Robert Downey (born 21 September 1999) is an Irish hurler. At club level, he plays with Glen Rovers and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a centre-back.

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. He progressed through the various age grades before beginning a three-year tenure with the school's senior team in 2015. 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 2020, having earlier lined out with the freshers' team. He won a Fitzgibbon Cup winners' medal that year after lining out at full-back in UCC's 0–18 to 2–11 defeat of the

Institute of Technology, Carlow The Institute of Technology, Carlow (IT Carlow; ) was an institute of technology, located in Carlow, Ireland. The institute had campuses in Carlow, Wexford, and Wicklow, as well as a part-time provision elsewhere in Ireland. Along with the Wate ...

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 ...

Club career

Downey began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the Glen Rovers club on the northside of Cork city. He had success in the minor grade in 2017 when the Glen won the Cork Premier 1 MHC title after beating

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. Downey was still eligible for the minor grade when he joined the Glen's senior team. He was an unused substitute when Glen Rovers won the Cork SHC title after beating Erin's Own by 0–19 to 2–10 in the 2016 final. Downey subsequently became a regular member of the team and moved between the half-back line and full-back line for the Glen's defeats by

Imokilly Imokilly () is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (whose chief town is ...

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

and Midleton in the respective 2019, 2020 and 2021 finals.

Inter-county career

Downey first appeared on the inter-county scene with

as a member of the minor team in 2017. He won a Munster MHC that year after scoring 1–02 in Cork's 4–21 to 0–16 defeat of Clare in the final. He later lined out at full-forward for Cork's 2017 All-Ireland minor final defeat by

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 ...

. Downey made his first appearance for Cork's inaugural under-20 team two years later. He ended the season without success, as Cork were beaten by Tipperary in the

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 finals. Downey made his first appearance for the senior team in a pre-season Munster SHL game against Clare in December 2018. Debuts in 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 ...

and Munster SHC followed later that season. Downey was at full-back when Cork suffered a 3–32 to 1–22 defeat by

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 ...

in the 2021 All-Ireland final. He was at left wing-back when Cork lost the 2022 National League final to

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. Downey was selected at centre-back when Cork faced Clare in the 2024 All-Ireland final. He scored an individual solo-run goal, described as one of the greatest ever scored in

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

, but ended on the losing side after a 3–29 to 1–34 extra-time win for Clare. He and his brother Eoin 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 was appointed

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 November 2024. He captained Cork to the National League title in April 2025 following a 3–24 to 0–23 win over Tipperary in the final. Downey's season after this was impacted by a series of injuries, however, he returned to captain Cork to the Munster SHC title following Cork's penalty shootout defeat of Limerick in the 2025 Munster final.

Personal life

Downey's younger brother

Eoin Eoin () is a masculine Irish-language given name. The Scottish Gaelic equivalent is Eòin () and both are closely related to the Welsh language, Welsh . It is also cognate with the Irish and English John (given name), John. In the Irish language, ...

is also a hurler.

Career statistics

Club

Inter-county

Honours

;University College Cork *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

;Glen Rovers *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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 1 Minor Hurling Championship: 2017 ;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 ...

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

;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 * All Star: 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Robert 1999 births Living people UCC hurlers Glen Rovers hurlers St Nicholas' Gaelic footballers Cork inter-county hurlers Hurling backs People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork 21st-century Irish sportsmen