We probably didn’t think it could come to this, writes Declan Bogue.

Burns lined out at midfield in 1991 for Pete McGrath’s men as Down ended a 23-year wait for a senior crown. He scored two points in the two-point win over Meath.

Paddy Deegan has watched enough football in his life, going back to his sons’ first steps on the Downpatrick pitch, to seeing them win

Galway football coach Paddy Tally to set to be named Down manager next week.

Ousted Offaly boss Stephen Wallace has been linked with the vacant Waterford football job.

Cavan 1-14 Down 0-15

Donegal 2-22 Down 1-12

With two shock results at Omagh’s Healy Park having shaped this year’s Ulster SFC, tomorrow afternoon at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones, Donegal face Down for a place in a novel showpiece.

Down 1-18 Antrim 0-14

Dublin selector Jason Sherlock has accepted an eight-week ban for getting involved in a sideline incident against Galway.

Down look like a team who would love to play open and expansive football. Yet they know to do so would be folly.

Down assistant manager Cathal Murray says the level of ridicule aimed at the team since the start of 2016 has spurred on the players.

Ulster SFC semi-final        

The 428-mile round trip from Newry to Ennis doesn’t begin to do justice to the journey the Down footballers have been on these last two years.

He would have been entitled to feel smug or wag a finger in the general direction of his detractors after a torrid 18 months, but Eamonn Burns instead used his winning platform to heap praise on his unfancied Down team after they pulled off the county’s first Ulster championship win over Armagh in 25 years.

Cork 1-10 Down 0-13

Derry 1-07 - Down 1-15: Down boss Eamonn Burns was thrilled after watching his side destroy Derry to chalk up successive National League victories and move clear of the bottom two in Division Two.

Down 1-13 Meath 0-14: It was a long time coming, so Eamonn Burns was relieved to get Down over the winning line as they picked up a first Allianz League victory in almost two years.

When the disaffected demand change, they should have a fairly spectacular back-up plan at the ready.

Allianz FL Division 2

Down 1-7 Dublin 1-15: Still holding a flawless record as they stride towards the Allianz League semi-finals may suggest Dublin are passing through the spring without being road tested. Jim Gavin, however, insists that the ride has been “a little bit bumpy”.

Roscommon 1-12 Down 0-6: Three wins earned outside of the county boundaries have Roscommon riding high in Division 1 of the Allianz Football League, but manager Fergal O’Donnell is refusing to proclaim their 2017 top flight status just yet.

Donegal 1-11 Down 0-11: Frank McGlynn’s goal, after only 68 seconds, fired Donegal to a useful opening-day win over Down, in the Dr McKenna Cup, at Ballybofey.

While Cork and Kerry have mightily impressive credentials, Ulster teams will be confident that the Munster superpowers are far from invincible