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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.


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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.

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 

That time of the year for transfer discussions already.

See on Armagh's twitter Danny Magee's club is listed as Liatroim.

Big loss for Ballyvarley if that is the case. He was their main attacking threat last year.

Another good addition to an already strong Liatroim attack. As has been said here before, Liatroim looked more exposed on other parts of the field last year than in their full forward line. Be interesting to see how they get on in those areas this season.

I am not big into hurling but love Splash's posts. Very informative and no resorting to abusing anyone.
Great to see the hurlers making the league semi finals. Let's have an update on yesterday's game Splash and keep up the good work.

Splash has certainly been a welcome addition to the Down forum. I enjoy the coverage of the ihc and jhc during the summer, games you would generally hear little about. It's encouraging to hear of progress at underage particularly at clubs like Castlewellan and CPN, where you would associate them more as football clubs.

Appreciate it. Just trying to keep as much hurling discussion going as possible. We all want the best for Down, Sandstorm,  no call to resort to bickering or insulting anyone, and glad you find the talk about the junior and intermediate interesting,  Ardtole.

Glad yous are enjoying the bit of hurling discussion going on, lately.

Anyway, a great day out for the hurlers on Saturday. A 9 point win on such a miserable day. Not bad at all.

Daithí Sands was unreal, scoring 3-3 from play.

That relegates Meath and sends us into a league semi final. 70 minutes away from being back in Division One. Will now face Laois next week, in Laois.

Will be a very tough game. Down gave Laois a scare in the first round, and they'll not be expecting an easy game, and Laois will feel as though they're well fit to compete with Antrim, Westmeath, and Offaly next year. But Down have been going very good this season. Undefeated at home, and biggest loss was only 7 points after a late goal and some last minute frees by Laois in the first round.

Couple injuries and Eoghan Sands likely to miss the game after getting sent off the other day, but there's a good depth to this Down squad, so let's be hopeful.

Would be great to see Down in the Division One, and they've shown they're well fit to compete with the likes of Antrim, Westmeath, Offaly, etc.

Let's hope the momentum keeps going until Saturday.
 

Big chance tomorrow for the hurlers.

Beat Meath, and there's a good chance we're looking at league semi final.

Kildare beat Carlow this evening, which makes things a bit more difficult, but if we beat Meath by enough I think Down go through on points difference?

Meath didn't look great at all last week, so it's not out of the realms of possibility.

Meath have definitely caused us heartbreak over the past couple years, but Down have looked good this season.

Down know the target that has to be met. Hopefully they can do it.

The craic I heard was McCusker is away, but the Belfast men are staying.

Who knows until the leagues get up and running I suppose.

Liatroim may be the team to watch this year. The Fontenoy men I was speaking to felt last year was some opportunity that got away.

They'll have their eyes on the prize come the championship I'd say.

Of course, that's not to say they'll go hammer and tongs at the league, and things are never as simple as that come the championship.

I expect Bredagh and Carryduff to be stronger than they were last year, and Ballycran will never want a scare like that ever again. Add in trying to balance senior football now alongside senior hurling and who knows what way they'll get on.

Still though. Be an interesting team to watch imo.

Ballycran lads I know are expecting them to drop off a bit this year at senior (not Div1) due to a few retirements and lads off to Australia plus they've very little coming through from underage.
Donal Hughes back is a big plus for Bredagh, he's their main scoring threat and a real pain in the hole for our lads who struggle to get a grips with him and they do have some very good underage hurlers in the pipeline if they commit to hurling. Being relegated to Div 3 in Antrim may give them a chance to bring some of those lads through at an easier pace whereas we might end up throwing some of our lads in at the deep end in Antrim Div1 and that IMO isn't a good thing short term or indeed long term as it's a huge step up.
Liatroim certainly won't be taken lightly by anyone, I think they're still a bit weak defensively and need a dog or two of corner backs to hold out the better forwards around. That was their Achilles heel against us and we left a few sitters of goals behind us that night in Kilclief.

Ports will still be strong favourites come championship but complacency has historically been a problem for them.

Agreed. Looking at Ballycran, would expect them to regress a bit in the next few years. I think they could well claim this year's championship though, simply because I don't see Portaferry doing 3 in a row, and think everyone else is at least a wee bit off them two.

Bredagh will be very glad to have Hughes back, and they have some other great hurlers. Obviously a great generation of hurlers coming through for them, too.

You're spot on about Liatroim's defensive issues.

Could be an interesting year.

The craic I heard was McCusker is away, but the Belfast men are staying.

Who knows until the leagues get up and running I suppose.

Liatroim may be the team to watch this year. The Fontenoy men I was speaking to felt last year was some opportunity that got away.

They'll have their eyes on the prize come the championship I'd say.

Of course, that's not to say they'll go hammer and tongs at the league, and things are never as simple as that come the championship.

I expect Bredagh and Carryduff to be stronger than they were last year, and Ballycran will never want a scare like that ever again. Add in trying to balance senior football now alongside senior hurling and who knows what way they'll get on.

Still though. Be an interesting team to watch imo.

Portaferry probably favourites for Div1, East Belfast could be a surprise package in Div2.

Think Liatroim should have what it takes to win Division One again. Agree on East Belfast, although I suppose there's the argument that they're not really a surprise anymore given their success last year.

Div 2 will be interesting. Could realistically see any team going up. I would say Portaferry or Ballycran will probably be favourites to win it outright.

Hurlers narrowly lose out to Carlow.

Was level with ten minutes to go, and only five points in it at the end. Can't be too  unhappy with that when playing away to a strong Carlow side.

Given the way the other results went, Down  need to beat Meath at home next Saturday, and hope that Carlow beat Kildare in order for us to reach a semi final.

If Down can continue to play like that, they could very well reach promotion yet.

Tough game for the hurlers away to Carlow tomorrow.

I honestly feel as though Carlow have come on a lot recently, and are closer in standard to Dublin, Wexford etc., than they are to us, Kerry, Kildare etc.

Still though- a day of hurling in the sunny south east never did anybody any harm. Will be good to gauge where we're at, and will be able to tell better if being competitive with Laois was a one off, or are we really running at a similar level to these teams.

I've been very happy with how we've been going. Stephen Kieth has been absolutely unreal in particular, and thought Marc Fisher had a good game in the last round, and even though it would be easy to be disappointed with the draw against Kildare, I thought Down did well to not let the heads go down, particularly when things were going wrong, and were able to see the game out without losing.

Think Down's discipline leaves a lot to be desired at the moment, and we would have to stop giving away frees, but other than that, I think we're going very well with what we have at our disposal.

We've a good chance to of making a semi final, after that, who knows. Definitely been an encouraging year so far, though.

Hurlers in action tomorrow in Ballycran against Kildare.

Down had an amazing second half performance in their last game against Kerry, and if they can consistently perform like that, you'd be hopeful about this year.

Nonetheless, Kildare seem to have been Down's bogey team for a while now, so I wouldn't be getting too complacent. Very strong looking Kildare team named, who will be stung after we relegated them to the Christy Ring Cup last year. They also beat Down in the Kehoe Cup a few weeks ago, and will be looking to get their first win of the league.

Down have enough in them to win this game, though. Let's hope everything clicks tomorrow and we continue the good form.

Think I'm right in saying that after Carlow beat Laois today, Down can go to second place in the league based off of points difference (think it's points difference as opposed to head to head) if the result is kind to us tomorrow? That would leave Down in a very good place going into the final two rounds.

But one step at a time. Let's not be getting too ahead of ourselves, and focus on the task at hand. Kildare are a tough test. But hopefully Down are well fit for them.

Any team for tommorrow? Good luck to St Malachys in the All-Ireland semi-final.

John O'Hare
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