Kurtis Byrne leaves St Pat’s for Linfield

Striker Kurtis Byrne has agreed a move to Irish League champions Linfield.

Byrne, who spent last season at St Patrick’s Athletic, will be at the Blues until the end of the 2018/19 season.

“I’m delighted Kurtis has agreed to come and sign for us,” said Linfield boss David Healy, the former Manchester United forward.

“There was quite a lot of interest in him from League of Ireland clubs and having seen him play last season for St Pat’s, we feel he will be a really good addition.”

Meanwhile, the FAI last night confirmed the new League of Ireland season will kick off on Friday, February 16, with each team playing two home and two away games in the new 10-team SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

With 36 league games in the Premier Division season, the 2018 season will feature three more games than 2017.

The curtain-raiser to the season, the President’s Cup will take place on February 11, with Cork City travelling to Oriel Park to face Dundalk on Sunday, February 11.

The First Division season will be one game shorter than 2017, comprising 27 league games in a 10-team division, kicking off on Friday, February 23. The 2017 season was made up 28 games in an eight-team division.

It is the promotion/relegation picture which is of most interest in the new format. The champions of the First Division will be guaranteed automatic promotion to the Premier Division, where they will replace the team which finishes 10th in the top tier. However, getting into the top flight for the next three best placed teams could be a test of endurance.

The teams in second/third/fourth place in the First Division will go into a promotion/relegation play-off at the end of the season. In this new format, the team which finishes fourth plays the team which finishes third, with the winner of that tie facing the team which finishes second. The winner of that tie will then play the team which finishes ninth - second from bottom - in the Premier Division in the final promotion/relegation play-off.

All play-off ties will be played over two legs, which could mean a side playing six post-regular season games to reach the Premier Division.

The mid-season break will take place from Saturday, June 16 to Thursday, June 28.

The FAI Cup final is set for November 4. The EA Sports Cup final will take place on September 15.

The 2018 fixture list will be released on Tuesday, December 19.