Dublin Football Matchday Experience
The city's football, the city's crowd, and a place among them
Soak up the atmosphere in the stadium with a fan
“The Greatest League in the World” is the fans’ slogan. We mean it. Authenticity, grit, raucous fans, games where you can see the whites in the players eyes. We visit iconic Dublin stadiums, intimate, personal, and steeped in stories and history.
This is an all-in package including:
City centre group meeting point
Public transport to the stadium area
Pre-game experience at fan pub, including 1 x drink
Guaranteed entry to the game with the host
Host brings you back to city centre meeting point
This gets you a ticket without the hassle. I know the clubs, the stadiums, and the good spots to stand or sit.
The season runs from March to October, with matches typically played on Friday nights, and less often on Monday nights. FAI Cup ties can be the exception, sometimes landing midweek.
Kick off is usually 7:45pm.
Register your interest
For the experience, we meet in a city centre location a few hours beforehand. This gives us time to get to the stadium area, soak up the atmosphere in a fan pub, and get into the ground to find a good spot before the match begins.
There are four Dublin-based clubs currently in the Premier Division, so home games come round most weeks. These teams are:
Bohemians F.C. - based in Phibsborough (just north of the city centre)
Shamrock Rovers F.C. - based in Tallaght (south-west suburbs)
St Patrick's Athletic F.C. - based in Inchicore (south-west of the city centre)
Shelbourne F.C. - based in Drumcondra (north-east of the city centre, near Croke Park)
Get in touch below to express interest, and we'll tailor the day around what works for you.
Up-to-date fixtures can be tracked on the League of Ireland website.
If there's a particular game you're interested in, get in touch, though please note that matches less than two weeks out from your enquiry may not be possible to secure tickets for. Such is the recent popularity of the league, stadium capacities sometimes can't keep up with demand.
Starting from €79 per person
What to Expect
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Association football clubs in Ireland date back more than 120 years. We’ll explain the origins of the sport in Ireland in an engaging and interactive way
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Each League of Ireland team has its own unique story to tell, stories which are still evolving today. We’ll give you the run through of both teams playing so you can truly appreciate the match taking place.
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The chants, the nicknames, the rivalries, the legendary players - we’ll cover it all
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League of Ireland clubs are known for their deep connection to their local communities. We’ll walk through these streets to the stadium. We’ll see and feel what the local neighbourhood means to the fans
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The League of Ireland is undergoing a massive renaissance. Attendance records are being broken every year. In a landscape where teams in the big leagues have lost their strong connection to local fans, the Irish football scene is unique. Think of it as “the anti-Premiership experience“ in the best ways possible
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The booming popularity of the league means tickets can be difficult to source! We guarantee official tickets and hosted access to our exact place in the stadium. All key info (toilets, food/drink, the best routes in and out) will be looked after by the host
Itinerary
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We’ll meet at an easy to find city centre location 2 hours before the game. The exact location will depend on which team is playing at home on the day. You will be sent specific details relating to the game you choose.
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We will travel as a group to the stadium, encountering local fans as we get closer to the venue. This may involve a short walk, public transport, or a taxi (transport costs included in the package price).
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We’ll base ourselves in a local bar where fans will be socialising in advance of the game. We’ll soak up the atmosphere and I’ll give a breakdown of the team dynamics, the history of each club, and what to expect at the game.
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We’ll take a short walk to the stadium and enter as a group. I will coordinate a smooth entry through the ticket check and to our place in the stadium. There are street food and sometimes bar options available at the games if you’d like something to eat/drink.
We will watch the match as a group and take in the game as it plays out
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After the game, we'll safely exit the stadium and make our way back to the city centre, with the inevitable post-match debate over the referee decisions!
My passion for the league
I’ve been attending League of Ireland games for 30 years, since I was a little kid. Supporting my hometown team, Waterford, was my introduction to the magic of Irish Football.
These weren’t glory days for the club! But sticking with the team and supporting them through thick and thin is what the League of Ireland is all about.
As an adult who has lived in Dublin for 18 years, I’ve been spoiled for choice in going to games by the mighty likes of Bohemians, Shelbourne, St Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers on a frequent basis.
I've seen dramatic title races, the rise and fall of a few footballing dynasties, and more gritty goalmouth scrambles than I can count. But it's the stadiums, the fans, the chips at half time, the feeling of being part of a footballing culture that swims against the tide of the corporatised version of the sport.
My favourite Dublin team? Ah, you’ll have to come to a game to find out!
A great video about the Irish football league
Copa90's Sold Out, Flares Out, Lights Out - The League of Ireland is one of the better pieces of football journalism made about this league, capturing the look and feel of games, and some personalities discussing the league's recent turnaround.
It follows Shelbourne against Derry City at Tolka Park, a journey out west to see Sligo Rovers against Waterford, and closes at the Aviva Stadium for the FAI Cup Final between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, the derby that splits the city along northside and southside lines, a rivalry with a hundred years behind it.
Fans do most of the talking, and they say it better than any highlight reel could. This isn't a league selling itself on production value. It's selling itself on people who show up week after week because the game still means something here.
“If you’ve never been to a League of Ireland game, do, because it’s buzzing at the moment”
— Niall Quinn, Irish football legend
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a unique package experience. While other operators may offer something similar as part of a multi-day VIP package for larger groups, nobody else offers a League of Ireland matchday experience as a standalone, easily bookable package for small groups.
Take a look at our detailed FAQ in this section to get a better sense of what to expect and how it all works. Or reach out anytime at hello@dublininsider.ie
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For starters, it's the only experience where you can attend a League of Ireland match where the host attends with you, provides in-person context on the football scene, and secures tickets for you!
There's no ticket-buying stress and no guessing which end to sit in, just genuine local knowledge of the clubs, the grounds, and the culture around them, from someone who's followed this league for years. It's less a tour and more an invitation into something you'd otherwise need a local mate to get you into.
At The Dublin Insider, we care more about doing something genuinely different than repeating what everyone else already offers. We’re committed to providing tours and services that allow people to experience the true magic of Dublin life. This experience is a good example of what that looks like in practice
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Once we've secured match tickets on your behalf, we're not able to offer a refund, since the tickets themselves are non-refundable from our side.
If you need to cancel with plenty of notice before tickets are booked, we'll do our best to work something out.
As for weather, football doesn't stop for rain in Ireland, so neither do we. The match goes ahead regardless, and so does the experience around it.
League games take place are specifically organised to avoid as much of the winter as possible, so weather isn’t usually too much of a factor.
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Children are very welcome. League of Ireland games have a genuinely family-friendly atmosphere overall, and while most grounds have an 'Ultras' section with a livelier crowd, the majority of the stand is relaxed and suitable for all ages. The same goes for seniors.
Physical limitations depend on the ground itself, since not every stadium has the same level of accessibility. Let me know your specific needs when you get in touch, and I'll do my best to find seating and a route that works for you.
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Most League of Ireland stadiums are grounds where clubs have played for decades, sometimes over a century. That history gives them real character, but it also means capacity is limited, and tickets for popular fixtures can be hard to come by less than two weeks out. Shamrock Rovers play at a larger, more modern ground, but for the other three clubs, getting in touch as early as possible makes a real difference.
Get in touch at hello@dublininsider.ie to let me know you're interested. I'll come back to you to confirm availability and give you a quote for the experience.
A small deposit is required at that point, which secures the tickets on your behalf. The remaining balance is then due ahead of the matchday itself.
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Comfortable shoes and a water bottle are always a good idea. Packing a light rain jacket is rarely a bad idea.
As for colours, you might want to wear the home team's kit, and I can let you know the colours once we've confirmed the match. Home jerseys are for sale at all of the stadiums, and are generally available in most sports shops in the city centre.
If in doubt, something neutral works fine too. This isn't River Plate versus Boca Juniors though! League of Ireland fans won't bat an eye if you turn up in the wrong colours by accident, but wearing the right ones can help you feel more part of it.
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Ideally two people or more. Ticket and logistics costs make it hard to offer this experience well for a solo booking, but get in touch regardless, exceptions are sometimes possible depending on the match and demand.