Down GAA

The Down County Board (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down.

The County Board is responsible for preparing the Down county teams in the various Gaelic sporting codes; football, hurling, camogie and handball.

The county football team was the second from the province of Ulster to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), following Cavan, and also the first team from the North to win the Sam Maguire Cup since partition, doing so in 1960. The team won the cup again in 1961 and in 1968; this feat was not matched by another team until Down next won the All-Ireland SFC in its 1991 victory. Down and Cavan share the Ulster record for most All-Ireland SFC victories (five). As such, Down is regarded historically as a strong footballing county, and football is widely regarded as the dominant Gaelic sport within the county.

The Ards Peninsula, however, is a hurling stronghold within the county, and – while it is not among the strongest on the island – the county hurling team competes in the second-tier Joe McDonagh Cup. The "Ardsmen" (as opposed to the nickname of the football team, the "Mourne Men") have won a number of Ulster Senior (SHC) and Minor Hurling Championship (MHC) titles, despite the historical provincial dominance in that sport of Antrim. Down won the 2013 Christy Ring Cup – its first –, in what was then a competition ranked directly beneath the All-Ireland SHC. This entitled Down to enter the 2014 All-Ireland SHC; however, the team opted not to do so. Down continued to participate in the Christy Ring Cup when that competition was pushed into third place by the creation of the Joe McDonagh Cup. Down then won the 2021 Christy Ring Cup, and – with it – promotion to the Joe McDonagh Cup and eligibility for the All-Ireland SHC.