1988–89 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1988–89 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Royal Liver National Football League, was the 58th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1988–89 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1988 – 14 May 1989
League champions
WinnersCork (4th win)
CaptainTony Nation
League runners-up
Runners-upDublin
CaptainP. Dunne

Cork beat Dublin in the "home" final and went on to win the two-legged final against New York. Colman Corrigan was injured in New York and so missed the All-Ireland championship.[1][2][3]

Format

Divisions
  • Division One: 8 teams
  • Division Two: 8 teams
  • Division Three: 16 teams. Split into two regional groups of 8 (North and South)

Round-robin format

Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.

Points awarded

2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.

Titles

Teams in all three divisions competed for the National Football League title.

Knockout stage qualifiers
  • Division One: top 4 teams
  • Division Two: top 2 teams
  • Division Three (North): group winners
  • Division Three (South): group winners

Knockout phase structure

In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows:

  • Quarter-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (South)
  • Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (North)
  • Quarter-final 3: Third-placed team in Division One v Second-placed team in Division Two
  • Quarter-final 4: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Two

The semi-final match-ups are:

  • Semi-final 1: Winner Quarter-final 1 v Winner Quarter-final 4
  • Semi-final 2: Winner Quarter-final 2 v Winner Quarter-final 3

The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.

Promotion and relegation
  • Division One: bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Two
  • Division Two: top 2 teams promoted to Division One. Bottom 3 teams demoted to Division Three.
  • Division Three (North): group winners promoted to Division Two. Group runners up play-off for the third promotion slot from Division Three.
  • Division Three (South): group winners promoted to Division Two. Group runners up play-off for the third promotion slot from Division Three.

Separation of teams on equal points

In the event that teams finish on equal points, then a play-off will be used to determine group placings if necessary, i.e. where to decide relegation places or quarter-finalists.[4]

League Tables

Division One
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Dublin 750210Advance to quarter-finals
Kerry 750210
Derry 74129
Armagh 74038
Down 73137
Donegal 73046
Monaghan 73046Relegated to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Meath 71062

[5]

Division Two
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Cork 751111Promoted to Division One of the 1989–90 NFL and advance to quarter-finals
Cavan 751111
Mayo 74129
Roscommon 73228
Louth 73228
Kildare 72145Relegated to Division Three of the 1989–90 NFL
Galway 71244
Longford 70070

Division Three (North) play-offs
19 March 1989 For 2nd Place Tyrone 2-9 — 1-5 Leitrim Brewster Park, Enniskillen[6]

Division Three (South) play-offs
19 March 1989 For 1st Place Wexford 1-7 — 0-8 Limerick Clonmel[7]

Division Three promotion play-off
16 April 1989 Tyrone 1-7 — 1-6 Limerick Roscommon[8]

Division Three (North) table
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Antrim 752012Advance to quarter-finals; Promoted to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Tyrone 742110Promoted to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Leitrim 750210
Laois 74129
Offaly 74129
Sligo 72054
Fermanagh 71062
Westmeath 70070

Division Three (South) table
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Wexford 760112Advance to quarter-finals; Promoted to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Limerick 760112
Waterford 750210
Clare 74038
Tipperary 73137
Wicklow 72145
Carlow 71062
Kilkenny 70070

Knockout stages

Quarter-finals
Cavan2-9 – 1-5Derry
Cork0-12 – 1-5Armagh
Kerry3-10 – 1-9Antrim
Dublin1-11 – 0-7Wexford

Semi-finals
Cork0-10 – 0-4Kerry
Dublin1-10 – 1-9Cavan

Final
Cork0-15 – 0-12Dublin

References
  1. GAA Final Teams Archived 2015-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Sportsfile - Meath v Dublin - Royal Liver National Football League - Round 3 Photos | page 1". www.sportsfile.com.
  3. O’Sullivan, Jim (21 September 2014). "Cork 1989 Team to Be Honoured in Croke Park Today". gaacork.ie. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. "Ups and Downs of the League", Irish Independent, 27 February 1989, p. 14
  5. "All The GAA facts and figures", Irish Independent, 27/02/1989, p. 15
  6. "Tyrone dash Leitrim hopes", Irish Independent, 20 March 1989, p. 13
  7. "Promotion for Wexford", Irish Independent, 20 March 1989, p. 13
  8. "Tyrone triumph", Irish Press, 17 April 1989, p. 33
  9. "Cavan bridge 22 year gap", Irish Independent, 20 March 1989, p. 13
  10. "Gaelic Games Results Check", Irish Press, 27 March 1989, p. 35
  11. "Terrace Talk :: Kerry Football :: :: 1989 League :: Semi-final :: Kerry Vs Cork". www.terracetalk.com.
  12. "Results", Irish Press, 10 April 1989, p. 39
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