Kilkenny star looks set to miss out on 2026 inter-county season

Kilkenny camogie have suffered a big blow with news that one of their more experienced players Katie Power is likely to sit out the majority of the new season.

The 34 year-old captained Kilkenny to a Leinster title in 2025 but a host of injuries over the last few years seem to be taking a toll on the Piltown forward.

Asked what her plans were for the year, the three time All-Ireland winner gave a blunt assessment of her likelihood in lining out for the black and amber for the new season.

“I don't have a plan, unfortunately, at the moment,” said Power, when speaking to the national press at the AIB GOAL Mile media day.

“I have early arthritis in my knees and I actually have a bad foot issue since the start of September,” she said.

“We’re finished playing with club around eight weeks now and it’s probably getting no better. So, I just have two issues there that don’t really seem to be clearing up at all. I suppose if I gave them a couple of months, I might be able to see if we could go back at it in 2027.

“But at the moment, it looks very unlikely that I’ll be able to continue in 2026 with Kilkenny anyway. The girls are back training but I’m not with the group. I just got a bit of medical advice over the last couple of weeks in terms of possibly taking the year out.

“So it is something that I have to strongly think about over the next couple of weeks. I'm trying not to think about it too much, obviously, because all I want to do is play camogie, and playing camogie with Kilkenny is a huge part of my life.

“If that needs to be done, it needs to be done but I won't be ruling myself out anyway for the long term, maybe.”

With a new management team in place and a very young squad to play with, the loss of Power would be a big one indeed as the Cats look to improve on a disappointing few seasons.