Derbies in the League of Ireland

The earliest rivalry contested was between Bohemian and Shelbourne, Dublin based clubs who played in the Belfast-dominated Irish Football League from the early 1900s to 1920.

In the 1950s and 1960s matches between North Dublin-based Drumcondra and South Dublin based Shamrock Rovers became the premier event in leagues calendar until the Drums went out of business in 1972.

League of Ireland sides also have rivalries with their Northern Irish club counterparts and have often met in cross-border competitions, the latest being the Setanta Sports Cup.

Following the demise of Drumcondra in the 1970s, Bohemians became the only major club from the Northside of Dublin, automatically coming into conflict with southsiders, Shamrock Rovers.

Since the 1990s, the rivalry has been extremely fierce both on and off the field,[1] with disturbances breaking out before, during and after fixtures, resulting in an excessive Garda presence at games.

In 2016 during an away 4-0 win for Rovers, fans from both side invaded the pitch, fighting was reported with the Garda Public Order unit intervening.

Today they are the third and fourth most successful league sides and while the rivalry receded over the years at the start of the 2000s it reached its most heated as the two became the best clubs in the country winning between each other six consecutive titles.

Ahead of the final game of the 2004 season Shelbourne chairman Ollie Byrne announced the capture of three key Bohemians players live on RTÉ angering many Bohs fans who saw it as a tactic of buying up the opposition.

Noted as one of the more colourful derby, with both clubs main fan group (SRFC Ultras and Shed End Invincibles) being formed in 2001 before others in the league.

Due to the prominence of the Bohemians-Shamrock Rovers rivalry the media often portrays this as the second most important in Dublin, however it remains a heated derby, with no love between the two sets of fans.

Sometimes considered the most placid rivalry between the big four, both clubs originally played in the Phoenix Park but quickly moved to nearby Phibsboro and Inchicore.

The clubs met in the 2021 FAI Cup Final which St Patrick's Athletic won on penalties amidst pre match crowd trouble in Irishtown.

The derby returned in 2010 following Derry's relegation from the Premier Division the previous year, but the Foylesiders still held the advantage over the Donegal men in the ties.

Both teams regularly beat each other, resulting in an almost exact record for both, however in the Premier Division Sligo have come out on top most times.

Most of Drums support floated to nearby Phibsborough with Bohemians who had dropped their strict amateur status in 1969 allowing them to become a major force in Irish football again.