League of Ireland U19 Division


The League of Ireland U19 Division is the under-19 division of the League of Ireland. The current division is the successor of earlier U21 and U20 divisions. Like the Premier Division and First Division, the U19 Division is currently sponsored by Airtricity and as a result it is also known as the SSE Airtricity U19 League. The earlier U21 and U20 divisions were sponsored by Eircom and as a result were referred to as the Eircom U21 League or the Eircom U20 League. The division is also sometimes referred to as the Dr Tony O'Neill League because the winners are awarded the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup. In 2016 Cork City became the first team to represent the division in the UEFA Youth League.

History

Eircom U21 League

The inaugural season of the U21 division took place in 2000–01 and St Patrick's Athletic finished as the first champions. In 2001–02 Waterford United won the title before Cork City won their first title in 2002–03. City then retained the title in 2003–04. UCD subsequently won three of four remaining titles during the U21 era. As well as featuring the youth teams of contemporary League of Ireland clubs, the division also featured the representative teams of junior leagues such as the Kerry District League, the Mayo Association Football League and the Sligo/Leitrim League. In 2004 Sligo/Leitrim reached the final of the Enda McGuill Cup. In addition to featuring UCD, the division also featured three other university teams – NUI Galway, the University of Limerick and Dublin University. The division was also used by the League of Ireland as an avenue for future members of its senior divisions. Both Salthill Devon and Mervue United began their League of Ireland careers in the U21 division. In 2003 Mervue United were Enda McGuill Cup finalists and in 2006 Salthill Devon became the first club to win the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup without having a team in the senior divisions. In addition to competing for the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup and the Enda McGuill Cup, teams in the U21 division also played in several other competitions including pre-season tournaments in 2006 and 2007 and a futsal league in 2007 which was won by Shamrock Rovers. This latter competition evolved into the FAI Futsal Cup.

Eircom U20 League

In 2008, as part of a restructuring of the League of Ireland that also saw the introduction of the A Championship, the U21 division was relaunched as a U20 division. The new division featured the youth teams of the 22 clubs in the Premier Division and First Division plus four other teams – F.C. Carlow, Kilkenny City, Salthill Devon and Mervue United.
Cork City were the first U20 champions in 2008–09 followed by UCD in 2009. In 2010 Andrew Myler guided Shamrock Rovers to their first title.

Airtricity U19 League

During the U19 era Cork City have established themselves as the dominant team, winning the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup four seasons out of five and winning the Enda McGuill Cup on three occasions. In 2016 Cork City also became the first team to represent the division in the UEFA Youth League.

Format

During the U21 and U20 eras teams playing in the division were divided into four regionalised groups, more or less corresponding to North and South Leinster, Munster and Connacht/Ulster. The top two teams from each group then qualified for the quarter-finals and the remainder of the competition was decided on a knock-out basis. Between 2011–12 and 2013–14 teams playing in the division were divided into the three groups. One of these groups, the Elite Division, was a national division. The remaining teams were divided into Southern and Northern divisions. During these three seasons the winners of the Elite Division were awarded the Dr Tony O'Neill Cup. The 2014-15 season saw the introduction of two regional divisions known as the Northern Elite Division and the Southern Elite Division and a play-off system was again used to decide the overall champions. The 2015 season featured three regional groups simply numbered one to three. The 2016 season saw the return of the Northern Elite Division and the Southern Elite Division format.

Teams

Northern Elite Division

TeamLocationStadium
Athlone Town U19AthloneLissywollen
Bohemians U19PhibsboroughIT Blanchardstown
Derry City U19DerryBrandywell Stadium
Drogheda United U19DroghedaUnited Park
Dundalk U19DundalkOriel Park
Finn Harps U19BallybofeyKillygordon
Longford Town U19LongfordCity Calling Stadium
Monaghan United Cavan Football Partnership U19MonaghanGortakeegan
Shelbourne U19Drumcondra, DublinAUL Complex
Sligo Rovers U19SligoThe Showgrounds
St Patrick's Athletic U19InchicoreIT Blanchardstown

Southern Elite Division

Dr Tony O'Neill Cup

The main league championship trophy is named after Dr Tony O'Neill, the former general manager of University College Dublin A.F.C.. O'Neill was a founding member of the Irish Universities Football Union, a former general secretary of the FAI and a member of various UEFA committees. He also served as Director of Sport at UCD and was credited with revitalising sport at the university following the introduction of a scholarship scheme. This competition should not be confused with the other Dr Tony O'Neill Cup, a national competition organised by the FAI for schools teams.
SeasonWinnerScoreRunners-upVenue
2000–01St Patrick's Athletic U211–0Longford Town U21
2001–02Waterford United U212–2 'Athlone Town U21
2002–03Cork City U212–1Bohemians U21
2003Cork City U212–1St Patrick's Athletic U21
2004UCD U213–2Cork City U21
2005UCD U212–1Shelbourne U21
2005–06Salthill Devon U212–1Cork City U21
2007UCD U210–0 'St Patrick's Athletic U21Belfield Park
2008–09Cork City U201–0Bohemians U20O’Shea Park, Blarney
2009UCD U205–3Salthill Devon U20UCD Bowl
2010Shamrock Rovers U201–1 'Bohemians U20Tallaght Stadium
2011–12Cork City U19'Shamrock Rovers U19n/a
2012–13Cork City U19'Shelbourne U19n/a
2013–14Cork City U19'Shamrock Rovers U19n/a
2014–15St Patrick's Athletic U193–2Derry City U19Maginn Park, Buncrana

;Notes
The Enda McGuill Memorial Cup is the division's league cup. It is named after Enda McGuill, a former
chairman of Dundalk F.C. and a former president of the League of Ireland.
SeasonWinnerScoreRunners-upVenue
2001–02Waterford United U210–0 'Shelbourne U21
2002–03Longford Town U214–2Mervue United U21
2003Shelbourne U214–3St Patrick's Athletic U21
2004Cork City U213–0Sligo/Leitrim League
2005Bray Wanderers U211–1 'St Patrick's Athletic U21
2006Cork City U211–0Kildare County U21
2007Derry City U211–0Bray Wanderers U21
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2011–12Cork City U193–2Dundalk U19Oriel Park
2012–13Cork City U193–1Shelbourne U19Turners Cross
2013–14Cobh Ramblers U193–2Drogheda United U19St Colman's Park
2014–15UCD U193–2Derry City U19UCD Bowl
2016Cork City U192–0St Patrick's Athletic U19Turners Cross
2017Dundalk U192-1 a.e.t.UCD U19Richmond Park
2018Bohemians U192-1St Patrick's Athletic U19UCD Bowl
2019Shamrock Rovers U194–1Bohemians U19Dalymount Park

;Notes
YearWinnerRunner UpResultVenue
2015 Cork City Limerick2-1Markets Field
2016 UCD Galway United4-1UCD Bowl
2017 Bohemians St Patrick's Athletic1-0Dalymount Park
2018 Bohemians Shamrock Rovers1-0Tallaght Stadium
2019WaterfordGalway United3–1Eamonn Deacy Park

Player Of The Season

YearWinnerTeam
2018Andy Lyons Bohemians

Selected former teams

The vast majority of teams that have competed in the division have been the youth teams of League of Ireland clubs. The following clubs and representative teams have also competed without ever having entered a team in either the Premier Division or the First Division.
TeamHometown/SuburbYears
F.C. CarlowCounty Carlow2008, 2011–12
Castlebar CelticCastlebar2007
Dublin UniversityTrinity College Dublin
Fanad UnitedFanad2011–13
Garda2002–
NUI GalwayNUI Galway
Letterkenny RoversLetterkenny2006–07, 2012–15
University of LimerickLimerick 2003–
Mayo Association Football League
Mullingar AthleticMullingar2002–
Sligo/Leitrim League–2005
Tralee DynamosTralee