Katie Power ruled out for Kilkenny
Pictured is Kilkenny Camogie player, Katie Power who has teamed up with AIB to support the GOAL Mile. AIB is offering participants the chance to win up to €7,000 for their Gaelic Games club by registering their Club to host a GOAL Mile and entering the AIB GAA GOAL Mile competition at https://goalmile.org/aibgaacompetition
By Cian O'Connell
Katie Power doesn't expect to feature for the Kilkenny senior camogie team in 2026.
Such a key performer for Kilkenny during the past decade, Power hasn't been able to return to training with the panel recently. "The girls are gone back training a couple of weeks, three or four weeks, not for myself at the moment," Power explains.
"It is probably looking like I won't get to be involved in 2026 under a bit of medical advice. Maybe later in the season, I will be able, but 2027 maybe, we will see how things go?
"It is tough, obviously it has been a big part of my life for so long. I absolutely love playing for Kilkenny, but I just feel like my body isn't able, it has been a bit of a struggle for the last couple of years.
"Under a bit of advice to maybe take a couple of months, tip away at my own few bits, and maybe be hopefully right for the club season and then see how things go from there."
Power acknowledges that retirements to key players meant 2025 was always going to be a transitional phase. "Kilkenny Camogie is in a transitional period at the moment," she replies.
"Again, that isn't just me throwing out a statement. It is factual enough, we haven't been in a semi-final since 2022. We were really up and down in our performances last year. We'd some really good performances and results and some really poor ones.
"That is just the nature of sport, it is the circle of sport. It is the circle of life, it is the way things go. We'd an unbelievable team there for probably the bones of seven or eight years. We were in All-Irelands, we won three, we were in All-Irelands nearly every other year.
Kilkenny's Katie Power during the 2025 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Quarter-Final against Tipperary at Croke Park. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
"Unfortunately, the good things sometimes have to come to an end. Our minors had a great win in the All-Ireland last year, there is still super players involved in the panel, absolutely brilliant players. I've no doubt Kilkenny will always be very close to beating any team or getting to the knockout stages of championships."
Nonetheless, Kilkenny were beaten by Tipperary in an exciting All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park. "That was probably one of our better performances of the year," Power reflects.
"We performed really well, we were just unfortunate one or two things didn't go our way, and we didn't take a few chances.
"That is the nature of sport, you've to take the chances, if you don't, someone else is going to go up the field, and take theirs. Unfortunately, you're licking your wounds after that one because it is definitely one we feel we left behind."
The fact that an increasing number of counties can be classed as serious contenders in the championship is an encouraging sign according to Power. "I definitely think it is," she responds.
"I think more counties in terms of the gap has closed. Even this year alone, Galway winning the All-Ireland, everyone had Cork tipped as huge favourites.
"I know Galway were in the All-Ireland last year, but throughout the championship people were still giving nobody else hope with Cork. Waterford have been there for the last few years and Tipp have been knocking on the door, and you've ourselves there, too.
"I do think you've five or six really battling it out to win the O'Duffy Cup, maybe five or six years ago there was probably realistically three teams. So, it is great to see for the game because we need every team raising their standards so the championship is better."