Christy O'Connor: Big ticket games the top prize, but Down hurling wants silverware too

It’s been a long arduous road back to the top divisions for Down hurlers.

The hammering which Down suffered against Westmeath in the 2022 Division 2A league final was a setback. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Down’s long road back

On the day after St Patrick’s Day in 2007, Cork travelled to Ballygalget on the Ards peninsula to take on the Down hurlers in Division 1 of the National League. Everybody expected an annihilation, especially when Down had lost their opening two games to Clare and Offaly by an aggregate margin of 34 points. Except that didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite – a massive shock – almost did.