League of Ireland Player of the Month

The League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month is awarded monthly to the best player in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The winners are selected by the Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland, commonly known as the SWAI.

Winners

1996–97

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
August	Ireland	Eoin Mullan	Bohemians	DF
September	Ireland	Paul Doolin	Bohemians	MF
October	Ireland	Terry Palmer	UCD	DF
November	Ireland	Patsy Freyne	Cork City	MF
December	Northern Ireland	Gary Beckett	Derry City	FW
January	Ireland	Pat Morley	Shelbourne	FW
February	Ireland	Tony Cousins	Shamrock Rovers	FW
March	Northern Ireland	Paul Curran	Derry City	DF
April	Northern Ireland	Peter Hutton	Derry City	DF

1997–98

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
August	Ireland	Dessie Baker	Shelbourne	FW
September	Ireland	Pat Scully	Shelbourne	DF
October	Ireland	Brian Byrne	Dundalk	MF
November	Ireland	Colin Hawkins	St Patrick's Athletic	DF
December	Ireland	Ollie Cahill	Cork City	MF
January	Ireland	Matt Britton	Shamrock Rovers	MF
February	USA	Nicky Brujos	Sligo Rovers	GK
March	Ireland	Keith Doyle	St Patrick's Athletic	DF
April	Ireland	Thomas Morgan	St Patrick's Athletic	MF

1998–99

Jason Byrne, four time Player of the Month, in September 1998, April 2004, October 2005 and May 2012.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
August	Ireland	Derek Coughlan	Cork City	DF
September	Ireland	Jason Byrne	Bray Wanderers	FW
October	Ireland	Trevor Molloy	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
November	Ireland	John Caulfield	Cork City	FW
December	Ireland	Aidan Lynch	UCD	DF
January	Ireland	Martin Russell	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
February	Ireland	Richie Baker	Shelbourne	MF
March	Ireland	Paul Coughlan	Cobh Ramblers	FW
April	Ireland	Michael Devine	Waterford United	GK

1999–00

Ciarán Martyn, February 1999 Player of the Month.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
August	Ireland	Shane Robinson	Shamrock Rovers	MF
September	Ireland	Pat Fenlon	Shelbourne	MF
October	Ireland	Pat Morley	Cork City	FW
November	Ireland	Trevor Molloy	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
December	Wales	Steve Williams	Shelbourne	GK
January	Ireland	Michael Dempsey	Bohemians	GK
February	Ireland	Ciarán Martyn	UCD	DF
March	Ireland	Dessie Baker	Shelbourne	FW
April	Ireland	Colm Tresson	Bray Wanderers	DF

2000–01

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
August	England	Kevin Hunt	Bohemians	MF
September	Ireland	Glen Crowe	Bohemians	FW
October	Ireland	Glen Crowe	Bohemians	FW
November	Ireland	Stephen O'Brien	Longford Town	GK
December	Ireland	Richie Baker	Shelbourne	MF
January	Ireland	Paul Doolin	Shelbourne	MF
February	Ireland	Liam Kelly	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
March	N/A	No Award	N/A	N/A
April	England	Mark Rutherford	Bohemians	FW

2001–02

Charles Livingstone Mbabazi, Player of the Month for September 2001. He was the first African to win the award.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
August	Ireland	Stephen O'Brien	Longford Town	GK
September	Uganda	Charles Mbabazi Livingstone	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
October	Northern Ireland	Darren Kelly	Derry City	DF
November	Ireland	Ollie Cahill	Cork City	MF
December	Ireland	Kevin Doherty	Shelbourne	DF
January	Ireland	Billy Woods	Shamrock Rovers	MF
February	Ireland	Ger McCarthy	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
March	Ireland	Darragh Maguire	St Patrick's Athletic	DF

2002–03

George O'Callaghan, Player of the Month for the month of July 2002.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
July	Ireland	John O'Flynn	Cork City	FW
August	Ireland	George O'Callaghan	Cork City	FW
September	Barbados	Eric Lavine	Longford Town	FW
October	Northern Ireland	Eamon Doherty	Derry City	MF
November	Ireland	Glen Crowe	Bohemians	FW
December	Ireland	Barry Ryan	UCD	GK
January	England	Kevin Hunt	Bohemians	MF

2003

Wes Hoolahan, Player of the month for July 2004.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
April	Ireland	John O'Flynn	Cork City	FW
May	Wales	Steve Williams	Shelbourne	GK
June	Ireland	Tony Grant	Shamrock Rovers	FW
July	Ireland	Colin Hawkins	Bohemians	DF
August	England	Chris Adamson	St Patrick's Athletic	GK
September	Ireland	Jason Byrne	Shelbourne	FW
October	Ireland	Shane Barrett	Longford Town	FW
November	Wales	Jamie Harris	Shelbourne	DF

2004

Kevin Doyle, November 2004's Player of the Month.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
April	Ireland	Jason Byrne	Shelbourne	FW
May	Ireland	Trevor Molloy	Shamrock Rovers	FW
June	Ireland	Liam Kearney	Cork City	MF
July	Ireland	Wes Hoolahan	Shelbourne	MF
August	Ireland	Owen Heary	Shelbourne	DF
September	Ireland	Daryl Murphy	Waterford United	FW
October	Ireland	Dave Warren	Cobh Ramblers	FW
November	Ireland	Kevin Doyle	Cork City	FW

2005

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March/April	Ireland	Richie Baker	Shelbourne	MF
May	Ireland	George O'Callaghan	Cork City	FW
July	Ireland	Mark Farren	Derry City	FW
August	Ireland	Liam Kearney	Cork City	MF
September	Northern Ireland	Peter Hutton	Derry City	DF
October	Ireland	Jason Byrne	Shelbourne	FW
November	Ireland	Roy O'Donovan	Cork City	FW

2006

File:P7011852.jpeg

Tony McDonnell, receiving the award in March 2006.

Paddy McCourt, Player of the Month for June 2006.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Tony McDonnell	UCD	DF
April	Ireland	Glen Fitzpatrick	Shelbourne	FW
May	Ireland	Graham Gartland	Drogheda United	DF
June	Northern Ireland	Paddy McCourt	Derry City	MF
July	Ireland	Dan Murray	Cork City	DF
August	Northern Ireland	Kevin Deery	Derry City	MF
September	Ireland	Joe Gamble	Cork City	MF
October	Ireland	Owen Heary	Shelbourne	DF

2007

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Alan Kirby	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
April	Ireland	Brian Shelley	Drogheda United	DF
May	Ireland	Tadhg Purcell	Shamrock Rovers	FW
June	Ireland	Derek Glynn	Galway United	FW
July	England	Matthew Judge	Sligo Rovers	FW
August	Ireland	Dave Mooney	Longford Town	FW
September	Ireland	Guy Bates	Drogheda United	FW
October	Ireland	Brian Shelley	Drogheda United	DF

2008

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Keith Fahey	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
April	Ireland	Patrick Kavanagh	Bray Wanderers	MF
May	Ireland	Killian Brennan	Bohemians	MF
June	Ireland	Dave Mooney	Cork City	FW
July	Ireland	Ollie Cahill	Drogheda United	MF
August	Ireland	Mark Quigley	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
September	Ireland	Gary Deegan	Bohemians	MF
October	Ireland	Owen Heary	Bohemians	DF
November	Ireland	Brian Murphy	Bohemians	GK

2009

Conan Byrne, the Player of the Month for November 2009.

David McMillan, three time Player of the Month, in May 2010, March 2015 and July 2016.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Derek O'Brien	Galway United	MF
April	Scotland	Gary Twigg	Shamrock Rovers	FW
May	Ireland	Colin Healy	Cork City	MF
June	Ireland	Raffaele Cretaro	Sligo Rovers	FW
July	Ireland	Declan O'Brien	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
August	Ireland	Brian Shelley	Bohemians	DF
September	Scotland	Gary Twigg	Shamrock Rovers	FW
October	Ireland	Raffaele Cretaro	Sligo Rovers	FW
November	Ireland	Conan Byrne	Sporting Fingal	MF

2010

Joseph Ndo, the Player of the Month for September 2011.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Conor Kenna	St Patrick's Athletic	DF
April	Ireland	Karl Sheppard	Galway United	FW
May	Ireland	David McMillan	UCD	FW
June	Ireland	Paddy Madden	Bohemians	FW
July	Ireland	Dave Mulcahy	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
August	Ireland	Aidan Price	Shamrock Rovers	DF
September	Ireland	Jake Kelly	Bray Wanderers	FW
October	Ireland	Richie Ryan	Sligo Rovers	MF
November	Ireland	Ciaran Kelly	Sligo Rovers	GK

2011

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Mark Quigley	Dundalk	FW
April	Ireland	Gary Dempsey	Bray Wanderers	MF
May	Ireland	Eoin Doyle	Sligo Rovers	FW
June	England	Danny North	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
July	Ireland	Conor McCormack	Shamrock Rovers	MF
August	Ireland	Patrick Sullivan	Shamrock Rovers	DF
September	Cameroon	Joseph Ndo	Sligo Rovers	MF
October	Ireland	Karl Sheppard	Shamrock Rovers	FW
November	Ireland	Stephen Paisley	Shelbourne	DF

2012

Chris Forrester, three-time winner of Player of the Month, in April 2012, April 2014 and June 2015.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Scotland	Gary Twigg	Shamrock Rovers	FW
April	Ireland	Chris Forrester	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
May	Ireland	Jason Byrne	Bray Wanderers	FW
June	England	Danny North	Sligo Rovers	FW
July	Ireland	Christy Fagan	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
August	Ireland	Mark Quigley	Sligo Rovers	FW
September	Ireland	Jason McGuinness	Sligo Rovers	DF
October	Scotland	Gary Twigg	Shamrock Rovers	FW
November	Northern Ireland	Rory Patterson	Derry City	FW

2013

Richie Towell, five time Player of the Month, in August 2013, July 2014 and April, September & November 2015.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	England	Anthony Elding	Sligo Rovers	FW
April	Ireland	Barry McNamee	Derry City	MF
May	Ireland	Killian Brennan	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
June	Ireland	Jason Byrne	Bray Wanderers	FW
July	Ireland	Patrick Hoban	Dundalk	FW
August	Ireland	Richie Towell	Dundalk	MF
September	Ireland	Anthony Flood	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
October	Ireland	Ciarán Kilduff	Cork City	FW
November	England	Danny North	Sligo Rovers	FW

2014

Daryl Horgan, Player of the Month, in May 2014, 2015 & 2016 and September 2016.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Gary O'Neill	Drogheda United	FW
April	Ireland	Chris Forrester	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
May	Ireland	Daryl Horgan	Dundalk	MF
June	Ireland	Mark O'Sullivan	Cork City	FW
July	Ireland	Richie Towell	Dundalk	MF
August	Ireland	Rory Gaffney	Limerick	FW
September	Ireland	Dane Massey	Dundalk	DF
October	Ireland	Patrick Hoban	Dundalk	FW
November	Ireland	Christy Fagan	St Patrick's Athletic	FW

2015

Robbie Benson, Player of the Month for August 2016.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	David McMillan	Dundalk	FW
April	Ireland	Richie Towell	Dundalk	MF
May	Ireland	Daryl Horgan	Dundalk	MF
June	Ireland	Chris Forrester	St Patrick's Athletic	MF
July	Ireland	Ryan Swan	UCD	FW
August	Ireland	Vinny Faherty	Limerick	FW
September	Ireland	Richie Towell	Dundalk	MF
October	Ireland	Ian Turner	Limerick	MF
November	Ireland	Richie Towell	Dundalk	MF

2016

Alan Bennett, Player of the Month for November 2016 and October 2017.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Christy Fagan	St Patrick's Athletic	FW
April	Ireland	Ronan Finn	Dundalk	MF
May	Ireland	Daryl Horgan	Dundalk	MF
June	Ireland	Greg Bolger	Cork City	MF
July	Ireland	David McMillan	Dundalk	FW
August	Ireland	Robbie Benson	Dundalk	MF
September	Ireland	Daryl Horgan	Dundalk	MF
October	Ireland	Chris Shields	Dundalk	MF
November	Ireland	Alan Bennett	Cork City	DF

2017

Ronan Murray, Player of the Month for August 2017.

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position
March	Ireland	Sean Maguire	Cork City	FW
April	Ireland	Conor McCormack	Cork City	MF
May	Ireland	Ryan Delaney	Cork City	DF
June	Northern Ireland	Patrick McEleney	Dundalk	MF
July	Ireland	Fuad Sule	Bohemians	MF
August	Ireland	Ronan Murray	Galway United	FW
September	Ireland	Brandon Miele	Shamrock Rovers	MF
October	Ireland	Alan Bennett	Cork City	DF
November	Ireland	Mark McNulty	Cork City	GK

2018

Month	Nationality	Player	Team	Position	February	Ireland	Graham Cummins	Cork City	FW
March	Ireland	Graham Burke	Shamrock Rovers	S

Multiple winners

The below table lists those who have won on more than one occasion since 2006.

*	Indicates current League of Ireland Premier Division player
Italics	Indicates players still playing professional football

Rank	Player	Wins
1st	Richie Towell	5
2nd	Daryl Horgan	4
	Gary Twigg
	Jason Byrne
3rd	David McMillan	3
	Christy Fagan*
	Chris Forrester
	Danny North
	Brian Shelley
	Trevor Molloy
4th	Alan Bennett*	2
	Conor McCormack*
	Patrick Hoban*
	Killian Brennan*
	Mark Quigley
	Karl Sheppard*
	Raffaele Cretaro*
	Owen Heary
	Dave Mooney
	Peter Hutton
	John O'Flynn

Awards won by position

As of 22 March 2018 (From August 1996)

Position	Wins
Forward	78
Midfielder	63
Defender	34
Goalkeeper	12

Awards won by nationality

As of 22 March 2018 (From August 1996)

Country	Wins
Ireland	156
Northern Ireland	10
England	9
Scotland	4
Wales	3
Cameroon	1
Barbados	1
Uganda	1
United States	1

Awards won by club

As of 22 March 2018

Club	Wins
Bohemians	44
St Patrick's Athletic	41
Cork City	39
Dundalk	39
Shamrock Rovers	35
Shelbourne	32
Sligo Rovers	23
Derry City	23
Waterford United	15
Limerick	13
Drogheda United	13
Galway United	11
Finn Harps	10
UCD	8
Bray Wanderers	8
Athlone Town	8
Cork Celtic	6
Longford Town	5
Cobh Ramblers	4
Home Farm	4
Cork Hibernians	4
Cork Alberts	2
Sporting Fingal	1
Ashtownvilla	1
Kilkenny City	1
Thurles Town	1

External links

• SWAI official website