'My first senior debut was in football': Robert Downey leads St Nick's resurgence

Robert Downey might be better known as a hurler, but his grá for the big ball knows no bounds.

His passion for St Nick’s has been evident for years, always togging out whenever the schedule allows. He has been part of the group that has helped steady the ship after a challenging period for the club.

They did lose the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC final last year to Buttevant, but they are a club moving in the right direction again under the guidance of manager Robert Brosnan.

St Nick’s face Kilmacabea on Friday in Macroom at 7.30pm in a winner-takes-all tie.

For Downey, he will be in the thick of the action.

“Not many people might know this, but I made my senior football debut before I played senior hurling,” he says.

“We were Premier 1 all the way up. We never won anything much, but football was always taken very seriously. We trained hard. There was no giving out. Everyone played. We all played both codes.” 

Even as hurling became the public-facing part of his sporting life — and even when he captained Cork hurlers in 2024 — St Nick’s push to re-establish themselves after a difficult period has Downey right in the middle of it again.

“I think, in fairness, Robert Brosnan has been massive in getting things going again,” Downey said.

“He’s the manager now. He’s a massive name in St Nick’s, but he’s been unbelievable to work with — just trying to get numbers back to training.

“Anytime you go down to training now, there’s 25 or 30 lads there. That’s brilliant. In fairness to Robert and the selectors, they’ve put in a massive amount of work in the last two years or so. 

"They’ve got a buy-in from lads. We’re taking it more serious again. St Nick’s are a very, very proud football club — and we’re just doing our best.” 

St Nick’s were on the brink of returning to the intermediate ranks in 2025, but they were beaten by a classy Buttevant side in the final. They are back in the mix to make the knockout stages again this year.

“We had a great win in the last round against our neighbours Na Piarsaigh,” he states.

“We were down a bunch of lads, in fairness, the first day out against Canovee — not taking away from Canovee, they’re a serious team and probably are favourites to win this grade. But once we got a couple of lads back, it came together. It was do-or-die against Na Piarsaigh. We had to win.” 

They did — and they did it against their rivals, which always adds a bit of spice.

What’s driving St Nick’s now is a blend of old and new: the tradition of St Nick’s, and the injection of young footballers who have played at a high level all the way up.

“We’ve some brilliant young fellas coming through,” Downey says. 

“They’ve played football at a high level with St Nick’s all the way up. It’s great to see that coming through again.” 

And now comes the biggest test of their season: Kilmacabea in Macroom. Win or bust again.

“It’ll be a very dangerous game. Kilmacabea drew with Canovee in the last round — they’re a serious outfit. They came up this year having won the grade below. Teams that come up always tend to do well.

“We have to be on our game if we want to have any chance of getting a positive result.”