1987–88 National Football League (Ireland)

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1987–88 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1987 – 22 May 1988
League champions
WinnersMeath (5th win)
CaptainMick Lyons
ManagerSeán Boylan
League runners-up
Runners-upDublin
CaptainBarney Rock
ManagerGerry McCaul


The 1987–88 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Royal Liver National Football League, was the 57th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

Meath won the league, beating Dublin in a replayed final.[1][2][3]

Format[edit]

Divisions[edit]

  • 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[edit]

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

Points awarded[edit]

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

Titles[edit]

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

Knockout stage qualifiers[edit]

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

Knockout phase structure[edit]

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[edit]

  • Division One: bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Two
  • Division Two: top 2 teams promoted to Division One. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Three.
  • Division Three (North): group winners promoted to Division Two.
  • Division Three (South): group winners promoted to Division Two.

Separation of teams on equal points[edit]

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.

League Phase Results and Tables[edit]

Division One[edit]

Division One (A) play-offs[edit]

13 March 1988 For 5th Place Armagh 2-8 — 0-6 Mayo Carrick-on-Shannon [4]
20 March 1988 For 6th Place Kerry 0-14 — 0-10 Mayo Cusack Park, Ennis[5]

Table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Dublin 7 5 2 0 12 Advance to quarter-finals
Meath 7 4 2 1 10
Monaghan 7 4 1 2 9
Derry 7 3 0 4 6
Armagh 7 2 1 4 5
Kerry 7 2 1 4 5
Mayo 7 2 1 4 5 Relegated to Division Two of the 1988–89 NFL
Cork 7 1 2 4 4

Division Two[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Down 7 5 1 1 11 Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division One of the 1988–89 NFL
Donegal 7 5 1 1 11
Galway 7 3 3 1 9
Kildare 7 4 1 2 9
Roscommon 7 3 0 4 6
Cavan 7 2 1 4 5
Clare 7 1 2 4 4 Relegated to Division Three of the 1988–89 NFL
Laois 7 0 1 6 1

Division Three[edit]

Division Three (South)[edit]

Promotion play-offs[edit]

13 March 1988 Semi-Final Longford 1-15 — 0-7 Wexford O'Moore Park, Portlaoise[6]
13 March 1988 Semi-Final Limerick 2-9 — 0-10 Tipperary Cusack Park, Ennis[7]
20 March 1988 Final Longford 0-8 — 0-7 Limerick O'Moore Park, Portlaoise[8]

Division Three (North) table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Louth 7 6 1 0 13 Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division Two of the 1988–89 NFL
Antrim 7 4 2 1 10
Tyrone 7 4 1 2 9
Fermanagh 7 3 0 4 6
Leitrim 7 3 0 4 6
Offaly 7 2 3 3 6
Westmeath 7 2 0 5 4
Sligo 7 1 0 6 2

Division Three (South) table[edit]

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Longford 7 5 0 2 10 Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division Two of the 1988–89 NFL
Limerick 7 5 0 2 10
Tipperary 7 5 0 2 10
Wexford 7 5 0 2 10
Wicklow 7 3 0 4 6
Carlow 7 2 0 5 4
Waterford 7 2 0 5 4
Kilkenny 7 1 0 6 2

[9]

Knockout stage[edit]

Quarter-final[edit]

Monaghan1-5 – 0-6Donegal
Meath1-9 – 0-8Louth
Flynn (1-2), Stafford (0-5, 3f, 1'45), Gillic (0-1), O'Rourke (0-1) Dawe (0-4, 2f, 1sl), C. O'Hanlon (0-1), D. McDonnell (0-1), J. McDonnell (0-1), Culhane (0-1)
GK 1 Mickey McQuillan
RCB 2 Robbie O'Malley
FB 3 Mick Lyons
LCB 4 Terry Ferguson
RHB 5 Kevin Foley
CHB 6 Liam Harnan
LHB 7 Martin O'Connell
MF 8 Liam Hayes
MF 9 Gerry McEntee
RHF 10 David Beggy
CHF 11 P.J. Gillic
LHF 12 Brendan Reilly
RCF 13 Colm O'Rourke
FF 14 Brian Stafford
LCF 15 Bernard Flynn
Substitutes:
16 Frank Foley for Harnan
17 Mattie McCabe for Beggy
GK 1 Niall O'Donnell (Clan na Gael)
RCB 2 Pat Matthews (Oliver Plunketts)
FB 3 David Mulligan (St Joseph's)
LCB 4 Stephen Melia (John Mitchels)
RHB 5 Dessie Callaghan (Newtown Blues)
CHB 6 Martin McCann (Dundalk Young Irelands)
LHB 7 Peter Fitzpatrick (Clan na Gael) (c)
MF 8 Séamus O'Hanlon (Clan na Gael)
MF 9 Gerry Curran (Clan na Gael)
RHF 10 Eugene Judge (Newtown Blues)
CHF 11 Paul Reneghan (Geraldines)
LHF 12 Davy McDonnell (Dundalk Gaels)
RCF 13 Jimmy McDonnell (Civil Service, Dublin)
FF 14 Richie Culhane (Newtown Blues)
LCF 15 Kevin Dawe (Dreadnots)
Substitutes:
16 Cathal O'Hanlon (Clan na Gael) for Judge
Down2-13 – 1-16Derry
Down2-6 – 0-10Derry
Dublin0-10 – 0-4Longford

Semi-final[edit]

Dublin4-12 – 1-8Monaghan
Meath0-13 – 1-9Down

Final[edit]

Meath0-11 – 1-8Dublin
Meath2-13 – 0-11Dublin

References[edit]

  1. ^ GAA Final Teams Archived 2015-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Moran, Sean. "No love lost in 1988". The Irish Times.
  3. ^ "NFL Final 1988 | Inpho Photography". inpho.ie.
  4. ^ "How they stand", Cork Examiner, 14 March 1988, p. 19
  5. ^ "Terrace Talk :: Kerry Football :: 1988 League". www.terracetalk.com.
  6. ^ "Backs shine as Longford press ahead", Irish Independent, 14 March 1988, p. 10
  7. ^ "Limerick stay in the race", Cork Examiner, 14 March 1988, p.14
  8. ^ "GAA Results", Irish Independent, 21 March 1988, p.13
  9. ^ "GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent 29/02/1988, p. 15
  10. ^ "Battling Louth give Meath a real fright", Irish Independent, 14 March 1988, p. 10
  11. ^ "GAA Results", Irish Independent, 21 March 1988, p. 13
  12. ^ a b "GAA Results", Irish Press 4 April 1988, p. 11
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