Rebels double Downey on brothers to shore up defence

This weekend the Downey brothers, Rob and Eoin, will become the latest siblings to feature together in the hurling showpiece.

It still seems something of a novelty that siblings will feature together on All-Ireland hurling final day, but a glance back through history would suggest otherwise.

In the last 50 All-Ireland hurling finals, all but five have featured brothers. The last time it occurred was when the two finalists crossed paths in 2013. Prior to that, 2010, 2009, 1999 and 1990 were the only "brother-less" finals until you go back to 1972.

Information on such matters can be tricky to pinpoint, but local GAA historian Leo McGough has been compiling notes for different areas within the game over the years.

Prior to the 1930s, family connections can be tricky to verify, but from that period onwards he has gathered valuable information on each championship year, information the association itself has struggled to comprehensively cover.

By his reckoning, the Downeys will become the 69th set of brothers to grace All-Ireland hurling final day in close to 100 years.

Just a year out of the Under-20 grade, Eoin Downey has looked right at home on the edge of the square, a problem position for the Rebels since they were last serial contenders.

Having played a good deal of his underage career in the half-back line, the Glen Rovers man may end up back in that area further down the line, but with Cork currently well stocked for options there, he seems set to spend the foreseeable future further back.

Parachuted into the team after the opening Munster defeat to Waterford – he made his debut last year against Tipperary - he has been trusted by Pat Ryan with the number 3 on his back.

His semi-final tussle with Limerick’s Seamus Flanagan was