A – Athlone's turnover. It's unfortunate to start the year on a bad note but Athlone's approach left a lot of questions over the course of the season. High-profile signings such as Adam Wixted, Declan McDaid, Kyle O'Connor, JR Wilson and Bastien Héry were allowed to leave in May when the club was bottom of the table. There was lots of turnover in their squad in a troubling year. A takeover offers more hope for the future for their men's side.
B – Billy O'Neill. The Bray Wanderers youngster made a real name for himself in 2025, scoring 11 goals. It was somewhat of a surprise he wasn't brought to the Under-17 World Cup with the Republic of Ireland. O'Neill will turn 18 next March and is sure to move to a higher level later in the year if he maintains such form.
C – Coffey. The magic man of the 2025 division. Barry Coffey scored 26 goals in a spectacular season, all the more remarkable when you consider he is playing from an advanced midfield position. A move to the Premier Division is expected for 2026 with Cobh Ramblers still desperate to hold on to their most important player.
D – De Town on the march. There's been a few bleak years in the midlands with Longford failing to cope with the growth within the League of Ireland. On limited resources, they have become a regular at the bottom end of the second tier. Town left their best work to the end with five victories on the spin, which included wins against the top three sides in the division. It ended in a sixth place finish and a point off the play-off places. Unfortunately for Wayne Groves, they've lost some of their best players in the off-season. It will be hard to repeat it.
E – Exits. There were four managerial changes over the course of the season. Darren Murphy was the first to depart at Finn Harps as Kevin McHugh took over. New bosses came into Kerry, Athlone and Cobh Ramblers later in the year.
F – Finances. The trend of investment into League of Ireland clubs continues with plenty of ownership changes of the year. Cobh Ramblers were in deep mud when FC32 Global Investments departed, with a rush to bring in a replacement. Digital Athlete Ventures, with American roots, took over. Bray Wanderers and of course Dundalk also had changes. There is no silver bullet when it comes to ownership in Ireland, but disasters were avoided, with some scares along the way. Finn Harps' latest accounts showed a financial deficit of €250,000 before this year was taken into consideration.
G – Gbemi Arubi. The 21-year-old bagged 10 goals in Dundalk's promotion-winning season. Ciarán Kilduff has handed the former Shelbourne striker a contract for 2026, as he gets a chance in the top flight again. It will be fascinating to see if he can make a breakthrough having now been able to do so at Waterford in 2024.
H – Hat-tricks. There were eight hat-tricks in the sesson, with three of them coming in one week in September and two for Wexford. Mikie Rowe and Dean Larkin provided their trebles. Six of the 10 teams had hat-tricks over the course of the year.
I – Ineligible. There was confusion around registration of players at the start of the season. Wexford had to forfeit their opening-night win over UCD, while the result of Kerry and Finn Harps' fixture on the same night was annulled after all three clubs were found to have fielded ineligible players. It made a difference to Wexford in the hunt for a play-off spot. Both the FAI and the clubs will be keen to make sure the issues aren't repeated in 2026.
J – Jilted. Cobh Ramblers missed out on automatic promotion but were well clear in the race for a play-off spot. In the final week of the regular campaign, manager Mick McDermott resigned in what was a shock move given the timing. He posted on social media: "Those that know they don't know... ask for advice. Those that don't know that they don't know.... create chaos!". It certainly seemed not be a smooth parting of ways. Cobh went on to lose a play-off semi-final, despite being 21 points clear of their opponent Treaty United.
K – Kingdom rising. Kerry FC appointed Colin Healy midway through the season. The big-name appointment was another step forward for Kerry. Results improved late in the season as well as their remarkable FAI Cup victory over Sligo Rovers to reach the semi-finals. Off-season signings for 2026 have been noteworthy, with the likes of Kilian Cantwell and Vincent Borden joining. They'll fancy a play-off berth next season.
L – Leonard. One of a number of young stars in the Dundalk side which won promotion. Ciaran Kilduff put faith in many teenagers in his back line with Vinnie Leonard the standout. He also featured for Ireland at the Under-17 World Cup. A move to the UK is likely in 2026 for the 17-year-old. The 34 games he played were huge for his development as well as helping Dundalk lift the trophy.
M – Mikie. Mikie Rowe was superb for Wexford, bagging 20 goals. While Wexford missed out on the play-offs by four points, Rowe kept their season going. Since joining the club two years ago, he has found the net 33 times in 66 matches, a rate of a goal every other game. Rowe has signed for Wexford for 2026.
N – Nationalities. Players from 17 different nations competed in the First Division. The likes of St Kitts and Nevis, Uganda and Egypt were among them; football really is the global game.
O - Oriel bouncing. It wasn't smooth sailing off the pitch for Dundalk. But on the final night of the campaign they received the league trophy in front of over 3,300 fans. The Lilywhites are back in the big time next year after clinching the title.
P - Professionalism could be coming on a bigger scale in the First Division. There was no full-time side in the second tier this year, but Cork City will change that on their return. Under new rules introduced for 2026, part-time players must now only have to train a maximum of three sessions plus one match per week. If clubs require four sessions plus a match, a higher minimum wage will apply. Such changes are likely to pave the way for clubs to expand in the future but the financials don't make sense for now.
Q – Qualdruple. We've already mentioned Billy O'Neill, yet it would be remiss not to mention his final regular season game. The 17-year-old hit four goals against Kerry FC and was sent off for dissent when being substituted. As a result he missed some play-off matches, only returning for the final clash with Waterford. An early career lesson learned.
R – Ronan's likely swansong. Ronan Finn lined out for UCD for the second season since his return to the club he started off with two decades ago. Finn played 23 times for College, bowing out with 90 minutes in their play-off loss to Bray Wanderers. It remains to be seen if the 38-year-old plays again.
S – Sleeves. The nickname of Stephen Elliott, the former Republic of Ireland international, who completed his first season in management with Wexford. Elliott will have learned plenty with his youthful side. They were defeated in a winner-takes-all clash with Treaty United for a play-off place. Elliott was handed a contract extension and the signing of Adam Verdon indicates they will be a stronger force next campaign.
T – Throwback. The promotion/relegation play-off between Bray Wanderers and Waterford was like a match from the 80s. A bad pitch, a winter's night, and a bruising encounter over 90 minutes. The Blues came from behind to deny Bray promotion and maintain their place in the top flight.
U – Upset. It may have have been the most unlikely victory in FAI Cup history when narrowing down the parameters. Kerry FC were 3-0 to Sligo Rovers with a quarter of the game to go. The First Division side came roaring back for a 4-3 success and the best night in their history. They'll do well to have a more dramatic one.
V – Veteran. The legendary Pat Devlin left Bray Wanderers at the end of the season, ending an association with the club which started 40 years ago, with time also spent at Athlone, Drogheda, UCD and Cabinteely. With new ownership at the Carlisle Grounds, it's a time of change for the Seagulls. Devlin did not comment on the announcement with Wanderers paying a glowing tribute.
W – Waka Waka. Dundalk fans adopted the Shakira song 'Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)' with the lyrics "Two million down the drain, Dundalk are back again", a nod to their financial woes from being kingpins in the country to almost going bust. That was all well and good, but the official account posting a video of it was something of a surprise. It was deleted before the end of the campaign.
X – X for the Cross returning. Once again a stadium worthy of a leading club in the country will be in the second tier. West Brom were known as the Boing Boing Baggies. City have certainly become the club known for yo-yoing between the divsion. Three relegations to the First Division so far this decade has made for grim times on Leeside.
Y – You'll Never Walk in Athlone. There was a drop of 5% in First Division attendances from 165,163 to 157,095, with Cork's big numbers from 2024 a factor in that. However there was also the continual decline of Athlone's men's team. While their female side brought in 2,000 fans for a Champions League clash, the men's side were lower than 200 for some games. Just 154 were present for a Kerry match in September. That will hopefully improve next season with their takeover.
Z – Zerrouk. Finn Harps have been making some obscure signings in the last few years, in the search of value and possibly uncovering a gem like Hans Mpongo. Idir Zerrouk featured in 13 games and scored from defence away to Wexford. The Canadian's future is unclear for 2026 so far.
