2011 League of Ireland Premier Division
Football league season
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The 2011 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 27th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league was also known as the Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons. The division featured 10 teams. Shamrock Rovers were champions while Sligo Rovers finished as runners-up.
| Season | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Shamrock Rovers (17th title) |
| Relegated | Galway United |
| UEFA Champions League | Shamrock Rovers |
| UEFA Europa League | Sligo Rovers St. Patrick's Athletic Bohemians |
| Setanta Cup | Shamrock Rovers Bohemians Sligo Rovers St. Patrick's Athletic Derry City Bray Wanderers |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 503 (2.79 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Éamon Zayed: 22 (Derry City) [1] |
| Biggest home win | Derry City 7–0 UCD |
| Biggest away win | Galway United 0–8 Sligo Rovers |
| Highest scoring | UCD 5–4 Drogheda United |
| Longest winning run | Shamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers (5 games each)[2] |
| Longest unbeaten run | Derry City (18 games)[2] |
| Longest winless run | Galway United (32 games)[2] |
| Longest losing run | Galway United (22 games)[2] |
← 2010 2012 → | |
Teams
Overview
The Premier Division consists of ten teams. Each team played every other team four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 36 matches. The league began on 4 March[3] and ended on 29 October. Defending champions Shamrock Rovers retained the league title with victory over UCD on 25 October 2011.[4][5]
Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamrock Rovers (C) | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 69 | 24 | +45 | 77 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Sligo Rovers | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 73 | 19 | +54 | 73 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Derry City | 36 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 63 | 23 | +40 | 68 | Banned from 2012–13 European competitions[b] |
| 4 | St Patrick's Athletic | 36 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 62 | 35 | +27 | 63 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Bohemians | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 60 | |
| 6 | Bray Wanderers | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 51 | |
| 7 | Dundalk | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 50 | 53 | −3 | 44 | |
| 8 | UCD | 36 | 10 | 4 | 22 | 42 | 80 | −38 | 34 | |
| 9 | Drogheda United | 36 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 32 | 77 | −45 | 25 | |
| 10 | Galway United[c] | 36 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 20 | 115 | −95 | 6 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
- Sligo Rovers qualified for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round after winning the 2011 FAI Cup Final.
- Derry City were banned from European competitions for three seasons after going into liquidation.
- Galway United were originally relegated but subsequently withdrew from the league.
Results
Matches 1–18
Matches 19–36
Awards
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Éamon Zayed |
Derry City[1] | 22 |
| 2 |  Eoin Doyle |
Sligo Rovers | 20 |
| 3 |  Danny North |
St. Patrick's Athletic | 15 |
 Gary Twigg |
Shamrock Rovers | 15 | |
| 5 | Mark Quigley |
Dundalk | 13 |
Source:[7]
PFAI Players' Player of the Year
| Winner | Club |
|---|---|
| Éamon Zayed |
Derry City[10] |
PFAI Young Player of the Year
| Winner | Club |
|---|---|
| Enda Stevens |
Shamrock Rovers[10] |
PFAI Team of the Year
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Gerard Doherty | Derry City | ||
| 2 | DF | Patrick Sullivan | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 3 | DF | Stewart Greacen | Derry City | ||
| 4 | DF | Craig Sives | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 5 | DF | Enda Stevens | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 6 | MF | Stephen Bradley | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| 7 | MF | Daryl Kavanagh | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| 8 | MF | Richie Ryan | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 9 | MF | Mark Quigley | Dundalk | ||
| 10 | FW | Éamon Zayed | Derry City | ||
| 11 | FW | Eoin Doyle | Sligo Rovers |
Player of the Month
| Month | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| March | Mark Quigley |
Dundalk |
| April | Gary Dempsey |
Bray Wanderers |
| May | Eoin Doyle |
Sligo Rovers |
| June | Danny North |
St. Patrick's Athletic |
| July | Conor McCormack |
Shamrock Rovers |
| August | Patrick Sullivan |
Shamrock Rovers |
| September |  Joseph Ndo |
Sligo Rovers |
| October | Karl Sheppard |
Shamrock Rovers |
| November | Stephen Paisley[note 1] |
Shelbourne |
- Notes
- Stephen Paisley was playing in First Division.
Promotion/relegation play-off
Galway United, the tenth-placed team in the 2011 Premier Division, and Monaghan United, the third-placed team from the 2011 First Division, played off to see who would play in the 2012 Premier Division. The playoff was contested in a two-legged format.[11]
| 1 November 2011 | Monaghan United | 2–0 | Galway United | Kingspan Century Park |
| 19.45 GMT | Isichei  13'S. Brennan 87' |
| 4 November 2011 | Galway United | 1–3 | Monaghan United | Terryland Park |
| 19.45 GMT | Murphy 82' |
26', 33' O'Brien 51' R. Brennan |
Monaghan United won 5–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the Premier Division. Galway United were relegated to the First Division.