The First Division was contested by 8 teams and Limerick won the title.
Due to the expansion of the Premier Division, coupled with the withdrawal of Galway United during the off-season, the 2012 First Division consisted of just eight teams.
Applications to join the Division from Cobh Ramblers and Tralee Dynamos, both of whom had played in the 2011 A Championship, were rejected.
[2][3] The second and third placed First Division teams, Waterford United and Longford Town, played off to decide who would play Dundalk, the eleventh placed team from the Premier Division.
Waterford United appealed the result of the playoff, claiming Michael Rafter was ineligible as Dundalk had incorrectly registered him when they signed him earlier that season.