'Pure nostalgia' - Throwback pictures from the last time Ireland reached World Cup in 2002
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26 Mar 2026
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26 Mar 2026
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Kildare manager Brian Dowling, Photo by Stephen Marken/Sportsfile
“I am absolutely delighted. It was our target all year to get up to Division 1B. I was up here last Saturday shouting for Down to get the job done, but on the way home I was thinking that maybe we need to do this ourselves and that it would mean more to us (that way). We came here today, we wanted to get it done ourselves, and thankfully we did,” the words of Brian Dowling after his Kildare side were promoted to Division 1B of the Allianz Hurling League after their win over Meath.
“We have been looking forward to this all week, but we knew after Meath put 2-22 up in the first half last week and were really impressive that it would be a tough game. We knew the high stakes that were there for us, I am delighted that we have reached our objective and that we are up to Division 1B, which is brilliant.”
Kildare came flying out the blocks in this game and, fancied or not, The Lilies always looked set to do the business in Trim.
Manager Brian Dowling also remained insistent that the real goal for 2025 remains establishing Kildare in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
He added, “In fairness, the group has been really focused all week and it would have been a killer not to get the job done after the way we played in the league. We had a disappointing start against Down and even after that game I was very happy with the performance. We just weren’t clinical enough, but the rest of the games were really good.”
Among the other Division 1B members, Kildare will also face current All-Ireland champions Clare and Wexford, who were both relegated from the top tier.
“To get up to Division 1, even saying it is absolutely brilliant. You are looking at teams for next year and we’ll have problems like who is going to pick up Tony Kelly or Rory O’Connor and that’s a great place to be. When you look at the likes of Rian Boran, Paul Dolan, Cian Boran, that is what these lads want. They need a challenge like that.
“I just mentioned Rian Boran there…I picked him as captain this year and I thought he was immense there today. We know Meath went route one a bit to Damien Healy with high balls and I thought Rian was absolutely fantastic,” Dowling said.
READ NEXT: Kildare blitz Antrim in second half, gain promotion
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