park 3,000
Cork City Cork Turners Cross 7,485
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

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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 Portugal Dario Castelo Republic of Ireland Oisín Duffy United States Nike Valeo Futbol
Bray Wanderers Republic of Ireland Vacant Republic of Ireland Killian Cantwell United States Capelli Sport OutdoorLiving.ie
Cobh Ramblers Republic of Ireland Gary Hunt Republic of Ireland Jason Abbott Germany Uhlsport McCarthy Insurance Group
Cork City Republic of Ireland Tim Clancy Republic of Ireland Cian Coleman Germany Adidas Zeus
Finn Harps Northern Ireland Darren Murphy Republic of Ireland Tony McNamee Spain Joma So-Lo Stores
Kerry Republic of Ireland Conor McCarthy Republic of Ireland Andy Spain United States New Balance Kerry Airport
Longford Town Republic of Ireland Wayne Groves Republic of Ireland Shane Elworthy Italy Macron Bishopsgate
Treaty United Republic of Ireland Tommy Barrett Republic of Ireland Mark Walsh Republic of Ireland O'Neills Trade Electric Group
UCD Republic of Ireland William O’Connor Republic of Ireland Jack Keaney Republic of Ireland O'Neills Maples Group
Wexford Republic of Ireland James Keddy Republic of Ireland Ethan Boyle Italy Macron Campion Insurance

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Cork City (C, P) 36 22 12 2 64 23 +41 78 Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division
2 UCD 36 14 14 8 47 37 +10 56 Qualification to League of Ireland Premier Division play-off
3 Wexford 36 15 11 10 61 56 +5 56
4 Athlone Town 36 15 10 11 51 49 +2 55
5 Bray Wanderers 36 14 9 13 54 47 +7 51
6 Finn Harps 36 12 10 14 39 43 −4 46
7 Treaty United 36 11 11 14 41 43 −2 44
8 Cobh Ramblers 36 12 8 16 41 56 −15 44
9 Longford Town 36 6 11 19 41 64 −23 29
10 Kerry 36 5 12 19 34 55 −21 27
Source: SSE Airtricity League of Ireland First Division
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted


Results

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

Home \ Away ATH BRW COB COR FIN KER LON TRU UCD WEX ATH BRW COB COR FIN KER LON TRU UCD WEX
Athlone Town 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–3 1–0 2–2 3–0 0–1 1–2 4–1 1–4 3–3 4–1 1–0 1–0 2–3
Bray Wanderers 3–0 2–2 1–3 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 3–4 1–0 3–1 3–3 2–2 2–0 0–1 5–0 0–1 3–1
Cobh Ramblers 3–3 2–1 0–3 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–4 1–2 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 2–2 1–2
Cork City 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 4–1 2–2 2–0 3–2 1–1 0–0 6–0
Finn Harps 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–3
Kerry 1–2 2–3 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 2–0 3–3 0–2 1–4 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 1–1
Longford Town 1–1 0–3 0–0 1–4 2–3 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–4 1–1 2–2 1–4 1–2 3–0
Treaty United 0–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 2–2 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–3
UCD 3–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 3–3 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–1
Wexford 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 3–2 2–3 2–1 0–0 3–0 1–3 2–0 4–0 2–2 0–1 2–0
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.

League of Ireland Promotion/Relegation play-off

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The ninth-placed team (Drogheda United) from the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division qualified for a play-off alongside the second, third, fourth, and fifth-placed teams from the 2024 League of Ireland First Division (Athlone Town, Bray Wanderers, UCD, and Wexford).

The First Division teams contest the semi-finals and final. The semi-finals will be held over two legs, with the second-placed team facing the fifth-placed team and the third-placed team facing the fourth-placed team. The semi-final winners then contest the First Division final, with the winners ultimately facing the ninth-placed League of Ireland Premier Division team for the final place in the 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division.

Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinalPromotion/Relegation Playoff
2UCD011
Drogheda United
5Bray Wanderers202
5Bray Wanderers2 (4p)Bray Wanderers
4Athlone Town2 (2p)
3Wexford000
4Athlone Town101

Semi-finals

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First leg

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24 October 2024 Bray Wanderers 2–0 UCD Bray
19:45 IST Guillermo Almirall 17'
Cristian Măgerușan 70'
Report Stadium: Carlisle Grounds
Attendance: 1,205
Referee: Mark Houlihan
24 October 2024 Athlone Town 1–0 Wexford Athlone
19:45 IST Dean Ebbe 53' (pen.) Report Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium
Attendance: 572
Referee: Oliver Moran

Second leg

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28 October 2024 UCD 1–0
(1–2 agg.)
Bray Wanderers Dublin
17:00 IST Ronan Finn 88' (pen) Paul Murphy Red card 58' Stadium: UCD Bowl
Attendance: 1,112
Referee: Declan Toland
28 October 2024 Wexford 0–0
(0–1 agg.)
Athlone Town Wexford
15:00 IST Report Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park
Attendance: 1,251
Referee: Alan Patchell

Final

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2 November 2024 Bray Wanderers 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Athlone Town Dublin
16:00 IST Hand 63' (o.g.)
Omorehiomwan 90+2'
Report Ebbe 11'
Fuentes 24'
Stadium: Dalymount Park
Attendance: 1,782
Referee: Marc Lynch
Penalties
Griffin soccer ball with check mark
Craven soccer ball with check mark
Măgerușan soccer ball with check mark
O'Sullivan soccer ball with check mark
Connolly soccer ball with red X
Torre soccer ball with check mark
McKenna soccer ball with check mark
Oakley soccer ball with red X

Promotion/Relegation Playoff

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16 November 2024 Drogheda United v Bray Wanderers Dublin
14:00 IST Stadium: Richmond Park
Note: Game shown live on Virgin Media Two

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "League of Ireland and SSE Airtricity announce rise in prize money ahead of 2024 season". Irish Examiner. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Shamrock Rovers to host Dundalk on 2024 League of Ireland opening day". RTÉ. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ^ "2024 SSE Airtricity Men's First Division Fixture List" (PDF). League of Ireland. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Cork City turn on the style to celebrate league title". RTE Sport. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.