Angela Downey
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Angela Downey-Browne (born 1957,
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
) is a retired Irish sportsperson. She played
camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...
with her local clubs,
St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
based in Kilkenny city and Lisdowney, and was a member of the
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
senior inter-county team from 1970 to 1995. Downey is regarded as the greatest player in the history of the game. In a senior inter-county career that 25 years she won twelve
All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...
medals, thirteen Leinster medals and eight National League medals. With her two clubs St. Paul's and Lisdowney she collected 22 county titles and 6 All-Ireland club medals. Downey was presented with personal awards during her career. In 1977 she was honoured with the B&I Player of the Year Award. Almost a decade later in 1986 Downey became only the third camogie player ever to be presented with a Texaco Award. In 2004 her reputation as the greatest player of all-time was further cemented when she was named on the Camogie Team of the Century.


Biography

Angela Downey was born in
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
in 1957. From a young age
camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...
was a central part of her life, as well as the life of her twin sister
Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...
. Their father
Shem Downey James "Shem" Downey (5 January 1922 – 22 December 2013) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Kilkenny senior team. Born in Conahy, County Kilkenny, Downey first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen whe ...
won an
All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...
medal with
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
in 1947. Angela started playing camogie when she was nine, she would go on to become one of the best players in the history of the game.


Playing career


Club

Downey played most of her club
camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...
with the
St Paul’s Camogie Club St Paul's is a former camogie club based in Kilkenny city, Ireland, one of the most successful in the history of the game. It won the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship, All Ireland club championship in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1 ...
, Kilkenny. When the club disbanded in the early 1990s she had already collected 20 county titles. During this period Downey won six All-Ireland club titles, the first of which came in 1970. She won the last of her six All-Ireland club medals nineteen years later in 1989. She later joined the Lisdowney club and enjoyed further success. Together with her twin-sister Ann she won a further two county medals.


Inter-county

Downey was only 13 when she first played senior camogie with
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
in 1970. Two years later, in 1972, she was still a member of the team when she lined out in her first championship decider.
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
was the opposition and it was Cork who secured a 2–5 to 1–4 victory. Two years later, in 1974, Kilkenny were back in the All-Ireland final and, once again, Cork were the opponents. The game ended level with Kilkenny scoring 3–8 and Cork scoring 4–5. The replay took place a few weeks later, and it was another tight game. Kilkenny clinched the victory by 3–3 to 1–5 and Downey received her first
All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...
medal. Kilkenny surrendered their All-Ireland crown in 1975. Downey later lined out in a third All-Ireland final in 1976. On that occasion Kilkenny took on
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Kilkenny were the winners by 0–6 to 1–2. It was Downey's second All-Ireland medal. In 1977, Downey captained Kilkenny in their search for back-to-back All-Ireland titles. That year she guided her county to the All-Ireland final once again.
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
, the winners of the championship two years earlier, provided the opposition. Kilkenny won on a score line of 3–4 to 1–3. Not only was it Downey's third All-Ireland medal but she collected the
O'Duffy Cup The All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship is a competition for inter-county teams in the women's field sport of game of camogie played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Camogie Association and are played during the summer mo ...
. She was later chosen as the B&I Player of the Year. Kilkenny went into decline for the next few years; however, Downey added a National Camogie League medal to her collection in 1980. It was Kilkenny's first title in that competition. In 1981, Kilkenny met Cork in the championship decider. Both sides ended the game with 3–9 apiece. In the replay, Kilkenny won by 1–9 to 0–7 with Downey collecting a fourth All-Ireland medal. All-Ireland success was slow in coming over the next few years; however, Downey won a second National League medal with Kilkenny in 1982. Three years later in 1985 she collected a third winners' medal in that competition. Kilkenny later qualified for another All-Ireland final. Dublin provided the opposition on that occasion. The final ended with a 0–13 to 1–5 victory for Kilkenny, giving her a fifth All-Ireland medal. 1986 saw Kilkenny line out in a second consecutive All-Ireland final, her sixth in all. For the second year in-a-row Dublin were the opposition, once again the result was the same. Kilkenny won the game by 2–12 to 2–3. It was Downey's sixth All-Ireland title. She was later presented with a Texaco Award, becoming only the third camogie player ever to win one. In 1987, Downey won a fourth National League medal, after Kilkenny beat Dublin in another national final. Later that year Kilkenny qualified for the All-Ireland final. Downey's side were hoping to capture a third All-Ireland title in-a-row, something Kilkenny had never achieved, Cork was the opponent. The full-time score of 3–10 to 1–7 gave Kilkenny the victory and Downey a seventh All-Ireland medal. In 1988, Downey captained Kilkenny. She began the year by winning a fifth National League medal before later guiding her county to the All-Ireland final, against Cork. Kilkenny won by 4–11 to 3–8. It was Downey's eighth All-Ireland medal and she had captained the county to more than one All-Ireland victory, a rare feat. In 1989, Cork were beaten in the National League final to give Kilkenny and Downey a sixth title in that competition. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a repeat of the championship deciders of the previous two years. Cork wanted to avenge those defeats and avoid losing a third All-Ireland final in-a-row, while Kilkenny were hoping to add another consecutive title to their collection. The result saw Kilkenny win by 3–10 to 2–6, giving Downey a ninth All-Ireland medal. At the start of 1990, the county won a fourth consecutive National League title. It was Downey's seventh medal in that competition. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Wexford for the first time since 1977. Kilkenny dominated the game and a final score of 1–14 to 0–7 gave Downey her tenth All-Ireland medal, a victory which made her joint third with
Kay Ryder The name Kay is found both as a surname and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own right, and also as a ...
on the all-time list of leading All-Ireland medal holders. In 1991, Downey was captain of her native-county. The year started badly for Kilkenny, when its run of success in the National League came to an end. Cork defeated Kilkenny in the final of that competition, denying the county a fifth league title in-a-row. Downey's side later qualified for the All-Ireland final. Cork were the opposition once again. Kilkenny won the day by 3–8 to 0–10. Kilkenny won a seventh All-Ireland title in-a-row. It was Downey's eleventh All-Ireland medal overall. She lifted the O'Duffy Cup for the third time. In 1993 Downey won her eighth National League medal. It was 1994, however, before Downey lined out in her next All-Ireland final. Wexford, Kilkenny's nearest neighbours, were the opposition. A final score of 2–11 to 0–8 gave Downey her twelfth All-Ireland medal on the field of play. On the same day her sister Ann collected her eleventh medal. Downey was subsequently named Camogie Player of the Year. In 1995, Downey lined out in her final championship season with Kilkenny. It was twenty-five years since she made her debut at 13. For the final time she lined out to play on All-Ireland final day, Cork were the opposition. Cork emerged victorious by 4–8 to 2–10, thus, denying Downey a thirteenth All-Ireland medal. Downey retired from inter-county camogie following this defeat.


Provincial

Downey also lined out with
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
in the Gael Linn sponsored inter-provincial camogie championship. In all she won ten inter-provincial titles with her province.


Retirement

At the time of her retirement, Downey's haul of twelve All-Ireland medals was surpassed by only two other players,
Úna O'Connor Una is a feminine given name with various origins. As used by Edmund Spenser in ''The Faerie Queene'', the name is derived from the Latin language, Latin ''unus'', meaning ''1, one''. The Filipino language, Filipino word "una" meaning "first" (e.g. ...
and
Kathleen Mills Kathleen "Kay" Mills-Hill (8 October 1923 – 11 August 1996) was an Irish sportsperson who played senior camogie with Dublin from 1941 until 1961. She is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time, winning 15 All Ireland Senior Meda ...
. In 2004, Downey was named in the left corner-forward position on a special team picked to celebrate the centenary of the
Camogie Association of Ireland The Camogie Association (, formerly ) organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association, but is still a separate organisation. History The Camogie A ...
. Downey boycotted the presentation in protest at the absence of her sister Ann from the team. Angela is a teacher at Grennan College in Thomastown, County Kilkenny.


Teams


References


Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). ISBN 9780340896952 * Donegan, Des, ''The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games'' (DBA Publications Limited, 2005). ISBN 9780955111501 * Fullam, Brendan, ''Captains of the Ash'', (Wolfhound Press, 2002). ISBN 9780863279003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Angela 1957 births Date of birth missing (living people) Irish schoolteachers Irish twins Kilkenny camogie players Living people