The SSE Airtricity is the second tier of the Irish football pyramid and is a hugely competitive division which consists of ten teams. Each team will play a total of 27 games throughout the course of the season.
The league is played throughout the summer months and typically begins in late February before concluding in late October. The league often takes a break for cup commitments and the games are generally played on Friday evenings. There are also games which take place in midweek or occasionally they will be played on bank holidays.
The winner of the Airtricity First Division will be automatically promoted to the top tier. Teams who finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th will go into a promotion play-off which follows the regular season.
The division has been in existence since 1985 and has gained in both popularity and appeal with each passing season. It was previously called the League of Ireland B Division. Prior to 2003, the division mirrored the format of the English and Scottish leagues before being moved to the summer months. This has remained in place ever since.
Drogheda United and Waterford have each accumulated four titles and they are the two most decorated sides in the division. The latter are currently in the top tier and unlikely to return to this level anytime soon. Bray Wanderers, who will return to the division in 2019 were the inaugural champions of the Irish first division.
Teams cannot be relegated from the First Division although occasionally, teams can go out of business and banished to the provincial leagues. Cabinteely were invited into the league in 2015.
The league increased the number of teams from eight to ten at the start of the 2017 campaign.
2018 Ireland First Division Projection Report
Galway United were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2017 campaign after suffering a 4-3 defeat to Dundalk and they were expected to bounce back immediately. They signed some decent players during the winter months and despite losing some of their star performers, they were priced up as the favourites for an immediate return. They were given a 22.22% implied probability for promotion and were fancied by many punters.
Longford made a number of signings at the end of the 2017 season and strengthened their squad significantly. They added Chris Mulhall from Drogheda United and he has achieved promotion with every single side that he has played for at this level. He would help ease the pain of losing top goalscorer Davy O’Sullivan, who left for Shelbourne. They could only finish fifth last season despite a strong start and although that was a disappointing outcome, they were still priced up favourably. They were given an implied probability of 20.00% for promotion and were expected to challenge.
Drogheda United had an implied probability of 13.33% and with their vast experience at this level, they were fancied to be prominent at the top of the table. After netting just 22 goals last season, much better was expected this time around and they moved quickly to sign Lee Duffy, Chris Lyons and Gareth McCaffrey to bolster their attack.
Shelbourne were also given a 13.33% implied probability and they were fancied to challenge for a play-off spot this campaign. After failing to win their first four games, they eventually rallied to come fourth and given their turnaround, they were expected to be competitive.
Finn Harps were fifth in the betting with an implied probability of 11.11% and their recent inconsistencies have held them back.
2018 Airtricity First Division Outcome
UCD were the most consistent side and they deservedly earned promotion to the top flight. They had a formidable defensive record and scored plenty of goals throughout the campaign. They finished three points above Finn Harps who went on a late run.
Finn Harps qualified for the play-offs alongside Shelbourne and Drogheda United. There was just five points between the three sides going into the event.
Athlone Town finished bottom of the pile with just seven points and they secured just a single win all season. Shelbourne’s David O’Sullivan finished as the league’s top scorer with 15 goals shortly before retiring.
