1976–77 National Football League (Ireland)

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1976–77 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1976 – 17 April 1977
Teams32
League champions
WinnersKerry (13th win)
CaptainJohn O'Keeffe
ManagerMick O'Dwyer
League runners-up
Runners-upDublin
CaptainTony Hanahoe
ManagerTony Hanahoe (player-manager)


The 1976–77 National Football League was the 46th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

Kerry narrowly beat Dublin in the final.[1][2][3]

Format[edit]

All 32 counties of Ireland compete: 12 in Division 1 and 20 in Division 2.

Division 1 is composed of two groups of 6 teams (North and South). Each team plays the other teams in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw.

  • The first-placed team in each group advances to the NFL semi-finals.
  • The second-placed team in each group advances to the NFL quarter-finals.
  • The last-placed team is relegated.

Division 2 is composed of two groups of 10 teams (North and South). Each of these is further divided into two groups of 5. The top two in each group play semi-finals and finals, with the North champions and the South champions advancing to the NFL quarter-finals and being promoted.

Group stage[edit]

Division One (North)[edit]

Play-offs[edit]

6 February 1977 For 1st Place Mayo 1-9 — 1-6 Roscommon Tuam
13 March 1977 For 5th Place Antrim 2-7 — 0-10 Sligo Clones

Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
Mayo 5 4 0 1 8 Qualified for knockout stages
Roscommon 5 4 0 1 8
Tyrone 5 3 0 2 6
Derry 5 2 0 3 4
Antrim 5 1 0 4 2
Sligo 5 1 0 4 2 Relegated to Division Two of the 1977–78 NFL

[4]

Division One (South)[edit]

Play-offs[edit]

13 March 1977 For 5th Place Galway 0-16 — 2-6 Meath O'Connor Park, Tullamore

Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
Kerry 5 4 1 0 9 Qualified for Knockout Stages
Dublin 5 3 1 1 7
Cork 5 2 2 1 6
Kildare 5 2 0 3 4
Galway 5 0 2 3 2
Meath 5 0 2 3 2 Relegated to Division Two of the 1977–78 NFL

Division Two (North)[edit]

Group B play-offs[edit]

16 January 1977 For 1st Place Cavan 2-10 — 1-5 Leitrim Pearse Park, Longford
30 January 1977 For 2nd Place Donegal 0-14 — 1-9
AET		 Leitrim Sligo[5]

Inter-group play-offs[edit]

6 February 1977 Semi-Final Cavan 0-12 — 0-9 Armagh Ballybay
6 February 1977 Semi-Final Donegal 1-8 — 0-8 Down Dungannon
6 March 1977 Final Cavan 0-12 — 0-9 Donegal Irvinestown

Group A Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
Armagh 4 3 1 0 7
Down 4 3 1 0 7
Monaghan 4 2 0 2 4
Westmeath 4 1 0 3 2
Louth 4 0 0 4 0

Group B Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
Cavan 4 3 0 1 6 Qualified for Knockout Stages; promoted to Division One of the 1977–78 NFL
Donegal 4 3 0 1 6
Leitrim 4 3 0 1 6
Fermanagh 4 1 0 3 2
Longford 4 0 0 4 0

Division Two (South)[edit]

Inter-group play-offs[edit]

6 February 1977 Semi-Final Laois 2-9 — 2-8 Waterford Carlow
6 February 1977 Semi-Final Offaly 4-14 — 2-2 Wicklow Croke Park, Dublin
6 March 1977 Final Offaly 2-13 — 0-9 Laois Croke Park, Dublin

Group A Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
Offaly 4 3 1 0 7 Qualified for Knockout Stages; promoted to Division One of the 1977–78 NFL
Laois 4 2 1 1 5
Clare 4 2 0 2 4
Tipperary 4 2 0 2 4
Limerick 4 0 0 4 0

Group B Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
Waterford 4 3 1 0 7
Wicklow 4 2 1 1 5
Carlow 4 2 0 2 4
Wexford 4 1 2 1 4
Kilkenny 4 0 0 4 0

Knockout stage[edit]

Quarter-Finals[edit]

Roscommon1-4 – 0-5Offaly
Dublin2-12 – 1-7Cavan

Semi-finals[edit]

Mayo0-5 – 2-12Dublin
Kerry2-13 – 0-8Roscommon

Finals[edit]

Kerry1-8 – 1-6Dublin
Attendance: 43,456[7]
Referee: JJ Landers (Waterford)[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Final Teams". gaa.ie. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Terrace Talk :: Kerry Football :: :: 1977 League :: Final :: Kerry Vs Dublin". www.terracetalk.com.
  3. ^ "'Hanno's Heroes', All-Ireland Semi-Final, 1977". dublincitypubliclibraries.com. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. ^ "GAA Results and Tables", Irish Independent, 6 December 1976, p. 11
  5. ^ "Leitrim crash in extra time", Irish Independent, 31 January 1977, p. 11
  6. ^ "Terrace Talk :: Kerry Football :: 1977 League". www.terracetalk.com.
  7. ^ a b "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1976–77_National_Football_League_(Ireland)&oldid=1140910811"