A breakdown of League Of Ireland Attendances

159 of the 310 games in the Airtricity League Of Ireland have completed as we enter into the mid-season break. Over the course of three and a half months, across 20 venues, the total attendance reached 187,934.

Before we begin breaking down the figures we need to add a disclaimer. Not all League Of Ireland clubs provide official attendances so, in some cases, we have had to estimate as best we could. The following information is calculated from 159 fixtures, of which 33 games attendances were estimated. Should we acquire exact figures, we will amend this article accordingly. 

Highest and Lowest Total Attendances

 Shamrock Rovers top the charts for highest attendance over the course of the first half of the season with 28,011. However Shamrock Rovers are only second to Bray Wanderers on estimates, with 7 of their 9 home attendances requiring our reporters counting skills. In contrast, Sligo Rovers, in second with 22,812 come from all official tallies.  

At the bottom of the heap is Salthill Devon with a total of 1,047 attending their first 7 games of the season. Wexford Youths fare only slightly better with 1,579.

Highest and Lowest Single Match Attendances

Sligo Rovers 3-0 victory over Derry City in Gameweek 12 (May 6th) ranked the highest attended game of the 2013 season so far with 4,256 supporters turning up for what was at the time a top of the table encounter.

The lowest recorded attendance is shared. Salthill Devon and Mervue United home games against Longford Town and Waterford United respectively notched up 100 patrons.

By Division

Premier Division

The average attendance in the Premier Division this season is 1,774. Shamrock Rovers mainly guesstimated average of 3,112 per week topping the charts with Sligo Rovers 2,535 in second. Drogheda United, Bray Wanderers and UCD are the only teams in the division with an average attendance under 1,000. They come in at 809, 689 and 455 respectively.

First Division

Much like the actual First Division it is a close affair regarding average attendances. Finn Harps lead the pack with 619, with Cobh Ramblers in second with 523. Wexford and Salthill at the least watched sides with 263 and 150 respectively.

Random Stats

The top average attendance of Shamrock Rovers in the Premier Division per game is higher than the total season attendances of six of the eight First Division sides.

The highest attended game per club in the Premier Division is quite interesting when broken down. Excluding Shamrock Rovers own highest home attendance, they are the opposition in 5 of the 11 other clubs top attendances. Not only that but every Dublin based club (Bohemians, Shelbourne, St. Pats and UCD) highest attendance came when they faced the Hoops.

No such patterns in the First Division but derby games do attract the bigger attendances, with Waterford and Wexford's top attendance coming when facing each other and likewise with Longford and Athlone. 

The total overall attendance for Premier Division was167,029  The First Division was 20,905.

*** Amended after Dr. Barry Reilly pointed out a mistake in our Average Attendances for Premier and First Division