| 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 |
1989–90 → | |
The1988–89 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as theRoyal Liver National Football League, was the 58th staging of theNational Football League (NFL), an annualGaelic football tournament for theGaelic Athletic Association county teams ofIreland.
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]
Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.
2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.
Teams in all three divisions competed for theNational Football League title.
In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows:
The semi-final match-ups are:
The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.
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]
| 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 the1989–90 NFL |
| Meath | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cork | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Promoted to Division One of the1989–90 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 the1989–90 NFL |
 Galway | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| Longford | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 19 March 1989For 2nd Place | Tyrone | 2-9 — 1-5 | Leitrim | Brewster Park,Enniskillen[6] |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Antrim | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | Advance to quarter-finals; Promoted to Division Two of the1989–90 NFL |
 Tyrone | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | Promoted to Division Two of the1989–90 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 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wexford | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Advance to quarter-finals; Promoted to Division Two of the1989–90 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 |