2025 League of Ireland First Division
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| Season | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 February 2025 – 17 October 2025 |
| Champions | Dundalk (3rd title) |
| Promoted | Dundalk |
| Matches | 179 |
| Goals | 502 (2.8 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Barry Coffey (26 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Cobh Ramblers 5–0 Longford Town (7 March 2025) Finn Harps 5–0 Bray Wanderers (21 March 2025) Dundalk 6–1 Athlone Town (8 August 2025) |
| Biggest away win | Treaty United 0–7 Dundalk (22 August 2025) |
| Highest scoring | Wexford 4–3 Kerry (27 June 2025) Dundalk 6–1 Athlone Town (8 August 2025) Treaty United 0–7 Dundalk (22 August 2025) Finn Harps 3–4 UCD (17 October 2025) |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Bray Wanderers |
| Longest unbeaten run | 19 matches Dundalk |
| Longest winless run | 22 matches Athlone Town |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Athlone Town |
| Highest attendance | 3,358 Dundalk 3–0 Finn Harps (10 October 2025) |
| Lowest attendance | 154 Athlone Town 0–0 Kerry (22 September 2025) |
| Total attendance | 157,095 |
| Average attendance | 872 |
← 2024 2026 →
All statistics correct as of 13 November 2025. | |
The 2025 League of Ireland First Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division for sponsorship reasons,[1] was the 41st season of the League of Ireland First Division. The competition began on 14 February 2025,[2] and concluded on 17 October 2025.[3]
On 10 October, Dundalk won the title after a 3–0 win against Finn Harps.[4][5]
Team changes
The team relegated to the First Division was Dundalk, the bottom-placed team of the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division. They replaced the one team promoted from the 2024 League of Ireland First Division, champions Cork City.
Stadia and locations
| 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 |
| 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
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 |  Ian Ryan |
Oisín Duffy |
Nike | Valeo Futbol |
| Bray Wanderers | Paul Heffernan |
Kilian Cantwell |
Capelli Sport | OutdoorLiving.ie |
| Cobh Ramblers | Richie Holland (interim) |
Shane Griffin |
Uhlsport | McCarthy Insurance Group |
| Dundalk | Ciarán Kilduff |
Daryl Horgan |
Playr-Fit | ZOMA |
| Finn Harps | Kevin McHugh |
Tony McNamee |
Joma | So-Lo Stores |
| Kerry | Colin Healy |
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 |
Aaron Dobbs |
Macron | Campion Insurance |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of
departure |
Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of
appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk | Jon Daly[6] |
Resigned | 2 November 2024 | Pre-season | Ciarán Kilduff[7] |
6 November 2024 |
| Wexford | James Keddy[8] |
6 November 2024 | Stephen Elliott[9] |
26 November 2024 | ||
| Cobh Ramblers | Gary Hunt[10] |
Sacked | 15 November 2024 |  Mick McDermott[11] |
4 December 2024 | |
| Finn Harps | Darren Murphy[12][13] |
Signed by Loughgall | 25 March 2025 | 8th | Kevin McHugh[14] |
2 April 2025 |
| Athlone Town |  Dario Castelo[15] |
Mutual consent | 12 April 2025 | 10th | Ian Ryan[16] |
8 June 2025 |
| Kerry | Conor McCarthy[17] |
5 May 2025 | 9th | Colin Healy[17] |
5 May 2025 | |
| Cobh Ramblers | Mick McDermott[18] |
Sacked | 17 October 2025 | 2nd | Richie Holland (interim)[19] |
17 October 2025 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundalk (C, P) | 36 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 74 | 31 | +43 | 79 | Promotion to 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Cobh Ramblers | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 69 | Qualification for First Division play-offs |
| 3 | Bray Wanderers | 36 | 20 | 2 | 14 | 63 | 53 | +10 | 62 | |
| 4 | UCD | 36 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 59 | |
| 5 | Treaty United | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 51 | 48 | +3 | 48 | |
| 6 | Longford Town | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 45 | |
| 7 | Wexford | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 44 | |
| 8 | Finn Harps | 35 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 36 | |
| 9 | Kerry | 35 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 33 | |
| 10 | Athlone Town | 36 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 29 | 69 | −40 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Results
Positions by round
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.
| Promotion to 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division | |
| Qualification for League of Ireland Premier Division play-off |
Promotion/relegation play-offs
The ninth-placed team from the 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division will qualify for a play-off alongside the second, third, fourth, and fifth-placed teams from the 2025 League of Ireland First Division (Cobh Ramblers, Bray Wanderers, UCD, and Treaty United).
The First Division teams will contest the First Division semi-finals and final. The semi-finals were 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 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division.
The promotion/relegation play-offs will take place from 24 October to 7 November 2025.[20]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | Promotion/relegation play-off | |||||||||||||
| 4 | UCD | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
| PD9 | Waterford | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Bray Wanderers | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Bray Wanderers | 1 | 3 | Bray Wanderers | 1 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Treaty United | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Treaty United (a.e.t.) | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Cobh Ramblers | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
Semi-finals
| 24 October 2025 | Treaty United | 1–0 | Cobh Ramblers | Limerick |
| 19:45 | Hanson  77' |
Report | Stadium: Markets Field Attendance: 1,849 Referee: Oliver Moran |
| 28 October 2025 | Cobh Ramblers | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Treaty United | Cobh |
| 19:45 | Whelan 90+4' |
Report | Martin 105' |
Stadium: St. Colman's Park Attendance: 1,636 Referee: Mark Houlihan |
Treaty United won 2–1 on aggregate
| 24 October 2025 | UCD | 0–1 | Bray Wanderers | Belfield |
| 19:45 | Report | Doyle 90+4' |
Stadium: UCD Bowl Attendance: 927 Referee: Lucas Keating |
| 28 October 2025 | Bray Wanderers | 3–2 | UCD | Bray |
| 19:45 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Carlisle Grounds Attendance: 2,030 Referee: Daniel Murphy |
Bray Wanderers won 4–2 on aggregate
Final
| 2 November 2025 | Bray Wanderers | 1–0 | Treaty United | Athlone |
| 15:00 | Ferizaj 90' |
Report | Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium Attendance: 1,869 Referee: Declan Toland |
Promotion/relegation play-off
| 7 November 2025 | Bray Wanderers | 1–2 | Waterford | Drumcondra |
| 19:45 |
|
Report | Stadium: Tolka Park Attendance: 3,648 Referee: Kevin O'Sullivan |
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[21] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Coffey |
Cobh Ramblers | 26 |
| 2 | Mikie Rowe |
Wexford | 21 |
| 3 | Lee Devitt |
Treaty United | 14 |
| 4 | Gbemi Arubi |
Dundalk | 12 |
| Aaron Doran |
Longford Town | ||
| Billy O'Neill |
Bray Wanderers | ||
| 7 | Daryl Horgan |
Dundalk | 11 |
| 8 | Adam Brennan |
UCD | 10 |
| Dean Ebbe |
Dundalk | ||
| Eoin Kenny |
Dundalk | ||
| Cian Murphy |
Cobh Ramblers | ||
| Max Murphy |
Bray Wanderers |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Devitt |
Treaty United | Athlone Town | 5–0 (A) | 21 February 2025 | [22] |
| Sean McGrath |
Kerry | Wexford | 3–4 (A) | 27 June 2025 | [23] |
| Shane Griffin |
Cobh Ramblers | Longford Town | 3–1 (H) | 1 August 2025 | [24] |
| Daryl Horgan |
Dundalk | Treaty United | 7–0 (A) | 22 August 2025 | [25] |
| Mikie Rowe |
Wexford | Cobh Ramblers | 3–2 (H) | 19 September 2025 | [26] |
| Dean Larkin |
Finn Harps | 3–1 (H) | 22 September 2025 | [27] | |
| Barry Coffey |
Cobh Ramblers | 4–1 (H) | 26 September 2025 | [28] | |
| Billy O'Neill |
Bray Wanderers | Kerry | 5–1 (H) | 17 October 2025 | [29] |