1999–2000 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 1999–2000 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the eircom League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons,[3] was the 15th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier for association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, since the establishment of the division in 1985.

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season1999–2000
Dates13 August 1999 – 23 April 2000
Teams12
ChampionsShelbourne (9th title)
RelegatedWaterford United
Sligo Rovers
Drogheda United
UEFA Champions LeagueShelbourne
UEFA CupCork City
Bohemians
UEFA Intertoto CupUCD
FAI Super CupShelbourne
Cork City
Bohemians
UCD
Top goalscorerPat Morley (Cork City)
20 goals[1][2]

The competition began on 13 August 1999 and concluded on 23 April 2000.[4] The division was made up of 12 teams.[5][4]

On 23 April 2000, after finishing tenth in the league, Waterford United qualified for the promotion / relegation playoff.[4] Their opponents from the First Division were Kilkenny City. Waterford lost both playoff legs to confirm their relegation to the First Division on 6 May 2000.[6][7]

The division was won by Shelbourne, who secured their first league title since 1991–92.[8]

Regular season

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The season saw each team playing three rounds of games, playing every other team three times, totalling 33 games.[2][4][9]

Final Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Shelbourne (C) 33 19 12 2 49 20 +29 69 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2 Cork City 33 16 10 7 53 32 +21 58 Qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round
3 Bohemians 33 16 9 8 40 23 +17 57
4 UCD 33 13 12 8 40 29 +11 51 Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round
5 Shamrock Rovers 33 13 11 9 49 36 +13 50
6 St Patrick's Athletic 33 13 11 9 40 31 +9 50
7 Derry City 33 12 10 11 32 38 6 46
8 Finn Harps 33 8 10 15 39 41 2 34
9 Galway United 33 8 10 15 32 49 17 34
10 Waterford United (R) 33 7 12 14 24 38 14 33 Qualification to Relegation play-off
11 Sligo Rovers (R) 33 5 10 18 31 60 29 25 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
12 Drogheda United (R) 33 4 11 18 21 53 32 23
Source: www.rsssf.com
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

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Matches 1–22

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Home \ Away BOH COR DER DRO FHA GAL SHM SHE SLI StP UCD WAT
Bohemians 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 3–2 0–0 1–0 0–2
Cork City 1–1 0–0 3–0 2–0 3–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–0
Derry City 0–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–3 0–2 1–1
Drogheda United 0–2 0–0 1–2 0–2 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–3 0–1 1–0
Finn Harps 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 4–0
Galway United 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–4 0–2 0–0 5–0 1–0 2–1 0–0
Shamrock Rovers 0–1 1–2 3–0 4–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 4–1 2–1 0–0 1–0
Shelbourne 1–0 3–2 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0
Sligo Rovers 0–0 0–5 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–5 0–4 0–1 0–1 1–0
St Patrick's Athletic 1–3 2–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 3–2 0–0 0–0
UCD 0–2 2–2 1–0 3–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–1 2–1
Waterford United 0–0 1–3 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 3–1 0–2
Source: www.rsssf.org
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

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Home \ Away BOH COR DER DRO FHA GAL SHM SHE SLI StP UCD WAT
Bohemians 3–0 1–3 1–1 4–1 0–1 1–2
Cork City 2–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–1
Derry City 1–4 2–1 1–0 1–3 2–0 3–1
Drogheda United 0–3 3–2 0–4 1–2 0–5 1–1
Finn Harps 0–1 1–2 1–2 2–3 2–1
Galway United 1–2 0–4 3–2 2–2 1–3 1–2
Shamrock Rovers 1–3 3–3 2–1 2–1 4–2 1–2
Shelbourne 4–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 2–1
Sligo Rovers 1–1 1–1 2–4 2–2 1–2
St Patrick's Athletic 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–2 1–0
UCD 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–2 2–2
Waterford United 0–2 2–2 2–3 2–1 0–2 1–0
Source: www.rsssf.org
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1 Republic of Ireland Pat Morley Cork City 20[1]

Promotion/relegation play-off

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As the tenth-placed team in the Premier Division, Waterford United qualified for a play-off against Kilkenny City, the third-placed team from the First Division.

1st leg

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2nd leg

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Kilkenny City won 2–0 on aggregate and were promoted to the Premier Division. [6][2][10]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Ireland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Graham, Alex. Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921–2005. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 1-86223-135-4.
  3. "Soccer: Eircom League Update". RTÉ Sport. 30 October 1999. Archived from the original on 2026-03-23. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ireland 1999/2000". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  5. "1999-2000 League of Ireland Premier Division Tables & Results & Stats | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football". www.extratime.com. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  6. 1 2 "Soccer: Kilkenny gain promotion to Premier League". RTÉ Sport. 6 May 2000. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  7. Dodge, John (2023-11-10). "The Long And Torturous History Of Waterford In the LOI Play-offs". Balls.ie. Archived from the original on 2026-06-03. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  8. Neville, Conor (2024-09-24). "LOI title run-ins: Dodgy buses and unused champagne". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 2026-02-12. Shels returned to the elite of Irish football, winning a first league title in over three decades in 1991-92... they became the dominant club in the early years of the new millennium, winning titles in 1999-00, 2001-02...
  9. "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  10. "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables - Second Level". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2016.