Greg Blaney is an Irish dual player who played Gaelic football and hurling for Down in the 1980s and 1990s.
[3] In 2009 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association he was named by The Irish News as one of the all-time best 125 footballers from Ulster.
Blaney is from Kircubbin in the Ards Peninsula, County Down, where hurling is undoubtedly the game of choice.
[citation needed] Keeping with his family traditions, Blaney attended school at St. Colman's College in Newry, a famed gaelic football institution known Ireland-wide.
[citation needed] This was the beginning of his footballing career, one which he later enhanced whilst attending[6] Queen's University Belfast.
He won numerous Down Senior Hurling Championships alongside his brothers and childhood friends.
Between Blaney's 1st year in 1974 and last in 1981, the team went undefeated through league and knockout stages in the various age category competitions.
So in 1981, having qualified for the then only All-Ireland college competition, the Hogan Cup, but with the age disparity between Ulster's MacRory (U18 1/2) and the other 3 provinces, Blaney and half a dozen colleagues from this undefeated team were deemed ineligible for the Hogan Cup (U18).
Blaney's honours while at St. Colman's included helping the school win three MacRory Cups[1] (1978, 1979 and 1981[6]).
In 1978 they went on to reach the Hogan Cup final, but they were beaten by St. Jarlath's College, Tuam.
In 1981 final, the captain of the winning St. Colman's team was none other than Greg Blaney, son of Sean.
As a fresher, Blaney was a top-scorer when Queen's University Belfast won the Sigerson Cup in 1982.
He won numerous Down Senior Hurling Championships alongside his brothers and childhood friends.
Blaney played in Antrim Senior Hurling League Division 1 with Ballycran in an era where no quarter was given or asked against teams such as Cushendall, Loughgiel, Ballycastle and fierce local rivals Ballygalget and Portaferry.
Blaney served as a selector with the Down Senior football team when former teammate Paddy O'Rourke was manager.