French
Deutsch1980–81 National Football League (Ireland)
| 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 → | |
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.
Galway defeated Roscommon in an all-Connacht final.[1][2][3]
Format
[edit]Titles
[edit]Teams in all four divisions competed for one league title.
Divisions
[edit]- Division One: 8 teams
- Division Two: 8 teams
- Division Three: 8 teams
- Division Four: 8 teams
Round-robin format
[edit]Each team played every other team in its division once, either home or away.
Points awarded
[edit]2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.
Knockout stage qualifiers
[edit]- Division One: top 4 teams [4]
- Division Two: top 2 teams
- Division Three: top team
- Division Four: top team
Knockout phase structure
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Division One
[edit]Regulation Games
[edit]| 5 October 1980 Round 1 | Cork | 0-10 — 0-13 | Kerry | Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork[5] |
| 5 October 1980 Round 1 | Roscommon | 3-14 — 0-8 | Kildare | Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon[6] |
| 5 October 1980 Round 1 | Armagh | 3-10 — 0-9 | Offaly | Athletic Grounds, Armagh[7] |
Division One play-offs
[edit]| 15 March 1981 For 3rd Place | Dublin | 1-7 — 1-5 | Armagh | Croke Park, Dublin[8] |
Tables
[edit]| 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 |
Division Two
[edit]Division Two Regulation Games
[edit]| 5 October 1980 Round 1 | Derry | 2-12 — 2-3 | Laois | Ballinascreen[10] |
Tables
[edit]| 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 |
Division Three
[edit]| 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 |
Division Four
[edit]| 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 |
Knockout stage
[edit]Preliminary quarter-finals
[edit]Quarter-finals
[edit]Semi-finals
[edit]Final
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ GAA Final Teams
- ^ Terrace Talk 1981
- ^ GAA Archive 1981[permanent dead link]
- ^ "League play-offs cause confusion", Cork Examiner, 10 March 1982, p. 15
- ^ "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
- ^ "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
- ^ "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
- ^ "GAA in brief", Irish Press, 16/03/1981, p. 14,
- ^ "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
- ^ "GAA Results at a glance", Irish Press, 06/10/1980, p. 13,
- ^ "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
- ^ "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
- ^ "GAA Results in Brief", Irish Independent, 02/03/1981, p. 9
- ^ "Scores at a glance", Irish Press, 23/03/1981, p. 14
- ^ "Mayo regain form to edge out Dublin", Irish Independent, 06/04/1981, p. 10
- ^ "Galway underline Armagh weakness", Irish Independent, 06/04/1981, p. 10
- ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
- ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151