Bohemians v St Patrick’s Athletic at the Aviva Stadium is the headline fixture for the opening weekend of the 2026 SSE Airtricity League, now that the complete fixture list across the Men’s and Women’s Leagues have been published.
The Dublin derby will take place on Sunday, 8th February, with a 2 PM kick-off. Bohs are returning to the Aviva for the second year running after more than 33,000 attended their season launch there last season against Shamrock Rovers.
Following the Double in 2025 and a deep run in European competition until this week, Shamrock Rovers begin their campaign on Friday, 6th February at Tallaght Stadium against newly promoted Dundalk, a fixture with plenty of history.
Elsewhere, last season’s runners-up Derry City open at the Ryan McBride Brandywell against Sligo Rovers, while Shelbourne travel to Waterford.
The 2026 season will be Bohemians’ last in the old Dalymount Park before redevelopment, and the fixtures give that story a beginning and an end.
The final men’s league match at the current Dalymount is scheduled to be at home to Shelbourne, echoing the first match played at the ground when the same clubs met there in September 1901.
The league is also signalling that the women’s game will be part of that closing chapter too.
The fixture list reveals that Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division is scheduled to be the last game held at the stadium.
The Women’s Premier Division begins later, with the new season opening on Saturday, 14 March.
Champions Athlone Town start with a trip to Sligo Rovers, while one of the standout storylines on week one is at Tolka Park, where Sean Russell’s first league game in charge of Shelbourne comes against his former club, Treaty United.
In a league still building its audiences and routines, these are the details that help. People follow people as much as they follow clubs — and clear narrative framing is how leagues convert attention into the habit of regular attendance and ‘fandom’.
The SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division kicks off on Friday, 13 February, with the league leaning into regional pull early as Cork City open up their campaign back in the lower division against Munster rivals Treaty United.
Aside from the draw of live attendance, over 550 games will be live on LOITV in 2026, with an Annual Pass priced at €99 and monthly subscriptions available from €9.99.
The Men’s President’s Cup opens the season on Saturday, 31 January, with Shamrock Rovers hosting Derry City at Tallaght Stadium with a 5 pm kick-off. The Women’s President’s Cup follows on Sunday, 8 March, with Athlone Town hosting Shelbourne at 2 pm.
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