1988–89 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1988–89 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Royal Liver National Football League, was the 58th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1988–89 National Football League

League details
Dates	October 1988 – 14 May 1989
League champions
Winners	Cork (4th win)
Captain	Tony Nation
League runners-up
Runners-up	Dublin
Captain	P. Dunne
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Cork beat Dublin in the "home" final and went on to win the two-legged final against New York. Colman Corrigan was injured in New York and so missed the All-Ireland championship.^[1][2][3]

Format

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 3 teams demoted to Division Three.
• Division Three (North): group winners promoted to Division Two. Group runners up play-off for the third promotion slot from Division Three.
• Division Three (South): group winners promoted to Division Two. Group runners up play-off for the third promotion slot from Division Three.

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.^[4]

League Tables

Division One

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Dublin	7	5	0	2	10	Advance to quarter-finals
Kerry	7	5	0	2	10
Derry	7	4	1	2	9
Armagh	7	4	0	3	8
Down	7	3	1	3	7
Donegal	7	3	0	4	6
Monaghan	7	3	0	4	6	Relegated to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Meath	7	1	0	6	2

^[5]

Division Two

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Cork	7	5	1	1	11	Promoted to Division One of the 1989–90 NFL and advance to quarter-finals
Cavan	7	5	1	1	11
Mayo	7	4	1	2	9
Roscommon	7	3	2	2	8
Louth	7	3	2	2	8
Kildare	7	2	1	4	5	Relegated to Division Three of the 1989–90 NFL
Galway	7	1	2	4	4
Longford	7	0	0	7	0

Division Three

Division Three (North) play-offs

Tyrone v Leitrim

19 March 1989 For 2nd Place

Tyrone

2-9 — 1-5

Leitrim

Brewster Park, Enniskillen[6]

Division Three (South) play-offs

Wexford v Limerick

19 March 1989 For 1st Place

Wexford

1-7 — 0-8

Limerick

Clonmel[7]

Division Three promotion play-off

Tyrone v Limerick

16 April 1989

Tyrone

1-7 — 1-6

Limerick

Roscommon[8]

Division Three (North) table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Antrim	7	5	2	0	12	Advance to quarter-finals; Promoted to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Tyrone	7	4	2	1	10	Promoted to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Leitrim	7	5	0	2	10
Laois	7	4	1	2	9
Offaly	7	4	1	2	9
Sligo	7	2	0	5	4
Fermanagh	7	1	0	6	2
Westmeath	7	0	0	7	0

Division Three (South) table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Wexford	7	6	0	1	12	Advance to quarter-finals; Promoted to Division Two of the 1989–90 NFL
Limerick	7	6	0	1	12
Waterford	7	5	0	2	10
Clare	7	4	0	3	8
Tipperary	7	3	1	3	7
Wicklow	7	2	1	4	5
Carlow	7	1	0	6	2
Kilkenny	7	0	0	7	0

Knockout stages

Quarter-finals

19 March 1989

Cavan	2-9 – 1-5	Derry

Croke Park, Dublin^[9]

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26 March 1989

Cork	0-12 – 1-5	Armagh

Croke Park, Dublin^[10]

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26 March 1989

Kerry	3-10 – 1-9	Antrim

Croke Park, Dublin^[10]

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26 March 1989

Dublin	1-11 – 0-7	Wexford

Portlaoise^[10]

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Semi-finals

9 April 1989

Cork	0-10 – 0-4	Kerry

Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork^[11]

9 April 1989

Dublin	1-10 – 1-9	Cavan

Croke Park, Dublin^[12]

Final

23 April 1989
Home Final

Cork	0-15 – 0-12	Dublin

Croke Park, Dublin