By Niall Gartland DOWN’S season hinges on Saturday’s Tailteann Cup round three clash away to Longford. Conor Laverty’s side would rather be nowhere near the Tailteann Cup competition in the first place, and perhaps that goes some way to explain their shock defeat to Offaly on their last day out. Offaly’s vastly superior conversion rate […]
By Niall Gartland IF Down legend Ross Carr has one message to impart before Saturday’s Tailteann Cup opener against Leitrim, it’s this – football sure is a fickle business. The Mourne Men were the talk of the country after a stunning victory against Donegal in the first round of the Ulster Championship. And then the […]
By Michael McMullan BURREN retained the Ulster League title and captain Ryan Treanor said it was important step into the new season. The league will kick into gear this month with the bigger picture to follow of hitting the championship phase ready to rock. Treanor kicked half a dozen points, including the winner, in a […]
By Shaun Casey PROMOTION won’t be gained anywhere this weekend, but it could be lost at Páirc Esler. Down and Westmeath are the favourites to make a swift return to Division Two and the winners of Saturday’s encounter will take a massive step towards that target. The two counties have trodden similar journey’s over the […]
By Shaun Casey DOWN made the perfect start to their Division Three promotion push last weekend with a home win over Clare and will look to go two from two against Limerick on Saturday, which won’t be easy, says coach Mickey Donnelly. The Mourne men trailed by five points at half time of their league opener but […]
By Shaun Casey IT’S probably the hardest way possible to kickstart the season, with ties against Armagh and Tyrone coming up in early January, but Down are looking forward to those battles, says coach Mickey Donnelly. The Mourne men haven’t won the McKenna Cup since 2008. This season, they get things up and running against […]
By Shaun Casey BENNY Coulter’s Attical side are heading into their round two clash with Clann na Banna as massive outsiders but the former Down forward says his side will “give it a rattle” as they look to advance to the next stage. Clann na Banna were beaten in last year’s Intermediate Championship final and defeated […]
By Shaun Casey DOWN’S round three defeat to Monaghan means the Mourne men could possibly be playing three weeks on the bounce, if they reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals for the first time since 2012, but boss Conor Laverty doesn’t mind. His side put in a solid shift and were leading heading into the final quarter […]
By Shaun Casey AS a teenager at St Colman’s College, Newry, Danny Magill would compete in cross country events. Anyone that has witnessed the Burren clubman in full flight, with a Gaelic football under his arm, won’t be overly surprised by that fact. An All-Ireland Senior Cross Country winner for the school in 2019, that blistering […]
By Shaun Casey A huge home crowd in Newry with the Leinster champions coming to town, excitement is certainly at fever pitch ahead of Down’s round two clash with Louth and Kevin McKernan can understand why. The former Down defender, now coaching Dundalk Gaels in the Wee County, has a firm grasp of the feel-good […]
