County Down on the rise in supplying Ireland with Olympic contenders 

Cork, with a similar population, has twice Down’s number but the Mourne’s real point of difference is that its eight are drawn from seven sports, as opposed to Cork’s five

TEAM GREEN: Track cyclist Mark Downey on the day the Irish team received their Olympic kit for Tokyo 2020. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Cluster has become a dirty word. It’s a run of letters that prompts thoughts of Covid and lockdowns, and dread.

Hijacked by the pandemic, it has more positive connotations when adapted to the DNA of the Irish team that has congregated in and around Tokyo.