Nine-team First Division on the horizon as Limerick FC set for liquidation

Limerick will not compete in the 2020 League of Ireland and will likely be wound up following a court hearing on examinership in Ennis today.

The club, which has debts of approximately €490,000, will have a liquidator appointed in the coming weeks and the possibility of a senior team operating in Limerick next season are remote.

It’s understood that Limerick didn’t apply for a license to compete in the 2020 League of Ireland after being advised that any application from the current owner would be rejected.

Owner Pat O’Sullivan had hoped to secure an investor to take over the club, as he has for a number of seasons, but was unsuccessful and senior football in Limerick is now on the brink of extinction.

Baker Tilly, the examiner appointed to the club in September, today recommended that the club be removed from examinership and placed into liquidation.

The 2020 First Division is likely to proceed with nine teams as clubs are reportedly unhappy at suggestions a Shamrock Rovers B team could be revived to make up the numbers in the second tier.

Munster Football Club Ltd, the company that owns Limerick FC, had been under court protection due to ongoing concerns over its viability following numerous financial problems in 2019.

The club had failed to pay players wages for two months straight and the squad voted to endorse strike action in May before a settlement was made shortly afterwards.

They were retroactively deducted 26 points as a result of their examinership, leaving them bottom of the table.

Senior player Sean Russell, the son of former Limerick manager Martin, suffered a serious knee injury in April playing for the club and had to crowdfund his costs.

Limerick have twice been crowned First Division champions in recent years, first winning promotion in 2012 under Pat Scully before repeating the feat with Russell in 2016.

It's currently unknown whether Limerick will enter a team in the 2020 Women's National League, however Athlone Town have already been accepted as a new entrant for the coming season.

After discovering he wasn’t covered by the club’s insurance, Russell was forced to crowdfund to undergo invasive surgery in attempt to save his career.

Conor Noone of Baker Tilly Chartered Accounts said a proposed investor “did not engage with him in the manner required in recent weeks" to secure a financial agreement with the club’s creditors.

He added: "Despite the progress made in developing a viable restructuring plan the company over the last 100 days, we are disappointed at the outcome reached today.

"Everything possible has been undertaken to secure the future of the company and to preserve employment at Limerick FC."