1947–48 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1947–48 National Football League was the 17th staging of the National Football League, an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1947–48 National Football League
League details
DatesNovember 1947 – 24 October 1948
League champions
WinnersCavan (1st win)
CaptainJohn Joe O'Reilly
League runners-up
Runners-upCork

At one game in Tralee on 9 November 1947, Mayo managed to hold Kerry to a draw despite having to draft in the county secretary and a car driver in as substitutes. The players drafted an official letter of complaint to the County Board.[1]

Cavan won their first and, so far, only league title, winning the replay by 10 points.[2][3][4]

Format

Divisions

There were four Sections or Divisions. Division winners played off for the NFL title.[5] Teams were placed in the divisions along geographical lines:

  • Division One: Western
  • Division Two: Eastern
  • Division Three: Southern
  • Division Four: Northern. The Northern Division doubled as the Dr Lagan Cup. The winners qualified for the semi-finals.

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 three divisions competed for the National Football League title.

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.

Promotion and Relegation

None. All four Divisions had equal status.

Group stage

Group A Results
9 November 1947 Round 1 Kerry 1-7 — 1-7 Mayo Austin Stack Park, Tralee[6]
23 November 1947 Round 2 Mayo 1-4 — 0-3 Galway McHale Park, Castlebar[7]
7 December 1947 Round 3 Galway 1-5 — 3-6 Kerry Galway[8]
15 February 1948 Play-Off Kerry 3-6 — 2-6 Mayo Croke Park, Dublin[9]

Group B Results
9 November 1947 Round 1 Sligo 2-7 — 2-6 Roscommon Sligo[10]
7 December 1947 Round 3 Leitrim 1-4 — 2-5 Sligo Carrick-on-Shannon[11]

Division Final
11 April 1948 Sligo 2-4 — 3-7 Kerry Sligo Show Grounds, Sligo[12]

Tables

Group A
9 November 1947 Round 1 Westmeath 1-5 — 3-3 Meath Athlone[13]
23 November 1947 Round 2 Meath 3-5 — 4-6 Cavan Navan[14]
7 December 1947 Round 1 Cavan 7-5 — 1-1 Westmeath Breffni Park, Cavan[15]

Group B
9 November 1947 Round 1 Louth 2-4 — 1-9 Longford Dundalk[16]
23 November 1947 Round 2 Longford 1-6 — 3-5 Dublin Pearse Park, Longford[17]
7 December 1947 Round 3 Dublin 2-9 — 4-3 Louth Croke Park, Dublin[18]

Division Final
21 March 1948 Cavan 3-17 — 2-4 Dublin Croke Park, Dublin[19]

Tables

Group A Results
9 November 1947 Round 1 Tipperary 2-6 — 4-9 Limerick Clonmel[20]
23 November 1947 Round 2 Limerick 2-1 — 1-8 Clare Limerick[21]
7 December 1947 Round 3 Clare 1-6 — 1-6 Tipperary Ennis[22]

Group B Results
9 November 1947 Round 1 Wicklow 1-6 — 1-9 Wexford Carnew[23]
23 November 1947 Round 2 Wexford 11-4 — 2-4 Carlow Gorey[24]

Group C Results
9 November 1947 Round 1 Kildare 5-7 — 0-2 Offaly Kildare[25]
23 November 1947 Round 2 Offaly 2-7 — 3-5 Cork O'Connor Park, Tullamore[26]
7 December 1947 Round 3 Kildare 1-4 — 3-3 Cork Naas[27]

Division Play-Offs
29 February 1948 Semi-Final Clare 1-8 — 1-5 Wexford Enniscorthy[28]
21 March 1948 Final Cork W — L Clare Ennis
Group A
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Clare 21103
Limerick 21002
Tipperary 20101
Group B
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Wexford 22004
Wicklow 21002
Carlow 20010
Group C
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Cork 33006
Kildare 32014
Laois 20200
Offaly 20200
  • The Laois v Offaly fixture was not fulfilled.[29]

Division Four (Dr Lagan Cup)
23 November 1947 Final Antrim 2-4 — 1-3 Donegal Lurgan[30]

Knockout Phase

Semi-Final
Cavan2-9 – 2-7Kerry
Cork3-5 – 1-10Antrim

Final
Cavan2-11 – 3-8Cork
Attendance: 25,367[33]
Referee: John Dowling (Kildare)[34]
Cavan5-9 – 2-8Cork
Attendance: 26,567[35]
Referee: Martin O'Neill (Wexford)[36]

References
  2. "60 years on. Remembering 1948, game by game" - HoganStand
  3. "Donohue's point earns Cavan replay" - Irish Independent
  4. GAA Final Teams Archived 2015-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "National League fixtures", Irish Independent, 07/10/1947, p. 7
  6. http://mayogaablog.com/?page_id=5914
  7. http://mayogaablog.com/?page_id=5914
  8. "When Kerry took the lead 'twas a one-way affair", Irish Press, 08/12/1947, p. 8
  9. http://mayogaablog.com/?page_id=5909
  10. "Roscommon held by Sligo", Irish Press, 10/11/1947, p. 10
  11. "Sligo too good", Irish Press, 08/12/1947, p. 8
  12. "Sligo yield when Kerry put on pressure", Cork Examiner, 12/04/1948, p. 6
  13. "Meath flattered", Irish Press,10/11/1947. p. 8
  14. "Meath shook Cavan but failed to hold lead", Irish Press, 24/11/1947. p. 9
  15. "Champions romp to easy victory", Irish Press,08/12/1947. p. 8
  16. "Longford laid Louth low", Irish Press,10/11/1947. p. 8
  17. "Rally told", Irish Press,24/11/1947. p. 9
  18. "Dublin take group honours", Irish Press,08/12/1947. p. 8
  19. "Cavan too good for Dublin", Cork Examiner, 22/03/1948, p. 6
  20. "Forwards won for Limerick", Irish Press,10/11/1947. p. 8
  21. "Clare withstood Limerick rally", Irish Press,24/11/1947. p. 10
  22. "Tipp came very near a double at Ennis", Irish Press,08/12/1947. p. 8
  23. "Wexford win poor game", Irish Press,10/11/1947. p. 8
  24. "Twas Wexford all the time", Irish Press,24/11/1947. p. 10
  25. "Kildare rout Offaly", Irish Press,10/11/1947. p. 8
  26. "Cork's point victory", Irish Press,24/11/1947. p. 10
  27. "Crafty forwards help Cork to group honours", Irish Press,08/12/1947. p. 8
  28. "Clare's effective rally against Wexford", Cork Examiner, 01/03/1948. p. 6
  29. "Point will win group for football champions", Irish Independent, 03/12/1947, p. 6
  30. "Antrim win the Dr. Lagan Cup", Irish Press, 24/11/1947. p. 9
  31. "Cavan master Kerry after 60 minutes' hard battling", The Kerryman, 15 May 1948, p. 7
  32. "Antrim caught napping with late goals", Irish Independent, 17 May 1948, p. 8
  33. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  34. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  35. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  36. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
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