1984–85 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1984–85 National Football League was the 54th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1984–85 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1984 – 7 April 1985
League champions
WinnersMonaghan (1st win)
CaptainEugene Sherry
League runners-up
Runners-upArmagh

Monaghan won their first and only national title with a win over Armagh in the final.[1][2][3]

Format

This was the final year of the NFL in its present format before a move to a three division league for the 1985–86 NFL.

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

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 four divisions competed for the National Football League title.

Knockout stage qualifiers
  • Division One: top 4 teams
  • Division Two: top 2 teams
  • Division Three: top team
  • Division Four: top team

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

When the NFL was played, relegation was to be as follows:

  • 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: top 2 teams promoted to Division Two. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Four.
  • Division Four: top 2 teams promoted to Division Three.

The change in format agreed in advance of the[4] 1985–86 NFL meant that promotion and relegation was as follows:

  • 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: top 2 teams promoted to Division Two.
  • Division Four: top 2 teams promoted to 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.

League Tables

Division One
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Tyrone 73319Qualified for knockout stage
Armagh 74129
Down 74038
Kildare 73228
Kerry 72236
Meath 72236
Galway 72145Relegated to Division Two of the 1985–86 NFL
Cork 72145

[5]

Play-Offs
3 March 1985 For 2nd Place Roscommon 0-11 — 0-7 Wexford Athy[6]
24 February 1985 For 6th Place Donegal 2-7 — 2-5 Louth Clones

Table
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Monaghan 742110Qualified for knockout stage; promoted to Division One of the 1985–86 NFL
Roscommon 74129Promoted to Division One of the 1985–86 NFL
Wexford 74129
Dublin 74038
Mayo 72236
Donegal 72145
Louth 72145Relegated to Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Offaly 71244

[7]

Play-Offs
17 February 1985 For 1st Place Cavan 1-9 — 0-8 Longford Breffni Park, Cavan[8]
24 February 1985 For 6th Place Laois 3-7 — 2-3 Wicklow Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow

This result was to relegate Wicklow to Division Four of the 1985–86 NFL. The play-off turned out to be redundant because of the restructure to the league, and both teams were in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL.

Table
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Cavan 750210Qualify for knockout stages; promoted to Division Two of the 1985–86 NFL
Longford 750210Promoted to Division Two of the 1985–86 NFL
Derry 74129Placed in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Leitrim 74038
Clare 62317
Laois 72145
Wicklow 71245
Antrim 60060

[9]

Division Four
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Carlow 770014Advance to Quarter-Final; placed in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Westmeath 742110Placed in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Fermanagh 74129
Limerick 73137
Sligo 73137
Tipperary 72145
Waterford 72054
Kilkenny 70070

[10]

Knockout stages

Quarter-finals
Tyrone2-8 – 1-3Cavan
Monaghan4-6 – 0-2Kildare
Armagh1-8 – 0-6Carlow
Down1-8 – 1-4Roscommon

Semi-finals
Armagh1-9 – 0-6Down
Monaghan1-6 – 0-9Tyrone
Monaghan1-8 – 0-8 (AET)Tyrone

Finals
Monaghan1-11 – 0-9Armagh
Attendance: 15,226[18]
Referee: John Gough (Antrim)[19]

References
  1. GAA Final Teams
  2. GAA Gold Event
  3. GAA Archive 1985
  4. "Football League's new Div 3, North and South", Sunday Independent,25 August 1985, p.24
  5. "Your GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent, 25/02/1985, p. 11
  6. "Roscommon Rule Roost", Irish Press, 04/03/1985, p. 16
  7. "Your GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent, 11/02/1985, p. 11
  8. "Your GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent, 18/02/1985, p. 13
  9. "Your GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent, 25/02/1985, p. 11
  10. "Your GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent, 25/02/1985, p. 11
  11. "Tyrone overcome first-half blows", Irish Independent, 04 March 1985, p. 12
  12. "Murphy is hero as Monaghan advance", Irish Independent, 04 March 1985, p. 12
  13. "Armagh's experience counts against Carlow", Irish Independent, 04 March 1985, p. 12
  14. "Down make it an Ulster Monopoly", Irish Press, 11 March 1985, p. 16
  15. "Super Armagh show their superiority", Irish Press, 25 March 1985, p. 16
  16. "Tyrone survive", Irish Press, 25 March 1985, p. 16
  17. "Monaghan seal it after extra time", Irish Press, 01 April 1985, p. 15
  18. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrisson, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  19. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrisson, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
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