Murphy hoping third year will be a charm as Gaynor Cup kicks off
The KDUL Gaynor Cup team.
The 2026 SFAI Gaynor Cup is well underway, with the best U14 players from right across the Kildare and District Underage League (KDUL) in search of glory under the watchful eye of manager Claire Murphy.
Kildare kick-started Group 1 on Monday against South Belfast and complete the round robin stage today (Tuesday, June 2nd) with games against Carlow and then Limerick Desmond.
Wednesday will see Kildare move on to the knockout stages. Where they finish in Group 3 will determine if Claire Murphy's side will play in the Cup, Bowl, Shield or Trophy.
All preliminary quarter-finals as well as all quarter-finals will be played on Wednesday, while all semi-finals and place matches are scheduled for Thursday. The 2026 Gaynor Cup will come to an end on Friday, with a showcase day consisting of the third-place playoffs and all four finals.
There are ten different clubs supplying players to Kildare's 20-strong squad. Sallins Celtic are out in front with four players represented, while Moone Celtic and Naas have three players apiece. There are two players each from BBC United, Monasterervin and Kilcullen, and one apiece from Newbridge United, Clane United, Suncroft and Rathangan.
The incredible blend of clubs in the squad speaks volumes about the strength right across the KDUL and dedication of the coaches to see as many players and clubs as they possibly could.
Ahead of her third year in charge of the KDUL’s Gaynor Cup team, Claire Murphy spoke with The Kildare Nationalist to discuss her squad and what the team hope to accomplish.
“The Gaynor Cup is kind of like a culmination of inter-league competitions within the age group of 12 to 14,” she said.
“So, all of those players would come to trials and then there might be other players who weren't on the interleague squad that would come in from other KDUL clubs and they would trial as well. So essentially then, we were looking out to pick the strongest players from across all clubs within the KDUL league, which has produced some incredible female athletes over the years.
"Actually last (Thursday) night we had a player up with us who played for the KDUL Gaynor squad in 2022 and she now plays National League for Shelbourne. She actually came up to give a talk to the girls around her experience around the Gaynor squad and playing in the Cup as well. Because I suppose it is seen as a stage for girls at U14 to springboard them into that next level, to introduce them to elite tournaments, and hopefully expose them to FAI scouts and potentially have them looked at in terms of going forward with their own footballing career as well."
Murphy concluded by telling us how she saw the week playing out, saying, "Obviously everyone goes to compete to end up in the Cup, but there are others. There's the cup, there's a trophy, a bowl, a shield. So, there's four different streams that you can end up in.
We would definitely hope to be able to reach a final of one of them. That would be our goal. But again, you can never tell with tournament football, cup football, you can never tell what's going to happen.”
In advance of the tournaments, KDUL Chairperson Nicola Early said: “On behalf of all at KDUL, I would like to wish our Kennedy and Gaynor Cup squads the very best of luck in their respective competitions. We are immensely proud of every player selected to represent Kildare.
“I have no doubt these players will represent Kildare and the League with pride, passion and respect. We know they will do their families, clubs and county proud, and everyone involved in KDUL will be cheering them on every step of the way.”
