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1925–26 National Football League (Ireland)

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Winners
  
Laois (1st win)

Runners-up
  
Dublin

Captain
  
Dick Miller

Dates
  
1925 – 19 September 1926

The 1925–26 National Football League was the 1st staging of the National Football League, a Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

Contents

The inaugural NFL was won by Laois, captained by Dick Miller. They defeated Sligo in the semi-final after a lost game was ordered replayed, and beat Dublin in a low-scoring final despite losing two players, Paddy Lenihan and Bill Keeley, to emigration shortly before the final.

Format

The league was organised on a provincial basis with a separate league for each province: three leagues for Leinster due to the large number of counties. The six league winners played a knockout tournament to decide the National Football League. It is mentioned that the three Leinster Group winners played off (Longford scratching, Laois beating Dublin) for a gold medal, but this does not seem to have formed part of the league proper.

Knockout stage qualifiers

  • Leinster: 3 teams
  • Munster: 1 team
  • Connacht: 1 team
  • Ulster: 1 team
  • Table

    Westmeath forfeited the points from their win v Offaly due to being late on the field

    Munster (Munster Football League)

    Won by Kerry.

    North-West Group

    Regulation games
    Play-Offs

    North-East Group

    Regulation games
    Play-Offs

    An objection was successfully made and a replay ordered.

    Leinster League Inter-group Ties

  • The game was initially awarded to Longford as Dublin failed to finish owing to a disputed decision. Later, the Leinster Council declared the result void and ordered a replay.
  • Match was abandoned with seven minutes remaining. The game was awarded to Dublin
  • Longford did not play in protest at the fact that Game 1 replay versus Dublin was awarded to Dublin
  • Table

    Laois won the Leinster Football League. This would appear to have been a separate competition, and this ties did not form part of the National Football League proper.

    References

    1925–26 National Football League (Ireland) Wikipedia