Messages

I know everybody is probably more intrigued with the other games happening this weekend, but is there any chance of Ballycastle springing an upset on Loughgiel?

Given the nature of the 3 team group, will Loughgiel hold back for later in the Championship, with Ballycastle going all out to try and ensure they don't finish bottom.

Know it's unlikely, but is it worth discussing?

Liatriom where impressive on Sunday considering they had 2r3 key players sidelined. You have to remember they were playing a really impressive and strong Portaferry so I think the management team will be happy enough. I expect they will beat Bredagh this weekend.
The Ards teams playing Down D1 are not really a reserve team - pretty much the first team minus county players which can be a 3rd of the team - that's my experience anyway
Great post Splash - 1 update is a new Mourne Hurling club set up last year starting at primary school ages. Also good to see Saul do the same.
Great point about about St Kevins plus some other clubs with large memberships numbers already offering Camogie e.g. Mayobridge, Kilkoo, Ballyholland etc

Thanks lad, appreciate it.

The Mourne Club is a great idea and I'm glad to see they're going well. Woudont know as much about Saul but hear it's going well still.

Someone said would St Kevin's players not play for Castlewellen? I'm not sure, but I know a couple lads from the area playing for different clubs (none Castlewellan), and the majority seem to be Carryduff.

The intermediate is not quite as exciting this week, but could still throw up a shock or two.

Shamrocks will travel to Kilclief, and Clonduff will host Warrenpoint.

Last year's Junior Champions, Kilclief, will want to make a statement win. However they don't seem as strong as they were last year, and whilst Shamrocks have also regressed from where they were a few years ago, it's still very hard to see past them as the best team in the Intermediate at the moment. The few years they  spent in the Senior Championship will probably serve them well.

Clonduff have been massively struggling this year. Understandable given the tragic circumstances around the club, recently. With low numbers and a poor league campaign, it is hard to see them doing much damage to a strong Point team who really want to target getting an Intermediate Championship.

Unfortunately, there's not too much more that can be said for this week's Intermediate action. Shamrocks and the Point are realistically a good bit ahead of Kiclief and Clonduff.

I think the problem with the intermediate is the lack of teams in it. There's only a few teams in the county, and there's a big enough gulf between teams going up from junior (like Kilclief) and meeting teams coming down from Senior (like Shamrocks).

I think the only real solution is we need more teams so we can expand the championships- although that is far easier said than done.

The intermediate championship should throw up some interesting clashes this year, with a mix of Div One, Div Two, and potentially Antrim league teams once the senior clubs come down later on in the championship. Realistically though, it is hard to see past whoever comes down from the senior championship meeting in the final.

Should be an interesting championship, all the same.

Thanks for this splash, what way would you like the county board to increase teams? Where would you target?

No bother Truth. Hope you found the read interesting.

It's of course very difficult to start hurling teams and takes a long time, and the County Board can't force clubs to field hurling teams. I think we should put the emphasis on offering football, hurling, and handball to everyone in the county and go from there.

There's a lot of areas I think could be targeted for hurling growth, and in different manners.

I think for a start we've a scope to promote hurling in our urban areas.

If you think of the major towns in the county- Newry, Downpatrick, Newcastle, Banbridge, Kilkeel etc., the only one that has a team is Newry. (I wouldn't count Kilclief, Castlewellan, and Ballyvarley as being hurling clubs in those towns, they are different clubs people from Downpatrick, Newcastle and Banbridge would have to travel to to play hurling).

Downpatrick in particular is a place with major potential I would say. A large, nationalist town, with a lot of Ards people attending school in the town.

I also think any club that fields a camogie team would be fit to field a junior hurling team. Others may disagree, but in my opinion, the resources, or at the very least, the foundations, are already there. Ballyholland, Mayobridge, Kilcoo, and An Riocht all compete in the Senior Camogie Championship. Surely it wouldn't be impossible to introduce underage hurling alongside underage camogie?

One example that comes to mind is St Kevin's. The club is exclusively a camogie club. No football, no hurling, purely camogie. Surely there should be a discussion about offering hurling? (I understand the situation surrounding St Kevin's and that it's not as simple as that, and it draws its players from Teconnaught and Drumaness etc., the run in with the county board a few years ago, but I still don't think any of that prevents the club offering hurling).

Resurrecting hurling in clubs where it used to be is also something I think should be looked at by the county board.

Darragh Cross had a particularly strong hurling team in the relative recent past. Glenn and Rostrevor had hurling teams around that time, too. There's others, but those are ones that spring to mind.

There's a lot that could be done to promote hurling in the county, and there's no quick fix, and it'll take a lot of persuasion, but it's possible.

If every club that offered camogie offered hurling, large urban clubs like RGU and Bryansford fielded clubs, and a few parishes resurrected the game, we would double the amount of hurling clubs in the county. This would be huge, and it would allow us to expand the championships to more than 4 teams, and would lead to more competitive and more interesting championships across all grades.

That's my 2 cents anyway. Im sure alot of people will say it's wishful thinking and I should give over and just let clubs focus on football, but I think it's a pragmatic way of thinking about it, and at the very least, it's discussions we should be having.

The same can be said of football in hurling clubs and handball. There's no reason we shouldn't be talking about offering Gaelic Games to everyone.

I wouldn't agree Downpatrick has any potential in terms of hurling. It could be easily argued that for such a large population the RGU have seriously underachieved in football for a very long time. I doubt there would be a strong enough interest for hurling or the playing numbers to sustain it.

They had a hurling team at junior level and underage teams for years. Only stopped in the last 20 years.

Darragh Cross stopped fielding after 2000 - I remember Ballela playing them in the junior quarter final in 2000 (then played RGU in the semi), Rostrevor stopped late 90s - same for Drumaness. St Johns, Kilcoo, Mayobridge & Glenn all played in the 80s.

There are over 20,000 people in Downpatrick.

It's understandable a small parish not being able to field. Downpatrick is simply too large to use this excuse.

I would definitely agree though, they are massive under performers in football. You'd think there'd be at least two clubs in the town? Anyway, discussion for a different day.

Proximity to the Ards, the hurling culture in the school, etc. These all mean Downpatrick is a better shout than somewhere like Saval or Drumgath.

It's a terror how long it is since those clubs all played hurling, but it is within living memory. That's a massive advantage.

FYI Newry is getting it's own dedicated GDO, so they better promote hurling as well or else they'll be getting it on Twitter.

I think we're also getting a hurling GDO for the whole county.   

Overdue for manys a year.

Is it a Newry GDO, or an Urban GDO? Newry is a problem of its own which probably warrants an entire thread.

- Mitchell's needs to be saved.
- No team in Newry is playing football above Division 3, and no team in the Senior Championship.
- Hurling massively underperforms in Newry.
- What to do about Ballyholland?
- Are Armagh going to reap the benefits more than us?

Newry is a vital clog in the Down GAA machine. Maybe it does need its own GDO?

A little Hurling on Down Gaelic football TV would be nice. Downpatrick is too big to be without camogie or hurling . This is a pressing concern that the new GDO needs to address. A few years ago, St Pats also won the Mageeann Cup.

You're right, Truth. It would definitely help.

Also think making the Down games more accessible would be a step in the right direction.

Understand Ballycran is the spiritual home of our hurlers at this point, but it's hard to get too for a lot of the county. Nobody wants to drive an 1h+ to watch a game unless they're serious about it.

Downpatrick maybe would be a compromise? Still close to the majority of players, but a lot easier for people from South Down to get to?

The intermediate is not quite as exciting this week, but could still throw up a shock or two.

Shamrocks will travel to Kilclief, and Clonduff will host Warrenpoint.

Last year's Junior Champions, Kilclief, will want to make a statement win. However they don't seem as strong as they were last year, and whilst Shamrocks have also regressed from where they were a few years ago, it's still very hard to see past them as the best team in the Intermediate at the moment. The few years they  spent in the Senior Championship will probably serve them well.

Clonduff have been massively struggling this year. Understandable given the tragic circumstances around the club, recently. With low numbers and a poor league campaign, it is hard to see them doing much damage to a strong Point team who really want to target getting an Intermediate Championship.

Unfortunately, there's not too much more that can be said for this week's Intermediate action. Shamrocks and the Point are realistically a good bit ahead of Kiclief and Clonduff.

I think the problem with the intermediate is the lack of teams in it. There's only a few teams in the county, and there's a big enough gulf between teams going up from junior (like Kilclief) and meeting teams coming down from Senior (like Shamrocks).

I think the only real solution is we need more teams so we can expand the championships- although that is far easier said than done.

The intermediate championship should throw up some interesting clashes this year, with a mix of Div One, Div Two, and potentially Antrim league teams once the senior clubs come down later on in the championship. Realistically though, it is hard to see past whoever comes down from the senior championship meeting in the final.

Should be an interesting championship, all the same.

Thanks for this splash, what way would you like the county board to increase teams? Where would you target?

No bother Truth. Hope you found the read interesting.

It's of course very difficult to start hurling teams and takes a long time, and the County Board can't force clubs to field hurling teams. I think we should put the emphasis on offering football, hurling, and handball to everyone in the county and go from there.

There's a lot of areas I think could be targeted for hurling growth, and in different manners.

I think for a start we've a scope to promote hurling in our urban areas.

If you think of the major towns in the county- Newry, Downpatrick, Newcastle, Banbridge, Kilkeel etc., the only one that has a team is Newry. (I wouldn't count Kilclief, Castlewellan, and Ballyvarley as being hurling clubs in those towns, they are different clubs people from Downpatrick, Newcastle and Banbridge would have to travel to to play hurling).

Downpatrick in particular is a place with major potential I would say. A large, nationalist town, with a lot of Ards people attending school in the town.

I also think any club that fields a camogie team would be fit to field a junior hurling team. Others may disagree, but in my opinion, the resources, or at the very least, the foundations, are already there. Ballyholland, Mayobridge, Kilcoo, and An Riocht all compete in the Senior Camogie Championship. Surely it wouldn't be impossible to introduce underage hurling alongside underage camogie?

One example that comes to mind is St Kevin's. The club is exclusively a camogie club. No football, no hurling, purely camogie. Surely there should be a discussion about offering hurling? (I understand the situation surrounding St Kevin's and that it's not as simple as that, and it draws its players from Teconnaught and Drumaness etc., the run in with the county board a few years ago, but I still don't think any of that prevents the club offering hurling).

Resurrecting hurling in clubs where it used to be is also something I think should be looked at by the county board.

Darragh Cross had a particularly strong hurling team in the relative recent past. Glenn and Rostrevor had hurling teams around that time, too. There's others, but those are ones that spring to mind.

There's a lot that could be done to promote hurling in the county, and there's no quick fix, and it'll take a lot of persuasion, but it's possible.

If every club that offered camogie offered hurling, large urban clubs like RGU and Bryansford fielded clubs, and a few parishes resurrected the game, we would double the amount of hurling clubs in the county. This would be huge, and it would allow us to expand the championships to more than 4 teams, and would lead to more competitive and more interesting championships across all grades.

That's my 2 cents anyway. Im sure alot of people will say it's wishful thinking and I should give over and just let clubs focus on football, but I think it's a pragmatic way of thinking about it, and at the very least, it's discussions we should be having.

The same can be said of football in hurling clubs and handball. There's no reason we shouldn't be talking about offering Gaelic Games to everyone.

Oh - cheers splash.

Not a bother

In the senior we're now getting down to the nitty gritty.

Bredagh and Liatroim is a must win game for both if either want to secure an away semi-final in the knock out stages.

Bredagh have improved as the competition has went on and Liatroim have flattered to deceive, but with Ballycran in their last game they will need to win this.

If Bredagh fail to win it then they're down into the intermediate championship. I think they might pull off a win here though.

Carryduff gave our lads a scare last Saturday and were allowed to play some decent hurling. This is also a must win game for Ballycran and I just don't see Ballycran being as stand-off ish as our lads were and will probably secure the victory here but it won't be plain sailing.
If Carryduff can get the home victory then they will have put the cat among the pigeons and will have secured one of the two remaining semi-final spots and that'll leave a three way battle for the final semi-final spot.
I'm expecting Ballycran to bandage up their walking wounded to see them over the line.


Our game v Portaferry is a meaningless game and we'll be looking to rest our minors and also those carrying a few knocks and strains. Portaferry will win this pulling up as they've the much stronger panel to contend with injuries etc etc.

Bredagh v Liatroim is for me the hardest game to call in the entire tournament. Both teams are off where they were but Bredagh seem to be going through something of a transitional period and I think Liatroim will throw everything at them to give themselves the best chance of making it to the knockouts.

Would love to see Carryduff shocking Ballycran and opening up the championship, and whilst Ballycran have been far from their best this year, it's hard to see Ballycran not coming out on top, and will be more cautious after the scare Carryduff gave Ballygalget.

I'm expecting to see a replay of the Portaferry/Ballygalget game in the final unless Ballycran have been holding back for the knockouts.

Have Carryduff plated Liatroim JC?

Played in the first round in Carryduff. Liatroim won by 10+

The intermediate is not quite as exciting this week, but could still throw up a shock or two.

Shamrocks will travel to Kilclief, and Clonduff will host Warrenpoint.

Last year's Junior Champions, Kilclief, will want to make a statement win. However they don't seem as strong as they were last year, and whilst Shamrocks have also regressed from where they were a few years ago, it's still very hard to see past them as the best team in the Intermediate at the moment. The few years they  spent in the Senior Championship will probably serve them well.

Clonduff have been massively struggling this year. Understandable given the tragic circumstances around the club, recently. With low numbers and a poor league campaign, it is hard to see them doing much damage to a strong Point team who really want to target getting an Intermediate Championship.

Unfortunately, there's not too much more that can be said for this week's Intermediate action. Shamrocks and the Point are realistically a good bit ahead of Kiclief and Clonduff.

I think the problem with the intermediate is the lack of teams in it. There's only a few teams in the county, and there's a big enough gulf between teams going up from junior (like Kilclief) and meeting teams coming down from Senior (like Shamrocks).

I think the only real solution is we need more teams so we can expand the championships- although that is far easier said than done.

The intermediate championship should throw up some interesting clashes this year, with a mix of Div One, Div Two, and potentially Antrim league teams once the senior clubs come down later on in the championship. Realistically though, it is hard to see past whoever comes down from the senior championship meeting in the final.

Should be an interesting championship, all the same.

It's the best time of the year, with the Junior and Intermediate Hurling Championships beginning this week.

Starts with the biggest hurling derby this side of Strangford Lough with Ballela v Ballyvarley on Thursday night, in Ballyvarley. Ballela have spent the last few years in the Intermediate Championship, but will be far from favourites for the Junior this year.

Both teams had poor enough league campaigns, both finishing at the bottom of Division Two. Ballela seem to have picked up after a particularly bad year last year, and despite a bad league, it's been a big improvement. Johnny McCusker is still solid for them, but the big addition this year is the return of former county dual star, Mal Magee

Ballyvarley seem to have taken a step backwards from the progress they made last year, and seem to have struggled after losing their best player to Liatroim.

These teams played only once in the league, with Ballela coming out on top, but both will have changed a lot since then.

Should be a hard hitting, brutal match, and would expect to see a couple cards dished out.

If Ballyvarley can keep the frees low, they're probably a better team and will be able to out play Ballea. However, giving away frees is giving Ballela scores on a plate, and if Ballela can feed the ball through their main men and keep ticking over, they should win.

It's always interesting to note these teams are amalgamated at underage right the way through until senior. They seem to do quite well, too. You would wonder what the future holds a


Saturday sees Castlewellan host East Belfast. This time last year, East Belfast produced the shock of the year when they dumped JHC favourites, Castlewellan, out of the championship.

A lot has changed since then. Castlewellan had a good league in Division One, and cemented their status there for next year with wins over Clonduff, Newry Shamrocks, and impressively, Ballygalget.

East Belfast will join them in Division One next year, after managing to secure promotion to the top flight in only their fourth year of existence. They've come a long way, and are no longer plucky underdogs and will be expecting to win the Junior Championship and continue their rise.

That loss really hurt Castlewellan last year, but it was probably a necessary learning experience and they'll not want to be caught out twice. They have some great hurlers in the ranks, with the captain of Down's All Ireland B Champions amongst them.

East Belfast have no shortage of impressive hurlers, and will be confident going into this. They probably have the strongest overall forward line in the competition, which will cause problems for most teams.

Both of these teams realistically need to get out of the Junior Championship to continue their development, and I wouldn't be surprised to see these two meet again in the final.

It is still quite an open Junior Championship. Both Castlewellan and East Belfast will feel they need to win, Ballela feel like something of a 'one last ride' team with their old guns back, and Ballyvarley are well fit to mix it with any of those teams and could be hiding in the long grass.

It may not be as fast or as pretty as the Senior Championship, but it'll be just as interesting to watch, if not more, given how open it is.

The talk on here of Ballykinlar over the past couple days got me thinking- what is the situation of the Ballykinlar club at the moment?

I was under the impression the club had folded, with them not fielding a team in Division 4 this year. Similar to Newry Mitchells. 

But their social media is still active. They have raffles and monthly draws, and, most interestingly, according to their Facebook, there were membership fees for this year.

This would mean the club is still going? But it simply does not field an adult men's football team in the ACFL?

Do they field underage teams?

There's bound to be a couple fellas in the area who would be playing football- do they simply play for neighbouring parishes like  Dundrum or Bright?

If Ballykinlar fielded a team next year, what would be a successful year for them?

Very unique situation for a club, and hope that some day they do return to competitive football.

Regardless of anyone's opinion on choosing Ballykinlar as the site of a centre of excellence, if the project does indeed come to fruition, would it encourage an uptake of GAA in the area and a revival of the club?

It's that time of year. The hurling leagues start on Monday night and it could be an interesting year across all divisions.

ACHL Div 1:
Prediction for winner- Liatroim
Prediction for relegation- Castlewellen
Team to watch- Warrenpoint

Liatroim-
Last year's winners. Were competitive in the Senior Championship, and controversially missed out on a Senior Final. Were well fit to run with the Ards clubs in the championship, so you'd assume they'll have enough for the Ards seconds. Heard conflicting things about who's stayed and who's gone, so will be interesting to see what way they line out. They'll feel they were hard done by last year, and will have a point to prove, so I expect them to hit the ground running.

Portaferry IIs-
If anyone's going to give Liatroim a game, I'd say it will be Portaferry. They're a club that's going well. Expecting to see them in the final. I don't really think anyone else in the division outside Liatroim, Ballycran, and Ballygalget will have enough to trouble them.

Ballycran IIs-
Similar sort of situation to Portaferry . Should have enough to be competitive, and wouldn't be surprised to see them in a league final. Think we'll see a drop in standard from what we've been used to seeing from Ballycran in recent years, but I'd be surprised if that impacts their seconds this year. Well fit to win the league.

Ballygalget IIs-
Looking like it could be a tough year for Ballygalget firsts, which has me wondering, will this have a knock on effect on the reserves? They've some great players coming up, and they'll not fear anybody in the division.

Warrenpoint-
Potential surprise package of the year. Don't think the Point are yet at a stage where they can realistically win Division One, but they'll give it a fair rattle.  Mad depth in their squad, and some great hurlers in the ranks. Best of the rest, in my opinion.

Newry Shamrocks-
Have a feeling Shamrocks may struggle this year. May be wrong, and they've plenty of county standard players, but they don't seem to be going anywhere near as well as they were 2 years ago. Should still hold their own against most teams. Clash between them and the Point will be interesting.

Clonduff-
Could be a very rough year for the Hilltown men. Obviously very tragic circumstances surrounding the club at the minute, and also hear they're a lot of injuries. Retirement of former Antrim hurler Aaron Graffin will be a big miss. I'd expect them to have enough to just about avoid relegation, and when firing on all cylinders will be fit to compete with Shamrocks and CPN, but looks like it will be tough going.

Castlewellen-
Had an amazing league campaign last year before the wheels came off towards the end. Only won one game in the championship. Will be interesting to see if they can regroup and take any scalps. At the minute though, I can't see it, and think they'll go down. This is the level they want to be at, and in the coming years, they should be a competitive Div One side, but hard to see it this year. Local derby between them and Liatroim will be interesting.


ACHL Div 2:
Prediction for Winner-Ballycran IIIs
Prediction for promotion- Kilclief
Team to watch- East Belfast

Ballycran IIIs-
Not really a lot to say when it comes to the thirds. Combination of young fellas breaking in and former senior players. The fact that there'll likely be a few seconds players lining out at some point makes me think Ballycran should have enough to win Div 2 for the second year in a row.

Kilclief-
Funny one. Avoided relegation, but requested to come down. Won the junior championship, but apparently have lost a lot of players since. Struggled against Castlewellen and Ballyvarley in the Championship, but showed what they were capable of when it mattered against East Belfast. Expecting them to go up. East Belfast and Ballyvarley will want another crack at them, so some tough games in store. Think they've enough to go back up, though.

Bredagh IIs-
Bredagh continue to go from strength to strength at underage. If their seconds team begins to bleed in these hurlers form underage, who knows what way they'll get on. Of course, a large part of senior hurling is the physicality of it. All the same, don't see Bredagh dropping too many games.

Portaferry IIIs-
See comments on Ballycran thirds. Only difference is they seemed to struggle far more for numbers last year. Of course, it wouldn't be a surprise if they won the league. Will have to wait and see.

East Belfast-
Could be a potential shock and gain promotion. Showed they can be competitive in the championship. Will be interesting to see how they build after the championship final. Could get wins against anyone, but hard to see them getting enough wins consistently to go up. A team going from strength to strength.

Ballyvarley-
Decent league last year, and in the end unlucky not to get promoted. Probably came the closest to catching Kilclief in the Championship. In saying that, didn't win a game in the Championship. Seem to be coming out of the dark period they've found themselves in over the past decade. Will be interesting to see if they can continue to rebuild, but wondering how they'll cope after their key player has left. Did they rely too much on him for scores? Hard to predict what way they'll get on this year.

Ballela-
No two ways about it. Disastrous year last year for Ballela. Expecting far more from them this season. Some big names back, and been going well in the Ulster League. They'll want to ensure they don't fall into a bad patch, and I'd be expecting them to compete with most teams.

Carryduff IIs-
Probably underperformed in the end last year. Not a bad side, and good stuff coming up from underage that may start to make an impact at senior level. Hard to know what sort of team will turn up in Division 2.

Antrim ACHL Div 1:

Portaferry-
Sitting top of the Antrim league after a big opening win against Ballygalget. Look like they're going very well and have the players to really be competitive. As shown in Ulster last year, they're well fit to run with the best of Antrim. Could really give Div 1 a good rattle.

Ballycran-
Drew with Loughguile last week. No small feat. May be taking a small step backwards from where they were, but still well fit to mix it with anyone in the division, in my opinion.

Ballygalget-
Could be a rough year for Ballygalget. Sitting bottom of the division after being well beat by Portaferry. Just don't think they have the numbers at the minute to challenge the top teams. Some great players, but just not enough of them right now. Some injuries and some lads away travelling, I hear. Wouldn't look too much into one game, but hard to see them being as competitive as previous years.

Antrim ACHL Div 2:

Carryduff-
Could be a team to watch in this division. Good win over Loughguile puts them right up near the top of the table. Carryduff really underperformed last year in the intermediate final, in my opinion. Couple real, real good players in the ranks. Don't think last year showed the level they are really at, and expect them to give Antrim Div 2 a real lash. Could be the team to watch come the championship.

Antrim ACHL Div 3:

Bredagh-
Fully expecting Bredagh to dominate Antrim Div 3. At the end of the day, Bredagh are a senior championship club, and they will be playing against junior level clubs in Div 3. Already showed what they're capable of by laying down a big marker against Lamh Dhearg. Hear they've a very strong squad at the moment, and playing at this level could be the perfect opportunity for them to begin to bleed players into their first panel and ensure they build up momentum and are ticking nicely before the Championship. Should be a good start to the year for the Belfast men.


——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bit of a long post there, but the general consensus to the hurling discussions on here last season was mostly incredibly positive, with a lot of people saying they enjoyed the insight into the hurling landscape in the county.

As such, thought it would be a good idea to give a quick preview before the season starts to try and keep those who are interested up to date, especially considering we only have the couple senior hurling teams in Down and it's not hard to give each a mention.

I know some people won't like it, and thought of starting a new thread for this, but at the end of the day this a thread for club hurling.

Best of luck to all the teams. Looking forward to some good contests. Best time of the year for a club hurler.

Was walking to Croke Park the other day, and walked past the National Handball Centre.

Anyone know much about the state of handball in Down?

[One thing I did notice - not all the Down team are from Ards anymore. Has the game spread a bit in the county?]

Good luck to the Down hurlers in Portlaoise today. 70 minutes away from Division One hurling next year.

Good to see Paul Sheehan named to start. Great that he's stuck around for another year. Strong looking bench, too, which is great to see.

Down went toe to toe with Laois when they met in the first round of the league, until Laois won it right at the end. If Down can produce a similar performance, there's every chance they come out on top today.

One area I think Down have struggled in this year is they have simply been giving away too many frees. Hopefully we see minimal frees, and 15 men staying on the field.

Pressure will very much be on Laois today. Laois will feel like they need to be in Division One, and don't think many people will be giving Down much of a chance. Could give Down the opportunity to play a good brand of free flowing hurling, and sure then, who knows?

Down have really come a long way in the past couple years. Couldn't get out of Division 2B for ten years, and now they're playing their second Divison 2A promotion deciders in 3 years. It's been great to see. Onwards and upwards, hopefully.


Also, good luck to Glenn today with the opening of their new facilities and their match against Slaughtneil. Always good to see good facilities in the county, and Glenn look like a club with great potential.

Glenn had a bit of a hurling team back years and years ago. Who knows, maybe the Slaughtneil lads will bring the hurls and reignite a bit of interest in stick-ball about the place 

In the end, Laois won handily enough - and, indeed, wasted quite a few chances, too. Down had a good start, and were leading for, I dunno, the first ten or fifteen minutes, but Laois hit their stride and were clear at half-time. A goal early in the second half killed it off. Down seemed to get tired, and could barely score with the wind. In fact, they scored more against it in the first half. There was one great point from one of the wing backs late on, who stormed up the field, and put it over from about 50 out. Other than that, Laois seemed crisper and cuter in their hurling, and a little bit fitter.
One thing I did notice - not all the Down team are from Ards anymore. Has the game spread a bit in the county?

Yes, and for the better.

The idea to have 5/6 teams in the club senior championship is paying off IMO and long may it continue even further.

Disappointing in the end. Started well and then unfortunately Laois took over. Purcell's goal really killed the game for Down.

Ah well.

Was a very encouraging league campaign. Were very competitive and came close to promotion. Next year Down will probably be favourites to win Div 2A unless Kerry or Kildare surpass us. Definitely going in The right direction. Tim Prenter been player of the league imo.

Time to now start focusing on the Joe McDonagh Cup. Arguably looking like a tougher campaign than the league. Will get another crack at Laois, but will also have to face Offaly and Westmeath, who have been no push overs in Division One this year.

Think Downs first game is at home to Meath which will be a must win game. Would be great to see Down reach the final and compete in the All Ireland series.

Great to see Antrim staying up, but would have loved to have got a crack at them this year. Think based on form, Down have been the best hurling team in Ulster so far this year.



Sheehan has done a great job of brining in players from other clubs. Have had players from Liatroim, Bredagh, Carryduff, Newry, Ballela, Clonduff, and Castlewellen in recent years. The expansion of the senior championship has been great.

Hopefully see a couple more clubs fielding hurling teams in the next couple years- can only do good for Down hurling.

The Ards clubs have done tremendous work for the hurling culture of Down over the past 50 years, but if Down are to take the next step, we need to grow hurling across the county.



Great to see the footballers coming back up to Division Two, and a day out to Croke Park at the weekend. Hopefully the good times keep on coming.