This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2020) |
Sport: | Football | ||
---|---|---|---|
Irish: | An Dún [1] | ||
Nickname(s): | The Mournemen | ||
County board: | Down GAA | ||
Manager: | Conor Laverty | ||
Captain: | Pierce Laverty | ||
Home venue(s): | Páirc Esler, Newry [1] | ||
Recent competitive record | |||
Current All-Ireland status: | Ulster (SF) in 2024 | ||
Last championship title: | 1994 | ||
Current NFL Division: | 2 (Runners-up in Division 3 in 2024) | ||
Last league title: | 1983 | ||
| |||
The Down county football team represents Down GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Down's home ground is Páirc Esler, Newry. The team's manager is Conor Laverty.
The team last won the Ulster Senior Championship in 1994, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 1994 and the National League in 1983.
With just one loss in six appearances in All-Ireland SFC finals, Down has a reputation for rising to the big occasion. Kitted out in distinctive red and black, the team's massive fan base has been responsible for some of the largest match attendances in GAA history. Although, since the last decade of the twentieth century, the team has had a barren patch at senior level, despite various successes at underage level, in 2010 Down showed signs of improving by gaining promotion to the National Football League Division One and reaching the All-Ireland Senior Football final — narrowly losing by one point to Cork. [2] [3]
Down was not regarded as a football stronghold when Queen's University won the 1958 Sigerson Cup, and some of its leading players turned their thoughts to Down's county team dilemma.
Down won the 1959 Ulster Senior Football Championship (SFC) title with six inter-changeable forwards who introduced off-the-ball running and oddities such as track-suits.
In 1960, two goals in a three-minute period from James McCartan and Paddy Doherty helped Down to defeat Kerry, who were almost completely unbeaten at the time, and which brought to an end the Kerry football regime for a few years.
In 1961, Down defeated Offaly by one point in a game that featured five first half goals. In that three-year period their supporters surpassed every attendance record in the book.[ citation needed ] When Down played Offaly in 1961 they set a record attendance of 90,556 for a GAA game. Against Dublin in the 1964 National League final a record crowd of 70,125 attended. The 71,573 who watched Down play Kerry in 1961 still stands as a record for an All-Ireland SFC semi-final. In 1968, Down defeated Kerry with Sean O'Neill and John Murphy goals, again in a two-minute spell. Despite a famous prediction that Down would go on to win three-in-a-row,[ citation needed ] the county took twenty years to regain its status.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2020) |
In 1991, Down surprised favourites Meath, Barry Breen scoring the goal that sent his team into a lead of eleven points with twenty minutes to go, a lead that Meath could not match. In 1994, Mickey Linden sent James McCartan in for a goal directly under Hill 16, a goal which silenced Dublin and helped Down claim its fifth All-Ireland SFC title.
No other team from Ulster won an All-Ireland SFC until Armagh won the 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. [4]
In 2008, Down defeated Tyrone after a replay in the Ulster SFC but lost to Armagh in the Ulster SFC semi-final. Down advanced to play Offaly in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. After a convincing 5–19 to 2–10 victory over Offaly, Down faced Laois in a Round 2 qualifier. Defeating Laois by a single point, and with Dan Gordon being sent off, Down progressed to the last round of the qualifiers, in which the team was paired with Wexford, a game held at Croke Park. Down had Dan Gordon's suspension removed, but awful conditions and a poor Down performance resulted in a defeat to Wexford by a scoreline of 2–13 to 0–12.
Down reached the 2010 All-Ireland SFC Final after a narrow win over Kildare in the semi-final. However, Down lost to Cork in that game, the first time Down experienced defeat in an All-Ireland SFC final. Cork trailed by three points at half-time but improved in the second half and won by a scoreline of 0–16 to 0–15. Down captain Benny Coulter's effort on 70 minutes and a fisted Daniel Hughes effort one minute into added time left one point between the teams. That was the way it stayed, as Cork collected its seventh All-Ireland SFC crown in front of a crowd of 81,604.
In 2019, Down won the U20 Leo Murphy Cup Football Development League, defeating Cavan in the final by a scoreline of 1–14 to 0–11.
Down teams through the years have played with great emphasis on attack, often leading to the neglect of the defence. This system has cost Down teams of the twenty-first century, with the introduction of more negative tactics to quell forward lines, with a massive emphasis on blanket defence.
This section needs to be updated.(June 2022) |
Team as per Down vs Cavan in the 2020 Ulster SFC semi-final, 15 November 2020
|
|
As late as 2012, Down had a history of not appointing "foreign" managers, though Martin Breheny suggested Down might be the most likely from the cohort of football teams that traditionally appointed a manager from inside to ask for "outside help". [7] Since then, the county has recruited Jim McCorry and Paddy Tally from outside.
Dates | Name | Origin |
---|---|---|
1989–2002 | Pete McGrath | Rostrevor |
2002–2006 | Paddy O'Rourke | Burren |
2006–2009 | Ross Carr | Clonduff |
2009–2014 | James McCartan Jnr | Burren |
2014–2015 | Jim McCorry | |
2015–2018 | Éamonn Burns | Bryansford |
2018–2021 [8] [9] | Paddy Tally | |
2021–2022 | James McCartan Jnr (2) | Burren |
2022– | Conor Laverty | Kilcoo |
Down has 23 All Stars, as of 2010. 18 different players have won, as of 2010. Greg Blaney won three All Stars. No player has won more.
1971: Seán O'Neill
1972: Seán O'Neill2nd
1975: Colm McAlarney
1978: Colm McAlarney2nd
1981: Paddy Kennedy
1983: Liam Austin, Greg Blaney
1990: James McCartan Jnr
1991: Conor Deegan, Barry Breen, Ross Carr, Greg Blaney2nd
1994: Miceal Magill, Paul Higgins, DJ Kane, Gregory McCartan, Greg Blaney3rd, James McCartan Jnr2nd, Mickey Linden
2010: Brendan McVeigh, Daniel Hughes, Martin Clarke, Benny Coulter
The Tyrone County Board, or Tyrone GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
The Down County Board or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down,.
The Monaghan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Monaghan GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Monaghan and the Monaghan county football and hurling teams. Separate county boards are responsible for the promotion & development of handball, camogie and ladies' football within the county, as well as having responsibility for their representative county players/teams. The current team sponsor of Monaghan GAA is Activ8 Solar Energies.
The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is played in May, but, traditionally, was usually played on the third Sunday in July.
Michael O'Dwyer is an Irish retired Gaelic football manager and former player. He most famously managed the senior Kerry county team between 1974 and 1989, during which time he became the county's longest-serving manager and most successful in terms of major titles won. O'Dwyer is regarded as one of the greatest managers in the history of the game. He is one of only three men to manage five different counties. Martin Breheny has described him as "the ultimate symbol of the outside manager".
James McCartan is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player who played at senior level for the Down county team between 1990 and 2000. McCartan was part of the Down team that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1991 and 1994. McCartan also won two Ulster Senior Football Championships with the county. At underage level McCartan won Ulster Minor and All-Ireland Minor Football Championship medals. He also won two All Star awards during his career.
Daniel McCartan is a Gaelic footballer who plays for his local club Burren GAA and at senior level for the Down county team. He is the younger brother of former Down manager James McCartan Jr.
The 1960 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 73rd All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1960 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.
The 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 132nd edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887.
The Tyrone county football team represents Tyrone GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
The Donegal county football team represents Donegal in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Donegal GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
The Armagh county football team represents Armagh GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
The Cavan county football team represents County Cavan in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cavan GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
The Fermanagh county football team represents Fermanagh GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
The Louth county football team represents Louth in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Louth GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Leinster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
The Monaghan county football team represents Monaghan in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Monaghan GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Conor Laverty is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Kilcoo and, formerly, the Down county team. He has been manager of the Down county team since 2022.
The 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 136th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. Thirty one of the thirty two Irish counties took part – Kilkenny did not compete, while London and New York completed the lineup.
The following is a summary of Down county football team's 2023 season, which was its 120th year. On 9 August 2022, Conor Laverty was appointed Down manager.
Daniel McCartan was a Northern Irish Gaelic footballer, selector and manager. He played at club level with Glenn, Tullylish and Carryduff and at inter-county level with the Down senior football team.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Besides, can you ever imagine any of them, with the possible exception of Down, looking for outside help?