2026 League of Ireland First Division
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 February 2026 – TBD October 2026 |
← 2025 2027 → | |
The 2026 League of Ireland First Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 41th season of the League of Ireland First Division.[1]The competition began on 13 February 2026 and concluded in TBD October 2026.[2]
Dundalk is the Defending Champions.[3][4]
Teams
Team changes
The team relegated to the First Division was Cork City, the bottom-placed team of the 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division. They replaced the one team promoted from the 2025 League of Ireland First Division, champions Dundalk.
Stadia and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | Athlone | Athlone Town Stadium | 5,000 |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray | Carlisle Grounds | 4,000 |
| Cobh Ramblers | Cobh | St. Colman's Park | 3,000 |
| Cork City | Cork | Turners Cross | 7,485 |
| Finn Harps | Ballybofey | Finn Park | 6,000 |
| Kerry | Tralee | Mounthawk Park | 1,200 |
| Longford Town | Longford | Bishopsgate | 5,097 |
| Treaty United | Limerick | Markets Field | 5,000 |
| UCD | Dublin | UCD Bowl | 3,000 |
| Wexford | Crossabeg | Ferrycarrig Park | 2,500 |
Personnel and kits
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town |  Ian Ryan
|
Oisín Duffy
|
Nike | Valeo Futbol |
| Bray Wanderers | Paul Heffernan
|
Kilian Cantwell
|
Capelli Sport | OutdoorLiving.ie |
| Cobh Ramblers | Fran Rockett
|
Shane Griffin
|
Uhlsport | McCarthy Insurance Group |
| Cork City | Gerard Nash
|
Sean Maguire
|
Rebel Army | Zeus Packaging |
| Finn Harps | Kevin McHugh
|
Tony McNamee
|
Joma | So-Lo Stores |
| Kerry | Colin Healy
|
Sean McGrath
|
Macron | Kerry Airport |
| Longford Town | Wayne Groves
|
Dean O'Shea
|
Macron | Bishopsgate |
| Treaty United | Tommy Barrett
|
Mark Walsh
|
O'Neills | Trade Electric Group |
| UCD | William O'Connor
|
Ronan Finn
|
O'Neills | Maples Group |
| Wexford | Stephen Elliott
|
Aaron Dobbs
|
Macron | Campion Insurance |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Results
Teams play each other four times (twice at home and twice away).
| Home \ Away |
|---|
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the match.
Positions by round
To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.
| Promotion to 2027 League of Ireland Premier Division | |
| Qualification for League of Ireland Premier Division play-off |
See also
- 2026 League of Ireland Premier Division
- 2026 League of Ireland Women's Premier Division
- 2026 FAI National League
- 2026 FAI Cup
References
This article "2026 League of Ireland First Division" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:2026 League of Ireland First Division. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ "League of Ireland season to begin earlier in 2026". RTÉ. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
- ↑ "2026 SSE Airtricity Men's First Division Fixture List". League of Ireland. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
- ↑ "Dundalk dispatch Finn Harps to seal promotion to Premier Division". RTE Sport. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ↑ "Richie Towell: Dundalk delight but readiness for Premier Division return a concern". RTE Sport. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
