Rian Boran hoping to keep the good times rolling for Kildare

​By Paul Keane

An hour after Monday evening's Hurling for Cancer Research charity game had wrapped up, Rian Boran was still signing hurls and jerseys and posing for photos.

The Kildare captain had plenty of practice beforehand given his county's quite remarkable two seasons in which they won both the Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cup titles. Next year, they will be among the teams that line up in the race for the MacCarthy Cup.

That journey for Kildare will begin in the Leinster championship, a competition they have not competed in since 2004.

These are landmark times for Kildare hurling with Brian Dowling's crew also set to compete in Division 1B of the Allianz League, pitting them against the likes of Dublin, Clare and Wexford.

So Monday's charity game in Carlow, when Boran played against TJ Reid, Lee Chin, Chris Crummey and Ryan Taylor, was really just a peek into what awaits him and Kildare in 2026.

"Very proud of the work that everyone put in to get there," said team skipper Boran of Kildare's progress. "The players, backroom staff, it all seemed to come together very well within the space of a couple of months."

Kildare lost the Division 2 league final and then suffered defeat to Kerry in their opening Joe McDonagh Cup game, back in mid-April. At that stage, the county had played in nine McDonagh Cup games ever and lost them all. Nobody was talking about silverware, nor joining the game's elite in 2026, though Kildare, as Boran noted, turned it all around in a matter of weeks.

Between April 26 and June 8 they pulled off five wins in a row which has left them perhaps even rivalling Tipperary as the breakthrough team of the inter-county hurling season.

"It was a lot of the lads' first time up in the Joe McDonagh Cup, it's a young team compared to previous years, so that first game definitely had a huge impact," said full-back Boran of the defeat to Kerry in Newbridge.

"That was a tough one, we took it pretty hard but in fairness to the lads they showed the right attitude. Kerry are a good team as well. But we took that beating to heart and came back stronger. We had to up the physicality for the next game against Westmeath."

Those were mighty challenges that Kildare overcame though the standard will rise sharply again next year.

Barely 18 months ago they were planning how to win the Christy Ring Cup yet are now thinking about taking on Leinster champions Kilkenny in 2026.

They will replace Antrim in the provincial championship and just one win, as Offaly proved this season, might even be enough to keep them up. Can they do it?

"Everyone has hopes and dreams - it would definitely be a dream of mine to stay up in the Leinster championship," said Boran. "But there's a lot of work to be done. I'm already looking forward to getting back in with the lads again. We'll try to drive on with the club first but we'll look forward to the new year with Kildare, absolutely."

Naas man Boran described it as exciting times for Kildare hurling who will play their home games again at the redeveloped St Conleth's Park in Newbridge. There will be some huge championship ties at the venue next summer.

"It's a huge challenge," acknowledged Boran of the overall test awaiting Kildare. "We'll try our best not to underestimate it. We know there's a huge amount of work to do to try to reach that level because it's a really different standard but we're up for trying to reach that level and we'll hopefully give a bit of entertainment to our fans too."

Boran, along with Jack Sheridan and Simon Leacy, represented Kildare on Monday evening in Carlow. They are all Naas clubmates while Boran was joined on the Lilywhites team in this year's McDonagh Cup campaign by his brother Cian. A third brother, Conan, was part of Kildare's group too.

"Conan was injured but he would have hoped to be there playing for sure," said Rian. "He was a water boy and on the sideline giving commands and orders!"

All of them will hope to push Kildare to new heights next year and beyond.

"It's a very positive time in Kildare," said Boran, who was delighted to get the opportunity to represent his county in the charity game.

"I never would have thought I'd be playing with the likes of my heroes on the same field. It was my first year playing and it was an amazing feeling. They're all top, top lads and great fun. They're all easy to chat away to and it all made for a great experience really."