Wikipedia

1997–98 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1997–98 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Church & General National Football League, was the 67th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

1997–98 National Football League
League details
Dates19 October 1997 – 26 April 1998
Teams33
League champions
WinnersOffaly (1st win)
CaptainFinbarr Cullen
ManagerTommy Lyons
League runners-up
Runners-upDerry
CaptainKieran McKeever

The Kerry v Cavan Round 1 game was played at the Polo Grounds, New York City, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1947 All-Ireland Final.[1][2][3][4][5] The then Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani threw the ball in ahead of the game.[6]

Offaly won their first and only league title.[7][8]

Format

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The teams are in four sections, three of 8 teams and one of 9. Each team plays all the other teams in its division once: either home or away. Teams earn 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The top two teams in each section contest the NFL quarter-finals.[9]

Results

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Group A

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Mayo 7 6 0 0 13 Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Galway 7 5 2 0 12
  Laois 7 4 2 1 10 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Leitrim 7 4 1 2 9
  Louth 7 3 0 4 6 Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL
  Fermanagh 7 1 1 5 3
  Carlow 7 1 1 5 3
  Kilkenny 7 0 0 7 0

Group B

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Donegal 7 6 1 0 13 Advance to Knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Derry 7 5 1 1 11
  Armagh 7 5 0 2 10 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Meath 7 4 1 2 9
  Longford 7 3 0 4 6 Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL
  Westmeath 7 2 1 4 5
  Antrim 7 1 0 6 2
  London 7 0 0 7 0

Group C

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Offaly 7 6 1 0 13 Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Monaghan 7 4 1 2 9
  Dublin 7 4 0 3 8 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Tyrone 7 4 0 3 8
  Sligo 7 3 2 2 8 Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL
  Kerry 7 3 0 4 6
  Cavan 7 2 0 5 4
  Wexford 7 0 0 7 0

Group D

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Team Pld W D L Pts Status
  Down 8 6 0 2 12 Advance to quarter-finals and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Cork 8 6 0 2 12
  Kildare 8 6 0 2 12 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL
  Clare 8 4 1 3 9
  Wicklow 8 4 1 3 9 Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL
  Tipperary 8 4 0 4 8
  Roscommon 8 2 2 4 6
  Limerick 8 1 1 6 3
  Waterford 8 0 1 7 1

Knockout stage

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Quarter-finals

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Derry1-9 – 0-10Mayo
Offaly1-11 – 0-10Galway
Donegal2-14 – 1-9Cork
Monaghan2-6 – 1-8Down

Semi-finals

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Offaly3-10 – 1-14Donegal
Derry1-12 – 0-8Monaghan

Finals

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Offaly0-9 – 0-7Derry
Attendance: 22,531 [10]
Referee: Niall Barrett (Cork) [11]

References

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  1. ^ "GAA Final Teams". Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ^ "GAA Archive 1997". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  3. ^ Kerry photos
  4. ^ 1997 Kerry v Cavan NFL game in New York Photos
  5. ^ Terrace Talk 1997
  6. ^ McManus, Ray (18 October 1997). "Mayor of New York City Rudolph Guiliani throws the ball in before the game watched by Joe McDonagh, President of the GAA and Referee Brian White ahead of the Church and General National Football League match".
  7. ^ "GAA Final Teams". Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  8. ^ GAA Archive 1998[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Gaelic Games website
  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
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