1981–82 National Football League (Ireland)


The 1981–82 National Football League was the 51st staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1981–82 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1981 – 24 May 1982
League champions
WinnersKerry (14th win)
CaptainJimmy Deenihan
ManagerMick O'Dwyer
League runners-up
Runners-upCork
CaptainDinny Allen

Kerry defeated Cork in the final after a replay.[1][2]

Format edit

Titles edit

Teams in all four divisions competed for one league title.

Divisions edit

  • Division One: 8 teams
  • Division Two: 8 teams
  • Division Three: 8 teams
  • Division Four: 8 teams

Round-robin format edit

Each team played every other team in its division once, either home or away.

Points awarded edit

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

Knockout stage qualifiers edit

  • Division One: top 4 teams[3]
  • Division Two: top 2 teams
  • Division Three: top team
  • Division Four: top team

Knockout phase structure edit

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

  • Preliminary Quarter-final 1: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Four
  • Preliminary Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division Two v First-placed team in Division Three

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

  • Quarter-final 1: Winner Preliminary Quarter-final 1 v First-placed team in Division Two
  • Quarter-final 2: Winner Preliminary Quarter-final 2 v Third-placed team in Division One

The semi-final match-ups are:

  • Semi-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v Winner Quarter-final 1
  • Semi-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v Winner Quarter-final 2

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.

Group stage edit

Division One edit

Regulation games edit

18 October 1981 Cork 2-9 — 0-9 Mayo Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork
18 October 1981 Offaly 1-11 — 0-12 Dublin Croke Park[4]
22 November 1981 Roscommon 0-9 — 0-6 Kerry Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon[5]
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: P.J. McGrath, Mayo

Play-offs edit

7 March 1982 For 3rd Place Cork 2-9 — 1-5 Kerry Killarney[6][3]
14 March 1982 For 2nd Place Cork 1-11 — 0-8 Offaly Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork[7]

Table edit

Team Pld W D L Pts Notes
  Armagh 7 4 2 1 10 Qualified for Knockout Stages
  Cork 7 4 0 3 8
  Offaly 7 4 0 3 8
  Kerry 7 4 0 3 8
  Dublin 7 3 1 3 7
  Mayo 7 3 1 3 7
  Galway 7 2 1 4 5 Relegated to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL
  Roscommon 7 1 1 5 3

[8]

Division Two edit

Play-offs edit

7 March 1982 For 2nd Place Down 0-11 — 0-8 Meath Dundalk[9]

Table edit

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Derry 7 5 1 1 11 Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division One of the 1982–83 NFL
  Down 7 4 2 1 10
  Meath 7 4 2 1 10
  Tyrone 7 2 3 2 7
  Kildare 7 2 2 3 6
  Cavan 7 3 0 4 6
  Fermanagh 7 1 1 5 3 Relegated to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL
  Monaghan 7 1 1 5 3

[8]

Division Three edit

Table edit

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Wicklow 7 6 0 1 12 Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL
  Antrim 7 5 1 1 11 Promoted to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL
  Laois 7 3 1 3 7
  Wexford 7 3 1 3 7
  Donegal 7 3 0 4 6
  Louth 7 3 0 4 6
  Tipperary 7 2 1 5 5 Relegated to Division Four of the 1982–83 NFL
  Westmeath 7 1 0 6 2

[8]

Division Four edit

7 March 1982 For 2nd Place Longford 1-8 — 0-9 Sligo Carrick-on-Shannon[9]

Table edit

Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Clare 7 7 0 0 14 Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL
  Longford 7 5 0 2 10 Promoted to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL
  Sligo 7 5 0 2 10
  Waterford 7 3 0 4 6
  Carlow 7 2 2 3 6
  Limerick 7 2 1 4 5
  Leitrim 7 1 1 5 3
  Kilkenny 7 1 0 6 2

[8]

Knockout stages edit

Preliminary quarter-finals edit

Kerry4-6 – 1-3Clare

Down3-8 – 0-9Wicklow
Attendance: 2,553

Quarter-finals edit

Kerry1-11 – 0-5Derry

Offaly1-9 – 0-12Down

Offaly3-8 – 1-10Down

Semi-finals edit

Kerry3-14 – 1-5Armagh

Cork1-15 – 1-10Offaly

Final edit

Kerry0-11 – 0-11Cork
Attendance: 30,000[14]
Referee: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare)[14]

Kerry1-9 – 0-8Cork
Attendance: 25,000[14]
Referee: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare)[14]

References edit

  1. ^ "Final Teams". gaa.ie. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Terrace Talk :: Kerry Football :: :: 1982 League :: Final :: Kerry Vs Cork". www.terracetalk.com.
  3. ^ a b "League play-offs cause confusion", Cork Examiner, 10 March 1982, p. 15
  4. ^ "Results at a glance", Irish Press, 19 October 1981, p. 14
  5. ^ "Kerry suffer first defeat", Cork Examiner, 23 November 1981, p. 14
  6. ^ "Terrace Talk :: Kerry Football :: 1982 League". www.terracetalk.com.
  7. ^ "Confident Cork hold whiphand", Irish Independent, 15 March 1982, p. 11
  8. ^ a b c d "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 01/03/1982, p. 9
  9. ^ a b "GAA Results", Irish Independent, 8 March 1982, p. 11
  10. ^ "Handy for Down as Wicklows defence concedes chances".
  11. ^ a b "GAA Results", Irish Press, 22 March 1982, p. 13
  12. ^ "Goalkeeping error costs Down dearly", Cork Examiner, 5 April 1982, p. 16
  13. ^ a b "GAA Results", Irish Press, 12 April 1982, p. 13
  14. ^ a b c d "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151

External links edit