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:For more details of the Down GAA see Down Senior Club Football Championship or Down Senior Club Hurling Championship.

Down GAA

Irish:	An Dún
Province:	Ulster
Nickname(s):	The Mournemen (football) The Ardsmen (hurling) or The Fortress (for both, as a translation of An Dún)
County Colours:	Black and red
Grounds:	Páirc Esler, Newry and St Patrick's Park, Newcastle
Dominant Sport:	Gaelic football
NFL:	Division 1
NHL:	Division 1
Football Championship:	Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:	Christy Ring Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football:	Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie:	O'Duffy Cup
Standard colours

The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cummann Luthchleas Gael Coiste An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Down. The county board is also responsible for the Down inter-county teams

Contents 1 History 2 Gaelic football 2.1 Honours 3 Notable Players 4 Hurling 4.1 Honours 5 External links

With five victories in five appearances in All Ireland finals, Down have a reputation for rising to the big occasion.

Down was not regarded as a Gaelic stronghold when Queen's University won the 1958 Sigerson Cup, and some of its leading players turned their thoughts to Down's inter-county dilemma. They took the 1959 Ulster title with six inter-changeable forwards who introduced off-the-ball running and oddities such as track-suits. In 1960 two goals in a three minute period from Dan McCartan and Paddy Doherty helped beat Kerry, and they beat Offaly by a point in 1961 in a tremendous match that featured five first half goals. In that three-year period their loyal supporters smashed every attendance record in the book. When Down played Offaly in 1961 they set a record attendance of 90,556 for a GAA game. Against Dublin in the 1964 National League final a record 70,125 showed up. The 71,573 who watched them play Kerry in 1961 still stands as a record for an All-Ireland semi-final. In 1968 Down beat Kerry with Sean O'Neill and John Murphy goals, again in a two-minute spell. Despite a famous prediction that Down would go on to win three in a row, the county took twenty years to regain its status. In 1991 they surprised favourites Meath, Barry Breen giving them the goal that sent them into a lead of eleven points with 20 minutes to go, too far even for Meath. In 1994 Mickey Linden sent James McCartan in for a goal directly under Hill 16 which silenced Dublin.

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 5
  • 1960, 1961, 1968, 1991, 1994

• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships: 1
  • 1979

• All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 4
  • 1977, 1987, 1999, 2005

• All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 1
  • 1946

• National Football Leagues: 4
  • 1960, 1962, 1968, 1983

• Ulster Senior Football Championships: 12
  • 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1981, 1991, 1994

• Ulster Under 21 Football Championships: 6
  • 1965, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 2005

• Ulster Minor Football Championships: 10
  • 1958, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1999

• Ulster Junior Football Championships: 8
  • 1931, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1958, 1965, 1966, 1971

• All Stars: 19
  • 1971 (S. O’Neill), 1972 (S. O’Neill), 1975 (C. McAlarney), 1978 (C. McAlarney), 1981 (P. Kennedy), 1983 (L. Austin, G. Blaney), 1990 (J. McCartan), 1991 (C. Deegan, B. Breen, R. Carr, G. Blaney), 1994 (M. Magill, P. Higgins, D.J. Kane, G. McCartan, G. Blaney, J. McCartan, M. Linden)

• Ross Carr, former allstar player for Down and current inter-county manager.

Down played in the Leinster Minor hurling Championship for three years in the 1970s, even playing Antrim in an unusual Leinster semi-final in Croke Park in 1979. Three Down hurling clubs, Ballycran, Ballygalget and Portaferry play in Antrim League. The first two used the experience to win Ulster Club Championships. Although they had not won the B championship in four final appearances, when the Ulster hurling championship was revived Down won titles in 1992, 1995 and 1997, losing the All Ireland semi-finals by 14, 11 and 16 points.

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships: None

• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championships: None

• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships: None

• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: 1
  • 1964

• National Hurling Leagues: None

• Ulster Senior Hurling Championships: 4
  • 1941, 1992, 1995, 1997

• Ulster Under 21 Hurling Championships: 12
  • 1969, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 2003, 2004, 2005

• Ulster Minor Hurling Championships: 12
  • 1930, ‘32, ‘34, ‘57, ‘71, ‘72, ‘76, ‘78, ‘84, ‘85, ‘89, ‘94

• Ulster Junior Hurling Championships: 7
  • 1956, ‘60, ‘62, ‘64, ‘67, ‘92, ‘93

• • All Stars: 1
  • 1992 (G. McGrattan)

• Down on Hoganstand.com
• National and provincial titles won by Down teams
• Club championship winners
• Senior and Minor Football Championship Finals
• Down GAA site

Gaelic Athletic Association
National Football League
Division 1	A	Cork | Donegal | Dublin | Fermanagh | Kerry | Limerick| Mayo | Tyrone
	B	Armagh | Derry | Down | Galway | Kildare | Laois | Louth | Westmeath
Division 2	A	Carlow | Clare | Leitrim | London | Longford | Monaghan| Offaly | Roscommon
	B	Antrim | Cavan | Meath | Sligo | Tipperary | Wexford| Waterford | Wicklow
National Hurling League
Division 1	A	Clare | Cork | Down | Offaly | Waterford | Wexford
	B	Antrim | Dublin | Galway | Kilkenny | Limerick | Tipperary
Division 2	A	Armagh | Carlow | Derry | Laois | Meath | Wicklow
	B	Kerry | Kildare | London | Mayo | Westmeath
Division 3	A	Donegal | Leitrim | Louth | Monaghan | Sligo
	B	Cavan | Fermanagh | Roscommon | Longford | Tyrone
Connacht | Leinster | Munster | Ulster | Third level
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship - Christy Ring Cup (2007)
Carlow |  Down |  Derry |  Kerry |  Kildare |  London |  Mayo |  Meath |  Wicklow |  Westmeath
Liam McCarthy Cup (Tier 1)   -  Christy Ring Cup (Tier 2)   -  Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 3)