For many years the idea of alcohol and beer sponsorship on League of Ireland club jerseys felt like a notion of a bygone era, with brands providing iconic partnerships including Cork City with Guinness, Dundalk with Harp Lager, Bohemians with Bass, Derry City with Smithwicks and Shamrock Rovers with Tennent’s lager.
Although these partnerships are fondly remembered, they dried up in the early 2000s amid changing laws and a league falling on hard times. However, this era is finally over with the announcement this week of a partnership between Bohemian Football Club and Guinness.
The Dublin icon that has been a symbol of Ireland for decades will feature as the shirt sponsor for Bohemian’s away strip for the 2025 season. This marks the third jersey that the North Dublin club has released in the off-season, with a home shirt marking their 135th anniversary and a third kit in collaboration with Dublin-based band Fontaines D.C. who are on tour after releasing their 4th studio album ‘Romance’ last summer.
This is not the only Diageo involvement with the league this year, with the announcement in December of Rockshore Lager becoming the official beer sponsor of the League of Ireland, something that hasn’t been in effect for the last number of years. This partnership allows clubs to enhance their matchday offerings to their supporters around the league in all 3 divisions.
These announcements only highlight the high amount of growth within the league and how it will only continue to grow over the coming years. Bohemians may debut their away kit against rivals Shamrock Rovers in the Aviva Stadium on Sunday in front of a record crowd of over 28,000 fans.
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