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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Kildare hold off Limerick to secure Tailteann Cup and return to Sam Maguire action
Tailteann Cup Final: Kildare 1-24 Limerick 2-19 This was a Tailteann Cup final that Kildare , desperate to return to the Sam Maguire Cup race in 2026, simply couldn't afford to lose. And they almost did. Well, that's not entirely accurate. Had Limerick substitute Rory O'Brien's shot at goal gone in, well after the siren had sounded, instead of deflecting over for a point, it would have only secured extra-time. Still, given Kildare's Croke Park record – they'd only won eight of 28 championship games there since the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final loss to Down – you wouldn't have been putting the mortgage on them getting the job done. That's not to say they didn't deserve their two-point win though. They were just about good value for it overall, the scores throughout the 70 minutes or so coming that little bit easier for them. READ MORE Darragh Kirwan got plenty of them, 0-8 in total, while Alex Beirne scored Kildare's only goal and finished with 1-2. For the second game running, there was a big impact from the bench from Brian McLoughlin also. The 2018 All-Ireland under-20 final goalscorer struck five points in the semi-final win over Fermanagh after coming on and provided another important cameo this time, shooting three points. It was McLoughlin's 55th-minute two-pointer that really energised Kildare, tying the game at that stage and further deflating Limerick, who'd just kicked two point attempts short at the other end. From there, Kildare kicked on with a series of scores in front of their supporters on the Hill 16 terrace, opening up a four-point lead which proved decisive in the end. It's Kildare's first piece of serious silverware since winning the Division Two final in 2012. They beat Tyrone in that decider and are desperate to get back to those levels after a disappointing few seasons under Glenn Ryan. It's early days yet under his replacement, Brian Flanagan, but 12 wins from 15 competitive games in 2025 has yielded promotion back to Division Two as well as their return to the All-Ireland SFC in 2026. Limerick's Tommie Childs is tackled by Kildare's Brendan Gibbons and Brian Byrne during the Tailteann Cup Final at Croke Park. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho 'We have a really united panel, a really ambitious panel and one that sees this as just the start of something,' said Flanagan. 'This isn't the end by any means of anything – it is just purely the beginning. It is year one of what we hope will be four or maybe more. 'Winning was so, so important, and lifting silverware, so that you had in your mentality, so you had it in your psyche going forward because there's much bigger challenges that lie ahead for us. 'We're going to Division Two next year and we now have Sam Maguire Cup football nailed on. What this year has done is proven that we deserve to be there. We've earned our spot in both of them. And we didn't get it easy, we had to beat the best teams.' Limerick manager Jimmy Lee insisted that he has 'no regrets' about how things turned out. But his side were two ahead with 20 minutes to go after goals from captain Cillian Fahy and Killian Ryan. Between the 20th and 48th minutes, they outscored Kildare by 1-12 to 0-6 to take control of the game and nudge two points clear, 2-15 to 1-16. Point attempts that dropped short, others that flew wide, and three goal chances overall that weren't converted all came back to haunt Limerick, ruining their bid to become the first Division Four team to win the Tailteann Cup. Instead it was Kildare who became the third Leinster team in the four-season history of the B championship to claim the silverware. KILDARE: C Burke; B Byrne, R Burke, H O'Neill; T Gill (0-0-1), D Hyland, J McGrath; K Feely (0-0-2, 1f), B Gibbons; C Bolton (0-1-0), D Kirwan (0-2-4), C Dalton (0-0-2); R Sinkey (0-0-3), A Beirne (1-0-2), D Flynn (0-0-1). Subs: J McKevitt for McGrath and B McLoughlin (0-1-1) for Gibbons (both 43 mins); E Cully for Flynn (47); M O'Grady for Burke (66). LIMERICK: J Ryan (0-1-1, 1 tpf, 1 45); J Hassett, D O'Doherty, M McCarthy; K Ryan (1-0-1), I Corbett (0-0-1), T McCarthy (0-0-3); T Childs (0-0-1), D O'Hagan; P Maher, C Fahy (1-0-1), D Neville (0-0-1); E Rigter (0-0-2), J Naughton (0-0-2, 2f), P Nash (0-0-3, 1f). Subs: B Coleman for Childs (16-20 mins, blood); D Murray for O'Hagan (43); Coleman for Maher (47); R Childs for Rigter (55); T Ó Siochrú for Corbett (61); R O'Brien (0-0-1) for T Childs (66). Referee: L Devenney (Mayo).
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Kildare beat Limerick in Tailteann Cup final
Kildare held on to beat Limerick 1-24 to 2-19 in an entertaining Tailteann Cup final at Croke Park. Despite a strong start from the Munster side, which included an early Cillian Fahy goal, the Lilywhites fought back to lead 1-13 to 1-9 at half-time, thanks to Alex Beirne's goal. After an end-to-end spell at the start of the second half, Killian Ryan scored a fine individual goal to put Limerick two points up. But that moment sparked Kildare into life, with a purple patch nudging them 1-24 to 2-18 ahead in the closing pushed for a goal in the dying seconds, and nearly scored it when substitute Rory O'Brien found himself with a chance in front of the posts. However, his effort struck Kildare's Brian Byrne and went over the bar as the hooter sounded, sparking ecstatic celebrations among the Leinster men as Limerick fell to the turf in devastation. It caps a fine year for Kildare - for whom Darragh Kirwan top-scored with 0-8 - who earned promotion to Division Two before losing their Leinster semi-final to eventual champions Louth. The game served as the curtain-raiser to the weekend's first All-Ireland semi-final between Tyrone and who will play in the 2026 All-Ireland series, are the fourth Tailteann Cup champions after Westmeath, Meath and Down.
Irish Examiner
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Kildare pip Offaly to book Tailteann Cup semi-final
Tailteann Cup quarter-final: Kildare 1-17 Offaly 0-19 Revenge was sweet for Kildare who got the better of Offaly at the third time of asking to secure their Tailteann Cup semi-final place. Brian Flanagan's side previously lost to Offaly in the Division 3 league final and earlier again in the group stage. But seven points from in-form attacker Alex Beirne, who now has 2-30 for the tournament, and a crucial goal from James McGrath, propelled the hosts to a hugely significant win in Newbridge. Ryan Sinkey and Darragh Kirwan split six points evenly between them also as Kildare reached the last four of the tier two competition for the first time. They were pushed all the way by a game Offaly side who cut a seven-point deficit with 21 minutes to go to just one late on. Offaly even had a two-point attempt in the fifth minute of stoppage time to win it but Cillian Bourke's attempt flew wide. It all means that Offaly's season is over while Kildare will progress to Monday morning's draw for the semi-finals which will take place next weekend at Croke Park. On a wet pitch with intermittent downpours, the physicality was off the scale throughout as the Leinster neighbours met for the third time this year. Colm Dalton is tackled by David Dempsey of Offaly. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile Offaly won the previous two meetings by six and two-point margins but ran into a Kildare side in better form this time. The Lilywhites were one of only two teams in the competition to reach the knock-out stage with a perfect record. They blitzed Leitrim and Tipperary before blasting 4-19 beyond Sligo to advance directly to the quarter-finals. But this was always likely to be their toughest test of the campaign and the lead swung over and back throughout. Kildare had it first after clipping three of the game's first four points, from Sinkey, captain Kevin Feeley and Darragh Kirwan. Offaly responded with points from Keith O'Neill and Cathal Flynn, the latter a two-pointer, to move 0-5 to 0-3 ahead themselves. And so the terms of engagement were set. Next came the Kildare goal, from McGrath, which had the splendidly appointed new main stand rocking. Athy man McGrath took off on a stunning solo run towards goal from the right wing before rifling a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Paddy Dunican. Jack Bryant, Kildare's destroyer in the Division 3 league final at Croke Park, hit back for Offaly with a point and Daire McDaid added another. But Beirne's first point of the game left Kildare 1-7 to 0-8 up at half-time. It was more of the same after the break, Kildare firstly striding confidently clear with Beirne coming alive and kicking a two-pointer to nudge them 1-13 to 0-9 lead. Then Offaly hit back with five unanswered points - including two Jordan Hayes two-pointers - to cut the deficit right back again. They were neck and neck all the way until full-time Kirwan, Beirne and O'Grady grabbing the vital Kildare scores to keep them just about ahead all the way. Offaly did have a 75th minute attempt to win it when young Tullamore star Bourke took a pot shot at glory from outside the arc but his two-point attempt flew wide. Scorers for Kildare: A Beirne 0-7 (1 tp, 0-2f), J McGrath 1-0, R Sinkey 0-3, D Kirwan 0-3, K Feeley 0-1, D Flynn 0-1, D Hyland 0-1, M O'Grady 0-1. Scorers for Offaly: J Hayes 0-4 (2 tp), P Dunican 0-3 (1tp, 0-1 45) K O'Neill 0-2, C Flynn 0-2 (tp), D Hyland 0-2 (0-1f), S Tierney 0-2 (0-1f), J Furlong 0-1 (0-1m), J Bryant 0-1, D McDaid 0-1, C Bourke 0-1. KILDARE: C Burke; H O'Neill, M Dempsey, R Burke; T Gill, D Hyland, J McGrath; K Feely, B Gibbons; B Byrne, A Beirne, C Dalton; R Sinkey, D Flynn, D Kirwan. Subs: N Kelly for Sinkey 54, K Flynn for Gill 55, M O'Grady for Gibbons 58, J McKevitt for Dempsey 63, B McLoughlin for Kirwan 72. OFFALY: P Dunican; L Pearson, D Dempsey, D McDaid; A Bracken, J Furlong, C Egan; J McEvoy, J Hayes; K Higgins, C Flynn, C Bourke; D Hyland, J Bryant, K O'Neill. Subs: R McNamee for Higgins 42, S Tierney for Bryant 54, R Egan for Pearson 68. Referee: T Murphy (Galway). Read More Fermanagh reach Tailteann Cup semi final for the first time after narrow win against Sligo
Irish Daily Mirror
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
All Star on relief of Louth reaching Leinster final as Meath rivalry reignites
Craig Lennon says that Louth were determined not to take a 'backwards step' against Kildare after the huge strides of recent years Languishing in Division Four as recently as 2021, Louth have just completed a third season in Division Two and, having only reached one Leinster final between 1960 and 2023, are now into their third successive provincial decider after seeing off the Lilywhites in Tullamore on Sunday. Added to that, they reached the All-Ireland quarter-final stage for the first time last year, but the threat of the Tailteann Cup hung over them going into Sunday's game, as a Kildare win would have seen Brian Flanagan's side into the All-Ireland series at Louth's expense. 'There was a lot on the line,' admitted Lennon. 'You lose, you're in Tailteann Cup, which is a backwards step from where we were last year in an All-Ireland quarter-final for the first time. 'Yeah, there was a lot on the line; another chance at a Leinster Championship and another chance at an All-Ireland. Whether we beat them by 20 points or a point, there was going to be a lot of relief.' Lennon was central to the victory having missed the bulk of the League with a quad injury and the All Star's quality shone through as he notched 0-4 from wing-back. 'In terms of timeline, I knew I'd be back for around this time, I just looked forward to it. I had never done the quad before so I was sore in training but I thought I was fine, I thought it was just tight, went for it against Roscommon in the first two minutes. 'It happens in sport, maybe in hindsight I shouldn't have played, but that's football.' Goalkeeper Niall McDonnell was also heroic, making outstanding saves to deny Ryan Sinkey and Darragh Kirwan. 'I got asked after one of the games last year, he's the best shot-stopper I've ever seen,' gushed Lennon. 'He is unbelievable. Darragh Kirwan, one of the best forwards in the country, and a point-blank save right towards the end of the game there. The value he brings is unbelievable, thank God we have him.' There was confusion at the end of the game as Kildare sought a match-saving goal, with Lennon booting the ball over his own endline after the hooter had sounded - but referee Brendan Griffin allowed the 45, and a subsequent one, to be taken, correctly as it turned out. 'The hooter had went, the ball fell into my hands, and I was just going to kick it out anyway. The lads were shouting to kick it out. I kicked it over the end line, they get the 45 and drop it in, it actually hits off my foot and goes out for another 45. Then, thankfully it just went wide at the end, it was tight.' The result means that Louth have reached three successive Leinster finals for the first time since 1912-14, another landmark achievement, but that would be dwarfed if they were to beat neighbours Meath to take a first title since 1957 on May 11. 'We've come a long way,' said Lennon. 'There was some sort of graphic put up on social media in terms of the four teams playing in semi-finals, that we had the least amount of Leinster final appearances. Just trying to change the script I suppose, we're heading in the right direction.'
