The Down County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

s of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

(GAA) in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and is responsible for the administration of

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The County Board is responsible for preparing the Down county teams in the various Gaelic sporting codes;

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

. The county football team was the second from the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

to win an

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

(SFC), following Cavan, and also the first team from

to win the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

since

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, doing so in 1960. The team won the cup again in 1961 and in 1968; this feat was not matched by another team until Down next won the All-Ireland SFC in its 1991 victory. Down and Cavan share the Ulster record for most All-Ireland SFC victories (five). As such, Down is regarded historically as a strong footballing county, and football is widely regarded as the dominant Gaelic sport within the county. The

Ards peninsula The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on the peninsula include Donaghadee, Milli ...

, however, is a hurling stronghold within the county, and while the county hurling team is not among the strongest on the island, it competes in the second-tier Joe McDonagh Cup, the 'Ardsmen' (as opposed to the nickname of the football team, the 'Mourne Men') have won a number of Ulster Senior and Minor Hurling Championships, despite the historical provincial dominance in that sport of Antrim. Down won the then second-tier Christy Ring Cup in 2013, its first. This entitled the team to enter the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; however, Down opted to remain in what was then the second-tier. Down remained in the Christy Ring Cup as it became a third-tier competition, until they won promotion to the Joe McDonagh Cup, and eligibility for the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, in 2021. The minutes of the Central Council of the GAA record that on 30 April 1888 an application for affiliation was received from St Patrick's, Mayobridge, Co. Down. The acceptance of the application makes this the oldest registered GAA club in the county.

Governance

Maurice Hayes Maurice Hayes (8 July 1927 – 23 December 2017) was an Irish public servant and, late in life, an independent member of the 21st and 22nd Seanads. Hayes was nominated by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in 1997 and re-nominated in 2002. He also s ...

, the county hurler, became Secretary of the Down County Board in the mid-1950s and set a ten-year plan for the county football team to become the first team from north of the border to win an All-Ireland SFC.

Football

Clubs

The county's most successful football club is Kilcoo. Kilcoo has won the

Down Senior Football Championship The Down Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Down GAA clubs. The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1903. Kilcoo are the title holders (2022) def ...

on eighteen occasions, and also won the

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition played between the top clubs in Ulster GAA. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup ( ga, Corn Shéamuis Mhic Fearáin). The winners and t ...

in 2019 and 2021 and the 2021–22 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.

County team

Down has won the

(SFC) on five occasions, most recently in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. Down was not regarded as a football stronghold when Queen's University won the 1958

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

, and some of its leading players turned their thoughts to Down's county team dilemma. Down won the 1959

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is ...

(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 Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

, 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 County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

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. When Down played Offaly in 1961 they set a record attendance of 90,556 for a GAA game. Against

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

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, the county took twenty years to regain its status. 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 Michael Rory "Mickey" Linden is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for Down in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of the Down team that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1991 and 1994. Linden also won two Ulster ...

sent James McCartan in for a goal directly under

Hill 16 Hill 16 – officially called Dineen Hill 16 and sometimes referred to as The Hill – is a terrace at the Railway End of Croke Park, the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is located on the North ...

, a goal which silenced Dublin and helped Down claim its fifth All-Ireland SFC title.

Hurling

Clubs

Five Down hurling clubs, Carryduff, Ballycran, Ballygalget, Portaferry and Bredagh play in the Antrim League. Ballycran and Portaferry used the experience to win

Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and contested b ...

s. Ballygalget, Portaferry and Ballycran play in Antrim Div 1 while Carryduff and Bredagh play in Div 2. Clubs also contest the

Down Senior Hurling Championship The Down Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Morgan Fuels Down GAA Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Down SHC) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Down GAA clubs. The Down Count ...

County team

Gates Gaelic athletic park Saul County Down

Down played in the

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Ass ...

for three years in the 1970s, even playing Antrim in an unusual Leinster semi-final at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

in 1979. Although Down had not won the All-Ireland B championship in four final appearances, when the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was revived, Down won titles in 1992, 1995 and 1997, losing the All-Ireland semi-finals by 14, 11 and 16 points. Down defeated

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in a Division 1 match in 1993 by a scoreline of 1–12 to 1–11. Down hurlers won the Christy Ring Cup for the first time in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, their greatest All-Ireland level success to date. This entitled them to enter the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; however, Down opted to remain in the 2nd tier competition on this occasion.

Camogie

Down contested the final of the

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship is a competition for inter-county teams in the women's field sport of game of camogie played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Camogie Association and are played during the summer m ...

in 1948, having beaten Galway 1-5 to 1-1 in the All Ireland semi-final, with N Mallon the captain and C Mcgourty their best player, and 13-year-old Berna Kelly played in goal. They won the inaugural All Ireland junior championship in 1968 and inaugural minor (under-16) championship in 1974, further All Ireland junior championships in 1976 and 1991 and the intermediate championship of 1994 which resulted in a brief return to the senior championship. They won the All Ireland championship at Under-16 C level in 2011 and reached the 2011

Nancy Murray Cup Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

final. Leitrim Fontenoys won the 2004 and 2005 All Ireland junior club title. Notable players include Marion McGarvey, Bonnie McGreevy,

Máirín McAleenan Máirín McAleenan is a camogie player, winner of an All-Star award in 2004. Early career She shot to prominence when Down won the National League Division 2 and the All Ireland Intermediate Championship in 1998, scoring 9-35 during the lea ...

Catherine McGourty Catherine McGourty is a camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of ...

and Karen Tinelly. Síghle Nic an Ultaigh and Belle O'Loughlin served as

presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Camogie Association The Camogie Association ( ga, An Cumann Camógaíochta, formerly ga, Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael) organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Associati ...

. Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015.National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page o
camogie.ie
, pdf download (778k) fro
Camogie.ie download site

Ladies' football

Down has a ladies' football team.

List of clubs

* Aghaderg-Ballyvarley
Website
* Annaclone * An Riocht
Website
* Aughlisnafin www.aughlisnafingac.com * Ardglass - * Atticall
Website
* Ballela
Website
* Ballycran GAC * Ballygalget GAC
Website
* Ballyholland Harps
Website
* Ballykinlar
ballykinlar.down.gaa.ie
* Ballymartin
Website
*

Bredagh GAC Bredagh GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Down, Northern Ireland. It fields teams at all levels from U8 to Senior in Men's and Ladies Gaelic football, Hurling and Camogie. It had its previous pitch, Bredagh Park, taken off them i ...

* Bright
Website
* Bryansford
Website
* Burren * Carryduff
Website
*

Castlewellan GAC Castlewellan GAC (also known as St Malachy's GAC, or in Irish, CLG Naomh Maolmhoig Caisleán a' Mhuilinn) is a Gaelic Athletic Association Club in Castlewellan, County Down, Northern Ireland. The club promotes the Gaelic Games of Hurling, Foot ...

* Clann na Banna
Website
*

Clonduff GAC Clonduff GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club, based in Hilltown County Down, Northern Ireland. It represents the 2 areas that make up the Clonduff parish, namely Hilltown and Cabra. History Press reports show the history of Gaelic footba ...

Website
* Darragh Cross
Website
*

Russell Gaelic Union, Downpatrick Russell Gaelic Union, Downpatrick is a Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club based in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. History The first Gaelic Athletic Association club in Downpatrick was founded in 1896, ''Clan Na Gael'' ...

* Dromara
Website
* Drumaness
Website
* Drumgath
Website
* Dundrum
Website
*

East Belfast GAA East Belfast GAA ( ga, CLG Oirthear Bhéal Feirste) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in east Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. The team currently plays in the Down Senior County League. The team is noted for its cross commu ...

Website
* Glasdrumman
Website
* Glenn
Website
* Kilclief Ben Dhreag
Website
*

Kilcoo GAC Kilcoo Owen Roes (Irish: Eoghan Rúa Cill Chua) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Kilcoo, County Down, Northern Ireland. They are the most successful club in the Down Senior Football Championship having won it 19 times. The club has a ...

Liatroim Fontenoys GAC Liatroim Fontenoys is a Gaelic Athletic Association Club in County Down, Northern Ireland. The club promotes hurling, Gaelic football, and camogie. History Liatroim Fontenoys, a small rural club in County Down, founded in the village wit ...

Website
*

Longstone GAC Longstone GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Annalong, County Down, Northern Ireland. Set at the foot of the Mourne Mountains in the Lower Mourne parish, the club caters for Gaelic Football, Camogie, and more recently Ladies' Gaelic Fo ...

Website
* Loughinisland
Website
*

Mayobridge Mayobridge () is a village within Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, lying on the small river Clanrye which divides the townlands of Mayo and Bavan. It is located within the Newry and Mourne District Council area - it had a population of 1,069 ...

Website
*

John Mitchel GFC John Mitchel GFC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club, established in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, in 1956, and is called after the Irish Patriot John Mitchel. The club had the audacious ambition of winning the Down Senior Football C ...

Website
* Cumann Pheadair Naofa (formerly known as

Warrenpoint GAA St Peter's GAA ( ga, Cumann Pheadair Naofa) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland. Foundation The GAA in Warrenpoint pre-dates St Peter's by a considerable span of years for it was in 1888 that the ...

) *

Newry Bosco GFC Newry Bosco GFC are a Gaelic Athletic Association gaelic football club from Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Although the club plays its home games at Jack Mackin Park which is in County Armagh, Bosco plays in the South Down league. H ...

Website
* Newry Shamrocks
Website
*

Portaferry Portaferry () is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Flo ...

Website
* Rostrevor
Website
* Saul
Website
* Saval
Website
* St John's, Drumnaquoile * St Michael's, Kilwarlin
Website
* St Paul's
Website
* Teconnaught * Tullylish
Website

References

External links

Official website

Down
at ''

Hogan Stand Hoganstand.com is a news website and the online face of the monthly Gaelic games magazine ''Hogan Stand'', which is distributed throughout Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atla ...

''
National and provincial titles won by Down teams

Club championship winners

{{GAA bodies Gaelic games governing bodies in Northern Ireland Gaelic games governing bodies in Ulster