1927–28 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1927–28 National Football League was the 2nd staging of the National Football League, a Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland, held in 1927 and 1928.

1927–28 National Football League

League details
Dates	24 April 1927 – 1928
League champions
Winners	Kerry (1st win)
Captain	Joe Barrett
League runners-up
Runners-up	Kildare
Captain	Bill "Squires" Gannon
← 1925–26 1928–29 →

The League was won by Kerry.^[1][2][3]

Format

There were three divisions – Northern, Southern, and Western. Division winners played off for the NFL title.

The league was not decided by a one-match final. The three division winners played each other in a series of Inter-Divisional tests.^[4] As Kerry and Kildare both defeated Mayo, it meant that the Kerry v Kildare tie was a 'de facto' final.

Results

Northern Division

Kildare v Down

3 April 1927 Round

Kildare

3-8 — 1-2

Down

Armagh v Tyrone

3 April 1927 Round

Armagh

0-2 — 0-2

Tyrone

Armagh v Cavan

18 September 1927 Round

Armagh

2-9 — 0-12

Cavan

Athletic Grounds, Armagh,[5]

Down v Dublin

30 October 1927 Round

Down

2-7 — 2-6

Dublin

Newry,[6]

Louth v Dublin

13 November 1927 Round 2

Louth

4-4 — 0-2

Dublin

Drogheda,[7]

Louth v Meath

27 November 1927 Round 2

Louth

2-6 — 1-4

Meath

Navan,[8]

Monaghan v Kildare

27 November 1927 Round 2

Monaghan

4-4 — 4-4

Kildare

Carrickmacross,[9]

Dublin v Armagh

27 November 1927 Round

Dublin

3-5 — 0-8

Armagh

Croke Park, Dublin,[10]

Louth v Down

11 December 1927 Round

Louth

7-4 — 2-0

Down

Dundalk,[11]

Armagh v Meath

8 January 1928 Round

Armagh

3-3 — 2-3

Meath

Athletic Grounds, Armagh,[12]

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Kildare	8	7	1	0	15	Advance to Knockout stage
Louth	8	6	0	2	12
Armagh	7	4	1	2	9
Down	7	3	0	4	8
Cavan	7	3	1	3	7
Meath	7	3	0	4	4
Monaghan	6	1	1	4	3
Dublin	6	1	1	4	3
Tyrone	6	0	1	5	1

Meath beat Down, but forfeited the points for being late on the field^[13]

Southern Division

Clare v Laois

27 February 1927 Round 1

Clare

L — W

Laois

Kilkee

Kerry v Cork

27 February 1927 Round 1

Kerry

2-6 — 0-4

Cork

Tralee,[14]

Tipperary v Kilkenny

27 February 1927 Round 1

Tipperary

0-3 — 2-4

Kilkenny

Carrick-on-Suir,[15]

Wexford v Kilkenny

20 March 1927 Round 2

Wexford

0-4 — 0-4

Kilkenny

Barrett Park, New Ross,[16]

Laois v Kerry

20 March 1927 Round 2

Laois

0-1 — 1-6

Kerry

Portlaoise,[17]

Wexford v Cork

3 April 1927 Round 3

Wexford

3-4 — 0-0

Cork

Wexford Park, Wexford

Kerry v Clare

3 April 1927 Round 3

Kerry

4-0 — 1-5

Clare

Austin Stack Park, Tralee

Cork v Kilkenny

24 April 1927 Round 4

Cork

2-3 — 0-1

Kilkenny

Cork Athletic Grounds,[18]

Wexford v Clare

9 October 1927

Wexford

4-2 — 1-4

Clare

Enniscorthy,[19]

Kerry v Tipperary

9 October 1927

Kerry

w/o — scr,

Tipperary

Kerry v Kilkenny

27 November 1927

Kerry

w/o — scr,

Kilkenny

Kerry v Wexford

5 February 1928 Round 6

Kerry

2-3 — 0-2

Wexford

Austin Stack Park, Tralee,[20]

Wexford v Tipperary

12 February 1928 Round

Wexford

1-7 — 1-1

Tipperary

Barrett Park, New Ross,[21]

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Kerry	6	6	0	0	12	Advance to Knockout stage
Laois	6	5	0	1	10
Wexford	6	3	1	2	7
Cork	5	2	0	3	4
Kilkenny	6	1	2	3	4
Clare	6	1	1	4	3
Tipperary	5	0	0	5	0

Laois were awarded the points in respect of their tie with Clare at Kilkee^[22]

Western Division

Mayo won, finishing ahead of Sligo, Galway, Roscommon and Leitrim.

Mayo v Sligo

24 April 1927 Round 1

Mayo

2-7 — 1-5

Sligo

Claremorris,[23]

Mayo v Roscommon

8 May 1927 Round 2

Mayo

2-5 — 1-6

Roscommon

Claremorris,[24]

Mayo v Leitrim

18 September 1927 Round 2

Mayo

0-9 — 0-8

Leitrim

Roscommon,[25]

Inter-divisional tests

Kildare	0-8 – 0-5	Mayo

25 March 1928

Croke Park, Dublin

---

Kerry	0-6 – 1-1	Mayo

15 April 1928

Castlebar

---

Kerry	2-4 – 1-6	Kildare

29 April 1928
de facto Final

Croke Park, Dublin^[26]

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Tom Shevlin, Roscommon

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Kerry	2	2	0	0	4	NFL Winners
Kildare	2	1	0	1	2	NFL runners-up
Mayo	2	0	0	2	0

References

1. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. Mayo GAA 1927
3. Mayo GAA 1928
4. "Inter-Divisional League Tests",Irish Independent, 23/03/1928, p.13
5. "National Football League", Irish Independent, 19/09/1927, p. 12,
6. "A Newry Surprise", Irish Independent, 31 October 1927, p. 12,
7. "Dublin footballer's big defeat", Irish Independent, 14/11/1927, p. 11,
8. "Gaelic Games", Meath Chronicle, 3 December 1927, p. 7,
9. "Gaelic Games", Meath Chronicle, 3 December 1927, p. 7,
10. "National Football League", The Cork Examiner, 28/11/1927, p. 9,
11. "Louth's good win at Dundalk", Irish Independent, 12 December 1927, p. 13,
12. "Junior Champions Still going strong", Irish Independent, 09/01/1928, p. 11,
13. "National Football League", Irish Independent, 5 December 1927, p. 12
14. "Kerry's easy win", The Kerryman, 05/03/1927, p. 11,
15. "National Football League", The Cork Examiner, 28/02/1927, p. 13,
16. "Surprise for Wexford", Irish Independent, 21/03/1927, p. 9,
17. "Champions in form", Irish Independent, 21/03/1927, p. 9,
18. "National Football League", The Cork Examiner, 25/04/1927, p. 11,
19. "Good game at Enniscorthy", Irish Independent, 10 October 1927, p. 13,
20. "National Football League", The Kerryman, 11/02/1928, p. 3,
21. "National Football League", Irish Independent, 13/02/1928, p. 11,
22. "National Football League", Irish Independent, 5 December 1927, p. 12
23. "1927".
24. "1927".
25. "1927".
26. "Kerry conquer Kildare", The Kerryman, 05/05/1928, p. 5