2026 League of Ireland First Division
42nd edition of the 2nd tier competition in association football in Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 League of Ireland First Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the 42nd season of the League of Ireland First Division for men's football.[1] The competition is scheduled to run from 13 February 2026 and until 16 October 2026.[2]
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 February 2026 – 16 October 2026 |
| Matches | 115 |
| Goals | 294 (2.56 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Hans Mpongo (12 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Bray Wanderers 6-0 UCD |
| Biggest away win | Finn Harps 0–5 UCD (12 June 2026) |
| Highest scoring | UCD 3–4 Bray Wanderers (15 May 2026) Bray Wanderers 5–2 Longford Town (19 June 2026) |
| Longest winning run | 9 matches Cork City |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 matches Cork City |
| Longest winless run | 10 matches Athlone Town |
| Longest losing run | 4 matches Finn Harps Athlone Town |
| Highest attendance | 5,366 Cork City 4–2 Kerry (6 April 2026) |
| Lowest attendance | 136 UCD 2–0 Cobh Ramblers (26 June 2026) |
| Total attendance | 99,482 |
← 2025 2027 →
All statistics correct as of 5 July 2026. | |
Teams
Team changes
The 2025 League of Ireland First Division, saw Dundalk promoted after one season in the First Division.[3][4] They replaced Cork City who were relegated from the 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division after a single season in the Premier Division.[5]
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 |
| Cork City | Cork | Munster FA Turner's Cross Stadium | 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
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 |  Seán O'Connor |
Brendan Clarke |
Macron | |
| Bray Wanderers | Paul Heffernan |
Jimmy Corcoran |
Capelli Sport[6] | OutdoorLiving.ie |
| Cobh Ramblers | Fran Rockett |
Shane Griffin |
Uhlsport | Caltech Electrical Supplies[7] |
| Cork City |  Barry Robson |
Sean Maguire |
Rebel Army | Zeus Packaging[8] |
| Finn Harps | Patrick McEleney (interim) |
Tony McNamee[9] |
Joma | Kernans[10] |
| Kerry | Colin Healy |
Sean McGrath[11] |
Macron[12] | Kerry Airport[13] |
| Longford Town | Wayne Groves |
Dean George |
Umbro | |
| Treaty United | Tommy Barrett |
Mark Walsh[14] |
O'Neills | Trade Electric Group |
| UCD | William O'Connor |
Adam Wells |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobh Ramblers | Richie Holland (interim) |
End of interim spell | 3 November 2025 | Pre-season | Fran Rockett[15] |
3 November 2025 |
| Cork City | Gerard Nash[16] |
Resigned | 23 December 2025 | Barry Robson[17] |
11 January 2026 | |
| Athlone Town | Ian Ryan |
Resigned | 6 July 2026 | 7th | Seán O'Connor[18] |
14 July 2026 |
| Finn Harps | Kevin McHugh[19] |
Change of role | 26 July 2026 | 10th | Patrick McEleney (interim)[20] |
29 July 2026 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cork City | 25 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 51 | 20 | +31 | 57 | Promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division |
| 2 | Bray Wanderers | 25 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 40 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 3 | UCD | 25 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 40 | |
| 4 | Longford Town | 25 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 34 | |
| 5 | Cobh Ramblers | 25 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 34 | |
| 6 | Kerry | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 32 | |
| 7 | Wexford | 25 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 31 | |
| 8 | Athlone Town | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 29 | −7 | 28 | |
| 9 | Treaty United | 25 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 26 | |
| 10 | Finn Harps | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 43 | −22 | 22 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Results
Teams play each other four times (twice at home and twice away).
Positions by round
To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in 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 2027 League of Ireland Premier Division | |
| Qualification for League of Ireland Premier Division play-off |
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of 25 June 2026
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[21] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hans Mpongo |
Cork City | 12 |
| 2 | Ruairí Keating |
10 | |
| 3 | Ben McCormack |
Bray Wanderers | 9 |
| 4 | Sean Maguire |
Cork City | 8 |
| Dylan McGlade |
Cobh Ramblers | ||
| 6 | Cian Curtis |
Treaty United | 7 |
| Mikie Walsh-Rowe |
Wexford | ||
| Ciaran Behan |
UCD | ||
| Ruairí Keating |
Cork City | ||
| Jake Doyle |
Wexford | ||
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dylan McGlade |
Cobh Ramblers | Treaty United | 4–0 (H) | 6 April 2026 | [22] |
| Sean Maguire |
Cork City | Kerry | 4–2 (H) | [23] | |
| Ben McCormack |
Bray Wanderers | Cobh Ramblers | 5–1 (H) | 8 May 2026 | [24] |
| Hans Mpongo |
Cork City | UCD | 3–1 (H) | [25] | |
 Ifunanyachi Achara |
Bray Wanderers | UCD | 6–0 (H) | 10 July 2026 | [26] |