Boran grateful to be back with Kildare after year on the sidelines 

Perhaps the biggest story of the game was the return to action of Conan Boran, making his first appearance picking up an ACL injury late in the 2024 county final as Naas beat Maynooth.

After over a year on the sidelines, missing the entire 2025 season, every hurling fan across Kildare would have been over the moon to see Boran’s name among the substitutes for the Kilkenny clash.

Speaking after the game, Boran was understandably elated as he paid tribute to those who have helped with his return:

“In fairness, it's a testament to the boys that have been working with me, pushing me on the last 12 months. They know who they are, the S-and-Cs (Strength and Conditioning coaches) and the physios and all the backroom team,” he said.

Boran suffered a setback in his recovery just before Christmas, he and his coaches refused to give up and put in a huge amount of work to be in a position to take the field against the mighty Kilkenny.

“There's a lot of investment from underage coaches throughout the years, in fairness, giving up time to put effort into us. So, there's bigger reasons to come back, it's not a personal thing,” he explained.

“And to the 15 lads that started today, it's to keep pushing them on as well. So, I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks - come back and train on Tuesday, and just really looking forward to meeting them again now.” 

Boran also touched on the mental aspect of spending such a long time away from the game due to injury, saying: “It can be mentally tough, but it’s the days when you cross back over the white line, it makes it all worth it.

“The amount of boys that have come up there congratulating me just for basically lacing up the boots again, so it's a good day for me. I'm just really eager to get back in and push on the other 35 lads on the panel.” 

Boran praised the unity among the Kildare squad, personified by how they performed in the first half and stayed in the fight with a side like Kilkenny until the very end – proving that Kildare can survive in Division 1 hurling.

“The speed of hurling today, obviously you can see it's another level but, look, we're just focusing on ourselves, trying to get the best out of ourselves every session and that's all we can do,” he said.

“We're going hard in training and the boys are putting us through their paces; we're just constantly working on ourselves. Looking internally, it's a tight group there, so we'll just drive it on now for Tuesday, that's all.” 

Boran’s return is a significant boost to Brian Dowling’s squad as he will be a key player once again for Kildare if he can get back to anything like his best.