| Competition: | League of Ireland Premier Division |
| Winners: | St. Patrick's Athletic (8th title) |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | St. Patrick's Athletic |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Dundalk Derry City Sligo Rovers |
| Matches: | 198 |
| Attendance: | 307,355 |
| Average Attendance: | 1,552[1] [2] |
| Highest Attendance: | 4,703 Shamrock Rovers 0–4 St. Patrick's Athletic |
| Total Goals: | 523 |
| League Topscorer: | Rory Patterson 18 |
| Prevseason: | 2012 |
| Nextseason: | 2014 |
| Season: | 2013 |
| Continentalcup3: | Setanta Cup |
| Continentalcup3 Qualifiers: | St. Patrick's Athletic Dundalk Sligo Rovers Shamrock Rovers |
The 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 29th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. St. Patrick's Athletic were champions, winning their eighth top level League of Ireland title. Dundalk finished as runners-up.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians | Owen Heary | Owen Heary | Macron | Volkswagen | |
| Bray Wanderers | Pat Devlin | Danny O'Connor | Adidas | Volkswagen | |
| Cork City | Tommy Dunne Stuart Ashton/Paul O Brien | Kevin Murray | Umbro | Clonakilty Blackpudding | |
| Derry City | Declan Devine | Kevin Deery | Umbro | Diamond Corrugated | |
| Drogheda United | Mick Cooke | Derek Prendergast | Nike | Scotch Hall Shopping Center | |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | Umbro | Fyffes | |
| Limerick | Stuart Taylor | Joe Gamble | Macron | Greenheat Group | |
| Shamrock Rovers | Trevor Croly | Patrick Sullivan | Umbro | SEAT | |
| Shelbourne | John McDonnell | Ian Ryan | Macron | Volkswagen | |
| Sligo Rovers | Ian Baraclough | Danny Ventre | Umbro | Volkswagen | |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Conor Kenna | Umbro | Clune Construction LP | |
| UCD | Martin Russell | Mick Leahy | O'Neills | O'Neills |
The Premier Division featured 12 teams. Each team played each other three times, totalling 33 games. The regular season began on 8 March and concluded on 25 October.[4] St. Patrick's Athletic clinched the title on 13 October 2013, with two games to go, after a 2–0 win against the holders, Sligo Rovers.[5] [6] [7]
Bray Wanderers, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division, played off against Longford Town, the winners of the 2013 First Division play off. The winner of this play off would play in the 2014 Premier Division.
Bray Wanderers win 5–4 on aggregate and retained their place in the Premier Division.
| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Rory Patterson | Derry City | 18 (3 pen.)[8] |
| Declan O'Brien | Drogheda United | 14 (3 pen.) |
| Ciarán Kilduff | Cork City | 13 |
| Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 13 |
| David McMillan | Sligo Rovers | 13 (6 pen.) |
| Player | For ! | Against | Result | Date | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derry City | University College Dublin | 6–0[9] | 3 | |||
| St Patrick's Athletic | Shelbourne | 4–0[10] | 3 | |||
| Bray Wanderers | Drogheda United | 3–2[11] | 3 | |||
| Bray Wanderers | UCD | 5–4[12] | 4 | |||
| Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | Bohemians | 3–0[13] | 3 | ||
| St Patrick's Athletic | Shamrock Rovers | 4–0[14] | 4 | |||
| Danny Morrissey | Cork City | Derry City | 4–1[15] | 3 | ||
| Dundalk | Derry City | 3–0[16] | 3 | |||
| Cork City | Shelbourne | 5–3[17] | 4 | |||
| Derry City | Limerick | 6–0[18] | 3 | |||
| Month | Player | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | Anthony Elding | Sligo Rovers[19] | |
| April | Barry McNamee | Derry City[20] | |
| May | Killian Brennan | St Patrick's Athletic[21] | |
| June | Jason Byrne | Bray Wanderers[22] | |
| July | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk[23] | |
| August | Richie Towell | Dundalk[24] | |
| September | Anthony Flood | St Patrick's Athletic[25] | |
| October | Ciaran Kilduff | Cork City[26] | |
| November | Danny North | Sligo Rovers |
Live coverage of matches in Ireland were shown on RTÉ Two and Setanta Sports. MNS on RTÉ Two showed match highlights and analysis on each Monday night during the season.