'It's a great day for the county' says Ronan Sheehan as ​Down hurlers reach Division 1 for the first time since 2007

The result means that they will play hurling at the top table next year for the first time since 2007, as they are promoted to Division 1B.​

We spoke to the Down manager, Newry’s Ronan Sheehan, who described how monumental a day it was for the Mourne side.

“It’s a great day for the county,” he said.

“It’s great for that group of players who have been on this journey for the last seven years. The opportunity to bring the likes of Clare, or Wexford, or Dublin to Down is massive for the promotion of our game.

“It shows the improvement in our own standards in terms of where we came from. When I took this job on, we were stuck in the old Division 2B – Down couldn’t get out of that for almost 10 years.

“We got out of it, solidified our place in 2A, and have been knocking at the door for promotion. For this group of players, particularly the likes of Stephen Keith, Paul Sheehan, Matt Conlan, who have been serving the team since 2012 or 2013, it’s a fantastic day for them.

“It’s a great opportunity now for the whole group next year to push on and really promote the game, in terms of encouraging people who don’t necessarily come out to watch the hurlers, to do so and see one of those marquee teams when they come to Down.”

For the players, they will relish the opportunity to face some of the best teams in the country, with teams such as 2024 All-Ireland champions Clare and Wexford teetering on the brink of relegation from Division 1A, they could be coming north to face Down in 2026.

“As a player, you play to test yourself, and to be the best version of yourself,” said Sheehan.

“If you’re Caolan Taggart, or John McManus, or Eoghan Sands, or Matt Conlan, who would get on any panel in Ireland, they’ll be looking forward to matching themselves up against a Tony Kelly or a Lee Chin, or whatever the case may be.

“They’ll really be looking forward to that, because it’s a personal test and a collective test, and that’s what you play the game for, to play on the big days and see how good you can be.”

Having reached the heights after several years of trying, the key for Down will be sustaining themselves at the highest level – but Sheehan says that will have to wait until next year, as they have several more targets to accomplish in 2025.

“I suppose we’ll worry about that part of it, the sustaining of it, next year,” said the Down boss.

“We have a league final now in three weeks’ time and the Joe McDonagh Cup campaign, which is coming up really quickly after that.

“We have been in the McDonagh Cup for five or six years now and we have been hoping that we can hold our position in that and maybe push on a bit this year. We always said as a group that we could never really push to our highest level in the McDonagh Cup without playing in Division 1B and getting those games against high ranking teams.

“We have a big task ahead of ourselves in the McDonagh Cup. It’s us, Laois, Westmeath, Carlow, Kerry and Kildare. Between those six teams, the reality is that there is no two points will be won easily in any of those games.

“We’re going to have to really battle to pick up the points needed to survive, never mind looking any further beyond that.”