Division 2 crown the icing on the cake for Down boss Sheehan 

“Ultimately, the real prize is promotion because of what that means next year,” said Sheehan after the game.

“I think Down has only won that Division 2 title once in their history, so this group of players, I would argue, are a generational group of players. They've shown that over the last number of years and today probably just adds to that with a national title in our back pocket as well.” 

It was anticipated to be a close final, and while the Mournemen won by seven in the end, 4-22 to 3-18 the scoreline flattered the winners in what was indeed a very close match.

After a closely contested first quarter with the sides level seven times, Kildare, with a strong wind at their back, scored their first goal and pulled away somewhat. Down finished the half strongly however and only trailed by two points at the break.

With a blistering start to the second half, a second goal from Jack Sheridan and another by Darragh Melville minutes later, it looked like Brian Dowling's side were on their way. They lead 3-11 to 0-12 when a Tim McGrattan goal gave Sheehan's men the impetus to push on. 

Down scored 10 points to Kildare's six in the latter stages of the game and another McGrattan goal was followed by two more from Marc Fisher and Tim Prenter to seal the win.

With just one defeat in the league to Meath, Down displayed real character in their comeback on Sunday against a Kildare side who likewise only lost one game - a three-point defeat against the Mourne County in the first round.

“You never doubt the group and you never doubt yourself,” said Sheehan.

“In a game of hurling it ebbs and flows. You could be six points down and all of a sudden you can be seven points up and you're not really safe. That's the brilliance of hurling. So, we never really doubted ourselves. We thought we'd put ourselves in a good position at half-time – we thought it was a five or six point wind at least. So to go in only two points behind we thought we were well in the game.

“Obviously, the two goals were a blow at that stage, but Des Jennings, our sports psychologist, talks to the boys a lot and we respond. The boys all have WR [We'll respond] on their hands and no matter what happens, you're in control of how you react to what happens as opposed to anything else. The boys reacted brilliantly. 

"We know we have players like Ronan Beatty and Tom McGrattan up front who are fantastic hurlers, but we did that today without Daithi Sands. If somebody had said we'd go to Division 1 without Daithi Sands being available on the pitch they'd be laughed at two years ago, so it just shows you how we're building that panel and the breadth of players we have.” 

For the manager, the opportunity to play higher quality teams next season in Division 1B is a welcome one for Down hurling.

“There's two sides to it. For the players themselves, there's the opportunity to test themselves. 

"We talk an awful lot about the boys being the best version of themselves they can be on and off the field which is what we want them to do. So there's a player element and then there's the element from a games promotion perspective and the opportunity to bring the likes of Tony Kelly, John Conlon, Donal Burke, players like that into Newry and Ballycran and that's a big thing too.”

Scorers for Down: T McGrattan (2-5, 1f), T Prenter (1-2), P Og McCrickard (0-5, 2f), E Sands (0-5, 1f), M Fisher (1-0), D Hughes (0-3), C Egan (0-2).

Scorers for Kildare: D Qualter (0-8,5f, 1'65 ), J Sheridan (2-0), D Melville (1-0), C Boran (0-2), G Keegan (0-2), P Dolan (0-2), R Boran, D Guerin, J Burke, J Higgins (0-1 each).

Down: S Keith; M Conlan, J McManus, T Murray; M Fisher, C Taggart, L Savage; D Hughes, P Savage; C Egan, T Prenter, E Sands; T McGrattan, R Beatty, P Og McCrickard.

Subs: F Turpin for P Savage (46), N McFarland for L Savage (46), P Sheehan for Egan (54), B Taggart for Fisher (64), S Pucci for Hughes (69).

Kildare: P McKenna; L O'Reilly, S Leacy, R Boran; D O'Meara, C Boran, P Dolan; D Guerin, C McCabe; J Burke, J Higgins, J Dolan; J Sheridan, D Melville, D Qualter.

Subs: G Keegan for J Dolan (H-T), M Curtin for Melville (44), J Travers for Sheridan (67).

Referee: Brian Keon (Galway).