2025 Down county football team season
| 2025 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Conor Laverty |
| Stadium | Páirc Esler, Newry |
The following is a summary of Down county football team's 2025 season.
Competitions
[edit]Down are due to compete in the National Football League Division 2, the Ulster Championship the All Ireland Senior Football Championship during the 2025 season. On 7 September it was announced that the McKenna Cup would not take place in 2025. [1]
National Football League Division 2
[edit]Official fixtures for the 2025 National League were announced on 5 December 2024. [2] [3]
Fixtures
[edit]Win Draw Loss Postponed/Cancelled
| Date | Round | Home | Score | Away | Ground | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 26 January | Group | Roscommon | 3-21 v 1-20 | Down | Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon | [4] |
| Sunday 2 February | Group | Down | 1-19 v 2-15 | Cork | Páirc Esler, Newry | [5] |
| Saturday 15 February | Group | Down | 1-18 v 0-24 | Meath | Páirc Esler, Newry | [6] |
| Sunday 23 February | Group | Louth | 2-17 v 0-22 | Down | Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda | [7] |
| Saturday 1 March | Group | Cavan | 1-20 v 1-18 | Down | Breffni Park, Cavan | [8] |
| Saturday 15 March | Group | Down | Westmeath | Páirc Esler, Newry | ||
| Sunday 23 March | Group | Monaghan | Down | St Tiernach's Park, Clones |
Table
[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Monaghan
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 90 | +18 | 6 | Advance to NFL Division 2 Final and promotion to 2026 NFL Division 1 |
| 2 |  Meath
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 99 | 83 | +16 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Roscommon
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 92 | 84 | +8 | 6 | |
| 4 |  Cork
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 94 | −3 | 4 | |
| 5 | Louth
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 84 | −5 | 4 | |
| 6 |  Cavan
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 97 | −8 | 4 | |
| 7 |  Down
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 98 | −10 | 2 | Relegation to 2026 NFL Division 3 |
| 8 |  Westmeath
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 92 | 107 | −15 | 0 |
Reports
[edit]Round 1
| Roscommon | 3-21 - 1-20 | Down |
|---|---|---|
| Diarmuid Murtagh (0-07), Ciaráin Murtagh (1-02), Enda Smith (1-01), Cian McKeon (1-01), Daire Cregg (0-04), Shane Cunnane (0-02), Ben O’Carroll (0-01), Donie Smith (0-01), Eddie Nolan (0-01), Shane Killoran (0-01) | Report | Pat Havern (0-11), Ryan McEvoy (1-02), James Guinness (0-02), Danny Magill (0-02), Gareth McKibben (0-01), Paddy McCarthy (0-01), Odhran Murdock (0-01) |
Referee: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh)
Round 2
| Down | 1-19 - 2-15 | Cork |
|---|---|---|
| P Havern (0-08), D Magill (1-01), J Guinness (0-03), O Murdock (0-03), O Savage (0-02), C Doherty (0-01), R Burns (0-01) | Report | M Cronin (0-06), S McDonnell (1-02), C Og Jones (1-00), B O'Driscoll (0-02), R Maguire (0-02), E McSweeney (0-01), S Walsh (0-01), P Doyle (0-01) |
Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)
Round 3
| Down | 1-18 - 0-24 | Meath |
|---|---|---|
| P Havern (0-09), O Murdock (1-01), D Guinness (0-03), C Doherty (0-02), M Rooney (0-02), D Magill (0-01) | Report | J Morris (0-08), E Frayne (0-08), R Jones (0-02), B Menton (0-02), B Hogan (0-01), C Caulfield (0-01), S Walsh (0-01), J Flynn (0-01) |
Referee: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)
Round 4
| Louth | 2-17 - 0-22 | Down |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Mulroy (0-10), Ryan Burns (1-02), Kieran McArdle (1-00), Liam Jackson (0-01), Tommy Durnin (0-01), Andy McDonnell (0-01), Ciaran Keenan (0-01), Daire McConnon (0-01) | Report | Pat Havern (0-07), Daniel Guinness (0-04), Danny Magill (0-03), Ceilum Doherty (0-02), Oisín Savage (0-02), Conor McCrickard (0-02), Conor Francis (0-01), Odhran Murdock (0-01) |
Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)
Ulster Senior Football Championship
[edit]The draw for the 2025 Ulster Championship took place in October 2024.[9] [10]
Fixtures
[edit]Bracket
[edit]| Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Final | |||||||||||||||||
 Antrim
| |||||||||||||||||||
 Armagh
| 0-09 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-final winner | |||||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-final winner | |||||||||||||||||||
 Tyrone
| 0-09 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cavan
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final winner | |||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final winner | |||||||||||||||||||
 Fermanagh
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Down
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-final winner | |||||||||||||||||||
| Donegal
| Quarter-final winner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Derry
| Monaghan
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Preliminary winner | |||||||||||||||||||
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
[edit]Having won the 2024 Tailteann Cup, Down are due to re-enter the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the first time in six years.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ulster GAA 'surprised' to see McKenna Cup suspended". bbc.co.uk. 12 September 2024.
- ^ "Allianz Football and Hurling League fixtures 2025 revealed". Hogan Stand. 5 December 2024.
- ^ "GAA fixtures 2025: Full fixture list as National League to kick off with three seismic Division One games". Irish Independent. 5 December 2024.
- ^ "Rossies surge sees them past Down at the Hyde". RTE. 26 January 2025.
- ^ "Down rouse themselves to beat Cork after the break". RTE. 2 February 2025.
- ^ "Down rally falls short as Meath prevail in Newry". RTE. 15 February 2025.
- ^ "Louth survive nail-biting finish to beat Down". RTE. 23 February 2025.
- ^ "Cavan prevail in close encounter with Down". RTE. 1 March 2025.
- ^ "2025 Provincial Football Championships draw". GAA. 12 October 2024.
- ^ "Provincial SFC 2025 draws: Donegal to face rivals Derry in Ulster preliminary round". Irish Independent. 12 October 2024.
- ^ "Down survive late Laois rally to win Tailteann Cup". RTE. 13 July 2024.