Has a sleeping giant started to reawaken?

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.

The county has had its nose pressed against the glass, like outsiders looking in on a game that has evolved beyond them for far too long, but of late they had hit a new low.

When they beat Meath at the end of February, it was their first win in league or championship since April, 2015.