1985–86 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1985–86 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Ford National Football League, was the 55th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1985–86 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1985 – 4 May 1986
League champions
WinnersLaois (2nd win)
CaptainColm Browne
ManagerKieran Brennan
League runners-up
Runners-upMonaghan
CaptainEugene Sherry
Match programme from the semi-finals, 20 April 1986.

Laois won their second title to bridge a sixty-year gap.[1][2][3]

Format

1985-86 saw a change in format of the National League. Divisions Three and Four were amalgamated into a new Division Three, which was split by region.[4]

Divisions
  • 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

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.

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

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 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
  • 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

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
Down 761013Advance to quarter-finals
Monaghan 751111
Meath 74129
Armagh 72327
Kerry 73046
Roscommon 72145
Kildare 71153Relegated to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL
Tyrone 71062

Division Two
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Mayo 751111Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division One of the 1986–87 NFL
Dublin 750210
Donegal 74129
Cork 74129
Cavan 73137
Longford 73046
Galway 72034Relegated to Division Three of the 1986–87 NFL
Wexford 70070

Division Three (North) Table
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Derry 760112Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL
Louth 750210
Offaly 750210
Antrim 74129
Sligo 74038
Leitrim 71153
Fermanagh 72054
Westmeath 70070

Division Three (South) Table
Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Laois 761013Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL
Carlow 734010
Wicklow 73228
Limerick 74038
Clare 73137
Tipperary 73137
Waterford 71062
Kilkenny 70161

[5]

Knockout Stages

Quarter-finals
Mayo0-15 – 1-7Armagh
Referee: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare)
Dublin2-8 – 1-10Meath
Referee: J Gough (Antrim)
Laois1-15 – 0-15Down
Attendance: 10,267
Referee: Paddy Lane (Limerick)
Monaghan2-9 – 1-6Derry
Attendance: 10,267
Referee: S Prior (Leitrim)

Semi-finals
Laois0-12 – 1-7Dublin
Monaghan0-10 – 1-6Mayo

Final
Laois2-6 – 2-5Monaghan
Liam Irwin 0-6, Willie Brennan 1-0, Eamonn Whelan 1-0[11]
Attendance: 29,406[12]
Referee: Pat Lane (Limerick)[13]

References
  1. GAA Final Teams
  2. Laois G.A.A. History 1947 - 1999
  3. GAA Archive 1986
  4. "Football League's new Div 3, North and South", Sunday Independent,25 August 1985, p.24
  5. "Your GAA Scoreboard", Irish Independent 03/03/1986, p. 11
  6. "Mayo soon sort out enigmatic Armagh!". Irish Independent, 31/03/1986, p. 9
  7. "Meath fail to break brave Dublin resolve". Irish Independent, 31/03/1986, p. 9
  8. "Laois in on merit!". Irish Independent, 07/04/1986, p. 10
  9. "Monaghan unimpressive, but...". Irish Independent, 07/04/1986, p. 10
  10. "Talented Laois shock hotly-fancied Dublin". Irish Independent, 21/04/1986, p. 12
  11. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrisson, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  12. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrisson, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  13. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrisson, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
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