 | |
| Irish: | An Dún |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): | The Mournemen (F) The Ardsmen (H) |
| Province: | Ulster |
| Dominant sport: | Dual county |
| Ground(s): | Páirc Esler, Newry |
| County colours: | Red Black |
| County teams | |
| NFL: | Division 2 |
| NHL: | Division 2A |
| Football Championship: | Sam Maguire Cup |
| Hurling Championship: | Joe McDonagh Cup |
| Ladies' Gaelic football: | Brendan Martin Cup |
| Camogie: | Kay Mills Cup |
The Down County Board (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down,.
The County Board is responsible for preparing the Down county teams in the various Gaelic sporting codes; football, hurling, camogie and handball.
The county football team was the second from the province of Ulster to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), following Cavan, and also the first team from the North to win the Sam Maguire Cup since partition, doing so in 1960. The team won the cup again in 1961 and in 1968; this feat was not matched by another team until Down next won the All-Ireland SFC in its 1991 victory. Down and Cavan share the Ulster record for most All-Ireland SFC victories (five). As such, Down is regarded historically as a strong footballing county, and football is widely regarded as the dominant Gaelic sport within the county.
The Ards peninsula, however, is a hurling stronghold within the county, and while the county hurling team is not among the strongest on the island, it competes in the second-tier Joe McDonagh Cup, the 'Ardsmen' (as opposed to the nickname of the football team, the 'Mourne Men') have won a number of Ulster Senior and Minor Hurling Championships, despite the historical provincial dominance in that sport of Antrim. Down won the then second-tier Christy Ring Cup in 2013, its first. This entitled the team to enter the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; however, Down opted to remain in what was then the second-tier. Down remained in the Christy Ring Cup as it became a third-tier competition, until they won promotion to the Joe McDonagh Cup, and eligibility for the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, in 2021.
The minutes of the Central Council of the GAA record that on 30 April 1888 an application for affiliation was received from St Patrick's, Mayobridge, County Down. The acceptance of the application makes this the oldest registered GAA club in the county.