League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2008
ChampionsBohemians (10th title)
RelegatedFinn Harps
Cobh Ramblers
UCD
UEFA Champions LeagueBohemians
UEFA Europa LeagueSt Patrick's Athletic
Derry City
Sligo Rovers
Setanta CupBohemians
St Patrick's Athletic
Derry City
Sligo Rovers
Matches played198
Goals scored440 (2.22 per match)
Top goalscorerDavid Mooney: 15
(Cork City)
Mark Quigley: 15
(St Patrick's Athletic)
Mark Farren: 15
(Derry City)[1]
Biggest home winCork City v Cobh Ramblers 5-0 (20 June 2008)
Biggest away winCobh Ramblers v Drogheda United 0-4 31 May 2008
Galway United v Derry City 0-4 (25 July 2008)
Highest scoringBray Wanderers v Drogheda United 4-3 (7 November 2008)
← 2007
2009 →

The 2008 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 24th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams. Bohemians were champions while St Patrick's Athletic finished as runners-up.

Club information

Team Base Manager Main sponsor Kit supplier Stadium Capacity
BohemiansPhibsboroughRepublic of Ireland Pat FenlonDes Kelly InteriorsUmbroDalymount Park8,500
Bray WanderersBrayRepublic of Ireland Eddie GormleyHard MetalUmbroCarlisle Grounds7,000
Cobh RamblersCobhRepublic of Ireland Stephen HendersonGoodyearUhlsportSt. Colman's Park5,000
Cork CityCorkRepublic of Ireland Alan MathewsBeamishHummelTurners Cross8,000
Derry CityDerryRepublic of Ireland Stephen KennyMeteorElectrical.comO'NeillsBrandywell Stadium7,700
Drogheda UnitedDroghedaRepublic of Ireland Paul DoolinHunky DorysJakoUnited Park5,400
Finn HarpsBallybofeyRepublic of Ireland Paul HegartyDonegal CreameriesMasitaFinn Park7,900
Galway UnitedGalwayEngland Ian FosterO'Connell Drylining LtdRivalTerryland Park5,000
Shamrock RoversDrumcondraNorthern Ireland Michael O'NeillWoodie's DIYUmbroTolka Park9,700
Sligo RoversSligoEngland Paul CookToher'sJakoThe Showgrounds5,500
St Patrick's AthleticInchicoreRepublic of Ireland Jeff KennaPaddy PowerUmbroRichmond Park5,500
UCDBelfieldRepublic of Ireland Pete MahonBudweiserO'NeillsUCD Bowl3,000

Overview

The regular season began on 7 March and concluded on 14 November. Each team played the other teams three times, totaling 33 games. Bohemians finished the season as champions, winning by a margin of nineteen points. There was no promotion/relegation play-off between Premier Division and First Division teams. This was because the 2009 Premier Division would be reduced to 10 clubs. This saw three clubs relegated out of the Premier Division.[2]

For the first time in the history of the league the national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann started showing highlights of every Premier Division game played on its new show Monday Night Soccer. This show was presented by Con Murphy. This replaced eircom League Weekly which had run on TV3 on Monday nights from 2002 to 2007. The final season of live weekly radio coverage was provided by national broadcaster RTÉ with live reports and commentary on match nights, which was dropped from the end of 2008. Live games were shown by RTÉ, Setanta Sports and TG4's Sacar Beo.

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Bohemians (C) 33 27 4 2 55 13 +42 85 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2 St Patrick's Athletic 33 20 6 7 48 24 +24 66 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
3 Derry City 33 16 10 7 46 25 +21 58
4 Sligo Rovers 33 12 12 9 41 28 +13 48 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
5 Cork City[lower-alpha 1] 33 15 11 7 45 28 +17 46
6 Bray Wanderers 33 11 6 16 28 52 −24 39
7 Shamrock Rovers 33 8 13 12 33 35 −2 37
8 Drogheda United[lower-alpha 2] 33 12 9 12 38 32 +6 35
9 Galway United 33 8 8 17 34 49 −15 32
10 Finn Harps (R) 33 9 4 20 26 53 −27 31 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
11 Cobh Ramblers (R) 33 6 8 19 27 55 −28 26 Relegation to A Championship[lower-alpha 3]
12 UCD (R) 33 4 9 20 19 46 −27 21 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Cork City were deducted ten points after going into administration.
  2. ↑ Drogheda United were deducted ten points after going into administration.
  3. ↑ Cobh Ramblers were relegated directly from the Premier Division to the A Championship after being refused a First Division licence.

Results

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away BOH BRW COB COR DER DRO FHA GAL SHM SLI StP UCD
Bohemians — 1–1 3–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–1 3–0 0–1 2–0
Bray Wanderers 0–2 — 1–0 0–3 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–3 0–2
Cobh Ramblers 0–1 1–2 — 0–0 0–3 0–4 1–3 1–1 2–0 1–3 0–1 0–0
Cork City 0–1 0–0 5–0 — 1–1 0–2 3–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0
Derry City 0–0 4–0 1–0 2–3 — 2–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–3 4–1
Drogheda United 1–2 2–0 3–0 0–1 0–1 — 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 2–1
Finn Harps 0–2 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–3 — 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–0
Galway United 0–1 2–3 0–1 1–3 0–4 0–1 2–2 — 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–2
Shamrock Rovers 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–2 3–1 — 1–0 0–1 1–1
Sligo Rovers 1–2 3–0 3–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 4–1 3–0 3–2 — 1–2 0–0
St Patrick's Athletic 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–2 0–1 0–1 5–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 — 0–0
UCD 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–2 2–3 1–3 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–3 —
Source: soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Home \ Away BOH BRW COB COR DER DRO FHA GAL SHM SLI StP UCD
Bohemians — 2–1 — 3–1 0–1 — 3–0 — — — 3–0 —
Bray Wanderers — — 3–2 — 2–1 4–3 0–1 — — — 0–1 2–1
Cobh Ramblers 0–2 — — 1–1 — — — 4–1 1–0 — — 2–0
Cork City — 3–0 — — 1–1 0–0 1–1 — — 0–0 — 2–0
Derry City — — 4–2 — — 0–1 1–0 2–0 — 1–1 — —
Drogheda United 1–2 — 0–0 — — — 1–2 1–1 1–1 — 0–2 —
Finn Harps — — 2–2 — — — — — 2–0 0–2 0–1 2–0
Galway United 0–2 4–0 — 3–2 — — 3–0 — 1–1 — — —
Shamrock Rovers 1–2 2–2 — 3–0 1–1 — — — — — 1–3 1–1
Sligo Rovers 0–1 2–0 4–0 — — 3–3 — 1–1 2–1 — — —
St Patrick's Athletic — — 0–3 0–1 2–1 — — 0–1 — 1–0 — 2–0
UCD 0–1 — — — 1–2 1–0 — 0–1 — 0–1 — —
Source: soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Goalscorers Goals Team
Republic of Ireland David Mooney 15 Cork City[1]
Republic of Ireland Mark Quigley 15 St Patrick's Athletic[1]
Republic of Ireland Mark Farren 15 Derry City[1]
Republic of Ireland Killian Brennan 11 Bohemians

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ireland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Ireland 2008". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
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