The pitches are lined, transfer business is done and the stage is set, the League of Ireland returns on Friday 6 February. And as always, this promises to be another intriguing season with plenty of storylines.
Derry City bettered Shamrock Rovers in the season’s curtain raiser on Saturday winning the President’s cup for the first time since 2023. James McLean has returned to Derry City after 15 years away, and has already traded insults with the Rovers fans and refused to speak to the press due to a gripe with a particular journalist. McLean should replace some of the soundbites and chaos that the league lost last year with Damien Duff’s sudden departure from Shelbourne.
There has been plenty of transfer business, although none as high profile as McLean’s. However, at the height of the “silly season” there was murmurs of ex-Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder Dele Alli joining Bohemians, which proved to be nothing more than just rumour.
The league can almost be divided into three groups this year, genuine title contenders, the maybe winners if they can put a run of wins together, and the hopefuls, whose main focus will be to avoid relegation and maybe get a cup run or if they really get some momentum, European football. With that said, let’s go through each group separately and go through the reasons for each teams place in that group.
Starting with the title contenders, the two contestants of the aforementioned President’s Cup, Derry City and last year’s champions Shamrock Rovers. Shamrock Rovers won a record 22nd league title last season and are well placed to defend their title again this year. They’ve signed ex-Ireland international Enda Stevens and poached winger Jake Mulraney from Dublin rivals St Patrick’s Athletic.
While Mulraney was inconsistent at times in Inchicore, it will be interesting to see if Stephen Bradley can get a better tune out of him. In another boost to their attack, they have (for now) kept a hold of Michael Noonan, with the young striker turning down a move to German side TSG Hoffenheim last week. Fullback Josh Honahan has left for Lincoln City in England, but they have avoided any other major departures and will be a formidable force once again this year.
Derry City have long been touted as possible league winners but haven’t manged to bring the title up North since the 1996-97 season. This looks like a season where the Candy stripes should be right in the mix come the business end of the season. The signing of James McLean is a massive signing not just for Derry but the League as a whole. While he is 36 years old, McLean is coming from the English League 1 that is of a far higher standard than the LOI, and he managed 16 appearances, recording one assist so far this season for Wrexham.
Aside from McLean, Derry have also made some smart signings. Rob Slevin has arrived from Galway United, having been a key cog in their strong defence over the last number of years. Attackers James Clarke and Darragh Markey have also come in after having impressive spells and Bohemians and Drogheda United respectively.
Among other signings, James’s brother Partick McLean has also come in from Sligo Rovers. Derry now look to have the right depth and calibre of players to seriously challenge Rovers for the league.
In the maybe winners’ group then, you have three Dublin clubs: Shelbourne, St. Pats and Bohemians.
Starting with Shelbourne, who won the league in 2024, and with most of that squad still intact they have, arguably, the best chance of the three of winning the title. The loss of their manager, Damien Duff has been sizeable, however, and while Joey O’Brien has done a decent job since he took the reins, they miss Duff’s energy on the sideline. Though they have strengthened, with the signing of Portuguese striker Rodrigo Freitas from the Portuguese third tier, where he has scored six goals in 14 games so far this season. James Norris’s loan move from Liverpool has also been made permanent in what looks like a shrewd bit of business.
Shelbourne have also made Odhran Casey the most expensive League of Ireland signing of all time, bringing him in from Cliftonville for a reported €104,000 fee. League winning captain Mark Coyle has left the club, however, after falling down the pecking order last season. There is more than enough in this Shels squad to qualify for Europe, although they do lack the same quality as Derry and Rovers on paper.
Moving on to St. Pat’s, where former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny still hasn’t really got this group to click consistently. They went on a fine run of form at the end of the 2024 season but failed to carry it through to last year. Missing out on European qualification was a huge blow. However, with less games this season it could be an opportunity to focus solely on the domestic campaign.
They have replaced the Tottenham Hotspur bound Mason Melia with Max Mata who previously impressed in the league with Sligo Rovers. The 25-year-old scored 16 goals across 53 appearances in Sligo, and Stephen Kenny will hope he can replicate that form in Inchicore. With the squad and manager they have, St. Pat’s should push for a title challenge at least, but we will have to see if they can step up in the big games and be more consistent than last year.
Last in this group is Bohemians, who are heading into this campaign knowing this will be the last season before the redevelopment of Dalymount Park. While the redevelopment of the stadium is badly needed, there is a romantic feel to the old ground and Bohs will want to give it a good send off.
They have made some shrewd midfield signings in Patrick Hickey and Sadou Diallo from Galway United and Derry City respectively. They do look light at full back, however, and may need to either sign a new one or deploy one of their many midfielders there.
They have also signed 21-year-old winger Harry Vaughan on loan from Hull City until the end of the season. Vaughan has so far failed to make his mark at Hull, however, he is an Irish U21 international and could have a breakout campaign with Bohs if he can hit the ground running. Overall. Bohemians will hope to improve from their fourth-place finish last season and get closer to the top two.
Lastly, the hopefuls, who will all have at least a small fear of relegation in the back of their mind. However, there is no team that comes into this season feeling doomed to relegation and you could make an argument for any of these teams to push higher up the table.
Starting with Drogheda United, who may feel aggrieved to be in this category and not the one above, having finished only three points back from Bohemians in the European places last season. They have made some decent signings as well, such as Edwin Agbaje who impressed at Sligo Rovers last year, and Brandon Kavanagh from St Pats, however, the loss of their talisman Darragh Markey is a big blow. Relegation is very unlikely for Drogheda, but it does feel like they punched above their weight last season and may fall back towards the bottom four.
Next to Galway United where it has been a winter of change during the transfer window with no less than eleven players in and eleven players out. Many key players that were involved in the club’s promotion back to the Premier Division in 2023 have left, including veteran goalkeeper Brendan Clarke and centre back Rob Slevin. Wing backs Jeannot Esua and Bobby Burns have also both left to relegation rivals Sligo Rovers and Dundalk, which has been a blow for the Tribesmen.
Retaining talisman David Hurley in midfield and the towering Killian Brouder at the back has been a boost, but Galway will need some of their many signings to step up in order to avoid relegation. Gianfranco Facchineri and Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau are interesting signings from Canada, and Lee Devitt from Treaty United looks a shrewd signing, having scored 16 goals in all competitions for the Limerick side last year. Overall, it will be intriguing how this group of players gels this season, with so many new players coming in and survival will be the main objective for John Caulfield’s men this season.
On to their Connaught rivals Sligo Rovers, where the main story has been the departure of PFAI Young Player of the Year Owen Elding to Hibernian F.C in Scotland for a reported €400,000. It is a lot of money for Sligo although some may feel it could have been higher after the fee paid for Mason Melia from St. Pats. Other than that, Sligo have kept the core of their team from last season and have also added Jeannot Esua and the returning Shane Blaney to bolster their defence. Having finished last season strongly to avoid relegation, John Russell will hope his side can maintain that form and avoid the same disastrous start they suffered last year that gave them a mountain to climb.
Similar to Galway, Waterford have seen plenty of coming and goings this window. Padraig Amond staying on for another season, though, is perhaps the best bit of business Waterford have done. Last year the league top scorer’s 14 goals were crucial to their survival and Waterford fans will hope the 37-year-old can repeat those kinds of numbers again. Norwegian winger Jørgen Voilås looks an interesting signing from Swedish second tier side Umea F.C and should help bolster their attack. The Blues will once again hope to avoid relegation this year having beaten Bray Wanderers in the relegation play off last season to maintain their Premier Division status.
Last but by no means least is newly promoted Dundalk who have returned to the league at the first time of asking having been relegated in 2024. They do look to have recruited well, with experienced Premier Division players Keith Buckley and Conor Kearns arriving from Bohemians and Shelbourne respectively.
21-year-old Ronan Teahan looks an exciting signing from Kerry F.C, having got four goals and five assists for the Munster side last season. The main aim for Dundalk this season will be to avoid going straight back down, and they will hope that the signings they have made will give them at least a fighting chance.
Overall, it is shaping up to be another exciting season of League of Ireland football, and there is no doubt that the league will continue to grow this season, with increased crowd sizes and interest in the league even more.
