The 2023 League of Ireland First Division season was the 39th season of the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

, the second tier of the Republic of Ireland's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

league. The winners ( Galway United) were promoted to the

2024 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 40th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top Irish league for association football clubs since it ...

. The runners-up (

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

) were also promoted after winning the League of Ireland Premier Division play-off.

Overview

The First Division has 10 teams. Each side plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season. The team that finishes in first place achieve automatic promotion to the Premier Division. Teams finishing second to fifth place will enter the play-offs to determine the side to contest for a place in the 2024 Premier Division against the ninth placed (second last) Premier Division team.

Teams

Team changes

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

were promoted to the 2023 Premier Division as 2022 First Division champions.

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

were relegated from the 2022 Premier Division.

Additional teams

Newly formed Kerry F.C. successfully applied for a First Division licence to compete in the 2023 season.

Stadia and locations

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managerial changes

League table

Season statistics

Top scorers

References

{{authority control League of Ireland First Division seasons 2023 League of Ireland

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...