{{Short description|Irish former dual player of Gaelic games}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox Gaelic games player |image= |name =Henry Downey |irish = |birth_place =[[Lavey, County Londonderry|Lavey]], [[County Londonderry]], Northern Ireland |feet=5 |inches=9 |county=Derry |province=Ulster |clpositionf=Centre back |clpositionh=Midfield |club=[[St Brigids GAC]] |clyears= |clapps(points)= |clubs=[[Lavey GAC|Lavey]] |clcountyf=4 |clcountyh=12 |clprovincef=2 |clprovinceh=0 |clallirelandf=1 |clallirelandh=0 |iccounty= |counties=[[Derry county football team|Derry (F)]]<br>[[Derry county hurling team|Derry (H)]] |icpositionf=Centre back |icpositionh= Half-forward |icyears=1988–2001 (F) |icapps(points)= |icprovincef=2 |icprovinceh=0 |icallirelandf=1 |icallirelandh=0 |allstarsf=1 |nfl=4 |allstarsh=0 |icupdate= |clupdate= |birth_date={{Birth date and age|df=yes|1966|12|27}} }} '''Henry Downey''' (born 27 December 1966) is a former [[dual player]] of [[Gaelic games]], who played as a [[Gaelic football]]er at senior level for the [[Derry county football team|Derry county team]] in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, where he usually played in at [[Gaelic football, hurling and camogie positions#Centre half back|centre half back]].
Downey [[Captain (Gaelic games)|captain]]ed Derry to the [[1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|1993 All-Ireland SFC]] title. He won two [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] (1993 and 1998) and four [[National Football League (Ireland)|National League]] (1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000) medals during his inter-county career. He also played [[hurling]].
==Playing career== Downey played club football and [[hurling]] with [[Lavey GAC|Erin's Own GAC Lavey]], with whom he won the [[1990–91 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship]]. He was one of very few players in Ireland to complete this unique double of club and inter-county All-Irelands and almost did the extreme rarity of winning both competitions in the same year in 1993, but Lavey were defeated in the All-Ireland club after winning the [[Ulster Senior Club Football Championship]] for the second time. Downey also won four [[Derry Senior Football Championship]] and 12 [[Derry Senior Hurling Championship]] medals with Lavey.
Some of his key attributes included his leadership qualities and his surging runs up the field from the half back line.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alan |last=Rodgers |title=Experts say Tyrone rank among the best |work=[[Gaelic Life]] |pages=20–21 |date=10 October 2008 }}</ref>
===Inter-county=== Downey was part of the Derry side which won four national leagues in eight years (1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000), captaining the team in 1992 and 1996. Downey and Derry finished runners-up to [[Offaly county football team|Offaly]] in the 1998 National League decider.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lyons' pride pass tough test of character to land League |url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1998/04/27/shead.htm |work=Irish Examiner |date=1998-04-27 |access-date=2008-04-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903084000/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1998/04/27/shead.htm |archive-date=2009-09-03 }}</ref>
In addition to his [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|All-Ireland Club]] medal and two [[Ulster Senior Club Football Championship|Ulster Club Championship]] medals he had massive success at Derry Championship level. He won four [[Derry Senior Football Championship]], two [[Derry Minor Football Championship]]s and twelve [[Derry Senior Hurling Championship]]s.
Downey won an [[GAA All Stars Awards|All-star]] in 1993 at centre back and was named 1993 [[Texaco Footballer of the Year]]. He also won Footballer of the Year at the 1993 Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ulstergaawriters.com/1993a.htm |title=Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards - 1993|access-date=2007-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724232848/http://www.ulstergaawriters.com/1993a.htm |archive-date=2008-07-24}}</ref>
===School/college=== Downey attended school at [[St Patrick's College, Maghera]], for whom he won two consecutive [[MacRory Cup]]s (1984 and 1985). The school went on to be runners-up in the 1984 [[Hogan Cup]] final. He attended [[Queen's University Belfast]], where he won the [[Sigerson Cup]].{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
==Hurling career== Among Downey's hurling honours was winning the [[Ulster Under 21 Hurling Championship]] with Derry in 1986, defeating Antrim and Down along the way. He scored 0–12 against Antrim in the semi-final at Loughguile, with his brother Seamus scoring 1–3 in a 2–20 to 1–6 victory. They beat Down in the final after a reply; 3–9 to 1–2.<ref>{{cite news |title=Will Derry be singing the Blues at Newry? |work=The Mid-Ulster Observer |date=2007-08-16 }}</ref>
==Honours== ===Football=== ====County==== * [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] - Winner (1): 1993 (c) * [[National Football League (Ireland)|National Football League]] - Winner (4): 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000 * [[National Football League (Ireland)|National Football League]] - Runner up: 1998 * [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] - Winner (2): 1993 (c), 1998 * [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] - Runner up: 1992, 1997, 2000 * [[Dr McKenna Cup]] - Winner (1): 1993, 1999
====Club==== * [[All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship]] - Winner (1): 1991 * [[Ulster Senior Club Football Championship]] - Winner (2): 1990, 1992 * [[Derry Senior Football Championship]] - Winner (4): 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993 * [[Derry Senior Football Championship]] - Runner up: 1998 * [[Derry Minor Football Championship]] - Winner (2): 1983, 1984 * Numerous underage awards
====Province==== * [[Railway Cup]] - Winner (?) – 1998, 2000 (captain), more?
====School/College==== * [[Sigerson Cup]] - Winner (1): 1990? * [[MacRory Cup]] - Winner (2) – 1984, 1985 * [[Hogan Cup]] - Runner up: 1984
====Individual==== * [[Texaco Footballer of the Year]]: 1993 * [[GAA All Stars Awards|All Star]] - Winner (1): 1993 * [[GAA All Stars Awards|All Star]] - Nominated (runner up): 1992, more? * Captain Derry Ulster and All-Ireland winning side: 1993 * Captain Derry National League winning sides: 1992, 1996 * Derry Senior football captain: 1991-1994, 1996
===Hurling=== ====County==== * [[Ulster Under 21 Hurling Championship]] - Winner (1): 1986, 1987?????
====Club==== * [[Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship]] - Runner up: 1986?, 1988?, 1994?, 1997?, 2001? * [[Derry Senior Hurling Championship]] - Winner (12): 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 * [[Derry Senior Hurling Championship]] - Runner up: 1993?, more? * Numerous underage awards
====Individual==== * Combined Universities - Winner (1): Year?
<small>Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.</small>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://quis.qub.ac.uk/gaelicfc/halloffame/ulster.htm QUB Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202814/http://quis.qub.ac.uk/gaelicfc/halloffame/ulster.htm |date=29 October 2013 }}
{{s-start}} {{s-sports|gaa}} {{succession box | before=[[Anthony Molloy (Gaelic footballer)|Anthony Molloy]]<br>([[Donegal county football team|Donegal]]) | title=[[List of All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning captains|All-Ireland SFC]]<br />winning [[Captain (Gaelic games)|captain]] | years=1993 | after=[[D. J. Kane]]<br>([[Down county football team|Down]]) }} {{succession box | after=[[Martin McHugh (Gaelic footballer)|Martin McHugh]]<br>([[Donegal county football team|Donegal]]) | before=[[Mickey Linden]]<br>([[Down county football team|Down]]) | title=[[Texaco Footballer of the Year]] | years=1993 }} {{succession box | before=? | title=[[Derry county football team|Derry]] senior football [[Captain (Gaelic games)|captain]] | years=1991–1994 | after=[[Tony Scullion]] }} {{succession box | before=[[Tony Scullion]] | title=[[Derry county football team|Derry]] senior football [[Captain (Gaelic games)|captain]] | years=1996 | after=[[Kieran McKeever]] }} {{s-end}}
{{Lavey Football Team 1991}} {{Navboxes |title=Derry panels |bg=white |fg=#E00000 |bordercolor=#E00000 |list1= {{Derry NFL Team 1992}} {{Derry Football Team 1993}} {{Derry NFL Team 1995}} {{Derry NFL Team 1996}} {{Derry NFL Team 2000}} }} {{Navboxes |title=All Stars |bg=black |fg=white |list1= {{1993 All Stars}} {{Derry All Stars record}} }} {{Texaco Footballer of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Henry}} [[Category:1966 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:All-Ireland–winning captains (football)]] [[Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast]] [[Category:Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Derry inter-county hurlers]] [[Category:Dual players]] [[Category:Lavey hurlers]] [[Category:Texaco Footballers of the Year]] [[Category:Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)]] [[Category:20th-century Irish sportsmen]]