Eoin Downey (born 17 May 2003) is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They have been historically part of the ''Big Three'' of Cork hurl ...

and at inter-county level with the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

Early life

Born and raised in

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 * ...

, Downey first played hurling to a high standard as a student at

Christian Brothers College, Cork Christian Brothers College, Cork (CBC Cork, colloquially known as Christians) is a fee-paying school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust in Cork City, Ireland. As of 2024, the secondary school had over 900 pupils enrolled. T ...

. He progressed through the various age grades before joining the school's senior team in 2019. Downey's first year as a senior ended with defeat by

St Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. It was formerly an all-boys boarding school; however, the first girl ...

in the 2020 Harty Cup final. He

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed CBC to the

Dr O'Callaghan Cup The Dr O'Callaghan Cup is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Cork PPS division of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Sometimes referred to throughout its history as the Cork Colleges Senior A Hurling Championship an ...

title after a 3–13 to 1–12 defeat of Gaelcholáiste Mhuire an Mhainistir Thuaidh in March 2022, in what was his last game for the school. Downey later studied at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

and was added to their

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

panel in 2023.

Club career

Downey began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the

club on the northside of Cork city. He had success in the under-21 grade in 2023 when the Glen won the Cork Premier 1 U21HC title. Downey won a Seandún U21B FC title with the Glen's sister club St Nick's in 2024. Downey made his senior team debut at midfield in the Glen's 0–24 to 1–10 defeat by

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

in September 2021. He ended his debut championship season with a 0–24 to 1–18 defeat by

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Inter-county career

Downey first appeared on the inter-county scene with

as a member of the minor team in 2019, before being named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

in 2020. His minor career ended without success, however, he immediately progressed to the under-20 team. Success in this grade was immediate with Downey claiming

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and All-Ireland U20HC medals in 2021 after respective defeats of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. After surrendering their titles the following year, Downey claimed a second Munster U20HC medal after a two-point defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

in 2023. His last game in the grade saw him claim a second winners' medal after a defeat of

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the 2023 All-Ireland U20 final. Downey was still a school student when he was called into the

by manager Kieran Kingston in 2022. He made his debut in a 2–17 to 0–22 defeat of Limerick in

round 1 Round 1 may refer to: * ''Round 1'' (EP), a 2011 EP by C-REAL * "Round 1" (song), a 2010 song by Dalmatian * ''Round 1'', an album by Eraser vs Yöjalka * Round One Corporation, a Japan-based amusement store chain. See also * '' Round One: The ...

of the 2023 National Hurling League. Downey lined out at full-back for Cork's 3–29 to 1–34 extra-time defeat by

in the 2024 All-Ireland final. He and his brother Rob Downey were both presented with

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

awards at the end of the 2024 season. Downey claimed his first senior silverware in April 2025 when Cork won the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

title following a 3–24 to 0–23 win over Tipperary in the final. This was later followed by a Munster SHC medal after Cork's penalty shootout defeat of

in the 2025 Munster final. In July 2025, Downey became the first

hurler to be sent off in an all-Ireland final when he received a second yellow card during his side's 3-27 to 1-18 defeat against Tipperary in the 2025 All-Ireland final.

Personal life

Downey's older brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

is also a hurler.

Career statistics

Club

Inter-county

Honours

;Christian Brothers College, Cork *

: 2022 (c) ;Glen Rovers *

Cork Senior A Hurling Championship The Cork Senior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Senior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork SAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork GAA, Cork County Board of ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Cork Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship Cork Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Evening Echo'' Cork County Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship, is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic ...

: 2023 ;St Nicholas' *Seandún Under-21 B Football Championship: 2024 ;Cork *

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Munster Under-20 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

;Awards *''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

'' Team of the Year: 2024 ;Individual *

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

(1): 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Eoin 2003 births Living people Dual players UCC hurlers Glen Rovers hurlers St Nicholas' Gaelic footballers Cork inter-county hurlers People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork 21st-century Irish sportsmen