DOWN
SINCE finally ending a 10-year wait for promotion to Division 2A five years ago, Down have started every League campaign with one minimum requirement; steer clear of the trapdoor.
For a decade they toiled in 2B, frustration and failed opportunities to go up the story of so many years. In some ways expectations have been exceeded in the intervening period, however, the Ardsmen steadily building, becoming an established Joe McDonagh team and pushing towards the top end of the 2A table rather than looking over their shoulders.
It is a little bit different this time around, with a restructure of the League leaving them in a new-look Division Two where relegation looks a remote possibility.
“It probably has diluted the competitiveness - Division 2A was cut-throat, even to stay in. It probably isn’t as cut-throat to stay in now, there’s probably a top end and a bottom end. However, it will still be very competitive,” said Down manager Ronan Sheehan.
“People will probably look at it and say the two promoted teams will come from Kerry, Kildare, Down – I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that, because Derry and Meath will cause everybody problems, particularly at home. Tyrone are probably an outlier, Donegal will give teams bother.
“The carrot of two teams going up is absolutely massive.”
And therein lies their ambition. Down, Derry, Kerry, Kildare and Meath will fight it out for the right to go straight up to Division 1B, where the air suddenly becomes an awful lot thinner.
This, though, is where Sheehan wants Down to be.
“If you look at the division above us, people will say Waterford and Dublin are favourites for that, and rightfully so, but if look at the next group of teams: Westmeath, Offaly, Antrim, Laois, Carlow – any one of those five can beat each other. On their day, and of those teams can take points off a Waterford or a Dublin.
“So there will be two very good counties coming down next year, no matter what happens.”
The Ulster representation adds another layer of intrigue to proceedings – and the Newry Shamrocks clubman believes it is the Ardsmen who will have a target on their backs when those games come around.
“Derry will be all out to beat us, and won’t be putting half the effort into beating a Meath, a Kerry or a Kildare… the big danger is probably on our side.
“We’re going to have Tyrone looking to put a performance in against us, Donegal and Derry looking to do the same, and probably not anything like that with the other teams.
“There won’t be as much travelling as we’ve done in the past, which is good, but it does give it an edge - and it probably is more of a risk to us than some of the others.”
Saturday’s opener against promotion rivals Kildare in Ballycran already has the makings of a huge clash for both, and Down are in good shape, despite the absence of a few key men.
A hip injury could keep Darragh Mallon sidelined until the Joe McDonagh Cup, neither Conor Cassidy or Ruairi McCrickard will be involved in the early rounds of the League as they recover from injury, while Stuart Martin and Ryan McCusker remain Down Under.
However, Carryduff’s Ronan Beatty has committed to the hurling cause, Gerard Hughes is back from New Zealand, Ciaran Milligan returns to the county fold and Bredagh’s Niall McFarlane – sidelined for so much of last year through injury – is available.
Stalwarts Stephen Keith, Matt Conlan, Paul Sheehan and Danny Toner will lead the charge once more, with teenagers Shea Pucci, Michael Dorrian and Ben Taggart added to the panel.
TYRONE
STEPHEN McGarry has a bit of a laugh to himself when he thinks of where Tyrone are now, compared to where they were then.
On Saturday afternoon his men take on Derry at Healy Park, part of a double-header with the same two counties facing each other in Allianz Football League action, but this is the start of no ordinary League campaign for the Red Hands.
Because while the opening few weeks throw up familiar enough challenges – Donegal are up second – the remainder represents a huge step into the unknown.
There’s Meath in Dungannon before away trips to Down and Kildare, then Kerry come to Carrickmore on the final day - all Joe McDonagh Cup regulars since the second tier competition’s establishment seven years ago, all with ambitions of pushing for promotion.
“Sometimes people forget where Tyrone has come from,” smiles McGarry, brought onboard by Michael McShane in 2021 before taking on the manager’s job when his fellow Ballycastle man stepped aside two years ago.
“I remember our first ever game when I came in with Michael, we played Longford and we were lucky to get a draw with a point in the last minute…”
A restructure of the National League has plunged them into the deep end through the spring months but, with the aim to cement their Christy Ring status, the experience can only stand them in good stead.
“I think it’ll take a bit of time to find its feet, and for teams to find their level because you always find that bit of yo-yoing between divisions and competitions.
“The League’s going to provide a great platform for the Christy Ring. This will be our third year in the competition – the first year we got three points and stayed up, last year we got four, so that’s progress.
“Getting promotion last year, we’re under no illusions about the challenge we face because we’re going to be coming up against teams we never thought we’d be playing against. But it’s exciting too, for the progress that we’ve made, to be coming up against them.
“It can only help us, being exposed to top class counties.”
And there have been headaches to overcome too. With no challenge games allowed until January 1, no pre-season competitions and a cold snap smack bang in the middle of the month, preparation has been tough.
“It hasn’t been ideal, that’s the truth. It’s a nonsense.
“You’re trying to get a panel together, keep boys motivated, and you need games to try and implement strategies and styles of play…”
The past two years have also seen a turnover of 15 players, with plenty of experienced men no longer available, leaving McGarry with 13 of his panel under the age of 22 coming into this campaign. A steep learning curve lies ahead.
But the presence of four Ulster counties in the same division offers something unique – a “mini Ulster Championship” that will give supporters plenty to get their teeth into.
“Look, I’d be a big advocate for bringing it back in.
“Donegal’s made huge strides, as well as ourselves. Armagh need something to aim at, Down have made super progress… Ulster hurling’s on the up and the more exposure you can get to competitions like that to make it competitive, sure it’s brilliant.
“Obviously Antrim are that bit ahead of everybody, but down below everybody can be competitive with everybody. We want to get to the levels of Derry and Down - that’s where we want to get Tyrone to.”
DERRY
WITH Sleacht Néill returning to the throne in Ulster, Derry will be hoping to tap into a bit of that energy as they gear up for the start of Division Two against Tyrone on Saturday.
Having lost out in the two previous provincial deciders, Paul McCormack’s men overcame Portaferry to claim the Ulster crown – and came within minutes of booking an elusive All-Ireland final spot before succumbing to Sarsfields at the death.
And while tenacious corner-back Finn McEldowney has thrown his lot in with the U20 footballers, raiding centre half-back Conor Coyle will be involved with Johnny McGarvey’s men, as will the likes of Shea and Eamonn Cassidy.
“They only went out of the championship the week before Christmas and they were mad to get back at it,” says McGarvey, “they have a great mentality and once they got back into full training with us, that runs through the whole squad.”
There is a two-tier approach to the campaign ahead for all counties, with the Oak Leaf’s main aim to end the long wait to lift the Christy Ring Cup, having lost three out of the last four finals – including last year’s decider defeat to Kildare.
The Lilywhites are alongside fellow Joe McDonagh Cup contenders Down and Kerry in a restructured Division Two this year, and McGarvey hopes that - having earned promotion from Division 2B last year – coming up against higher level opposition will sharpen steel for when the bigger days come around.
“It would be great to get that monkey off our back.
“We talked a fair bit about it at the start of last year… to get over the line and win the Christy Ring, we need to play at a higher level; we need to play teams above where we’ve been playing.
“We put a massive emphasis on the League last year to make sure we were in this new Division Two, and we’re really looking forward to getting going and testing ourselves against the Downs, the Kildares, the Kerrys on a more consistent basis, as opposed to the odd game here and there every few years.
“In last year’s Ring final, Kildare were bigger, they were stronger… they’re a team who have been playing at a higher level for a consistent period of time compared to ourselves.
“Last year we were going into games as favourites a lot of the time, but you need that step up.”
The quality added to the panel gives the Lavey man confidence that Derry can kick on in 2025, starting with Saturday’s League opener against familiar foes Tyrone in Omagh.
And the presence of four Ulster counties among the seven battling it out through the spring months adds a little extra spice to the campaign ahead.
“I’d be a big believer that the Ulster Championship should still be there. If Antrim want to play in the Leinster Championship that’s fair enough, but I think the rest of the counties would enjoy it.
“We played Tyrone three times last year, Donegal, Down the year before – certainly with Donegal, Tyrone and ourselves, everybody will know each other. There’s no real secrets there, and then we’ll all look at Down as a step above that.
“Of course I think there’s potential for promotion, but there’s also potential to be caught up in a relegation battle. We’re under no real illusions.
“Last year we set our stall out at the start that we wanted to win the League and get promoted; this year it’s a bit different.
“At the end of the day, our season is based around trying to win the Christy Ring. That’s the priority… we’re really looking forward to it.”
DONEGAL
THE League restructure might offer Donegal the opportunity to rub shoulders with counties operating at Joe McDonagh Cup level – but staying there has been made doubly difficult, insists manager Mickey McCann.
Crucial steps forward in recent years saw the Tir Chonaill men earn a spot in the new-look Division Two, where they will take the likes of Kildare, Kerry, Down and Meath, as well as familiar foes Derry and Tyrone, during the spring months.
However, the decision to promote and relegate two counties straight in and out of the division makes securing survival a much greater challenge, with McCann estimating that four points – “possibly five” – will be required to stay put.
“It’s a massive jump, and a division we really wanted to get up to,” says the Burt man.
“The flipside of it now is there’s two relegated which is something, even chatting to other managers, that you wouldn’t agree with.
“When the likes of ourselves or Tyrone go up, and we’re trying to beat each other so you can find your feet for another year, when there’s two relegated it makes it very tough for the teams coming up.
“There’s three Joe McDonagh teams and then Derry and Meath, who will probably be finalists in the Christy Ring… it’s tough for the likes of us and Tyrone.
“If there was one team being relegated, we’d have preferred that a lot more, or the bottom two in a play-off to go down. It gives you something to cling onto, where now you really have to cause an upset or two to stay there.
“You want to try and steady the ship then see can you kick on, but the way the League is structured makes that hard. You could end up having a very good League campaign, for the likes of us and Tyrone, and still get relegated.
“Meath this weekend is going to be a very important game for us.”
Having four Ulster counties involved offers a unique edge this year – though Donegal have already been reacquainted with Derry, their opponents on the final weekend of the League, in a weekend challenge game.
“The McGurk Cup has been good to us over the last couple of seasons, it saves you searching and teams took it seriously, so we missed that,” says McCann.
“We’ve squeezed two games in - Roscommon last week and then Derry. It isn’t ideal with Derry being in our League, but me and Johnny [McGarvey] just got chatting and decided, look, we both need hurling.
“We know each other well enough anyway, we’ll just get the most out of it and get a look at a lot of boys. We don’t play Derry until the last weekend, and both teams will change a lot by then.
“But in terms of the Ulster Championship, it is definitely something I would be for bringing back. If Down and Antrim got to the final, you could have a second tier – I feel like anything to promote the game in Ulster can only be good.”
Round one
Saturday, January 25
Down v Kildare (McKenna Park, 2pm)
Meath v Donegal (Trim, 2pm)
Tyrone v Derry (O’Neills Healy Park, 4pm)
Round two
Saturday, February 1
Kildare v Kerry (Cedral St Conleth’s Park, 1pm)
Derry v Down (Owenbeg, 2pm)
Sunday, February 2
Donegal v Tyrone (O’Donnell Park, 2pm)
Round three
Sunday, February 9
Kerry v Derry (Austin Stack Park, 1pm)
Down v Donegal (McKenna Park, 2pm)
Tyrone v Meath (Eoghan Ruadh GAC, 2pm)
Round four
Saturday, February 22
Derry v Kildare (Owenbeg, 3pm)
Sunday, February 2
Donegal v Kerry (O’Donnell Park, 1pm)
Meath v Down (Trim, 1.15pm)
Round five
Saturday, March 1
Kerry v Meath (Austin Stack Park, 3.30pm)
Sunday, February 2
Down v Tyrone (McKenna Park, 2pm)
Kildare v Donegal (Cedral St Conleth’s Park, 2pm)
Round six
Saturday, March 8
Kildare v Tyrone (Cedral St Conleth’s Park, 3pm)
Derry v Meath (Owenbeg, 4pm)
Sunday, February 9
Kerry v Down (Austin Stack Park, 1pm)
Round seven
Saturday, March 22 (2.30pm)
Tyrone v Kerry (Carrickmore)
Donegal v Derry (O’Donnell Park)
Meath v Kildare (Trim)
