Instead of geographic groupings, teams are placed into Divisions I, II, III and IV. The top team in each division reaches the semi-finals.
Westmeath, Cavan, Meath
Louth, Dublin, Longford
Limerick, Tipperary, Clare
Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow
Offaly, Kildare, Laois, Cork
- ^ Mayo results archive, 1949
- ^ "GAA Archive 1949". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ GAA Final Teams Archived 2015-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A nice surprise for Louth - Irish Independent
- ^ "Down Master Monaghan", Irish Independent, 4 October 1948, p. 7,
- ^ "Antrim had close call", Irish Independent, 11 October 1948, p. 7,
- ^ "Down's surprise for Antrim", Irish Independent, 18 October 1948, p. 6,
- ^ "Bad Finish beat Armagh", Irish Independent, 25 October 1948, p. 7,
- ^ "Down win Dr. Lagan Cup", Cork Examiner, 1 November 1948, p. 6,
- ^ "Carney stars in Mayo victory", Irish Independent, 18/10/1948, p. 6,
- ^ "Kerry leave it late against Galway", Cork Examiner, 01/11/1948, p. 6,
- ^ "Mayo again crush Kerry", The Ballina Herald, 27/11/1948, p. 6,
- ^ "Roscommon in scoring mood", Irish Independent, 18/10/1948, p. 6,
- ^ "Leitrim shock for Sligo", Irish Independent, 01/11/1948, p. 7,
- ^ "Group honours for Roscommon", Irish Independent, 15/11/1948, p. 7,
- ^ "Roscommon a well beaten side", Irish Independent, 07/03/1949, p. 7
- ^ "Easy for Louth at Longford", Irish Independent, 01/11/1948, p. 7,
- ^ "Louth's one point win in Croke Park thriller", Irish Independent, 07/03/1949, p. 7
- ^ "Wexford beat Kildare in close game", Irish Independent, 7 February 1949, p.7
- ^ "Louth combination too much for Down individualism", Irish Independent, 28/03/1949, p. 7
- ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
- ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
- ^ "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151