2025 Ireland Premier Division Season Preview!

The SSE Airtricity Premier Division returns once again on February 14th as the 10 sides begin their journey to find the League’s best team in 2025. Damien Duff’s Shelbourne begin the new campaign as the defending champions after they bridged an 18-year gap to win the 2024 League by 2 points from Shamrock Rovers. Both of those sides will expect to be challenging once again near the top of the table this season along with the likes of St Pat’s with Stephen Kenny in charge for his first full season after taking over in May 2024 and Derry City under new boss Tiernan Lynch.

The League will run from February 14th until its expected final day on November 1st, 2025. Cork City promoted from the First Division are a new addition for 2025, replacing the relegated Dundalk.

The Challengers

1️⃣ Shelbourne

Damien Duff’s Shelbourne may have surprised many by lasting the pace and winning the title last year, but the Drumcondra club have not rested on their laurels and have set about improving their squad for the added pressures that come as League champions.

Ellis Chapman has been brought in from Sligo Rovers, along with Daniel Kelly from Derry City and Ryan O’Kane from relegated Dundalk. Shelbourne have also made one of the most intriguing signings of the pre-season, with the addition of Republic of Ireland U-21 international Mipo Odubeko. Odubeko was a highly rated young player at Manchester United and West Ham, but things didn’t work out. Shelbourne may be the perfect place for him to showcase his talents, with Duff expressing his excitement at pairing his new star with fellow striker Sean Boyd this year.

2️⃣ Shamrock Rovers

Stephen Bradley’s men may have lost their title for the first time since 2019, but the club have enjoyed a sensational run in the UEFA Conference League, making it through to the knockout rounds, the first Irish club to do so. Rovers kick off the new season with a Dublin Derby against Bohemians at the Aviva Stadium, hoping to recapture the domestic form that brought them 4 titles in a row in 2020,21,22 and 2023. The club have added quality in Danny Grant from Bohemians, as well as pulling off a couple of coups in signing Ed McGinty from Oxford United and Matt Healy from Belgian side Royals Francs Borains.

3️⃣ St Patrick’s Athletic

Many believe 2025 could be the year St Pat’s bring the League title back to Inchicore for the first time since 2013. Stephen Kenny is now fully settled and has instilled his style of football on his players, with their form at the backend of 2024 when they won nine from nine marking them down as challengers for this year. St Pat’s have added some proven Premier Division quality in the likes of Sean Hoare, Simon Power and Barry Bagley, while they get to retain the services of Irish record sale Mason Melia until he departs for new club Tottenham Hotspur in January 2026.

4️⃣ Derry City

For so long last year it looked like Derry could emerge as champions before a late season collapse meant they finished 4th. They also lost the FAI Cup Final to Drogheda United before dispensing of the services of Head Coach Ruaidhri Higgins. Former Larne boss Tiernan Lynch was brought in and has quickly looked to put his stamp on his squad. Lynch has brought in some very experienced players like Shane Ferguson, Gavin Whyte and Robbie Benson, while they also managed to hang on to Adam O’ Reilly and Brian Maher in the close season.

Players to Watch in 2025

As I said above Shelbourne will be keen to see Mipo Odubeko thrive under Damien Duff at Tolka Park with the young striker already off the mark for his new club in their President’s Cup win over Drogheda United. If he can fulfil the promise, he showed coming through, he could be a potential star for Shelbourne and the League.

Another transfer that has caught the eye of everybody is the signing by Bohemians of former Premier League striker Lys Mousset. The 28-year-old played in England’s topflight for Bournemouth and Sheffield United, with Sheffield United paying Bournemouth £10 million for his services back in 2019. The former France U-21 international now has the chance to rebuild his career with Bohemians.

Watching how much Mason Melia continues to develop before his big move to Spurs in January 2026 will be interesting for Irish football fans, as well as how well Matt Healy and Ed McGinty will adapt to Shamrock Rovers as they bid to reclaim the title this year.

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