The 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division has been completed and the team of year is Shelbourne, it is always the league winners, but you didn’t click a link for that snippet so here we’ll pick the best players in each position for the season, even if they didn’t last a full season here. The players’ Team of the Year doesn’t adhere to positions – they picked two right backs last year and none this year for example – but we’re going to try to. We’ll play 4-3-3 and admit that even with that, there’s at least one player shoehorned in.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s your 2024 balls.ie LOI Team of the Year:
Goalkeeper – Brendan Clarke (Galway United)
2024 was a year without a truly standout goalkeeper. Ed McGinty and Conor Kearns have claims for this spot, but Galway United’s defensive record deserves recognition and Clarke has been consistently good all season. The Dubliner, a league winner 11 years ago, turned 39 in September but has marshalled Galway’s defence superbly all season. He finished with 16 clean sheets and only conceded 29 for a side that many had tipped for relegation.
Right back – Sean Gannon (Shelbourne)
One of the biggest storylines when Shelbourne clinched the title was Sean Gannon winning his 10th or 11th league winner’s medal (depending on who you ask) but that incredible fact shouldn’t detract from how well the veteran has played this year. After a down year in 2023 – he started only four league games for Shamrock Rovers – Gannon was back to his best being primarily deployed as an orthodox right back this season. As Shels wobbled late on, his experience was invaluable in dragging them over the line.
Left back – Josh Honohan (Shamrock Rovers)
This is where our formation based team gets a little questionable. It’s doubtful that Honohan played a minute of Shamrock Rovers season as a left back, but he did play most of it at left wing back and he was one of the league’s stand out performers for most of the season. A pre-season signing from relegated Cork City, there weren’t many fans of his old, or new, club that predicted the Corkman would become the most important defender for Rovers.
Centre back – Gavin Molloy (Shelbourne)
He only played until mid-June, but there’s no doubt that Gavin Molloy was the best defender who played in the 2024 LOI season. Shelbourne averaged 1.95 points per game with him in the side, and 1.43 PPG without him. They conceded an average of 0.59 goals per game with him, and 1.00 GPG after he left. 12 clean sheets in the 22 games he played, 4 clean sheets in the other 14 games. You get the picture. Molloy was a rock, and he moved seamlessly into an Aberdeen side that remains unbeaten in the SPFL.
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Centre back – Paddy Barrett (Shelbourne)
Barrett & Molloy as a pairing were incredible this year. After Molloy’s exit, Barrett had to pick up the mantle and with a rotating cast of Bone, Ledwidge, Griffin and whoever else was fit to start, he managed to get Shelbourne over the line. The popular Waterford man played more minutes this season than any other season he’s played and his contribution to the league’s best defence can’t be understated.
Midfield – Jamie Lennon (St Patrick’s Athletic)
There are good defensive midfielders in the LOI but none of them have the same combination of tenacity, work rate and skill as Jamie Lennon. When he’s out, Pats need two players to do the work he normally does. He was the rock that allowed the Saints to become the highest scoring team in the league this season. He had offers to move away at the end of this season, but Pats fans have to be delighted to see him re-sign as he would have been the hardest of their regular starters to replace.
Midfield – Dylan Watts (Shamrock Rovers)
In an inconsistent Shamrock Rovers team, the most consistent player has been Dylan Watts. It’s a bit of a coming of age season for the ex-Bohs man who started more games, played more minutes, and scored more goals than in any previous year. While he isn’t as flashy as Byrne, Mandriou or the many other playmakers in their squad, Watts’ high level performances all season dragged them back into contention. Rovers won their last 3 games to stay in contention, and Watts scored the winner in all 3.
Midfield – Brandon Kavanagh (St Patrick’s Athletic)
While assists may be debated – depending on who’s metric you count Kavanagh has between 12 and 14 – there’s no doubt that no one created more goals this year than Brandon Kavanagh at Pats. He chipped in with some very important goals too, including winners against Shamrock Rovers and Derry City in Inchicore. Kavanagh played a number of positions during the season, but it was a move into central midfield – just off the striker – after Romal Palmer’s injury that saw him develop into one of the league’s best.
Wide attacker – Will Jarvis (Shelbourne)
The second of our team who left Shelbourne this summer, Jarvis was on his way to being the player of the year here before Hull City recalled him from his loan in August. Jarvis won two league-wide Player of the Month awards early in the season and he was easily the then-league leaders most important attacking player before moving home. He has played 155 minutes of league football for Hull since leaving Shelbourne.
Wide attacker – Jake Mulraney (St Patrick’s Athletic)
1 November 2024; Jake Mulraney of St Patrick's Athletic arrives before the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division match between Sligo Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic at The Showgrounds in Sligo. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile
If Jarvis was the outstanding attacker early in the season, Mulraney has been the outstanding player in the league for the last 3 months. Before Stephen Kenny’s arrival he had only shown flashes of his undoubted talent but starting with their European adventure, he has become the most dangerous player in the country. Kenny, unlike his predecessors at Pats, hasn’t tried to play Mulraney on the right on in the centre. He was told to get down the left flank and get the ball into the box. Hurrah for fast wingers!
Centre forward – Padraig Amond
Players returning to the LOI after more than a decade playing abroad have, at best, a mixed record during their second stints in the league. Some of the best this country has produced haven’t been able to adapt to the changes in the league since they moved away. Amond is definitely an exception to that. He started every game for Waterford, and was only subbed off twice (in the 82nd and 91st minute of two 4-1 wins) and contributing a league topping 14 goals. His movement and anticipation won’t be topped in this league. He turns 37 in April, but for 2024 he was the league’s best striker.
Players who had legitimate claims to be include Mark Coyle (Shelbourne), Ellis Chapman (Sligo Rovers), Patrick Hickey (Galway United), Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers), Sean Boyd (Shelbourne) and Michael Duffy (Derry City). There’s more too. There was no shortage of star players in the League of Ireland this year.
