| Competition: | League of Ireland Premier Division |
| Season: | 2018 |
| Winners: | Dundalk (13th title) |
| Relegated: | Limerick Bray Wanderers |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Dundalk |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Cork City Shamrock Rovers Waterford |
| Matches: | 180 |
| Total Goals: | 501 |
| League Topscorer: | Patrick Hoban (29 Goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Dundalk 8-0 Limerick |
| Biggest Away Win: | Bray Wanderers 0-5 Bohemians |
| Highest Scoring: | Waterford 3-6 Limerick |
| Attendance: | 384,520 |
| Average Attendance: | 2,136[1] |
| Highest Attendance: | 6,672[2] Cork City 1–0 Dundalk F.C. |
| Prevseason: | 2017 |
| Nextseason: | 2019 |
| Updated: | 2 November 2018 |
The 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 34th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 16 February 2018 and concluded on 26 October 2018.[3]
On 5 October, Dundalk won the title after a 1–1 draw with St Patrick's Athletic.[4] [5]
The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Each team plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season.
Waterford, the 2017 First Division champion, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2007.
On 22 December 2016, the Football Association of Ireland announced that the league would be restructured into two 10-team divisions from the 2018 season onwards, one of the recommendations made in the 2015 Conroy Report.[6]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians |  Keith Long | Derek Pender | Hummel | Mr Green Sport |
| Bray Wanderers | Gary Cronin | Gary McCabe | Nike | O Driscoll O Neil Insurance |
| Cork City | John Caulfield | Conor McCormack | Adidas | University College Cork |
| Derry City | Gerard Doherty | Adidas | Diamond Corrugated | |
| Dundalk | Stephen Kenny | Stephen O'Donnell | CX+ Sport | Fyffes |
| Limerick | Tommy Barrett | Shane Duggan | Umbro | Betsat.com |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Liam Buckley | Ian Bermingham | Umbro | MIG Insurance Brokers |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Bradley | Ronan Finn | New Balance | Pepper Money |
| Sligo Rovers | Gerard Lyttle | Kyle Callan-McFadden | Joma | Volkswagen |
| Waterford | Alan Reynolds | Paul Keegan | Umbro | 21 Bet |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limerick | Neil McDonald | Signed by Scunthorpe United | 4 January 2018[7] | Pre-season | Tommy Barrett | 14 January 2018[8] |
| Bray Wanderers | Dave Mackey | Resigned | 8 April 2018[9] | 10th | Graham Kelly | 10 April 2018[10] |
| Bray Wanderers | Graham Kelly | End of caretaker spell | 8 July 2018 | 10th | Martin Russell | 8 July 2018[11] |
| Derry City | Kenny Shiels | Sacked | 27 October 2018 [12] | 8th | 16 November 2018 | |
Teams played each other twice (once at home, once away).
Teams will play each other twice (once home, once away).
Limerick, the ninth-placed team from the Premier Division took part in a two-legged play-off against Finn Harps, the winners of the 2018 First Division play-off, to decide who will play in the 2019 Premier Division.
Finn Harps won 3–0 on aggregate and were promoted to 2019 Premier Division. Limerick were relegated to the 2019 First Division.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 29 | |
| 2 | Kieran Sadlier | Cork City | 16 | |
| 3 | Graham Cummins | Cork City | 15 | |
| 4 | Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | 13 | |
| Michael Duffy | Dundalk | 13 | ||
| 6 | Daniel Carr | Shamrock Rovers | 11 | |
| Daniel Corcoran | Bohemians | 11 | ||
| 8 | Courtney Duffus | Waterford | 10 | |
| Aaron McEneff | Derry City | 10 | ||
| 10 | Robbie Benson | Dundalk | 9 |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 5–0 (A) | [13] | ||||
| | 4–1 (A) | |||||
| Graham Burke4 | 6-1 (H) | [14] | ||||
| | 5–0 (H) | [15] | ||||
| | 4–0 (H) | [16] |
| Month | Player | Club | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | Graham Cummins | Cork City | [18] | |
| March | Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | [19] | |
| April | Michael Duffy | Dundalk | [20] | |
| May | Seán Hoare | Dundalk | [21] | |
| June | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | [22] | |
| July | Gavin Bazunu | Shamrock Rovers | [23] | |
| August | Michael Duffy | Dundalk | [24] | |
| September | Chris Shields | Dundalk | [25] | |
| October/November | Patrick McEleney | Dundalk | [26] |