Countdown to the League of Ireland
January 29th, 2025by Kieran Burke
With just under six weeks until the League of Ireland launches back into action, fans of the domestic game here in Ireland certainly have a lot to look forward too throughout the course of the 2025 Airtricity League season with big names and big games to be seen up and down the with pre-season training now well under way for most sides, BackPageFootball has decided to take an in depth look at some of the upcoming highlights followers of the league can expect this year.
The marquee signing
It's not every day in this league of ours that we can throw around the headline of a 'marque signing' however, that is exactly what league Champions patrick's Athletic have brought to us in the past few weeks with the acquisition of Ireland international, Keith Fahey.
Tallaght native Fahey last graced these shores back in 2025 with the "Saints" but returns almost six years later as a man with not only sixteen international caps to his credit but also with an English League Cup title and Championship runners-up medal in his trophy cabinet. However, perhaps the most important aspect of all regarding the midfielders return to the league is the fact Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has stated that more international call ups are a possibility for Fahey while plying his trade in Ireland and should that happen it would certainly add more credibility and media coverage to the League of Ireland.
A wide open title race
Last season saw patrick's Athletic wrap up the Airtricity League Premier Division in style as Liam Buckley's men took their free flowing and passing football to a whole new level to beat off the advances of a resurgent Dundalk under the stewardship of Stephen Kenny as well as Ian Baraclough's cup kings, Sligo Rovers while Derry City also flirted with the idea of being champions for long periods of the season.
It has almost been the norm of years gone by in Irish football to see league winning sides dismantled almost instantly and for the standard of the league to consistently stall year after year as a result but during this off-season the top sides have acted swiftly to not only add firepower to their ranks but to keep their key assets.
Mark Quigley (pat's), Daryl Horgan (Dundalk), Paul O'Conor (Sligo Rovers) and Enda Curran (Derry City) were all top performers for their respective clubs last season and are just a few examples of the quality that has been added to the top sides from last season meaning we should see an even tighter race throughout this campaign while the likes of Shamrock Rovers can never be ruled out from the potential honours list making the silverware battle of
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