1984–85 National Football League (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


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.

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

Format

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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

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

Round-robin format

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Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.

Points awarded

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

Titles

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Teams in all four divisions competed for the National Football League title.

Knockout stage qualifiers

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

Knockout phase structure

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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

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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

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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

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Division One

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Tyrone 7 3 3 1 9 Qualified for knockout stage
Armagh 7 4 1 2 9
Down 7 4 0 3 8
Kildare 7 3 2 2 8
Kerry 7 2 2 3 6
Meath 7 2 2 3 6
Galway 7 2 1 4 5 Relegated to Division Two of the 1985–86 NFL
Cork 7 2 1 4 5

[5]

Division Two

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Play-Offs

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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

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Monaghan 7 4 2 1 10 Qualified for knockout stage; promoted to Division One of the 1985–86 NFL
Roscommon 7 4 1 2 9 Promoted to Division One of the 1985–86 NFL
Wexford 7 4 1 2 9
Dublin 7 4 0 3 8
Mayo 7 2 2 3 6
Donegal 7 2 1 4 5
Louth 7 2 1 4 5 Relegated to Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Offaly 7 1 2 4 4

[7]

Division Three

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Play-Offs

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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

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Cavan 7 5 0 2 10 Qualify for knockout stages; promoted to Division Two of the 1985–86 NFL
Longford 7 5 0 2 10 Promoted to Division Two of the 1985–86 NFL
Derry 7 4 1 2 9 Placed in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Leitrim 7 4 0 3 8
Clare 6 2 3 1 7
Laois 7 2 1 4 5
Wicklow 7 1 2 4 5
Antrim 6 0 0 6 0

[9]

Division Four

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
Carlow 7 7 0 0 14 Advance to Quarter-Final; placed in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Westmeath 7 4 2 1 10 Placed in Division Three of the 1985–86 NFL
Fermanagh 7 4 1 2 9
Limerick 7 3 1 3 7
Sligo 7 3 1 3 7
Tipperary 7 2 1 4 5
Waterford 7 2 0 5 4
Kilkenny 7 0 0 7 0

[10]

Knockout stages

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Quarter-finals

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

Semi-finals

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

Finals

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

References

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  1. ^ GAA Final Teams
  2. ^ GAA Gold Event
  3. ^ GAA Archive 1985[permanent dead link]
  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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