Association football in Ireland has always taken a backseat in the country’s sporting interests.
By far, the most popular sport in terms of both participation and attendance is Gaelic football, a sport played on the island for at least 700 years. Attendances for All-Ireland finals almost always sell out Croke Park, with 82,300 spectators watching the match.
Irish football was in decline throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, but something has changed. Attendances are up, breaking records that had stood since the golden age of Irish football in the 1950s and 60s. Since 2016, aggregate attendances for both the Irish Premier Division and First Division have risen by a staggering 126 percent. Clubs are scrambling to expand their stadiums and increase capacity to meet the demand.
The 2014 FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium attracted a meagre 17,038 spectators. Almost ten years later, the 2023 final between Bohemians and St. Patrick’s Athletic drew a crowd of 43,881, breaking the previous record from 1945.
The question is, why is there suddenly so much interest in Irish football?
One obvious answer is the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 40,000 people travel from Ireland to the UK every year to watch English Premier League games, something that obviously stopped during the pandemic. When things began to reopen and international travel was still limited, people turned to their local League of Ireland teams instead.
It seems they liked what they saw.
A few years ago, watching the League of Ireland meant either going to the matches in person or paying for LOITV to stream the games online. Now, the biggest games are broadcast live on television, making them accessible to anyone and bringing not only more money to the league but also a much wider audience. This has been especially important in areas of the country where the nearest club is several hours away.
The thrilling end to the 2024 season, when Damien Duff’s Shelbourne lifted the trophy for the first time since 2006 and ended Shamrock Rovers’ four-year domination of the league, also helped bring more eyes to the league.
The League of Ireland also got a massive boost through teams’ participation in European competitions. Most notably, in the 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League season, Shamrock Rovers became the first League of Ireland team to reach the knockout round of the competition.
They finished tenth in the league phase after going unbeaten until the final matchday, when they faced Chelsea, who would eventually go on to win the tournament. Shamrock Rovers played Norwegian side Molde in the playoff round.
They played the first leg in Molde’s Aker Stadium, where 16-year-old Michael Noonan found the back of the net in the 57th minute to put Rovers ahead. The match finished 1-0, meaning they just needed a draw at home to progress to the Round of 16. The second leg ended in disappointment at Tallaght Stadium, with Molde taking an early 1-0 lead to level the tie. The match eventually went to penalties, where Molde won 5-4.
Despite the heartbreak, the run gave hope to those who dream of seeing Irish football gain more recognition across Europe.
You cannot talk about the League of Ireland without mentioning Bohemians.
Bohemians are the oldest club still playing in the league. They are fan-owned and have arguably been one of the biggest forces behind the cultural re-adoption of the League of Ireland. Nobody would have believed you ten or even five years ago if you had predicted the cultural impact Bohemians would have on Irish society, and maybe even beyond.
Irish rap trio Kneecap have often worn their jerseys on stage, and Greta Thunberg wore their Fontaines D.C. jersey recently on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. Bohemians’ women’s team hosted the Palestinian women’s national team in a friendly at Dalymount Park in May 2024, showing remarkable solidarity with the Palestinian people. Most recently, Bohemians released a new jersey featuring the Oasis logo as their sponsor, as the band kicks off their return tour.
As an Irish football fan living in Berlin, only a couple of years ago I would have been laughed out of a bar if I asked whether they showed the League of Ireland.
Now, things are different.
Some bars advertise that they show the League of Ireland and it draws a crowd. I am not saying that you can now watch it in every pub in Europe, but in the right places, there is an audience for it.
The Football Association of Ireland has recently started exploring the idea of creating a third division in the League of Ireland. This would allow more teams from areas that do not currently have a club and bring more fans into this beautiful league.
The League of Ireland can only continue to grow. With the right investment and the right ideas, it could reach heights we have not yet seen.
