THE success of their neighbours Armagh may have overshadowed Down’s achievements to an extent, but the Mournemen made some very important strides in the right direction last season.
All the major boxes were ticked in 2024. Promotion to Division Two: Check. Win the Tailteann Cup: Check. Return to Sam Maguire football: Check.
A total of 16 games played with 13 wins, only two losses (the Division Three final against Westmeath and the Ulster semi-final against Armagh) and a draw in the League against Westmeath.
In the Ulster Championship, Conor Laverty’s side weren’t particularly impressive in beating Antrim but they came within a whisker of taking out eventual Sam Maguire winners Armagh (who had taken them to the cleaners at the same stage the previous year) at the semi-final stage.
Given the county’s glorious history, what the Mournemen achieved last year has brought them back to where some of their supporters expect them to be, but huge progress was made and even the most hard-to-please Down supporter couldn’t have asked for a lot more.
What are the targets for this season? For now at least, survival and consolidation in Division Two must be top of the list.
In their last full season in the second tier – the turbulent 2022 campaign – the Mournemen gathered just a point from seven games and dropped like a stone back to Division Three.
Conor Laverty inherited a county at a very low ebb when he took over in 2023. He put a squad together, raised the bar in terms of preparation and his hard work bore fruit. Laverty used almost 40 players last season but there was a settled look to his team by the end of the campaign.
You would expect that another season of development is required before Down are able to kick on again and the challenges will keep coming as 2025 unfolds.
Division Two begins with a trip to Dr Hyde Park against a Roscommon side that was relegated from the top flight last season. But this is where Down want to be – and need to be – if they are to find a way back to the county’s halcyon days.
The pace of Burren half-forward Liam Kerr will be missed. Kerr has emigrated and is expected to miss the entire season, but Down have recruited an All-Ireland winner in Hugh Pat McGeary. The Pomeroy native won the Sam Maguire with Tyrone in 2021 but is now settled in the Mourne county and playing his club football for Rostrevor.
H
ow will Laverty adapt to the new football rules? In the past he has set up his teams to defend en masse and then counter-attack in numbers, but the new three-v-three regulation and the 40-metre scoring zone will mean a change to that strategy.
The success of their well-honed counter-attacking tactics meant Down found scores easy to come by in many games last year and they racked up very impressive totals in Division Three and also in the Tailteann Cup.
However, when reliable full-forward Pat Havern had what, by his standards, was an off-day against Armagh in the Ulster Championship, the Mournemen’s scoring options looked limited. Since they are up a level in League and Championship, they are going to come up against better defences throughout this season.
Will they be able to adapt to a more direct, less possession-based game? They will have to if they are to survive so Laverty and his lieutenants – Marty Clarke, Ciaran Meenagh and Mickey Donnelly – will have overhauled their gameplan for this season.
Former Northern Ireland U21 soccer international John McGovern – an Ulster U20 winner with Down – came into the panel midway through the League and he should sharpen the Mourne spear.
Laverty will also hope to have promising youngsters Andrew Gilmore and Oisin Savage fully fit for this campaign and Danny Magill has already been in fine form for Ulster University in their defence of the Sigerson Cup.
In midfield, the skill and physicality of Odhran Murdock make him a tower of strength for Down and a regular source of scores and the Burren clubman – who will also be used at full-forward. He will be a pivotal player this year too.
In defence, Down have an excellent full-back in Kilcoo’s Ryan McEvoy and no shortage of fit, strong man-markers in the likes of Pierce Laverty, Ceilum Doherty and Kilcoo’s attacking wing-back Micheal Rooney.
Will Laverty continue with tried and tested John O’Hare in goal? O’Hare is a good goalkeeper but not always one for outfield forays.
With all the talk around goalkeepers pushing out to give their teams a 12-v-11 in the opponents’ half, the Glenn clubman could get a more attacking role this year.
Then again, Laverty may decide not to tinker too much with a group that did all that he asked of them last year as he looks forward to a season of constant challenges.
2025 LEAGUE FIXTURES
Division Two
Sunday, January 26 Roscommon (a) King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park, 2pm
Sunday, February 2 Cork (H) Páirc Esler, 1pm
Sunday, February 16 Meath (H) Páirc Esler, 6pm
Sunday, February 23 Louth (a) DEFY Pairc Mhuire, 2.30pm
Saturday, March 1 Cavan (a) Kingspan Breffni, 6pm
Sunday, March 16 Westmeath (H) Páirc Esler, 6pm
Sunday, March 23 Monaghan (a) St Tiernach’s Park, 1.30pm
ULSTER SFC
Quarter-final Fermanagh (H) Páirc Esler
2024 LEAGUE RESULTS
Division Two
Wicklow 0-13 Down 0-18
Down 3-16 Limerick 0-9
Antrim 1-6 Down 1-15
Down 4-12 Offaly 2-14
Down 2-17 Sligo 1-8
Westmeath 0-13 Down 1-10
Down 3-15 Clare 1-10
Division Three final
Westmeath 2-10 Down 0-13
2024 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Down 0-13 Antrim 0-9
Semi-final Armagh 0-13 Down 2-6
Tailteann Cup, Group 4
Down 1-20 Limerick 1-6
London 0-10 Down 1-24
Down 2-22 Offaly 3-1
Quarter-final Down 1-18 Wicklow 0-12
Semi-final Down 1-20 Sligo 2-15 (aet)
Final Down 0-14 Laois 2-6
FIVE-YEAR RECORD
2024: Division Three; Points 13; Position 1st, promoted
2023: Division Three; Points 10; Position 3rd
2022: Division Two; Points 1; Position 8th, relegated
2021: Division Two North; Points 2; Position 3rd of 4, won relegation play-off against Laois
2020: Division Three; Points 9; Position 2nd, promoted
