1938–39 National Football League (Ireland)

1938–39 National Football League
League details
Dates	November 1938 – 14 May 1939
League champions
Winners	Mayo (6th win)
Captain	Paddy Moclair
League runners-up
Runners-up	Meath
Captain	Matt Gilsenan
	← 1937–38 1939–40 →

The 1938–39 National Football League was the 12th staging of the National Football League, an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.

30 counties participated in the league, with Kilkenny and Fermanagh being the non-participants.^[1]

Mayo won the league for the sixth year in a row, beating Meath in the final.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Format

There were seven groups.

Group A had originally been drawn with five teams. When Mayo entered, they were added to Group A, which was then split into two sections for the round-robin stage.^[5]

The winners of Groups A, B and C qualified automatically for the semi-final.,^[6]^[7]

The winners of Groups D, E, F and G played off for the remaining semi-final place

Results and Tables

Group A

Section One play-offs

12 March 1939
Semi-final

Mayo	4-3 – 0-5	Galway

Castlebar^[8]

26 March 1939
Final

Mayo	1-6 – 0-6	Kerry

Austin Stack Park, Tralee^[9]

Section Two

Group Final

16 April 1939

Mayo	0-8 – 0-7	Laois

Croke Park, Dublin

Section One Table

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Status
Mayo	2	1	1	2	Advance to Knockout Stage
Kerry	2	1	1	2
Galway	2	1	1	2

Section Two Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
Laois	2	1	1	0	4
Kildare	2	1	0	1	2
Offaly	2	0	1	1	0

Laois were awarded full points for their draw v Offaly, as Offaly were late fielding out.^[10]

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Wexford	4	4	0	0	8	Advance to Semi-final
Carlow	4	2	1	1	5
Tipperary	4	2	1	1	5
Wicklow	4	1	0	3	2
Waterford	4	0	0	4	0

^[11]

Group C

Play-Off

23 April 1939
Final

Meath	1-7 – 1-6	Louth

Navan^[12]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	Status
Meath	6	4	2	0	10	Advance to Knockout Stage
Louth	6	4	2	0	10
Cavan	6	3	3	0	9
Dublin	6	2	1	3	5
Monaghan	6	2	0	4	4
Armagh	6	1	0	5	2
Down	6	1	0	5	2

^[13]

Group D

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Status
Leitrim	2	2	0	4	Advance to inter-group play-offs
Sligo	2	1	1	2
Donegal	2	0	1	0

Group E

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Status
Roscommon	2	2	0	4	Advance to inter-group play-offs
Longford	2	1	1	2
Westmeath	2	0	1	0

Group F

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Status
Derry	2	2	0	4	Advance to inter-group play-offs
Tyrone	2	1	1	2
Antrim	2	0	1	0

Group G

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Status
Limerick	2	2	0	4	Advance to inter-group play-offs
Clare	2	1	1	2
Cork	2	0	1	0

Inter-group play-offs

Semi-finals

12 March 1939

Derry	1-5 – 0-3	Leitrim

Newbridge

12 March 1939

Roscommon	1-3 – 1-2	Limerick

Glin

Final

26 March 1939
Final

Roscommon	2-7 – 3-3	Derry

Newbridge^[14]

Semi-finals

30 April 1939
Semi-final

Mayo	3-7 – 0-6	Wexford

Wexford Park, Wexford

30 April 1939
Semi-final

Meath	2-5 – 1-4	Roscommon

Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon

National League Final

14 May 1939
Final

Mayo	5-9 – 0-6	Meath

James Stephens Park, Ballina

Attendance: 10,000^[15]

References

^ "New draws in National Football League", Irish Independent, 25 October 1938, p. 16
^ Mayo results archive
^ GAA Final Teams
^ "Croke Park archive page". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ "New draws in National Football League", Irish Independent, 25 October 1938, p. 16
^ "How They Stand Now", Irish Independent, 27 February 1939, p. 13
^ "What the results now mean"; Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p.10
^ "Full steam ahead for another title", Irish Press, 13 March 1939, p. 17
^ "Mayo spring big surprise by beating Kerry in League Decider in Tralee", The Cork Examiner, 27 March 1939, p. 11
^ "How They Stand Now", Irish Independent, 27 February 1939, p. 13
^ "What the results now mean"; Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p.10
^ "Weekend Results", The Cork Examiner, 24 April 1939, p. 10
^ "What the results now mean"; Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p.10
^ "Roscommon for semi-final", Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p. 10
^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151

[1] "New draws in National Football League", Irish Independent, 25 October 1938, p. 16

[2] Mayo results archive

[3] GAA Final Teams

[4] "Croke Park archive page". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[5] "New draws in National Football League", Irish Independent, 25 October 1938, p. 16

[6] "How They Stand Now", Irish Independent, 27 February 1939, p. 13

[7] "What the results now mean"; Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p.10

[8] "Full steam ahead for another title", Irish Press, 13 March 1939, p. 17

[9] "Mayo spring big surprise by beating Kerry in League Decider in Tralee", The Cork Examiner, 27 March 1939, p. 11

[10] "How They Stand Now", Irish Independent, 27 February 1939, p. 13

[11] "What the results now mean"; Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p.10

[12] "Weekend Results", The Cork Examiner, 24 April 1939, p. 10

[13] "What the results now mean"; Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p.10

[14] "Roscommon for semi-final", Irish Independent, 27 March 1939, p. 10

[15] "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151

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