1980–81 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1980–81 National Football League was the 50th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1980–81 National Football League

League details
Dates	October 1980 – 10 May 1981
League champions
Winners	Galway (3rd win)
Captain	Barry Brennan
League runners-up
Runners-up	Roscommon
Captain	Danny Murray
← 1979–80 1981–82 →

Galway defeated Roscommon in an all-Connacht final.^[1][2][3]

Format

Titles

Teams in all four divisions competed for one league title.

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 once, either home or away.

Points awarded

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

Knockout stage qualifiers

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

Knockout phase structure

In the Preliminary quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows

• Preliminary Quarter-final 1: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Four
• Preliminary Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division Two v First-placed team in Division Three

In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows

• Quarter-final 1: Winner Preliminary Quarter-final 1 v First-placed team in Division Two
• Quarter-final 2: Winner Preliminary Quarter-final 2 v Third-placed team in Division One

The semi-final match-ups are:

• Semi-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v Winner Quarter-final 1
• Semi-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v Winner Quarter-final 2

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 stage

Division One

Regulation Games

Cork v Kerry

5 October 1980 Round 1

Cork

0-10 — 0-13

Kerry

Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork[5]

Roscommon v Kildare

5 October 1980 Round 1

Roscommon

3-14 — 0-8

Kildare

Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon[6]

Armagh v Offaly

5 October 1980 Round 1

Armagh

3-10 — 0-9

Offaly

Athletic Grounds, Armagh[7]

Division One play-offs

Dublin v Armagh

15 March 1981 For 3rd Place

Dublin

1-7 — 1-5

Armagh

Croke Park, Dublin[8]

Tables

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Notes
Kerry	7	5	1	1	11	Qualified for Knockout Stages
Roscommon	7	4	2	1	10
Dublin	7	4	1	2	9
Armagh	7	4	1	2	9
Cork	7	3	2	2	8
Offaly	7	2	2	3	6
Down	7	1	1	5	3	Relegated to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL
Kildare	7	0	0	7	0

^[9]

Division Two

Division Two Regulation Games

Derry v Laois

5 October 1980 Round 1

Derry

2-12 — 2-3

Laois

Ballinascreen[10]

Tables

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Notes
Galway	7	5	2	0	12	Promoted to Division One of the 1981–82 NFL and qualified for Knockout Stages
Mayo	7	3	4	0	10
Tyrone	7	3	2	2	8
Derry	7	3	1	3	7
Meath	7	3	1	3	7
Monaghan	7	2	1	4	5
Laois	7	2	0	5	4	Relegated to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL
Antrim	7	1	1	5	3

^[11]

Division Three

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Notes
Fermanagh	7	6	1	0	13	Promoted to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL and Qualified for Knockout Stages
Cavan	7	5	0	2	10	Promoted to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL
Donegal	7	3	2	2	8
Louth	7	3	1	3	7
Wexford	7	3	0	4	6
Tipperary	7	3	0	4	6
Sligo	7	2	0	5	4	Relegated to Division Four of the 1981–82 NFL
Clare	7	1	0	6	2

^[12]

Division Four

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Notes
Wicklow	7	7	0	0	14	Promoted to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL and Qualified for Knockout Stages
Westmeath	7	6	0	1	12	Promoted to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL
Longford	7	4	1	2	9
Waterford	7	3	1	3	7
Leitrim	7	2	1	4	5
Limerick	7	2	1	4	5
Carlow	7	2	0	5	4
Kilkenny	7	0	0	7	0

^[13]

Knockout stage

Preliminary quarter-finals

Armagh	2-11 – 1-10	Wicklow

22 March 1981

Croke Park, Dublin

---

Mayo	2-9 – 0-9	Fermanagh

22 March 1981

Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon^[14]

Quarter-finals

Mayo	1-11 – 1-10	Dublin

5 April 1981

Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon^[15]

---

Galway	1-11 – 2-3	Armagh

5 April 1981

Croke Park, Dublin^[16]

Semi-finals

Galway	0-10 – 0-8	Kerry

26 April 1981

Cusack Park, Ennis

---

Roscommon	1-11 – 1-6	Mayo

26 April 1981

Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon

Final

Galway	1-11 – 1-3	Roscommon

10 May 1981

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 22,876^[17]

Referee: Paddy Collins (Westmeath) ^[18]

References

1. GAA Final Teams
2. Terrace Talk 1981
3. GAA Archive 1981^{[permanent dead link‍]}
4. "League play-offs cause confusion", Cork Examiner, 10 March 1982, p. 15
5. "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
6. "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
7. "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
8. "GAA in brief", Irish Press, 16/03/1981, p. 14,
9. "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
10. "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
11. "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
12. "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
13. "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
14. "Scores at a glance", Irish Press, 23/03/1981, p. 14
15. "Mayo regain form to edge out Dublin", Irish Independent, 06/04/1981, p. 10
16. "Galway underline Armagh weakness", Irish Independent, 06/04/1981, p. 10
17. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
18. "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151

External links

• Galway v R'common 1981 NFL Final on YouTube