1945–46 National Football League (Ireland)


The 1945–46 National Football League was the 15th staging of the National Football League, an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1945–46 National Football League
League details
DatesNovember 1945 – April 1946
League champions
WinnersMeath (2nd win)
CaptainMatt O'Toole
League runners-up
Runners-upWexford

The NFL returned after the four-year gap due to The Emergency / Second World War. Meath won, beating Wexford in the final.[1][2][3][4]

Format

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There were four divisions – Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western. Division winners played off for the NFL title.

League-phase results and tables

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Group one (Dr Lagan Cup)

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Down, Tyrone, Armagh, Derry, Antrim

Group two

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Table

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Meath 4 4 0 0 8 Qualified for knockout phase
  Louth 4 2 0 2 4
  Monaghan 4 2 0 2 4
  Longford 4 2 0 2 4
  Fermanagh 4 0 0 4 0

[5]

Group three

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Wexford won, from Waterford, Carlow and Cork

Group four

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Cavan won, from Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon

Group five

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Results

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4 November 1945 Round 1 Tipperary 1-7 — 2-1 Kerry Clonmel[6]
4 November 1945 Round 1 Galway 2-11 — 3-4 Clare Galway[7]
18 November 1945 Round 2 Kerry 0-12 — 1-8 Galway Austin Stack Park, Tralee[8]
18 November 1945 Round 2 Clare 0-5 — 3-7 Tipperary Milltown Malbay[9]
3 March 1946 Round 3 Tipperary 3-5 — 2-5 Galway Clonmel[10]
10 March 1946 Round 3[11] Clare scr — scr Kerry

Table

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Tipperary 3 3 0 0 6 Qualified for knockout phase
  Galway 3 1 0 2 2
  Kerry 2 1 0 1 2
  Clare 2 0 0 2 0

Group Six

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Dublin won, from Kildare, Laois, Wicklow, Offaly

Knockout phase

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Inter-group play-offs

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Wexford1-8 – 1-7Tipperary

Meath3-9 – 2-5Cavan

Semi-final

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Meath3-4 – 1-10Antrim

Meath0-11 – 0-9Antrim

Wexford5-6 – 1-2Dublin

Final

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Meath2-2 – 0-6Wexford
Bill Halpenny 1-0, Jim Clarke 1-0, Frankie O'Neill 0-1, Paddy Meegan 0-1[17] Des O'Neill 0-2, Paddy Kehoe 0-2, Nicky Rackard 0-1, Tom O'Leary 0-1[18]
Attendance: 18,215[19]
Referee: J Dowling (Kildare)[20]

References

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  1. ^ Mayo results archive
  2. ^ "GAA Final Teams". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Croke Park archive page". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  4. ^ Paddy Meegan obituary
  5. ^ "National Football League", Meath Chronicle, 09/03/1946, p. 3
  6. ^ "Our footballers disappoint", The Kerryman, 10/11/1945, p. 4
  7. ^ "Other football league games", Irish Press, 05/11/1945, p. 4
  8. ^ "Galway has promising football material", The Connacht Tribune, 24/11/1945, p. 7
  9. ^ "Other league games", Irish Press, 19/11/1945, p. 4
  10. ^ "Tipperary won despite rally", Irish Independent, 04/03/1946, p. 6
  11. ^ "Five have hopes of reaching final", Irish Press, 06/03/1946, p. 6
  12. ^ "Wexford beat Tipperary", Irish Independent, 07/04/1946, p. 7
  13. ^ "Meath defeat Cavan in inter-group game", Cork Examiner, 01/04/1946, p. 4
  14. ^ "Long whistle saves Meath", Meath Chronicle, 20/04/1946
  15. ^ "Meath's two points win in thrilling game of swaying fortunes", Irish Press. 29/04/1946, p. 8
  16. ^ "Dashing Wexford had easy path to final", Irish Press, 15/04/1946, p. 8
  17. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  18. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  19. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  20. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151