Hurling finals weekend in Down

Friday 7th October 2022

3 finals up for decision on Down GAA TV

Focus is on the small ball in the Mourne County this weekend, with the senior, intermediate and junior hurling finals to be played. They will all be streamed live on Down GAA TV.

The junior final will get the proceedings underway on Friday night as Warrenpoint and Castlewellan meet. The latter have been undefeated so far in their campaign, winning all four of their group games, as well as a comfortable win over Ballyvarley in the semi-final in the middle of September. They also defeated Friday’s opponents on August 20th but the two-point deficit would suggest this final is anyone’s to win. The ball throws in at 7.15pm and a great way to get the weekend of hurling started.

Liatroim and Carryduff are up on the Saturday, as they battle it out for intermediate championship glory. This game also has cracker written all over it, as their clash in the middle of August produced five goals, with just four points separating them at the end. Carryduff were the winners on that occasion. Can they repeat the trick this Saturday and be crowned Down GAA IHC champions? Or will Liatroim get the victory when it really matters? Down GAA TV at 5pm for the answer.

Finally on Sunday, two of the kingpins of Down hurling collide, as the senior title is up for grabs. Ballycran and Portaferry have 48 titles between them at this grade. It is a figure which will be increased to 49 this Sunday one way or the other. Which side adds it to their individual tally remains to be seen. 

Ballycran are looking to extend their lead at the top of the roll of honour with their 28^th county, while for Portaferry it would be a 22^nd. Meetings between these two clubs at this stage have been a regular occurrence, Sunday being the fifth year in a row. Much like in the roll of honour, Ballycran have had the better of those encounters, winning 3 out of the 4. Last year’s in particular was spectacular, Ballycran shading it on a scoreline of 2-25 to 3-20. What we’d do for another spectacle like that!

Portaferry have been a side on a mission since that heart-breaking defeat last year, winning all their championship games so far in 2022, including an eight point win over Ballycran. That isn’t the goal, or perhaps, the revenge they would have set out for at the start of this campaign though. A win in the group