| Competition: | League of Ireland Premier Division |
| Winners: | Shamrock Rovers (18th title) |
| Relegated: | Cork City, Shelbourne |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Shamrock Rovers |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa Conference League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Bohemians Dundalk Sligo Rovers |
| Continentalcup3: | Europa Conference League |
| Matches: | 90 |
| Total Goals: | 190 |
| League Topscorer: | Patrick Hoban (10 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | |
| Biggest Away Win: | |
| Highest Scoring: | |
| Longest Wins: | Shamrock Rovers (7 games) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | Shamrock Rovers (7 games) |
| Longest Winless: | Finn Harps (7 games) |
| Longest Losses: | Finn Harps (5 games) |
| Prevseason: | 2019 |
| Nextseason: | 2021 |
| Attendance: | 65,700[1] |
| Average Attendance: | 2,986[2] |
| Highest Attendance: | 7,522[3] |
| Season: | 2020 |
| Updated: | 10 November 2020 |
The 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division.
The league began on 14 February 2020 and concluded on 9 November 2020. The fixtures were announced on 20 December 2019.[4] The season was halted in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland following the directive of the Irish government and the Football Association of Ireland.[5] [6] The FAI subsequently announced a contingency plan with a view to completing the domestic season at a later date with a reduced number of games.[7] It resumed on 31 July.[8] On 24 October, Finn Harps won 2–0 at Bohemians which meant Shamrock Rovers won the league and Cork City were relegated.[9] [10]
The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Ordinarily each team plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season. Following a meeting of the Football Association of Ireland regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that the season would be played on an 18-match basis with teams playing each other twice: once at home and once away.[8]
Shelbourne, the 2019 First Division champions, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2013, replacing fellow Dublin side UCD, who were relegated to the League of Ireland First Division after finishing bottom of the league in 2019.[11]
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,640 | ||||
| 7,845 | ||||
| 3,700 | ||||
| 4,500 | ||||
| 6,000 | ||||
| 5,340 | ||||
| 8,000 | ||||
| 3,700 | ||||
| 5,500 | ||||
| 5,500 |
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 | Keith Buckley | O'Neills | Des Kelly Interiors |
| Cork City | Colin Healy | Gearoid Morrissey | Adidas | University College Cork |
| Derry City | Declan Devine | Conor McCormack | Adidas | Diamond Corrugated |
| Dundalk |  Filippo Giovagnoli | Brian Gartland | Umbro | Fyffes |
| Finn Harps | Ollie Horgan | Gareth Harkin |  Joma | KN Group |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Stephen O'Donnell | Ian Bermingham | Umbro | MIG Insurance Brokers |
| Shamrock Rovers | Stephen Bradley | Ronan Finn | Umbro | JD Sports |
| Shelbourne | Ian Morris | Lorcan Fitzgerald | Umbro | FLYEfit |
| Sligo Rovers | Liam Buckley | Kyle Callan-McFadden | Joma | Avantcard |
| Waterford | Fran Rockett | Brian Murphy | Umbro | 24/7 Cardiac Care |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford | Alan Reynolds | Resigned | 16 June 2020[12] | 6th | John Sheridan[13] | 8 July 2020 | |
| Dundalk | Vinny Perth | Sacked | 20 August 2020[14] | 3rd | Filippo Giovagnoli[15] | 25 August 2020 | |
| Waterford | John Sheridan | Moved to Wigan Athletic | 11 September 2020[16] | 4th | Fran Rockett[17] | 24 September 2020 | |
| Cork City | Neale Fenn | Resigned | 8 October 2020[18] | 10th | Colin Healy[19] | 9 October 2020 |
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order 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 afterward.
Teams will play each other twice (once at home, once away).
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Hoban | Dundalk | 10 |
| 2 | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers | 9 |
| 3 | Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | 8 |
| Andre Wright | Bohemians | ||
| 4 | Daniel Grant | Bohemians | 7 |
| Aaron Greene | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 5 | Ronan Coughlan | Sligo Rovers | 6 |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Burke | Shamrock Rovers | Cork City | 6–0 | 5 | |
| Daniel Grant | Bohemians | Shelbourne | 1–3 | 3 | |
Source:[20]
| Month | Player of the Month | References | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | ||
| February | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers | |
| August | Daniel Grant | Bohemians | |
| September | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers | |
| October | Sean Murray | Dundalk | |
| November | David McMillan | Dundalk | |
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| PFAI Player of the Year | Jack Byrne | Shamrock Rovers |
| PFAI Young Player of the Year | Daniel Grant | Bohemians |
| PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year | Stephen Bradley | Shamrock Rovers |
| PFAI Team of the Year | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Alan Mannus (Shamrock Rovers) | ||||||||||||
| Defenders | Andy Lyons (Bohemians) |  Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers) | Lee Grace (Shamrock Rovers) | Tyreke Wilson (Waterford) | |||||||||
| Midfielders | Keith Buckley (Bohemians) | Aaron McEneff (Shamrock Rovers) | Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers) | ||||||||||
| Forwards | Daniel Grant (Bohemians) | Andre Wright (Bohemians) | Michael Duffy (Dundalk) | ||||||||||