Kildare crowned Leinster U20 Champions after enthralling final with Louth
Kildare faced Louth in the 2026 Dalata Hotel Group Leinster U20 Football Championship Final in Parnell Park this evening and emerged as 0-23 to 1-18 winners
A season of hurt in Kildare football was beautifully interrupted on a bright Wednesday evening by the heroic efforts of the Kildare U20s who lifted a Leinster title after an enthralling final.
Kildare came out on top against Louth in the 2026 Dalata Hotel Group Leinster U20 Football Championship Final and The Lilies were crowned after an 0-23 to 1-18 victory.
The travelling fans of the victorious Kildare deserved their jubilant celebrations on the field at full-time after braving the nauseating level of traffic headed through the capital and into this bizarrely-assigned venue for a Wednesday evening fixture.
It was a slow build into what became an excellent first half and Louth broke the deadlock after seven when Adam Gillespie set up Shane Lennon to score.
Calum Keaveny gave Kildare an instant reply when he received possession in midfield from a confident Carroll kickout. Keaveny offloaded, received possession again before rushing towards goal. The Athy man scuffed his weak foot effort which still needed saving before Ronan Kelly recycled to Keaveny to equalise.
Colm Moran fired Kildare ahead moments later and The Lilies carried a three-point lead into the 10th minute after a point from Ronan Kelly and a free that was converted by Jimmy Lynch, who had won it himself.
Louth, after some early kick-out struggles which aided the building of Kildare’s lead, clawed back to within two when Keelin Martin scored on the counter.
Ben Ryan carried possession towards but fell foul to a Louth shirt running full tilt into him with a shoulder as he aimed to shoot. No foul was given as the bizarre notion that running full speed into the side of an opponent is a fair challenge. That ruling is not Louth’s problem however and The Wee County surged forward off the back of the Kildare goal chance. The breathless counter-attacking move finished in the hands of Adam Gillespie who produced an excellent finish off his cultured left foot.
Euan Cowzer fired a quick reply for Kildare before Gillespie answered with an excellent two-pointer to give Louth a 1-4 to 0-5 lead just before the 20-minute mark.
Gillespie added a single at the end of a slick attacking move to give his side a three-point lead, which turned to five when goalkeeper Tiarnan Markey slotted a two-point free and firmly put his kick-out woes behind him.
The Lilies answered with a two-point free from Ronan Kelly that fought its way over off the top of the crossbar. Ruaidhrí Lawlor reduced the gap to one by raising an orange flag from play with five to go in the first half.
Pearse Grimes-Murphy got Louth back to two ahead but the side’s were level less than a minute later when Lawlor hit another exceptional two-pointer from play which landed on top of the net after he unleashed under immense Louth pressure.
After levelling thanks to the superb long-range shooting of the St Laurence’s man, Kildare took a lead in at half-time following some superb forward interplay which finished with a Ronan Kelly score.
The Lilies led Louth 0-12 to 1-8 at the break.
It didn’t take Louth long to level after the restart with Tiarnan Markey slotting a ‘45 before Shane Lennon put Louth ahead with a sharp burst forward and tidy finish.
Liam Kenny levelled this enthralling Leinster final in the 36th minute and all in attendance got the sense nobody was cruising over the finish line in this clash.
Markey was on the mark again to push Louth ahead with his second two-point free of the game to make this final 1-12 to 0-13 with 40 minutes on the clock.
Kildare’s response was from there lightning forward line again with Colm Moran and Jimmy Lynch each earning space to score.
Pearse Grimes-Murphy and Ruaidhrí Lawlor both added to their tallies to keep the sides level with 15 minutes to go.
Ronan Kelly gave Kildare their first lead since half-time when he cut inside and fired over under pressure. The restoration of their previous lead was short-lived when Louth won a Kildare kick-out and Shane Lennon added his third.
It was Louth who led this end-to-end encounter next when goalscorer Adam Gillespie converted with Jimmy Lynch the man to restore parity this time around. With 10 minutes to go, the game sat at 0-18 to 1-15.
After extended Kildare possession, Jimmy Lynch created space for Euan Cowzer to edge The Lilies ahead before Tony McDonnell turned the tables for Louth again.
The Louth centre-forward knocked over a close-range to level things just a minute before he pushed The Wee County two clear with a two-pointer which he sliced across.
Kildare won a free by the sideline as they looked for their way back with five minutes to go. The free was subsequently brought forward after dissent from the Louth sideline that left Ronan Kelly with a simple tap over.
Dan Colbert rose highest and rose best to fetch possession for The Lilies again. The ball was offloaded to Calum Keaveny who burst forward and equalised in fine style.
The tension in Parnell Park was nothing short of immense as The Lilies shifted possession now in search of a lead. It was semi-final star Jimmy Lynch who got it too after he showed huge confidence to beat his man and fire over off his weaker right foot.
Louth poured forward in numbers and were denied a definite equaliser by an excellent block from Liam Kelly and a free that was won moments later by Rob Murray to help The Lilies survive.
Kildare now had the ball and a chance to move two clear, which was passed up, and Louth were in with one last shot.
It was not to be for The Wee County as this heroic Kildare outfit turned over possession again.
Ronan Kelly fisted over the game’s final score to crown Kildare Leinster U20 champions on a scoreline of 0-23 to 1-18 over Louth following an excellent final.
Kildare: Ronan Kelly 0-7 (0-3 frees, 1 x 2ptf), Ruaidhrí Lawlor 0-5 (2 x 2pt), Jimmy Lynch 0-4 (0-2 frees), Calum Keaveny 0-2, Colm Moran 0-2, Euan Cowzer 0-2, Liam Kenny 0-1.
Louth: Adam Gillespie 1-4 (1 x 2pt), Tiarnan Markey 0-5 (0-4 frees, 2 x 2ptf, 1 x '45), Shane Lennon 0-3, Tony McDonnell 0-3 (1 x 2pt, 0-1 frees), Pearse Grimes-Murphy 0-2, Keelin Martin 0-1.
KILDARE: Charlie Carroll; Cian McKevitt, Liam Kelly, Senan Gallagher; Calum Keaveny, Finn Dowling, Ben Ryan; Evan Boyle, Ruaidhrí Lawlor; Daniel Colbert, Liam Kenny, Jimmy Lynch; Euan Cowzer, Colm Moran, Ronan Kelly. Subs: Harry Redmond for Liam Kenny (38 minutes), Rob Murray for Cian McKevitt (53 minutes), Hugh Martin for Euan Cowzer (57 minutes).
LOUTH: Tiarnan Markey; Padric Tinnelly, Cormac McKeown, Pearse Grimes-Murphy; Keelin Martin, Michéal Reid, Tadhg Devaney; Conor McGinty, Colm Hackett; Shane Lennon, Tony McDonnell, Daniel Craven; Adam Gillespie, Sean Flynn, Conor Mac Criosta. Subs: Andrew O'Reilly for Colm Hackett (42 minutes).
Referee: Seamus Farrelly (Dublin)