League of Ireland Attendances 2014 - Gameweek 1

The new League of Ireland season began on Friday with the introduction of two new teams to its ranks. Galway FC and Shamrock Rovers B both started life in the Airtricity First Division as Mervue United and Salthill Devon bid their farewells. It was a long pre-season for clubs and fans alike as storms repeatedly hit the Irish shores forcing game after game to be postponed and cancelled, so the start of the domestic league was a welcome sight for both.

Ten games took place across three days, seven on Friday, two on Saturday and a televised evening game on Sunday. 20 goals were scored with seven red cards and 47 yellow cards being brandished.

In 2013, 14,908 punters showed up for the opening weekend of domestic football’s top two tiers. 20,066 spectators, a 35% increase on 2013, were in the stands for the corresponding 2014 weekend.

Project Galway would appear to be a winner. Salthill’s opener in 2013 against Longford drew an estimated 100 fans. Galway FC’s fixture against the same opposition this year produced over 24 times that count, with 2,418 supporters joining the President of Ireland to watch the Tribesman lose out by a single David O’Sullivan goal.

The largest crowd of the weekend was in Turner’s Cross as 5,322 witnessed champions St Pats draw 1-1 with Cork City. Shamrock Rovers televised clash with Derry City on Sunday drew the second largest crowd - 3,510.

The smallest crowd of the weekend was Saturday night’s game in St Coleman’s Park as Cobh Ramblers drew 1-1 with newly formed Shamrock Rovers B. This was an estimated attendance of 400 and should we get the official figure, we will update the total count.

Our attendance figures consist of eight official tallies and two estimated, the aforementioned Cobh count and the game between Finn Harps and Waterford United.

The full breakdown of attendances is as follows: