Brian Dowling delighted following 'special' Christy Ring Cup win

Speaking in the underbelly of Croke Park following his side’s Christy Ring Cup victory, Kildare manager Brian Dowling said, “It is a brilliant feeling when that final whistle blows, you just can’t beat it. Anything you win up here is special. At the start of the year, this was our aim, we knew we had to win the Christy Ring. The pressure was on us and anything else wouldn’t have done. The lads have put in a huge effort all year and I am absolutely delighted with everything they have done and they got their reward today, because you don’t always get the rewards in hurling.”

Following relegation from the Joe McDonagh last year, Kildare were expected to bounce straight back in 2024, but, as any of those players will attest to, that is a task easier said than done. The Lilies delivered under new manager Brian Dowling and the Kilkenny man now has a trophy to add to his CV after his first year managing Kildare.

Dowling said, “You have to go out and earn it. Fair play to Derry, they threw everything at us in that second half. I think David Qualter’s goal was absolutely massive. We really turned the screw after that.”

Kildare went in at the break with a six-point lead, which had all but disappeared early in the second half as Derry came flying out of the blocks. The trailing side hit five points without reply after the restart before two Sheridan frees and Qualter’s brilliant goal turned this game back in Kildare’s favour.

“I’d say the lads are fairly happy there is no analysis being done on this game for a while,” Dowling laughed.

“We left a lot of scores behind us. I don’t know how many shots we had in the end. We had 26 at half-time and we were rushing a lot of them. We needed more composure, but it is a final and things don’t always go as planned, but the lads showed great character and stuck at it.”