PREVIEW: Kildare hurlers hunt for first McDonagh win

The Kildare hurlers get their Championship season under way this Saturday, April 19 against Kerry in the opening round of the Joe McDonagh Cup. Slated for a 2pm throw-in in Cedral St Conleth’s Park, the game marks the beginning of a vital campaign for Kildare hurling.

Kildare have already secured league promotion to Division 1B for next year, but manager Brian Dowling has rarely let a post-match interview pass without mentioning how things are building towards the Championship leg of the year. Well, here it is, and it’s time for one of hurling’s yo-yo teams of the last few years to get a firm footing in the second Championship tier.

Kildare have already played Kerry in 2025 with The Lilies coming out on top 2-28 to 0-17 in then their first outing in the new Cedral St Conleth’s Park. However, that particular result, impressive as it was, has already been dismissed as a potential indicator by manager Brian Dowling.

Speaking after Kildare’s league final loss to Down, he said: “That (Kerry game) won’t count for anything, it is a totally different story. That was the second round of the league in February. We know Kerry will be a different animal coming up. Last year they had a bad league and they turned over Westmeath in the first game. We are under no illusions that Kerry are going to be a totally different animal. We need to worry about ourselves and get ourselves back on track.”

The aforementioned league final thriller with Down will likely be far more indicative of the task ahead for Kildare as they go in search of that elusive first Joe McDonagh win. The Lilies carried momentum and a sense of being dark horses with them the last time they entered the competition, but, after another relegation, maybe holding their place might be enough to be thinking about this year.

“It’s a tough game to play (final vs Down), but you have to learn from it. Every Joe McDonagh game is going to be extremely tough, tougher than that. We have to learn quickly and move on from it,” Dowling said.

“There are no handy games. Every game is going to be an absolute battle and Kildare have obviously never won a Joe McDonagh game, so we have to change that this year if we want to go places. The lads won that Meath game and got promoted, that was brilliant and we’ll enjoy that. At the same time, we wanted to win the league, it’s a national title. Now we just have to be right for Kerry.”

Going Forward
Kildare have put up plenty of great scores this year so far, but their front men have presented a unique conun-
drum in their past few games. Jack Sheridan (twice) and Darragh Melville found the net in their clash with Down, yet neither could claim to have had their best game in a white jersey.

Sheridan’s scoring has naturally dropped since being replaced on set-piece duty by the ever-reliable David Qualter, but the Naas man hasn’t been at his dazzling best since his return from injury. Sheridan missed big chances for even more goals against Down and still has three goals in his last two games, but, with the quality of opposition set to ramp up, Kildare will be hoping for an uptick in white flag output from one of their star forwards.

The others following Qualter’s lead are James Burke and Paul Dolan, with Rian and Cian Boran, always good for a couple from further back.

Promising cameos from the likes of Gerry Keegan aren’t enough to ease the worries caused by injuries to other Kildare forwards. Although three weeks between the league final and Joe McDonagh opener may have allowed enough time for recovery from knocks picked up throughout a hectic league season. Brian Dowling will need as much of his squad as possible ready to go for the frantic pace of a Joe McDonagh Cup campaign.

Dowling said, “It is going to be five games in six weeks and the lads have really worked hard with Mick Gillick in the strength and conditioning.

“If we can turn around and learn from the Down game and get a couple of wins in the Joe McDonagh then it’ll have been worthwhile. The lads will have promotion to look forward to then in 2026.”

Mentality
Kildare’s clash with Kerry presents a chance at history. To get a first Joe McDonagh Cup win for this county and whether you want to be snarky about the significance of that fact or not, it remains so.

This is a Kildare team littered with quality and, in my estimation, enough to compete at this level. The Boran contingent, Simon Leacy, among a handful others could be competing at the highest level in hurling and The Lilies across the board should have enough to establish themselves as a second-tier hurling side for the time being.

The Lilies backline will be crucial once again and, despite lapses against Down, they have been impressive of late. Simon Leacy, flanked by Liam O’Reilly and Rian Boran, have been on janitorial duty while oppositions pour forward. In a game of big drama and big nerves on the horizon this weekend, keeping things tidy at the back will be crucial. They are supported between the sticks by the always cool Kildare veteran Paddy McKenna, his leadership and ability to build attacks from deep is another aspect to monitor at the weekend.

It all starts against The Kingdom and this first game, such is its significance, will feel akin to something of the scale of a royal insurgence for Kildare.

A bright start could prove crucial in settling things down and whether it’s a simple Qualter free or a booming Boran score, they would all be cherished in those opening minutes.

The Lilies have shown a great deal of their best in their last couple of games with short, sharp passing that has cut through defences, as well as dogged hard work.

For all the chatter surrounding the meaning of this fixture, this preview included, Kildare must make this a game of hurling and not a historic step forward or a desperate mission to avoid another step backwards. Thanks to the degree of their own success, this group is tasked with surging Kildare hurling forward once again and how they handle that duty will become clear this weekend.

Kildare face Kerry in the Joe McDonagh Cup this Saturday, April 19 at 2pm in Cedral St Conleth’s Park in one of their biggest games to date.

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