History
The Football League of Ireland was established in 1921 (it would exist under the moniker of the 'Free State League' between 1922 and 1937) and initially consisted of eight teams from Dublin. St James's Gate were the inaugural winners of the league and the FAI Cup. The league expanded numerically and geographically during its first decade of existence but was dominated by Dublin's three main clubs, Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians and Shelbourne. Dundalk became the first club from outside of the capital to win the league, in 1932–33. The 1930s saw another championship victory for a provincial side, with Sligo Rovers claiming their first league title in 1936–37, while Shamrock Rovers won a further three during the decade. The League of Ireland was dominated by Cork United during the 1940s. The club won five league titles between 1941 and 1946, including three in succession, but resigned from the league in 1948. The following decade was marked by the emergence of St Patrick's Athletic and the reemergence of Shamrock Rovers. The former succeeded in winning the title at the first attempt, in 1951–52, and claimed a further two in the middle of the decade. The Coad's Colts earned Shamrock Rovers the league title for the first time in fifteen years, in 1953–54, and won two more during the latter half of the decade.
Drumcondra and Dundalk claimed two League of Ireland titles each during the 1960s but Waterford secured their status as the team of the decade with four league titles, including three in succession between 1967 and 1970. Six clubs won the League of Ireland title during the 1970s with Waterford, Bohemians and Dundalk winning two titles each. Athlone Town won their two league titles at the start of the 1980s but the decade was marked by the four successive league titles won by Shamrock Rovers' Four in a row side. That team broke up following the sale of Glenmalure Park in 1987 and Dundalk and Derry City stepped in to claim the remaining titles of the decade with Derry winning the Treble in 1989, four years after entering the League of Ireland. The 1990s saw the re-emergence of St Patrick's Athletic, as the club secured 4 league championships during the decade, following years of obscurity. The turn of the millennium was marked by the first of five titles in seven years for Shelbourne, a first title in 23 years for Bohemians and the league's switch to a Summer Soccer (March–November) schedule. Cork City denied Shels' a third league title in a row when they claimed their 2nd championship in 2005, defeating fellow challengers Derry City in a last game decider at Turners Cross. The 2nd half of the decade saw the beginning of the 5 year merger with the FAI and the financial collapse of a number of league winning clubs, due to overspending and mismanagement. Shelbourne were demoted to the First Division after their title win in 2006, while Drogheda went into examinership in 2008, having won the League of Ireland the previous year. Cork City also entered into examinership in the same year, and went out of existence in 2010. Derry City were thrown out of the League of Ireland at the end of the 2009 season for producing false documents regarding player contracts and thus breaking the League's participation agreement. Bohemians entered a period of severe financial trouble in 2010 after a decade of accumulating massive debts in the payment of full-time players and staff.
Read more about this topic: League Of Ireland
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