Down v Armagh LIVE: Updates from the Athletic Grounds as the Orchard meet the Mournemen in the Dr McKenna Cup

Down get their pre-season underway when they take on Armagh at the Athletic Grounds in the second round of fixtures in the McKenna Cup.

They will take on an Armagh side that is reeling after their loss to Malachy O’Rourke’s Tyrone in the same venue.

This fixture was initially planned for Pairc Esler in Newry; however, the game was moved to the Athletic Grounds after briefly being touted for Burren.

Down enter the 2026 season hoping for a sling-shot promotion to the second division after suffering the drop last year in the National Football League.

In the Championship, they made it to the preliminary quarter-final stages after finishing second in their round-robin group, only to be knocked out by a Shane Walsh-powered Galway.

Conor Laverty will have his sights set high this year, so the return of the Dr McKenna Cup gives the Mournemen the perfect opportunity to size up the provincial opposition and dust off the cobwebs of the club season.

The last time these two sides played each other in the 2024 Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final.

The eventual All-Ireland winners sneaked into the final via a last-minute point from Cullyhana’s Jason Duffy.