Leinster Senior League (association football)

Leinster Senior League

Country	Ireland
Region	Leinster
Founded	1896
Divisions	20 (including Senior Division)
Level on pyramid	3–12
Domestic cup(s)	Leinster Senior Cup FAI Cup FAI Intermediate Cup FAI Junior Cup
League cup(s)	Metropolitan Cup Charlie Cahill Cup
Current champions	Crumlin United (4 titles)
Most championships	Shelbourne (12 titles)
Website	www.lsl.ie

The Leinster Senior League is an association football league organised by the Leinster Football Association. In 2015–16 the Leinster Senior League operated twenty divisions. It also organises various cup competitions. Its Senior Division is a third level division in the Republic of Ireland football league system. Leinster Senior League teams also compete in the Leinster Senior Cup, the FAI Cup, the FAI Intermediate Cup and the FAI Junior Cup. In recent seasons the winners of the Senior Division have also qualified to play in the League of Ireland Cup. Despite using the Leinster name in its title, the vast majority of its member clubs are based in the Greater Dublin Area. Its current sponsors include The Herald and O'Neills.

History

Foundation

Within a few seasons of the Leinster Football Association having been formed in 1892, the Leinster Senior League was established. Ciarán Priestley highlights a printed notice in the 4 September 1894 edition of The Irish Times. Under the headline "Leinster Football League" there is a report of "a general meeting of the league... held the other evening at 27 D'Olier Street". Priestley also lists Bohemians, Britannia, Dublin University, Leinster Nomads, Phoenix and Montpelier as participants in the first season. The Leinster Senior League website states it was established in 1896.^[1] However other sources suggest the league started a little later and was first played for in 1897–98 and that an unidentified British Army regimental team where the inaugural winners while Shelbourne were runners up. ^{See
Note 1[2][3]}

2016–17 Senior divisions

Senior

Source: ^[4] Senior 1

Source: ^[5]

Senior 1A

Source: ^[6] Senior 1B

Source: ^[7]

Junior leagues

This is a selection of teams playing in the lower levels of the Leinster Senior League.

Representative team

A Leinster Senior League representative team competes in the FAI Intermediate Interprovincial Tournament against teams representing the Ulster Senior League, the Munster Senior League and Connacht. ^[8]

Notes

References

Association football in the Republic of Ireland
Women's association football in the Republic of Ireland
Governing bodies	Football Association of Ireland League of Ireland Connacht Leinster Munster Universities WFAI GFA
National teams	Men's Women's B U-23 U-21 U-19 U-17 League of Ireland XI
National leagues	Premier Division First Division U19 Division U17 Division Women's National League
Provincial leagues	Leinster Senior League Senior Division Munster Senior League Premier Division Ulster Senior League
County/local leagues	Leinster AUL Wicklow Dublin Munster Cork AUL Kerry Desmond Limerick West Cork Connacht Galway Mayo Men's Women's Ulster Inishowen
National cups	FAI Cup League of Ireland Cup President's Cup FAI Women's Cup FAI Intermediate Cup FAI Junior Cup FAI Youth Cup
Provincial cups	Leinster Senior Cup Munster Senior Cup Connacht Junior Cup
All-Ireland cups	Setanta Cup Collingwood Cup
List of clubs List of leagues List of venues Records