‘We were very lucky' – Cork GAA star reveals ‘role model' Patrick Horgan's touching gesture when he was starting hurling
On the grounds of a club that can boast Christy Ring as one of its heroes of the past, Downey spent countless hours honing his craft as a teenager.
Advertisement
2
Robert Downey is one of three Glen players in the Cork team
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
2
And he praised Patrick Horgan for making him feel welcome at the club
Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
It has left him with fond memories of being invited to test himself against one of the Glen's senior stars — a man who is now a team-mate for both club and county.
And on Sunday at
Along with his younger brother Eoin, 22, and legendary forward Patrick Horgan, 37, captain Downey is one of three Glen players in the
Cork
team that will start against Munster rivals Tipperary.
And he said: 'When I was growing up, Hoggie was around with a hurley in his hand 24-7, so he was our role model.
Advertisement
Read More on GAA
'We'd have always played in the ball alley as well in the Glen. We played squash with our hurleys and sliotars, just one touch.
'I can remember when I was very young, Hoggie would ask us to come in and play with him.
'The alley in the Glen would be bigger than a squash
court
— it's designed for that game specifically.
'We were lucky we had such close access to Hoggie. I can remember him an awful lot.'
Advertisement
Most read in GAA Hurling
Being taken under the wing of a man destined for greatness helped Downey develop into a player deemed worthy of being entrusted with the honour of captaining his county.
The imposing centre-back, who hopes to skipper
'Easiest interview I've ever had' jokes RTE GAA host after pundits go back and forth before Meath vs Donegal
Downey, who bagged a sensational goal in the 2024 final loss to Clare, ended last season as an All-Star.
The ball-alley battles with the Rebels' elder statesman have paid dividends.
Advertisement
He reflected: 'I just remember as young fellas he'd be in there with the senior team. We might have been 13 or 14 in the viewing area, watching him for hours and hours and he'd call us in. At that stage, the sliotar was worn out.
'We'd play with him for the last two or three games. But it gave us the bug to want to get to the levels he was at and to practise as hard as he did.
'And it's
funny
now, even in the off-season I could ring him or he could ring me and there'd be a few of us going to the alley again. We always find ourselves back there.'
Advertisement
Horgan, hurling's all-time leading scorer, will hope his status as one of the greatest players never to win an All-Ireland medal expires this weekend.
Downey added: 'The nights we're not training with Cork, we're always up in the club watching Glen training. He's always there, still down pucking around.
'But even outside of that, he's always trying to get better at different aspects of his game. He's still as competitive as ever. It's great to have had him as a role model and still have him as a role model.'
In terms of their ongoing duels for supremacy on the Glen's de facto squash
court
, has Horgan always been the man to beat?
Advertisement
Downey laughed: 'I remember beating him when I was quite young actually. In fairness to him, he's probably the best of us but I think I could give him a good run for it!'
As for the prospect of adding a coveted
Celtic
Cross to Horgan's haul of four All-Star awards, the captain said: 'Look, it would be lovely for him obviously.
'But at the end of the day, it's about the group and it's a group effort.
'It's a massive effort from everybody, not just players. But look, it would be lovely.'
Advertisement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
26 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Meath impressively dethrone Kerry to book All-Ireland Ladies football final spot
TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Semi-Final: Meath 2-12 Kerry 1-9 A huge Meath crowd travelled in expectation, but not even the most wildly optimistic Royal County supporter could have anticipated the manner in which their heroes relentlessly, aggressively and emphatically wrestled Kerry's fingers off the Brendan Martin Cup with a fantastic display. Even fewer would have imagined that a six-point win for Meath would have featured Emma Duggan and Vikki Wall scoring one point from play between them, that a fine strike from Duggan with the very last play that only served as the icing on a well-made cake. The flour, the eggs and the sugar? That was a dominant defensive showing, anchored by a towering display from Sarah Wall at six, and with Robyn Murray sweeping up brilliantly behind her defenders; it was a solid kickout structure that gave the 2021 and 2022 All-Ireland champions a solid foothold in terms of possession. And it was an all-action display from their half-forward line, with Ciara Smyth and Megan Thynne running the Kerry backline ragged, while Niamh Gallogly dropped deep to help ensure that Niamh Ní Conchúir never got the chance to build on her early scores for the Kingdom. A significant breeze favoured Kerry in the first half and two early points for the reigning champions suggested they were about to use that advantage, but once Marion Farrelly got Meath off the mark in the sixth minute, it's no exaggeration to say that Meath looked stronger and better for the remainder of the game. The main stand in Tullamore was a sea of green and gold, and once Ciara Smyth cut in from the left wing to give them their first lead, it was patently clear that the overwhelming majority were overwhelmingly behind the side wearing white. Meath's Shauna Ennis scores a point for her side. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon. When Kerrie Cole exploded through two tackles and hammered the ball into the roof of the Kerry net shortly after the midway point in the first half, the crowd's roar would have been every bit as much of an adrenaline shot to the players as the green flag was to the fans. Ó Conchúir and Siofra O'Shea pointed before half-time and a sensational strike from Danielle O'Leary three minutes after the restart made it 1-6 to 1-5 and offered Mark Bourke's side a path back out of trouble. But in the absence of a steady flow of possession, or even any attacker that was on top of their direct opponent to serve as an outlet, that proved a bit too challenging. Smyth won a free that Duggan converted to tie up the game, a fine team score was finished by team captain Aoibhín Cleary to get the crowd back involved, and Meath's momentum was inexorable when Cole played in Sarah Wall and after ghosting in from the right corner, she had just Mary Ellen Bolger to beat. Niamh Carmody set up Caoimhe Evans for a score and O'Shea's fifth point of the afternoon made it 2-8 to 1-9, but the final quarter was a four-point hammering. Points from Shauna Ennis and Cleary gave Meath the freedom to play with more than a one-score lead, and at the other end, turnover wins from Sarah Wall, Karla Kealy and Gallogly heightened the sense of a team turning the screw, squeezing the life out of their opponents without ever surging across the finish line. The goal chance Kerry needed never came, and the half-chance they might have hoped to turn into something more was flatly denied when Robyn Murray darted off her line and simultaneously collected the lateral pass that was intended for Danielle O'Leary, while leaving the Rathmore attacker sprawled on the turf. After that moment, Duggan's two points to round off the afternoon were only late excuses for Meath's joy to spill over that little bit more. Scorers for Meath: E Duggan (0-5, 4f), K Cole (1-0), S Wall (1-0), C Smyth (0-2), M Farrelly (0-2), A Cleary (0-2), S Ennis (0-1). Scorers for Kerry: S O'Shea (0-5, 4f), D O'Leary (1-0), N Ní Conchúir (0-2), A Galvin (0-1), C Evans (0-1). MEATH: R Murray; MK Lynch, Á Sheridan, K Newe; A Cleary, S Wall, K Kealy; O Sheehy, M Farrelly; M Thynne, N Gallogly, C Smyth; E Duggan, V Wall, K Cole. Subs: S Ennis for Newe (32), K Bermingham for Sheehy (40), N McEntee for Cole (56). KERRY: ME Bolger; E Lynch, C Lynch, D Kearney; A O'Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; M O'Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody, N Ní Conchúir, C Evans; D O'Leary, S Ó'Shea, J Lucey. Subs: R Dwyer for Lucey (37), R Rahilly for Kearney (38), K Enright for Galvin (50), F O'Donoghue for A O'Connell (52), N Quinn for Dillane (53). Referee: Maggie Farrelly (Cavan).
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
Ireland U20s avoid last-placed finish at World Championship with late try against Spain
Ireland U20s 38 Spain U20s 37 IRELAND U20S SEALED a late win over Spain to avoid the embarrassment of a last-placed finish at the World U20 Rugby Championship in Calvisano. Henry Walker's 78th-minute try — the hooker's second of the game — ensured that Ireland finished second from bottom of the standings, albeit relegation was never on the line with the tournament set to be expanded to 16 teams next year. Ireland took an early 14-0 lead against the Spaniards, with centre Jonny Scott opening the scoring off a lineout penalty and Charlie Molony adding Ireland's second try off a scrum attack. Both scores were converted by Tom Wood. Spain opened their account through the boot of Nicolas Infer on 10 minutes before Pau Massoni scored their first try, unconverted, for 14-8 before the quarter-hour mark. Advertisement Daniel Green's unconverted try on 20 minutes pushed Ireland out to 19-8 and when Scott crossed again seven minutes from the break, with Wood adding the afters, Neil Doak's side led 26-8. But loosehead Alberto Gomez responded for the Spanish, with Infer converting for 26-15 moments before half-time. An Infer penalty reduced the arrears further shortly after the restart and when Marcel Carreras dotted down for a seven-pointer three minutes later, Spain had moved to within a point. Ireland hooker Walker then scored from a lineout maul on 48 minutes, with Munster out-half Wood extending Ireland's lead back out to two scores at 33-25. A yellow for the try-scorer, though, saw Spain turn the contest on its head with back row Victor Ofojetu and Toulouse 10 Lucien Richardis scoring tries in quick succession to either side of the hour mark, the latter of which was converted by Gonzalo Otamendi for a 37-33 Spanish lead. With a quarter of an hour remaining, however, loosehead Dani Chico received a straight red for a high hit, and Ireland pushed to avoid a humiliating loss. Wood had a try disallowed on 73 minutes for a knock-on in the lead-up by double try-scorer Scott, but Ulster man Walker spared Ireland's blushes as he scored from a lineout drive in the right-hand corner with just over two minutes remaining. After a string of strong Six Nations campaigns as well as final and semi-final berths at the last two World Championships, Ireland have endured a poor season under Neil Doak and his coaching team, finishing last in the Six Nations and narrowly avoiding the same fate in Italy on Saturday.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Shane Lowry ‘felt like throwing up all over the place' after family hit by sickness bug amid The Open ball controversy
SHANE LOWRY felt sick after accepting a brutal two-stroke penalty - then wanted to throw up for his entire third round. Lowry, 38, was docked two shots on Friday night when TV footage appeared to show his ball move fractionally after a practice swing from the 12th hole rough. 3 Shane Lowry felt sick throughout his round on Saturday Credit: Sportsfile 3 He admitted his whole family had come down with the bug Credit: Getty He was called in by R&A officials and It meant Lowry signed for a round of one-over 72 instead of one-under 70 and started his Saturday round at even par. The 2019 Open champion at Portrush carded a three-over 74 to take himself out of contention for today's final round. But then he revealed he had been feeling unwell after a bug hit his wife and daughters. READ MORE ON THE OPEN Lowry said: 'I haven't eaten today yet. I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place. It's been a tough day and I had a bad finish. 'It was hard to take. Then I woke up at 2.30am with cramps in my stomach. I know we have it in the house. "Ivy had a couple of days ago. Wendy had it yesterday. Me and Iris have it today. It will be gone by the holidays next week so at least that's a plus. 'Honestly, every bathroom I went in and tried to throw up, I couldn't. It's just such a bad feeling. It's just really bad timing obviously.' Most read in Golf CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Lowry initially admitted on Friday night he was He added: 'Quite supportive, I would say, from the other players. They all feel bad for me that two shots is a lot to give up. I don't really have much else to say.' Shane Lowry in rules breach controversy at The Open as balls appears to move on practice swing Playing partner Rahm was one of those to publicly voice his support for Lowry - and called for a change in the strict golf laws and severe penalty. The Spaniard added: "You're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. "If you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty. It's a tough spot to be in. It's tricky. "Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it." 3 The moving ball was barely visible on TV Credit: USA Network The Open 2025 ONE of the most anticipated Opens in years is finally here. Can THE OPEN 2025 LIVE - Follow all the latest updates from Royal Portrush TIPS AND FREE BETS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW... The Open 2025 schedule and tee times The Open prize money 2025 TOP STORIES...
