2023 Down Intermediate Football Championship
The 2023 Down Intermediate Football Championship is the 35th official edition of Down GAA's secondary Gaelic football tournament for intermediate clubs in County Down. 16 teams competed, with the winning team representing Down in the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship. The tournament operated a double elimination format for the opening two rounds of the championship, with the winners and early round losers rejoining at the quarter final stage.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| County | Down |
| Province | Ulster |
| Year | 2023 |
| Trophy | WJ Farrell Cup |
| Sponsor | The Parador Lodge |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions |  Saval |
| Winners | |
| Champions |  Liatroim Fontenoys |
| Qualify for | Ulster Intermediate Quarter-Finals |
| Runners-up | |
| Runners-up |  Rostrevor |
Saval won the 2022 edition after defeating Rostrevor in the final, and as per competition rules, did not defend their title as they qualified to play in the Senior Championship.
Participating teams
The following teams took part in the 2022 edition of the Down Intermediate Football Championship.[1]
| Division Two | Division Three | Division Four | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Drumgath |
Round 3 | An Riocht |
Quarter Final | Aughlisnafin |
Round 2B |
| Liatroim Fontenoys |
Final |  Annaclone |
Semi Final |  Newry Bosco |
Round 3 |
| Newry Shamrocks |
Quarter Final | Atticall |
Round 2B | Teconnaught |
Round 3 |
| Rostrevor |
Final |  Ballymartin |
Quarter Final | ||
| Clann na Banna |
Round 2B | ||||
| Darragh Cross |
Quarter Final | ||||
 St Johns |
Semi Final | ||||
| St Pauls |
Round 2B | ||||
| Tullylish |
Round 3 | ||||
Bold denotes a team still active in the competition
Round 1
The 16 participating teams were placed into an open draw. The winning teams advance to Round 2A, while losing sides proceed to Round 2B.
| 24 August 2023 Round 1 | Annaclone |
2–09 – 2–09 (a.e.t.) (3–5 pen) |
St Johns |
Mayobridge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Patrick's Park | ||||
| Referee: Eddie Cuthbert | |||||
| Penalty shootout | |||||
| 24 August 2023 Round 1 | Newry Shamrocks |
1–15 – 0–02 | Aughlisnafin |
Hilltown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Clonduff Park | ||||
| Referee: Declan Ryan
|
| 25 August 2023 Round 1 | Ballymartin |
1–04 – 0–06 | Atticall |
Kilkeel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:45 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: An Ríocht GAC | ||||
| Referee: Mark Turley
|
| 25 August 2023 Round 1 | Newry Bosco |
1–10 – 0–08 | Teconnaught |
Liatroim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:45 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Fontenoy Park | ||||
| Referee: John Mc Mullan
|
| 26 August 2023 Round 1 | St Pauls |
2–06 – 1–10 | Darragh Cross |
Carryduff | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Aodha Dhuibh | ||||
| Referee: Karl Brannigan
|
| 26 August 2023 Round 1 | An Riocht |
2–16 – 1–10 | Tullylish |
Saval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Nan Sands Park | ||||
| Referee: David Carr
|
| 27 August 2023 Round 1 | Drumgath |
0–11 – 1–12 | Rostrevor |
Ballyholland | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Father Lynch Park | ||||
| Referee: Neill Cousins
|
| 28 August 2023 Round 1 | Clann na Banna |
0–09 – 2–15 | Liatroim Fontenoys |
Ballela | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:45 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Ballela GAC | ||||
| Referee: Gavin Finnegan
|
Round 2
Round 2A
Round 2A will feature the eight winning teams from Round 1, with an open draw to determine the fixtures. The winning teams progress directly to the quarter-finals, with the losing teams proceeding to Round 3.
| 1 September 2023 Round 2A | An Riocht |
1–10 – 0–10 | St Johns |
Kilcoo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Eoghan Rua | ||||
| Referee: Declan Ryan
|
| 2 September 2023 Round 2A | Liatroim Fontenoys |
1–18 – 0–07 | Darragh Cross |
Downpatrick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Tomás Ruséil | ||||
| Referee: Conor Curran
|
| 2 September 2023 Round 2A | Newry Shamrocks |
2–11 – 1–12 | Rostrevor |
Hilltown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:30 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Clonduff Park | ||||
| Referee: Brian Higgins
|
| 4 September 2023 Round 2A | Ballymartin |
3–09 – 0–14 | Newry Bosco |
Burren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Mary's Park | ||||
| Referee: Neill Cousins
|
Round 2B
Round 2B sees the eight losing teams from Round 1 compete for a place in Round 3. The losing teams from this round will be eliminated from the competition.
| 31 August 2023 Round 2B | Aughlisnafin |
0–08 – 2–08 | Teconnaught |
Ballymartin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Cois na Farraige | ||||
| Referee: John Mc Mullan
|
| 1 September 2023 Round 2B | Clann na Banna |
3–14 – 4–17 | Drumgath |
Burren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Mary's Park | ||||
| Referee: Kevin Mc Grath
|
| 1 September 2023 Round 2B | St Pauls |
1–08 – 2–12 | Annaclone |
Liatroim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Fontenoy Park | ||||
| Referee: Mark Turley
|
Relegation Semi-Finals
The 4 losers of Round 2B play each other in the Relegation Semi-Finals. The 2 winners will secure their Intermediate status for 2024, while the 2 losers will face-off in the Relegation Final.
Relegation Final
The winner of the Relegation Final will maintain their Intermediate status into 2024, while the loser will be relegated to the 2024 Down J.F.C.
| 23 September 2023 Relegation Play-Off Final | Aughlisnafin |
v | St Pauls |
Drumaness | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Colman's Park | ||||
| Referee: Colm Gribben
|
Round 3
Round 3 is a supplementary round for teams to have a second chance at reaching the quarter-finals. This round features teams that have lost once so far in this year's competition, either winning in Round 1 and losing in Round 2A, or losing in Round 1 but winning their Round 2B fixture. The losing teams in this round are eliminated from this year's competition.
This round is seeded, meaning that in each fixture a Round 2A losing team will face a Round 2B winning team.
| 8 September 2023 Round 3 | St Johns |
1–14 – 0–04 | Tullylish |
Burren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:15 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Mary's Park | ||||
| Referee: Gavin Finnegan
|
| 10 September 2023 Round 3 | Rostrevor |
3–16 – 0–05 | Drumgath |
Mayobridge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Patrick's Park | ||||
| Referee: Conor Curran
|
| 10 September 2023 Round 3 | Darragh Cross |
2–12 – 0–09 | Teconnaught |
Drumnaquoile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Pairc Naomh Eoin | ||||
| Referee: Mark Turley
|
| 11 September 2023 Round 3 | Newry Bosco |
2–05 – 2–13 | Annaclone |
Tullylish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc na nÓg | ||||
| Referee: Kevin Mc Grath
|
Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals see the two brackets rejoin, with the earlier Round 2A winners facing a Round 3 winner for a semi-final spot.
| 15 September 2023 Quarter-final | An Riocht |
2–09 – 6–10 | Rostrevor |
Newry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Esler | ||||
|
|
| 16 September 2023 Quarter-final | Liatroim Fontenoys |
0–16 – 1–08 | Darragh Cross |
Bright | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Bright GAC | ||||
|
|
| 16 September 2023 Quarter-final | Newry Shamrocks |
0–07 – 1–09 (a.e.t.) |
St Johns |
Newcastle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Patrick's Park | ||||
|
|
| 17 September 2023 Quarter-final | Ballymartin |
0–09 – 1–16 | Annaclone |
Mayobridge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Patrick's Park | ||||
|
|
Semi-finals
The semi-finals will see the four winning sides face off for a place in this year's final. This round is an open draw from the four quarter-final winners.
| 30 September 2023 Semi-final | St Johns |
1–05 – 1–07 | Rostrevor |
Liatroim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Fontenoy Park | ||||
| Referee: Ronan Barry
|
| 1 October 2023 Semi-final | Liatroim Fontenoys |
2–10 – 0–11 | Annaclone |
Castlewellan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: St Malachy's Park | ||||
| Referee: Colm Gribben
|
Final
The final will be played between the two semi-final winning teams, and will take place at Páirc Esler, Newry.
| 14 October 2023 Final | Rostrevor |
1:12 – 1:13 | Liatroim Fontenoys |
Newry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:45 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Esler | ||||
| Gls: 1 Pts: 12 |
Gls: 1 Pts: 13 |
|
References
- "2023 Down GAA Intermediate Football Championship". downgaa.net. 1 August 2023.