Miceal Magill, corner back on Down's 1994 All-Ireland winning team, has thoroughly enjoyed the Mourne County's fantastic run to this year's national decider. As Wee James and his troops prepare to do battle with the Rebels in Croke Park on Sunday, we spoke to one Down man who knows all about what it means to triumph on the biggest stage of all.

Exactly half a century ago, Down beat Kerry in the All-Ireland football final to bring Sam Maguire across the border for the first time ever. Since then, the Mourne County have gone on to assemble one of the most astonishing statistics in the GAA's record books: they've played in a total of five senior All-Ireland finals and have won all five!

On Sunday, when James McCartan's side squares up to Cork at Association Headquarters, for yet another All-Ireland final appearance, they will be bidding to make it six out of six. It's a novel decider and one which will either see the Rebels prevail for the first time since 1990 or the Mourne County lift Sam for the first time since 1994.

Miceal Magill, who donned the No.2 jersey for Pete McGrath's all-conquering team 16 years ago, when the current Down manager was also part of the winning team, is hopeful his county can preserve their incredible unbeaten record in All-Ireland finals.

Looking at the enormity of what his fellow countymen have achieved already this year, exceeding all expectation in plotting a path to the national showcase through the backdoor, former Down defender Magill concedes that he is pleasantly surprised, if not exactly shocked: "I think it's fair to say that everybody in Down has been surprised by the team this year, but it hasn't come as a shock to me," he confides. "Offaly in Tullamore was the only game I missed in the league this year and I could see something big starting to develop in the team throughout the league. I was extremely impressed by the work ethic that James and his selectors put into the team since the very first game in Newbridge. You left Kildare that day thinking that there just might be something beginning to happen because of the way the team was set out. The signs were there and it's not a huge surprise that they have built on that."

The McCartan name is synonymous with all Down's All-Ireland wins to date and 'Wee' James has to take a great deal of the credit for masterminding his county's run to this year's final. The Mourne men would have featured on very few people's lists of possible champions at the start of the year - if any - so it's a remarkable accomplishment to be in Sunday's final. Miceal Magill has known the Down boss for most of his life… "I know James from when I played U12 football against him, for Warrenpoint against Tullylish. We went right through the underage structure together and, even though I didn't feature in colleges football, we got back together to play for Down at minor, U21 and senior levels."

Knowing the man so well, did Magill think it was a logical appointment when James was given the county manager's role at such a young age? "Trends in gaelic football have really changed and the average age of county managers is getting younger, with the likes of James and Kieran McGeeney. It wasn't a surprise to see James get the job because he'd had such a successful managerial career at colleges level with Queens and a good run with St Gall's. He has put a really strong backroom team together with Brian McIver, Jerome Johnston and Paddy Tally, which is very important. It's not a one-man effort. The McCartan family is steeped in Down history, going back to James' dad James Snr. on the 1960 and '61 teams, and of course he also has his younger brother Daniel at corner back on the current team. Down GAA owes the McCartans a huge debt of gratitude."

The thing that's impressed Miceal most about Down's run this year is the style of play the management has instilled into the team. "We are now playing gaelic football professionally," he notes. "They are exceptionally fast and the smaller guys have bulked up, with a significant increase in their upper-body strength. Everybody on the team is really focussed. Forwards can become defenders and defenders can become forwards. The team is very attack-minded and anybody from No.5 to No.15 can get on the scoresheet.

"They are getting back to the old Down method. People will tell you that we won five All-Irelands with that brand of quick ball inside to the forwards and it's working very well for them again. Down now have 19 or 20 players who can step into the team and the strong squad has really stood to them. Most of the lads have been available to James, Paddy, Jerome and Brian this year, whereas Paddy [O'Rourke] and Ross [Carr] seemed to have a lot of injuries when they were in charge."

As for his own managerial career, Miceal was in charge of Wolfe Tones in Armagh (home club of Finian Moriarity) for the last two years but has taken 2010 out to focus on a bit of juvenile coaching with the Burren U10s, where he's co-selector. His sons Charlie, Danny and Harry are all playing with the St Mary's Burren club and also Carrick Primary School, where his wife Nuala is a special education teacher.

Any sign of future All-Ireland winners in the up-and-coming Magill / McConville crop? "All three are individually-minded. Charlie is robust and defensively-orientated, Danny has a sweet left foot, and Harry is already showing signs - at six - that he could be a quality footballer," says the proud Dad.
Returning to the current Down team, Miceal - who played for his county from 1993 until 2002/03 - admits that the Mourne County's voyage to the 2010 All-Ireland final brought memories flooding back of 1994, when he was part of the side that beat Dublin in the decider to bring Sam back across the border: "It was a pleasure driving back up to Croke Park with my wife and the three boys with me. It was lovely to get back into Croke Park to see Down, who many people refer to as the aristocrats of championship football; to witness the Red & Black convoy moving along the motorway - and indeed to be part of it. I met Finbarr McConnell and Fay Devlin before the Kerry game and I actually walked into Croke Park with Paul Higgins, who was on the 1991 and 1994 All-Ireland winning teams, so it's a small world. Gaelic football is part of Irish life and it's a fantastic feeling to support your county in Croke Park. The All-Ireland final is going to be a massive occasion for all Down GAA people."

Away from football, Miceal runs Micheal Magill Entertainments alongside his father Micheal Snr. Micheal Magill Entertainments manages a host of live acts, entertainers and TV personalities throughout the North and South of Ireland and has been going strong since 1986. A qualified chef, Miceal joined the family business in 1992 and has never looked back. One of the largest promoters in Ireland, Micheal Magill Entertainments organised bands for over 1,700 weddings last year, stretching the length of the island from Donegal to - dare I say it? - Cork. Tweet

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