Two late goals from Benny Coulter helped Mayobridge to a 3-14 to 0-11 win over Saval.

There were so many heart-stirring and heart-warming stories over the past GAA weekend, but one that really brought a smile to my face happened way off Broadway on a club pitch in County Down.

Down open their Division 1 campaign with a glamour floodlit game against Tyrone on Saturday night, but Benny Coulter says the Allianz League is not exactly high up on the Mourne men's list of priorities.

Ballaghadereen are the new Mayo SFC champions after dethroning last year’s winners Ballintubber by 1-9 to 0-4 in Castlebar this afternoon.

Arthur McConville will make his Championship debut for Down when they take on Fermanagh in Sunday's Ulster SFC quarter-final at Brewster Park (throw-in 3.30pm).

Danny Hughes is confident that Down are serious contenders for the Ulster SFC title this summer, but knows not to underestimate the challenge Fermanagh will pose in their quarter-final clash on Sunday, June 3.

Influential midfielder Ambrose Rogers has been chosen as captain of the Down senior footballers for the 2012 Championship.

Benny Coulter will miss Down's Ulster SFC opener against Fermanagh on June 3 after sustaining a broken ankle on Monday night.

Benny Coulter has been ruled out of Down’s championship campaign after suffering a suspected broken ankle on Monday night.

Benny Coulter says Down have learned the lessons from their league trip to Cork last year.

Danny Hughes will be an absentee for Down's All-Ireland SFC first round qualifier against Clare on Saturday.

IN 12 senior seasons in Down colours, Benny Coulter has no difficulty counting the number of Ulster SFC wins he’s enjoyed, but the captain insists the provincial title is within the reach of his team this year.

All-Star corner forward Benny Coulter says he is on course to line out for Down in their Ulster SFC quarter-final showdown with Armagh on Saturday, May 28.

ARMAGH captain Steven McDonnell said the GAA would do itself a disservice if it decided to change the start time of the county’s Ulster SFC quarter-final against Down on May 28 so as not to clash with the Champions League final.

DOWN could be without their All-Star forward Benny Coulter for their first game in the Ulster championship.

THE GAA’s manner of separating teams who finish on the same amount of points in the Allianz Leagues by their head-to-head record has been called into question by two of Gaelic games’ top players.

CROSSMAGLEN veteran Oisín McConville has made a thinly-veiled swipe at the club’s management last season, insisting current bosses Tony McEntee and Gareth O’Neill have brought back a more professional ethic into the senior panel.

THOMAS WALSH takes a timeout from the nine-to-five in the Bryansford Caravan Park and rewinds his mind back to the day he first saw a Cork team in action.

Benny Coulter has come a long way since picking up an All-Ireland MFC medal at Croke Park in 1999. Can he help Down end their wait for All-Ireland senior glory this weekend against Cork?

THEY understand a thing or two about patience in the village of Kilcoo.

Down forward Benny Coulter had no hesitation in admitting he committed an infringement for his 13th-minute goal which provided to be a vital score as the Mourne County side booked their place in next month's All-Ireland SFC final.

Armagh 0-17 Down 1-12

Down 2-9 Laois 0-7

ROSS CARR last night named his starting line-up for tomorrow’s Ulster SFC clash with Fermanagh in Enniskillen.

TWO years ago a nasty shoulder from Australian vice captain Adam Selwood left Benny Coulter with a broken nose and a diminished appetite for the International Rules Series.

Cushendall were crowned the first provincial club champions of 2008 thanks to a 1-14 to 1-13 victory over Down champions Ballygalget in the Ulster club SHC final at Casement Park, on a day which saw 13 county finals around the country, and also action in the Ulster and Connacht provincial club championships.

There was controversy in Newbridge yesterday as the referee decided to play extra-time when Moorefield and Dromard finished level in the Leinster football quarter-finals.

Draws were the order of the day in Leinster where reigning provincial champions Moorefield were given a testing time by Longford winners Dromard at St. Conleth’s Park, Newbridge.

14-man Crossmaglen Rangers narrowly pulled through their quarter-final tie with Clontibret of Monaghan on a day of Senior Club Football Championship games that was dominated by action in Ulster.

Down senior football manager Ross Carr has included a number of championship newcomers in his newly announced 34-man panel, following the county's disappointing NFL campaign.

Two of Down's best known hurlers, Brendan McGourty and Gareth 'Magic' Johnson, have made the cut for the Mourne County's Dr. McKenna Cup panel.

With many of Down football's leading lights set to line out for the Powerade Down All-Star team tomorrow, new county boss Ross Carr will get a chance to run the rule over his extended panel.

Down's All-Ireland bid came to a sorry end at Markievicz Park tonight as Sligo progressed in a poor quality qualifier, winning by 1-07 to 0-04.

ALLSTAR forward Eoin Kelly is just one of the many disappointed at the rugby/hurling fixtures clash this weekend.

THE men of St Gall’s go into Friday’s All-Ireland Club Final as everybody’s underdogs but, by now, they would not have it any other way.

Down will entertain Wexford on Sunday (Newcastle, throw-in 3.00pm) with their talismanic captain Benny Coulter.

NEMO RANGERS had lost two All-Ireland Club finals in-a-row and fear of losing a third was uppermost in their minds as timed ticked away against Crossmolina in the 2004 decider.

ONE has more than twice as many All-Ireland club titles as its nearest challenger, the other is from the footballing backwater of Antrim.

Down footballer manager Paddy O'Rourke has appointed star forward Benny Coulter as his captain for the 2006 season.

St Gall's manager John Rafferty has won the Tennent's/Ulster GAA Writers' Merit Award for November having masterminded the Antrim side's AIB Ulster Club football title win.

With his club season finished with Mayobridge, Down forward Benny Coulter is set to undergo surgery on a groin injury.

Former Down star Mickey Linden helped his club side Mayobridge retain the Down SFC crown yesterday at the ripe old age of 42!