1950–51 National Football League (Ireland)


The 1950–51 National Football League was the 20th staging of the National Football League, an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1950–51 National Football League
League details
DatesOctober 1950 – 30 September 1951
League champions
WinnersMeath (3rd win)
CaptainPaddy Meegan
League runners-up
Runners-upNew York
CaptainTom "Gega" O'Connor

Thirty counties participated; Kilkenny and Limerick did not participate.[1]

Meath won the home final and flew to New York for the real final. Despite some players being weakened by smallpox vaccination, they beat New York by a goal and sailed home in triumph on the SS Nieuw Amsterdam. John 'Lefty' Devine commentated on the radio, and was criticised for his newly acquired New York accent (he was a native of County Clare).[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Format

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Teams are placed into Divisions I, II, III and IV. The top team in each division reaches the home semi-finals. The winner of the home final plays New York in the NFL final.

Group stage

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Division I (Dr Lagan Cup)

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Division II

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Tipperary, Carlow, Cork, Wexford, Waterford

Division III

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Mayo won, ahead of Galway, Clare, Laois and Kerry.

Division IV

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Meath,Wicklow, Westmeath,Kildare, Louth and Dublin.

Division V

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Roscommon,Longford, Sligo,Leitrim, Offaly and Cavan.

Knockout stage

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Quarter-finals

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Meath2-8 – 1-4Monaghan
Attendance: 11,741
Referee: J Shanley, Dublin

Semi-finals

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Cork0-2 – 1-6Mayo

Meath2-5 – 2-3Cavan
Referee: J Shanley, Dublin

Finals

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Meath0-6 – 0-3Mayo
Paddy Meegan 0-2, Mattie McDonnell 0-2, Brian Smyth 0-1, Peter McDermott 0-1[9] P Solan 0-2; S Mulderrig 0-1
Attendance: 46,197[10]
Referee: Simon Deignan (Cavan)[11]

Meath1-10 – 0-10New York
Mattie McDonnell 1-0 Tom O'Connor 0-6
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: John Dunne (Galway)[12]

References

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  1. ^ "26 Counties in action on Sunday", Irish Independent, 4 October 1950, p. 10
  2. ^ Mayo results archive, 1951
  3. ^ "GAA Archive 1949". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  4. ^ GAA Final Teams
  5. ^ "Death of Meath legend Paddy Meegan" - HoganStand
  6. ^ Ballina Herald[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ New York Times: 30,000 SEE MEATH GAIN 13-10 VICTORY; IRISH TEAMS DISPLAYING THEIR SKILLS AT THE POLO GROUNDS
  8. ^ "National Football League Tables" Irish Press, 31 October 1963, p. 8
  9. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  10. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  11. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
  12. ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151