25% increase in attendances for League of Ireland

• Gareth Penrose
• Mon, Jan 22 2018




2017 saw Cork City lift the President’s Cup, the FAI Cup and the League trophy. The previous year’s champions Dundalk won the EA Sports Cup whilst Waterford gained promotion by securing the First Division title. But who were the winners when it came to attendances and what was the overall picture of crowds in the SSE Airtricity League?

 

In total 310 matches took place across the Premier and First Division in 2017. Of those 310 games, just 19 of our figures (6%) are estimated. As we failed to acquire any official figures from Derry City, their 17 home games have been estimated (see explanation later in the Derry City section). Only two other attendances are estimates. This means the 2017 figures will be the most accurate set of attendances extratime.ie has reported on in the decade that we have covered the league.

 

The reason for such a comprehensive set of figures is down to club officials across the league who have put up with my weekly emails and phone calls in order to secure these numbers and their help with this task is greatly appreciated. 

 

The 2017 League of Ireland attendance total comes in at 430,704. The average gate across the two divisions was 1,389. Breaking it down further, the average gate in the Premier Division was 1,906 with the average First Division game seeing 476 in attendance. The total gate breakdown across the two divisions was 377,362 in the Premier with 53,342 in the First.

 

The total gate is up 86,459 on 2016. Whilst the average First Division gate dropped by just one spectator from 477 to 476, the Premier Division gate average increased from 1,471 to 1,906. The totals do not always tell the full story so below is a comprehensive breakdown of the facts and figures surrounding the games and their attendances. 

 





Highlights and Lowlights – The Facts and Figures

The total League of Ireland audience for 2017 was 430,704 across 310 games (291 official attendance figures and 19 estimates) with an average gate of 1,389.

 

Overall Attendances

It was Cork City’s year on the pitch, and they also topped the pile off it. In terms of overall crowd numbers, Turner’s Cross saw 72,942 people come through the turnstiles. That represented 16.9% of the total League attendances.

 





Shamrock Rovers came second with 47,580 (11%) punters entering Tallaght Stadium. Dundalk took third spot with 45,988 (10.7%). Bohemians with 33,291 (7.7%) and Sligo Rovers 27,470 (6.4%) completed the top five.

 

At the other end of the spectrum, Athlone Town sat at the bottom of the attendance charts with 2,543 (0.6%) attending Athlone Town Stadium across the whole 2017 season. UCD completed the bottom two with 3,074 (0.7%) paying into the Belfield Bowl.

 

Average Attendances

As clubs played a different number of home games last year when there was 12 teams in the top flight, the average per game is a better measure but the top five and bottom two remain exactly the same. Cork City averaged a gate of 4,559 contrasting with Athlone Town’s average of 182. Eleven teams averaged a home gate of over 1,000 which is the same as 2016.

 

Premier Division sides Bray Wanderers (966) and Drogheda United (815) were the only teams in the division not to break the 1,000 average mark. Waterford, like Limerick the previous season, was the stand-out club in the First Division regards attendances. The Blues averaged 1,550 per home game.

 

Best attended matches

Cork City’s late September 1-1 draw against Dundalk was the league’s top attended fixture with 6,983. The corresponding early season game in March between the two sides came in second with 6,746. The third most watched game of the season was once again in Turner’s Cross when in October Cork City drew 0-0 with Derry City. 5,857 were in attendance to watch the scoreless stalemate.

 

When you inspect the top 20 best attended fixtures, 13 of the games were played in Cork, with the top six a clean sweep for the Rebel Army. Shamrock Rovers feature four times in the top 20, with Dundalk (2) and Bohemians (1) completing the list.

 

Worst attended matches

The lowest gate of the season is a draw between two fixtures. Athlone Town’s 1-0 loss to Cobh Ramblers and UCD’s 1-0 win over Cobh Ramblers, both in September, only just broke the century mark with 108 attending each of those games.  

 

On TV

When it comes to TV games, the average gate for a match shown on television across the season was 3,409. 

 

Total number of games played: 310

Total League of Ireland 2017 Attendance: 430,704 (up 86,459 on 2016)

Average gate for the 2017 season: 1,389

Average gate for Premier Division: 1,906 

Average gate for the First Division: 476 

Total number of attendees in the Premier Division: 377,362

Total number of attendees in the First Division: 53,342

Largest Attendance: 6,983 – Cork City 1-1 Dundalk

Lowest Attendance: 108 – UCD 1-0 Cobh Ramblers, Athlone Town 0-1 Cobh Ramblers

Average Attendance for games on TV: 3,409

 

Totals 2017 versus 2016
	Total	2017 Average	2016 Average
Cork City	72,942	4,559	2,533
Shamrock Rovers	47,580	2,799	2,041
Dundalk	45,988	2,705	2,738
Bohemians	33,291	1,958	1,627
Sligo Rovers	27,470	1,717	1,752
Limerick	27,364	1,610	1,133
St. Patrick's Athletic	25,321	1,583	957
Waterford	21,699	1,550	277
Derry City	25,500	1,500	1,519
Galway United	23,110	1,359	1,169
Finn Harps	20,310	1,269	1,210
Bray Wanderers	15,450	966	933
Drogheda United	13,036	815	583
Shelbourne	6,994	500	583
Longford Town	4,787	342	488
Wexford	4,759	340	455
Cabinteely	4,746	339	352
Cobh Ramblers	4,740	339	403
UCD	3,074	220	317
Athlone Town	2,543	182	156

 

Percentage of Attendance per club
Team	2017 Percent	2016 Percent
Cork City	16.94	12.5
Shamrock Rovers	11.05	9.5
Dundalk	10.68	12.7
Bohemians	7.73	7.6
Sligo Rovers	6.38	8.7
Limerick	6.35	4.6
Derry City	5.92	7.1
St. Patrick's Athletic	5.88	5.4
Galway United	5.37	5.4
Waterford	5.04	1.3
Finn Harps	4.72	6
Bray Wanderers	3.59	4.7
Drogheda United	3.03	2.4
Shelbourne	1.62	2.2
Longford Town	1.11	2.3
Wexford	1.10	2.8
Cabinteely	1.10	1.4
Cobh Ramblers	1.10	1.6
UCD	0.71	1.2
Athlone Town	0.59	0.6

 

Top 20 Attended games
Date	Home			Away	Att
25/09	Cork City	1	1	Dundalk	6,983
25/03	Cork City	2	1	Dundalk	6,746
17/10	Cork City	0	0	Derry City	5,857
27/10	Cork City	1	0	Bray	5,768
28/04	Cork City	2	1	Bray	5,361
07/04	Cork City	3	0	Derry City	5,275
03/03	Shamrock	2	1	Bohemians	5,220
26/05	Cork City	4	1	Shamrock	5,135
24/02	Dundalk	2	1	Shamrock	4,746
16/06	Cork City	4	1	Limerick FC	4,725
28/07	Shamrock	1	2	Bohemians	4,534
02/06	Shamrock	1	1	St. Pats	3,925
19/05	Cork City	5	0	Drogheda Utd	3,844
05/05	Cork City	5	0	Finn Harps	3,837
28/07	Cork City	2	1	Galway Utd	3,744
02/06	Dundalk	0	3	Cork City	3,643
05/05	Shamrock	2	1	Dundalk	3,628
12/05	Bohemians	0	2	Shamrock	3,622
18/08	Cork City	0	1	Sligo Rovers	3,617
31/07	Cork City	0	1	Bohemians	3,590

 

League of Ireland on the TV

In 2017, nine different clubs featured across 18 league games shown on the TV. Cork City home games featured six times, Dundalk four times, Shamrock Rovers three times, St Patrick’s Athletic and Finn Harps twice with Drogheda United, Galway United, Bohemians and Limerick home games featuring once.

 

Games shown on TV tend to be the more popular or important fixtures and to that end you would expect that the games would get good crowds. But does TV cameras hurt the crowds? In 2016, we concluded they didn’t and from analysing 2017’s figures that would appear to be the case again.

 

Four of the nine clubs registered their season’s best crowds whilst the cameras broadcast live. The only noticeably poorer performing fixture is Finn Harps visit of Cork City. The first time Cork came to Donegal in 2017, the crowd registered 1,845. In front of the cameras, the attendance was 829. This fixture was more to do with the fact the game was on a Monday than due to the presence of the cameras.

 

The figures do suggest overall that television has a very minor if any impact on gates for the most part. The more interesting aspect of the TV coverage is perhaps around the monetary reward for clubs that feature on TV.

 

LOI GAMES ON TV
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att	Channel
25/09	Cork City	1	1	Dundalk	6,983	RTE2
25/03	Cork City	2	1	Dundalk	6,746	RTE2
17/10	Cork City	0	0	Derry City	5,857	RTE2
07/04	Cork City	3	0	Derry City	5,275	RTE2
16/06	Cork City	4	1	Limerick	4,725	eir Sport
10/03	Drogheda	1	4	Cork City	1,050	eir Sport
24/02	Dundalk	2	1	Shamrock	4,746	eir Sport
02/06	Dundalk	0	3	Cork City	3,643	RTE2
18/08	Cork City	0	1	Sligo Rovers	3,617	RTE2
01/09	Shamrock	3	1	Cork City	3,452	RTE2
31/03	Dundalk	3	1	Drogheda	3,015	RTE2
23/06	Dundalk	4	0	Finn Harps	2,037	eir Sport
13/10	Bohemians	0	0	Cork City	2,568	RTE2
21/08	Finn Harps	0	1	Cork City	829	RTE2
27/10	Galway	3	4	Dundalk	2,214	RTE2
22/09	Limerick	2	1	Cork City	1,970	RTE2
03/03	Shamrock	2	1	Bohemians	5,220	RTE2
28/07	Shamrock	1	2	Bohemians	4,534	eir Sport
04/08	Shamrock	0	2	Derry City	2,872	eir Sport
20/10	St. Pats	4	2	Cork City	1,618	eir Sport
21/07	St. Pats	3	1	Bray	1,408	eir Sport
07/10	Finn Harps	0	2	Dundalk	626	RTE2

 

Gameweek by Gameweek

For the purpose of this article we have created gameweeks based on date ranges that try to cover a series of matches. The date ranges are included in the graphic.

 

Over the last few seasons the league’s opening gameweek was usually the strongest performing, possibly due to the enthusiasm and optimism of fans across all the clubs have generated over close season. 2017 bucks the trend.

 

After the opening gameweek (average crowds of 1,704), the crowd average drops fractionally but mostly lingered between 1,200 and 1,700 until Gameweek 19. As the league entered the summer months, the averages dropped.

 

In July, the gameweek averaged dropped below 1,000 for the first time in the season. The obvious reason for this drop is the start of European competitions resulting in the more successful clubs in the league not having domestic fixtures.   

 

The crowd averages mostly rally after that, with the exception of Gameweek 28 where the average dropped to the lowest in the season (708). Again the reason for this is once again the absence of some heavy hitting (attendance wise) Premier Division clubs.

 

At this point 2017 differs from many of the previous seasons. Gameweek 29 drew an average crowd of 1,970, the best of the season. Then two of the last two Gameweeks registered 2,367 and 2,432 as their average crowds. As a result, Gameweek 31 (the first week after the First Division ended) was the best performing gameweek of the season.

 

Gameweek by Gameweek
W	Date Range	G	Total	Av	Premier Av	First Av
1	24 - 25 Feb	10	17,040	1,704	2,492	522
2	3 - 4 Mar	9	15,172	1,686	2,566	586
3	10 - 11 Mar	10	12,603	1,260	1,867	351
4	13 Mar	6	8,562	1,427	1,427	0
5	17 - 18 Mar	10	12,227	1,223	1,822	324
6	25 Mar	9	14,849	1,650	2,667	597
7	31 - 3 Apr	10	14,863	1,486	2,250	341
8	7 - 8 Apr	10	13,455	1,346	1,820	634
9	14 - 15 Apr	10	15,017	1,502	2,005	747
10	21 - 25 Apr	11	14,214	1,292	1,829	352
11	28 - 29 Apr	10	15,469	1,547	2,162	624
12	5 - 8 May	11	15,171	1,379	2,067	493
13	12 - 13 May	10	12,032	1,203	1,769	355
14	19 - 20 May	10	12,449	1,245	1,741	501
15	22 - 23 May	6	8,553	1,426	1,426	0
16	26 - 27 May	10	12,072	1,207	1,766	369
17	30 - 2 Jun	11	16,783	1,526	2,305	269
18	16 - 17 Jun	10	14,303	1,430	2,042	513
19	23 - 26 Jun	11	13,054	1,187	1,722	251
20	30 - 5 July	9	9,470	1,052	1,572	403
21	7 - 9 July	8	7,990	999	1,485	513
22	14 - 16 July	8	7,262	908	1,476	340
23	21 - 24 July	10	13,914	1,391	1,852	700
24	28 - 31 July	11	19,128	1,739	2,376	623
25	4 - 5 Aug	10	11,398	1,140	1,701	298
26	15 - 21 Aug	13	15,340	1,180	1,456	559
27	1 Sep	8	10,389	1,299	2,159	438
28	15 - 16 Sep	8	5,662	708	978	437
29	22 - 29 Sep	13	25,607	1,970	2,492	796
30	7 Oct	9	6,980	776	1,073	404
31	13 - 17 Oct	7	17,023	2,432	2,432	0
32	20 - 23 Oct	6	8,454	1,409	1,409	0
33	27 Oct	6	14,199	2,367	2,367	0

 

Club by Club

ATHLONE TOWN

In 2016, I wrote it was a season to forget for Athlone Town fans. 2017 managed to top that as well documented events off the pitch took the limelight instead of any football on it. A total of 2,543 people visited Athlone Town Stadium over the course of the league season, an average crowd of 182 per game. The Midlands El Classico in March registered 380 spectators and was the home side’s best attended league game. Co-incidentally Athlone Town’s total league attendance is the exact same as the attendance of Bohemians home fixture against St Patrick’s Athletic in September.

 

ATHLONE TOWN
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Athlone Town	1	0	Waterford FC	326
10/03	Athlone Town	0	3	Longford Town	380
25/03	Athlone Town	1	4	Shelbourne	228
31/03	Athlone Town	3	3	Cabinteely FC	142
21/04	Athlone Town	1	0	Wexford	146
05/05	Athlone Town	2	1	Cobh Ramblers	137
26/05	Athlone Town	0	2	UCD	141
02/06	Athlone Town	1	6	Waterford FC	171
23/06	Athlone Town	2	2	Longford Town	211
07/07	Athlone Town	1	3	Shelbourne	144
14/07	Athlone Town	1	1	Cabinteely FC	124
04/08	Athlone Town	1	1	Wexford	136
01/09	Athlone Town	0	1	Cobh Ramblers	108
07/10	Athlone Town	0	4	UCD	149
				TOTAL	2,543
				Average	182

 

BOHEMIANS

The Gypsies had quite an impressive season in 2017 with the club securing a fifth placed league finish. At no point did the Dalymount Park crowd drop below the 1,000 mark and, compared to 2016, the club increased their average attendance by 331. Unsurprisingly their best performing fixture was the Dublin derby clash against Shamrock Rovers in April. 3,622 fans packed in to watch the visitors record a 2-0 win. Such is the draw of that particular clash, Bohemians second best home attendance was over 1,000 less.

 

 

BOHEMIANS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Bohemians	1	4	Derry City	2,170
10/03	Bohemians	3	2	Bray Wdrs	1,505
17/03	Bohemians	1	1	Galway Utd	1,137
31/03	Bohemians	0	4	St. Pats	2,600
14/04	Bohemians	0	2	Cork City	2,214
28/04	Bohemians	2	0	Finn Harps	1,423
12/05	Bohemians	0	2	Shamrock Rovers	3,622
23/05	Bohemians	1	2	Limerick FC	1,305
02/06	Bohemians	0	0	Drogheda United	1,559
23/06	Bohemians	2	0	Sligo Rovers	1,606
05/07	Bohemians	0	1	Dundalk	2,404
21/07	Bohemians	0	1	Derry City	1,461
04/08	Bohemians	0	0	Bray Wdrs	1,718
01/09	Bohemians	1	1	Galway Utd	1,586
22/09	Bohemians	3	2	St. Pats	2,543
13/10	Bohemians	0	0	Cork City	2,568
27/10	Bohemians	3	1	Finn Harps	1,870
				TOTAL	33,291
				Average	1,958

 

 

BRAY WANDERERS

Bray Wanderers finished sixth in the league in 2017 recording an average attendance of 966. That is an increase of nine over the 2016 season. It is interesting to note that after the club statement saying attendances where not what they hoped, the actual attendances seem to have suffered further and they recorded some of their lowest crowd figures afterwards. The club may have gained huge publicity from their less-than-standard press releases but in this case not all publicity is good publicity.

 

 

BRAY WANDERERS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	Bray Wdrs	5	3	Finn Harps	1,117
13/03	Bray Wdrs	2	1	Drogheda Utd	638
25/03	Bray Wdrs	0	1	Limerick FC	649
07/04	Bray Wdrs	1	0	Galway Utd	477
21/04	Bray Wdrs	4	2	Shamrock Rvrs	2,225
05/05	Bray Wdrs	1	1	St. Pats	1,287
19/05	Bray Wdrs	1	2	Bohemians	1,193
26/05	Bray Wdrs	2	2	Sligo Rovers	772
16/06	Bray Wdrs	3	2	Derry City	799
30/06	Bray Wdrs	0	3	Dundalk	1,538
16/07	Bray Wdrs	0	2	Cork City	1,879
28/07	Bray Wdrs	2	3	Finn Harps	563
18/08	Bray Wdrs	2	1	Drogheda Utd	558
15/09	Bray Wdrs	1	1	Limerick FC	481
07/10	Bray Wdrs	3	3	Galway Utd	552
20/10	Bray Wdrs	1	0	Shamrock Rvrs	722
				TOTAL	15,450
				Average	966

 

CABINTEELY

Cabinteely more than doubled their points tally in 2017 compared to the previous season and instead of a goal difference of minus 35 they ended the season with a positive goal difference of four. They also finished one place higher in the league table. Attendance wise they were similar to the previous campaign. Once again the opening day fixture was their best (662 against UCD). Had that attendance matched 2016’s opening day count of 902, the overall number of people visiting Stradbrook and the average crowd would almost match last years numbers. 4,746 people went to see Cabo at home, an average crowd of 339.

 

BRAY WANDERERS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Cabinteely FC	0	1	UCD	662
10/03	Cabinteely FC	2	0	Wexford	346
25/03	Cabinteely FC	4	1	Cobh Ramblers	378
07/04	Cabinteely FC	0	1	Shelbourne	502
21/04	Cabinteely FC	0	0	Waterford FC	569
06/05	Cabinteely FC	0	0	Longford Town	237
20/05	Cabinteely FC	2	0	Athlone Town	212
01/06	Cabinteely FC	3	3	UCD	188
23/06	Cabinteely FC	0	1	Wexford	137
07/07	Cabinteely FC	2	1	Cobh Ramblers	208
21/07	Cabinteely FC	1	0	Shelbourne	502
04/08	Cabinteely FC	1	1	Waterford FC	404
01/09	Cabinteely FC	0	2	Longford Town	189
22/09	Cabinteely FC	6	2	Athlone Town	212
				TOTAL	4,746
				Average	339

 

COBH RAMBLERS

On the pitch Cobh Ramblers finished in second place in the SSE Airtricity First Division which was one position better than in 2016. Their attendance totals were down on 2016. 4,740 people came to St Coleman’s Park in 2017 compared to 5,645 so the average gate dropped from 403 to 339. The two visits of Waterford ranked as their best attended fixtures. The April visit of Longford Town was their lowest with 189 in attendance.

 

 

COBH RAMBLERS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
25/02	Cobh Ramblers	1	1	Wexford	320
11/03	Cobh Ramblers	1	1	Shelbourne	417
18/03	Cobh Ramblers	5	1	Athlone Town	312
01/04	Cobh Ramblers	1	0	UCD	354
22/04	Cobh Ramblers	2	0	Longford Town	189
12/05	Cobh Ramblers	2	0	Cabinteely	250
27/05	Cobh Ramblers	0	0	Waterford	650
02/06	Cobh Ramblers	1	0	Wexford	342
24/06	Cobh Ramblers	0	1	Shelbourne	285
01/07	Cobh Ramblers	3	1	Athlone Town	406
15/07	Cobh Ramblers	1	0	UCD	330
05/08	Cobh Ramblers	2	0	Longford Town	240
16/09	Cobh Ramblers	0	3	Cabinteely	200
07/10	Cobh Ramblers	2	1	Waterford	445
				TOTAL	4,740
				Average	339

 

CORK CITY

The Rebel Army marched to success both on and off the pitch in 2017. Turner’s Cross’s stands recorded the largest single match day attendance (6,983 against Dundalk), the largest number of people coming through its turnstiles (72,942 for the season) and the best average attendance (4,559) across the season with plenty to spare. In 2016, Cork’s crowds ranked second just behind Dundalk. In 2017, they increased their crowds by 29,878. They occupied seven places in the top ten best attendances of the season. Cork City’s crowds made up 16.9% of the entire League of Ireland audience.

 

CORK CITY
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	Cork City	4	0	Galway Utd	3,335
13/03	Cork City	2	1	Sligo Rovers	2,722
25/03	Cork City	2	1	Dundalk	6,746
07/04	Cork City	3	0	Derry City	5,275
28/04	Cork City	2	1	Bray Wndrs	5,361
05/05	Cork City	5	0	Finn Harps	3,837
19/05	Cork City	5	0	Drogheda Utd	3,844
26/05	Cork City	4	1	Shamrock Rvrs	5,135
16/06	Cork City	4	1	Limerick	4,725
09/07	Cork City	1	0	St. Pats	2,403
28/07	Cork City	2	1	Galway Utd	3,744
31/07	Cork City	0	1	Bohemians	3,590
18/08	Cork City	0	1	Sligo Rovers	3,617
25/09	Cork City	1	1	Dundalk	6,983
17/10	Cork City	0	0	Derry City	5,857
27/10	Cork City	1	0	Bray Wndrs	5,768
				TOTAL	72,942
				Average	4,559

 

 

 

DERRY CITY

It’s been a very tough season for the Candystripes with the tragic loss of their captain Ryan McBride early in the season so it is a testament to the players and staff of the club to end the season in fourth position. It was a season spent away from the Brandywell as they made Maginn Park their home whilst their regular venue underwent a facelift. On an attendance front, 17 of our 19 estimates are from Derry City. From talking to various sources, Derry’s crowds began the season strongly but as the season matured, the crowds dropped to sometimes below 1,000. To that end we have set the entire season at an average of 1,500. This is our only assumption when it comes to the 2017 season. Should Derry City or the FAI provide official attendance figures we will update the entire article accordingly.  

 

DROGHEDA UNITED

Drogheda United finished the season at the foot of the Premier Division table and will play First Division football next season. 13,036 people came to United Park in 2017, an increase on 2016’s 8,163. The average crowd went from 583 to 815. This is hardly any surprise considering the club were promoted in the 2016 season. The 6-0 loss to Dundalk was the club’s best attended fixture with 1,691 in the stands. The October visit of Shamrock Rovers was their worst with 408 in attendance.

 

DROGHEDA UNITED
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	Drogheda Utd	2	0	St. Pats	1,020
10/03	Drogheda Utd	1	4	Cork City	1,050
25/03	Drogheda Utd	0	1	Bohemians	772
07/04	Drogheda Utd	2	1	Shamrock Rvrs	1,070
28/04	Drogheda Utd	1	1	Sligo Rovers	803
05/05	Drogheda Utd	2	2	Galway Utd	796
23/05	Drogheda Utd	0	0	Bray Wndrs	479
26/05	Drogheda Utd	0	0	Derry City	605
16/06	Drogheda Utd	0	6	Dundalk	1,691
30/06	Drogheda Utd	0	2	Limerick	600
07/07	Drogheda Utd	0	2	Finn Harps	564
28/07	Drogheda Utd	0	1	St. Pats	984
04/08	Drogheda Utd	0	1	Cork City	533
15/09	Drogheda Utd	1	4	Bohemians	814
07/10	Drogheda Utd	0	2	Shamrock Rvrs	408
27/10	Drogheda Utd	0	0	Sligo Rovers	847
				TOTAL	13,036
				Average	815

 

DUNDALK

Dundalk dropped from best in show for attendances in 2016 to third place in 2017. Nothing much changed regarding the number of people coming to watch the club between seasons (45,988 in 2017 with average crowd of 2,705, compared with 43,814 in 2016 for an average crowd of 2,738) but rather Cork City and Shamrock Rovers improved theirs. The Louth side still registered 10.7% of the league’s overall attendance. Their opening day fixture against Shamrock Rovers was their best attended (4,746). The mid-October clash with Bray Wanderers was their worst (1,776).    

 

DUNDALK
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Dundalk	2	1	Shamrock Rvrs	4,746
10/03	Dundalk	1	0	Limerick	3,286
18/03	Dundalk	3	0	St. Pats	2,675
31/03	Dundalk	3	1	Drogheda Utd	3,015
14/04	Dundalk	1	3	Bray Wndrs	3,031
21/04	Dundalk	2	0	Bohemians	2,848
12/05	Dundalk	4	0	Sligo Rovers	2,580
23/05	Dundalk	0	0	Derry City	2,369
02/06	Dundalk	0	3	Cork City	3,643
23/06	Dundalk	4	0	Finn Harps	2,037
26/06	Dundalk	2	0	Galway Utd	2,370
23/07	Dundalk	0	1	Shamrock Rvrs	3,000
04/08	Dundalk	3	0	Limerick	2,083
01/09	Dundalk	6	0	St. Pats	2,388
22/09	Dundalk	3	0	Drogheda Utd	2,094
13/10	Dundalk	1	0	Bray Wndrs	1,776
20/10	Dundalk	0	1	Bohemians	2,047
				TOTAL	45,988
				Average	2,705

 

FINN HARPS

Finn Harps dropped from the Premier Division in 2017 but did so whilst slightly improving their average compared to 2016. 20,310 people visited Finn Park in 2017 with an average attendances of 1,269 compared to 1,210 in 2016. The local derby against Derry City was their best showing with 2,890 in attendance. The late October clash with Drogheda United proved to be their worst attendance with 382 souls turning up to watch as Drogs defeated Harps 3-2.

 

FINN HARPS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Finn Harps	0	1	Cork City	1,845
10/03	Finn Harps	1	1	Galway Utd	1,022
25/03	Finn Harps	2	1	Sligo Rovers	1,751
07/04	Finn Harps	0	2	Dundalk	1,211
21/04	Finn Harps	0	2	Drogheda Utd	905
12/05	Finn Harps	0	3	Bray Wndrs	702
22/05	Finn Harps	3	1	St. Pats	1,583
26/05	Finn Harps	3	2	Limerick	1,288
16/06	Finn Harps	0	1	Shamrock Rvrs	1,281
14/07	Finn Harps	2	1	Bohemians	1,038
24/07	Finn Harps	0	2	Derry City	2,890
04/08	Finn Harps	1	3	Galway Utd	1,214
21/08	Finn Harps	0	1	Cork City	829
16/09	Finn Harps	1	2	Sligo Rovers	1,743
07/10	Finn Harps	0	2	Dundalk	626
23/10	Finn Harps	2	3	Drogheda Utd	382
				TOTAL	20,310
				Average	1,269

 

 

GALWAY UNITED

The final team in our list to be relegated in 2017 is Galway United. They did so whilst, at the same time, improving their gate. In 2016, 18,697 people attended Eamon Deacy Park with an average of 1,169 per game. In 2017, that increased to 23,110 with an average of 1,359. The final game of the season was their best attended as 2,214 saw them lose 4-3 to Dundalk in front of the RTE cameras. The two home games against Derry City rank as their poorest gates, with 723 and 875 turning up for those clashes. Only on one other occasion did their attendance drop below 1,000 and that was the visit of Sligo Rovers which took place on a Monday.  

 

GALWAY UNITED
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Galway Utd	0	1	Drogheda Utd	2,113
13/03	Galway Utd	1	2	Shamrock Rvrs	1,051
03/04	Galway Utd	1	1	Sligo Rovers	891
14/04	Galway Utd	1	1	St. Pats	1,119
28/04	Galway Utd	2	1	Dundalk	1,317
08/05	Galway Utd	0	0	Derry City	723
12/05	Galway Utd	1	1	Cork City	1,231
19/05	Galway Utd	2	1	Finn Harps	1,009
26/05	Galway Utd	1	2	Bohemians	1,361
23/06	Galway Utd	1	2	Bray Wndrs	1,022
07/07	Galway Utd	3	1	Limerick	1,471
21/07	Galway Utd	4	1	Drogheda Utd	1,028
18/08	Galway Utd	1	2	Shamrock Rvrs	1,404
15/09	Galway Utd	2	1	Derry City	875
22/09	Galway Utd	3	1	Sligo Rovers	2,117
13/10	Galway Utd	1	1	St. Pats	2,164
27/10	Galway Utd	3	4	Dundalk	2,214
				TOTAL	23,110
				Average	1,359

 

LIMERICK

Limerick singlehandedly drove the First Division average attendance up considerably with their home support and, as they moved into the Premier Division, they have built on that. 15,857 (average of 1,133) showed up last season and in 2017 that increased to 27,364 (average of 1,610). The new boys to the top flight registered the 6^th best attendance averages of the season. The 3-0 loss to Cork City in March was their best attendance (2,985) whilst their worst, the only time they dropped below 1,000, was the visit of Bohemians (994).

 

LIMERICK
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Limerick	5	1	Sligo Rovers	2,357
13/03	Limerick	0	1	Bohemians	1,756
18/03	Limerick	1	1	Finn Harps	1,186
31/03	Limerick	0	3	Cork City	2,985
15/04	Limerick	3	0	Drogheda Utd	1,526
21/04	Limerick	1	1	Galway Utd	1,714
13/05	Limerick	1	1	Derry City	1,287
19/05	Limerick	0	3	Dundalk	1,669
02/06	Limerick	5	3	Bray Wndrs	1,447
24/06	Limerick	2	2	St. Pats	1,470
22/07	Limerick	0	0	Sligo Rovers	1,327
15/08	Limerick	0	2	Shamrock Rvrs	1,234
19/08	Limerick	1	0	Bohemians	994
01/09	Limerick	0	2	Finn Harps	1,211
22/09	Limerick	2	1	Cork City	1,970
14/10	Limerick	1	0	Drogheda Utd	1,622
20/10	Limerick	2	2	Galway Utd	1,609
				TOTAL	27,364
				Average	1,610

 

LONGFORD TOWN

After relegation to the First Division last season, the midland sides crowds had the expected knock-on effect of slipping down. In 2016, 7,814 people turned up to City Calling Stadium (average of 488). The first season back in the First saw 4,787 attend (average of 342). The derby clash with Athlone Town in August was their best attendance (480) with the 5-0 win over Wexford registering their lowest (211).

 

LONGFORD TOWN
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
04/03	Longford Town	1	3	Cobh Ramblers	320
18/03	Longford Town	0	2	Cabinteely	321
01/04	Longford Town	0	0	Waterford	401
15/04	Longford Town	3	1	Shelbourne	430
29/04	Longford Town	3	1	Athlone Town	407
13/05	Longford Town	0	1	UCD	235
27/05	Longford Town	5	0	Wexford	211
17/06	Longford Town	2	1	Cobh Ramblers	229
01/07	Longford Town	1	0	Cabinteely	327
15/07	Longford Town	0	1	Waterford	426
29/07	Longford Town	1	3	Shelbourne	425
19/08	Longford Town	7	1	Athlone Town	480
16/09	Longford Town	1	1	UCD	228
07/10	Longford Town	1	0	Wexford	347
				TOTAL	4,787
				Average	342

 

SHAMROCK ROVERS

Last year I wrote that Shamrock Rovers had the third best average but that they would feel they can do better and improve on their numbers. In that season 32,662 turned up at Tallaght averaging 2,041 per game. In 2017, they moved to the rank of second best attendance in the league as 47,580 people made the trip to the Hoops home ground averaging at 2,799 per game. Their two best attended games where the televised visits of local rivals Bohemians (5,220 and 4,534) whilst the Monday clash with Galway United in May was their lowest (1,234).

 

SHAMROCK ROVERS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	Shamrock Rvrs	2	1	Bohemians	5,220
10/03	Shamrock Rvrs	0	1	Derry City	3,251
17/03	Shamrock Rvrs	1	2	Cork City	3,045
31/03	Shamrock Rvrs	3	2	Finn Harps	2,510
14/04	Shamrock Rvrs	1	0	Sligo Rovers	2,641
28/04	Shamrock Rvrs	1	1	Limerick	2,570
05/05	Shamrock Rvrs	2	1	Dundalk	3,628
22/05	Shamrock Rvrs	2	0	Galway Utd	1,234
30/05	Shamrock Rvrs	2	0	Bray Wndrs	1,758
02/06	Shamrock Rvrs	1	1	St. Pats	3,925
23/06	Shamrock Rvrs	4	1	Drogheda Utd	2,047
28/07	Shamrock Rvrs	1	2	Bohemians	4,534
04/08	Shamrock Rvrs	0	2	Derry City	2,872
01/09	Shamrock Rvrs	3	1	Cork City	3,452
22/09	Shamrock Rvrs	4	1	Finn Harps	1,357
13/10	Shamrock Rvrs	1	1	Sligo Rovers	1,536
27/10	Shamrock Rvrs	2	1	Limerick	2,000
				TOTAL	47,580
				Average	2,799

 

SHELBOURNE

Shelbourne had a close enough season, attendance wise, to 2016. The Reds had 6,994 people turn the stiles in Tolka Park over 2017 with an average of 500. That was slight down on 2016 as 7,732 turned up for that campaign averaging 552. Their early season clash with Longford Town was their best attended game (779) whilst conversely the summer visit of the same club drew their smallest showing (374).

 

SHELBOURNE
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	Shelbourne	0	0	Longford Town	779
17/03	Shelbourne	2	2	Waterford	422
31/03	Shelbourne	2	0	Wexford	465
21/04	Shelbourne	0	1	UCD	505
28/04	Shelbourne	0	1	Cobh Ramblers	474
12/05	Shelbourne	2	1	Athlone Town	417
26/05	Shelbourne	1	4	Cabinteely	473
02/06	Shelbourne	0	0	Longford Town	374
30/06	Shelbourne	1	1	Waterford	589
14/07	Shelbourne	1	2	Wexford	480
04/08	Shelbourne	1	1	UCD	410
18/08	Shelbourne	0	1	Cobh Ramblers	483
15/09	Shelbourne	4	1	Athlone Town	450
07/10	Shelbourne	3	1	Cabinteely	673
				TOTAL	6,994
				Average	500

 

SLIGO ROVERS

The Showgrounds welcomed 27,470 people in 2017 with an average gate of 1,717. That was almost matching 2016 as 29,779 turned up with an average match attendance of 1,752. The biggest difference was their final league position as they dropped from finishing fifth to ninth. Their best and worst attendance came a week apart. In March, the visit of Dundalk saw 2,138 in attendance, whilst a week later, St Patrick’s Athletic played out a 1-1 draw in front of 1,087 spectators.

 

SLIGO ROVERS
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
04/03	Sligo Rovers	0	4	Dundalk	2,138
10/03	Sligo Rovers	1	1	St. Pats	1,087
18/03	Sligo Rovers	3	2	Bray Wndrs	1,387
08/04	Sligo Rovers	2	0	Bohemians	1,586
22/04	Sligo Rovers	1	1	Derry City	1,827
06/05	Sligo Rovers	3	0	Limerick	1,427
22/05	Sligo Rovers	1	2	Cork City	1,583
02/06	Sligo Rovers	0	0	Finn Harps	1,876
17/06	Sligo Rovers	1	1	Galway Utd	1,679
02/07	Sligo Rovers	1	0	Shamrock Rvrs	2,065
15/07	Sligo Rovers	1	1	Drogheda Utd	1,617
29/07	Sligo Rovers	1	1	Dundalk	1,720
05/08	Sligo Rovers	1	1	St. Pats	1,788
15/08	Sligo Rovers	0	0	Bray Wndrs	1,546
07/10	Sligo Rovers	1	0	Bohemians	2,068
21/10	Sligo Rovers	3	0	Derry City	2,076
				TOTAL	27,470
				Average	1,717

 

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC

2017 saw a much better showing in the stands from the St. Patrick’s Athletic supporters. 2016 saw 18,652 turn up with an average of 1,097. The Saints improved solidly on that with more consistent weekly showings resulting in 25,321 watching Pats in Inchicore with an average crowd of 1,583. Their best attendance was the derby clash with Shamrock Rovers in March (2,543) whilst the visit of Finn Harps in the same month was the only time the Pats attendance dropped below 1,000 (895).

 

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
24/02	St. Pats	1	2	Bray Wndrs	1,722
13/03	St. Pats	1	2	Finn Harps	895
25/03	St. Pats	2	1	Shamrock Rvrs	2,543
07/04	St. Pats	0	2	Limerick	1,302
21/04	St. Pats	0	3	Cork City	1,786
12/05	St. Pats	2	0	Drogheda Utd	1,191
19/05	St. Pats	1	1	Sligo Rovers	1,229
26/05	St. Pats	0	2	Dundalk	1,436
16/06	St. Pats	1	3	Bohemians	2,077
30/06	St. Pats	1	1	Galway Utd	1,252
14/07	St. Pats	2	1	Derry City	1,368
21/07	St. Pats	3	1	Bray Wndrs	1,408
18/08	St. Pats	4	0	Finn Harps	1,421
25/09	St. Pats	2	0	Shamrock Rvrs	2,361
07/10	St. Pats	2	2	Limerick	1,712
20/10	St. Pats	4	2	Cork City	1,618
				TOTAL	25,321
				Average	1,583

 

UCD

Last year most of our figures for UCD were estimates, but thanks to great help from UCD officials, 2017 has no estimates. 3,074 visited the college grounds last season with an average of 220 attending per game. The best showing was in March as 382 people turned up for the visit of Shelbourne. The September game against Cobh Ramblers drew their lowest crowd (108).

 

UCD
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	UCD	4	0	Shelbourne	382
10/03	UCD	0	2	Waterford	259
25/03	UCD	2	0	Longford Town	135
08/04	UCD	4	1	Athlone Town	145
14/04	UCD	2	2	Cabinteely	238
05/05	UCD	2	0	Wexford	172
19/05	UCD	0	1	Cobh Ramblers	153
16/06	UCD	1	2	Shelbourne	316
23/06	UCD	3	2	Waterford	369
07/07	UCD	0	0	Longford Town	192
21/07	UCD	4	0	Athlone Town	164
28/07	UCD	2	3	Cabinteely	270
01/09	UCD	1	0	Wexford	171
22/09	UCD	1	0	Cobh Ramblers	108
				TOTAL	3,074
				Average	220

 

WATERFORD

In 2016 Waterford were in a bad place with average crowds of 277 with their worst crowd of that season seeing 167 people turn up to watch a game against Athlone Town. 4,443 visited the RSC across that league campaign. Fast forward a year and the club have been promoted to the top flight whilst 21,699 spectators watched on from the RSC stands. That is an average crowd of 1,550. A dramatic turn of fortune for the Blues. Their best attendance was the September game against Longford Town (2,547) whilst the UCD visit drew 1,068 fans. The club’s worst crowd in 2017 was 348 more than their best in 2016. An incredible transformation and once more in the First Division one club forced up the averages for the tier dramatically.

 

WATERFORD
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	Waterford	3	0	Cabinteely	1,317
25/03	Waterford	2	0	Wexford	1,647
07/04	Waterford	2	1	Cobh Ramblers	1,675
14/04	Waterford	2	1	Athlone Town	1,932
28/04	Waterford	1	1	UCD	1,386
05/05	Waterford	1	0	Shelbourne	1,427
19/05	Waterford	1	0	Longford Town	1,294
16/06	Waterford	3	0	Cabinteely	1,245
07/07	Waterford	2	1	Wexford	1,508
21/07	Waterford	4	0	Cobh Ramblers	1,852
28/07	Waterford	3	1	Athlone Town	1,517
18/08	Waterford	1	0	UCD	1,068
01/09	Waterford	1	1	Shelbourne	1,284
22/09	Waterford	1	0	Longford Town	2,547
				TOTAL	21,699
				Average	1,550

 

WEXFORD

Not surprisingly there was a drop in support for Wexford in 2017. In 2016 they welcomed 9,667 people as they played out a season in the Premier Division. That season resulted in relegation so their 2017 season was spent in the First Division and saw their crowd total drop to 4,759 with an average crowd of 340. The local clash with Waterford in September drew the most fans (871) whilst the visit of Cabinteely in August was their lowest (206).

 

WEXFORD
Date	Home	H	A	Away	Att
03/03	Wexford	1	2	Athlone Town	323
17/03	Wexford	1	1	UCD	242
07/04	Wexford	0	0	Longford Town	212
14/04	Wexford	1	2	Cobh Ramblers	386
28/04	Wexford	1	1	Cabinteely	228
12/05	Wexford	0	1	Waterford	517
19/05	Wexford	1	0	Shelbourne	346
16/06	Wexford	2	2	Athlone Town	261
30/06	Wexford	0	0	UCD	289
21/07	Wexford	1	2	Longford Town	282
28/07	Wexford	0	2	Cobh Ramblers	281
18/08	Wexford	2	0	Cabinteely	206
15/09	Wexford	0	3	Waterford	871
22/09	Wexford	0	3	Shelbourne	315
				TOTAL	4,759
				Average	340

 

In Summary

If you have made it this far, congratulations. If you have any comments or issues with facts and figures, you can reach me on @garethpenrose. If you spot any errors please let me know as compiling wasn’t easy with the mountain of constantly arriving figures. I'd like to thank again all the clubs and volunteers that continue to provide figures.

 

Please note that if you do use these figures found here further afield in print, on radio or on television, we appreciate if you would also give Extratime.ie credit as it has taken a lot of effort to source and compile this information.