Connacht Senior League (association football)
| Country |
 Republic of Ireland
|
|---|---|
| Region |
 Connacht
|
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Connacht Senior Cup League of Ireland Cup FAI Cup FAI Intermediate Cup |
| League cup(s) | Connacht League Cup/Shield Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup Connacht Senior League Incentive Cup |
| Most championships | Mervue United (8 titles) |
The Connacht Senior League was an association football league featuring amateur, intermediate, and League of Ireland reserve teams affiliated to the Connacht Football Association. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. An earlier provincial league, the Western League, had been active, on and off, since the 1930s before the Connacht Football Association decided to establish a more permanent league. The CSL was active between 1981 and 2000. In 2013 discussions were held about relaunching the league.
The Connacht Football Association first established a provincial league in the 1930s. The Western League had a stop start history and was active up until the early 1970s. Galway, Sligo, Mayo and Roscommon organized their own qualifying rounds, using either a knock-out or round-robin format. The most successful team from this era was Galway Bohemians who were Western League champions on six occasions. Other participants in the Western League included Galway Rovers, Castlebar Celtic and Westport United.
In 1981–82 seven clubs – Mervue United, Sligo Rovers Reserves, Castlerea Celtic, Salthill Devon, Ballina Rovers, Tuam Celtic and UCG – formed the Connacht Senior League. Sligo Rovers were the inaugural champions while Mervue United won their first title in 1982–83. At the end of the 1984–85 season Sligo Rovers withdrew after their senior team was relegated to the new League of Ireland First Division. The decision was blamed on cut backs at the club. In 1986 there was a proposal for the league to expand into a North West League. However this idea was abandoned following the emergence of the Ulster Senior League. Gentex of Athlone joined the league for the 1987–88 season but had to withdraw in the spring after it emerged their membership had not been sanctioned by the Leinster Football Association.
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