Deegan reveals the Kilkenny players who helped him most in his early days

Paddy Deegan is a name that musters up a plethora of traits - determined, dedicated, unassuming and loyal all come to mind instantly.

The O’Loughlin Gaels clubman took his first steps into the senior intercounty fold in 2015, initially trying his hand in training before joining the extended panel a year later.

As 2016 drew to a close, the Cats had secured eight All-Ireland titles in 11 seasons, with stars like Eoin Larkin, Colin Fennelly and Paul Murphy still donning the black and amber for their beloved county.

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However, as those near ‘Purr-fect Cats’ thrilled and excited supporters in equal measure, one man was slowly but surely making an impression on Brian Cody - a young 21-year-old from St John’s parish.

The hard-working Deegan, who was studying at NUI Maynooth, caught Cody’s eye early on. Now a senior stalwart he recalled sensing when his opportunity arose.

"I used to go on some journeys when it came to getting back to Kilkenny for training," he said at the launch of Kilkenny GAA’s renewed partnership with Tírlán for the 2025 season.

"I didn’t have a car at the time, so I used to have to get a train into Dublin, and then catch a bus from Dublin down to Kilkenny for training, while my dad would drop me back up to Maynooth the next morning.

"Richie Hogan found out about it and he used to collect me at the Poitín Still - he would have looked after me," Deegan added.

The five-time Leinster title winner and 2024 captain reflected fondly on what were then arduous treks to and from training.

Despite going to such great lengths, he never allowed doubt or stumbling blocks to stand in his way, in spite of having no guarantees of making breakthrough in a team hungry to continue their illustrious Liam MacCarthy record.

"It wasn’t too much of an effort for me either. I just saw it as an opportunity to maybe make it on to the panel or the team and I’m happy now that I did it."

And be it transport or an arm around the shoulder, the support Deegan received early on was key to him becoming a main-stay on the panel.

"The experienced players were really welcoming to young lads coming onto the panel and giving you that advice and I suppose that’s the important thing.

"When you’re that age you can go one or two ways - you can listen to them or you can think that you’re a great lad. From my point of view I think that I listened to them and I think I’m after getting a lot of experience from them. coming onto the Kilkenny team," he continued.

"I suppose when I first came on and first starting in 2017, Michael Fennelly would have been midfield beside me. He would have been a really good influence on me just in terms of an arm around the shoulder if I needed it or a bit of advice or anything like that," Deegan recalled.

The Kilkenny defender’s efforts were rewarded in 2017 when he got his opportunity to shine in his Leinster Championship debut against Wexford, a competition that’s been kind to the local school teacher, who has won five provincial titles.

Fast-forward to the 2025 season and the 29-year-old is keen to keep that positive record intact when the Cats begin their Leinster campaign at home to Galway this Saturday.

"We have a lot of improvement to do coming up to this match, so every training session is tough," he admitted.

"I think it was a positive league campaign. We got a lot of game time into the panel, which was the important thing," he commented, adding, “I’d say we know more about the squad now than before the league.

"There’s new lads coming in that haven’t hurled with us before, so it was important to get them into the fold as well."

The mood music has changed utterly locally since the sobering league loss at home to Tipperary. A comprehensive nine-point defeat of Limerick and a seemingly useful squad trip to Portugal has injected much needed belief back into fans’ veins, who are now hoping the Cats have reached a significant turning point in their season.

"The Tipperary game wasn’t up to the standards that we’re used to but I think the performance against Limerick was really good," he said.

"There was a sense of disappointment after the (Tipperary) game. We met on Tuesday night and the lads were disappointed and it was up to us as a group and as a management to right that. I don’t even know if that’s the right thing to say. We just needed a performance," he remarked.

Affectionately known as ‘Deego’ by team-mates, the versatile player is still enjoying hurling as much as ever, and pledging, ‘wherever they want to play me, I’ll do my best for the team’, with talk of a 10-year wait for an All-Ireland failing to curb his enthusiasm.

"Obviously we had disappointments over the years but I suppose you get back on the horse and you run again. If you had a pessimistic outlook, you probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now," he continued.

"It’s a long time. You go in every year with the same driving ambition that you want to win an All-Ireland with Kilkenny. Obviously, it hasn’t happened in the last 10 years but that’s our goal this year.

"The motivation is to win an All-Ireland. Not that we have gone ten years without one but we want to win one," Deegan pledged.

"The championship has been competitive for the last few years. Maybe, from the outside looking in, probably everyone thinks Limerick are going to win it every year but I think any county team that’s preparing for the Liam MacCarthy, feels like they have the tools to win it."

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