Conor Deegan is stretching for just the right word but it won’t come.
“It’s actually hard to fathom,” he eventually says, processing how 30 years have passed since Down, with him at midfield, last won Ulster and All-Ireland titles.
“Okay, you come up against good teams, that Armagh squad of the 2000s was very good, the Tyrone squad, you were coming up against Donegal, they were all good sides.
“But still, to be 30 years down the line and we haven’t won an Ulster title in that timeframe. It’s hard to fathom. This is a real (drought)...well, it’s more than a drought quite frankly.”
A famine? That’s probably pushing it. But 1991 and 1994 All-Ireland winner Deegan’s bewilderment is clear as he prepares for 30 barren years to segue into 31.
Down have contested five Ulster finals in the meantime, six if you include the 2003 replay, and reached an All-Ireland final against the head in 2010, but Deegan doesn’t see any of that as something to crow about.
“There’s (been) nothing to crow about,” he maintained. “Nothing.”
But it looks like Down have finally turned a corner, right? By winning the Tailteann Cup last July, beating Laois, they smashed through a glass ceiling having failed to win any of their previous 13 league and championship finals.
“I think this year will tell a lot,” said Deegan, who will manage Queens University again in the upcoming Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup competition.
“I think if Down stay in Division Two, and stay strong in Division Two, they will take belief from that. That would be a big step and a big boost.
“We have good players, technically we have good players, athletically we have good players and they’re a little bit older, a little bit more mature than they were.
“They’ve won something in Croke Park which, again, it’s a good thing.
“They’re now going to come up against better players and that’s when you grow up and that’s when you learn. If you take your foot off the pedal at all, you’re going to suffer and those teams will beat you so they really have to, I don’t mean grow up, but they have to step up massively and that will be a good thing for them.”
Liam Kerr, he of the 3-2 heroics against Laois in the 2023 Tailteann Cup final at Croke Park, isn’t available this season. The speedy half-forward’s loss is significant but Down, with a relatively young panel, should have the cover to cope.
“It’s all about steps forward at this stage,” continued former Down U21 manager Deegan who has been consistently linked with the senior job over the years.
“A lot of the players are relatively young but in a year, maybe this year is a wee bit too early...you know, they were beaten by Armagh by a point in the Championship just last summer so when you look at that, on any given day you might have half a chance.
“I’m not saying they’re at that level, of an Armagh. I think Armagh came down a bit more than anything but it just shows you that you can take a little bit of inspiration from Armagh and with real dedication and commitment that things can happen. But that has to come from and be driven hard by the players.”
Establishing a training centre is a big thing for Deegan when it comes to Down and sustaining long-term competitiveness. It was announced in early November that funding of over €15m euros from the PEACEPLUS Programme has been ring fenced for Down’s Ballykinlar Centre of Participation, Wellbeing and Shared Learning Hub.
The proposed 30-acre development will include, among other things, four grass GAA pitches.
“We got the guts of 15 million I think for our new facility in Ballykinlar which is badly, badly needed,” said Deegan.
“We have no base. We’re not going to see the fruits of that for another five, eight, 10, 12 years, God only knows how long it is before we see the player pathway coming through properly that you need.
“You look at everybody else, Tyrone have done it (won silverware), why? Because they’re able to do what they’re doing and Owenbeg in Derry is the same. So hopefully this is the kickstart to something in Down but it could be a wee while yet.”
Deegan doesn’t wish to come across as negative or downbeat, not after a season that yielded promotion and a piece of Championship silverware that has guaranteed the county a free pass to the 2025 All-Ireland series. The former Allstar isn’t looking down his nose on a Tailteann Cup success.
“Trophies are hard to win at whatever level you’re playing at,” he said.
“Picking up any silverware, we have to be appreciative of it. To be dismissive would show tremendous arrogance which we’re in no position to show.
“Look, it was a positive. The biggest positive was going to Division Two. Players will get better by playing against better players on a more regular basis. Being realistic, if they stay in Division Two, if they stay at the top end of Division Two, it would be brilliant.”
