FYI: What we know after the first round of the Kilkenny intermediate hurling league

The Michael Lyng Motors Hyundai Intermediate Hurling League burst back into life on Friday evening, with stories galore in Kilkenny's second tier.

All-Ireland junior champions St Lachtains returned to the intermediate grade after two seasons away, James Stephens swapped senior hurling for intermediate for the very first time, while clubs like Young Irelands, Mooncoin, Danesfort and more began their bid for promotion. - SEE GROUP TABLES BELOW

In Group A, youth was the order of the day for the Village's new management team of Eoin Larkin and Jackie Tyrrell, with impressive showings from Oisin Bateman, Sean Deeley and Ruairi Harrison evident in the city club's 1-20 to 0-17 win over St Martin's. Two periods of heavy scoring in the first half along with a neatly crafted Luke Scanlon goal in the opening period proved to be the winning of the game, with Scanlon's netted finish constructed by fellow experienced head on the panel Tadgh O'Dwyer.

FYI: What we know after the first round of the Kilkenny senior hurling league

Elsewhere in the same group, despite having Pat Hartley sent off in the second half, Tullogher Rosbercon showed their resolve to claim a 0-26 to 0-20 victory over Mooncoin in front of a large attendance in Mullinavat. With Andrew Murphy scoring 12 frees in total and Walter Walsh and Danny Glennon chipping in from play, the 2024 All-Ireland junior winners eventually got over the line but it was only in the final quarter that they took control.

Meanwhile, Dunnamaggin had far too much in the locker for the Blacks & Whites, easing to a 2-23 to 0-11 win. A brace of Joe Fitzpatrick goals in either half opened the forward's goal scoring account for 2025. The Blacks & Whites failed to win a league game in the last campaign but did escape the drop in a memorable relegation semi-final defeat of Carrickshock. Can the returning Eddie Scally take them to the next level in 2025? Dunnamaggin will also be seeking to take another step up the ladder after a first round exit last season. 

In Group B, last year's beaten finalists Young Irelands scraped to a 0-19 to 0-17 win over the Rower Inistioge on Saturday. The losers held a 0-17 to 0-16 advantage with six minutes to play but three points without reply in the closing stages swung the pendulum in favour of the Gowran men.

On Sunday, a late Sean Tobin goal was too little, too late as the Fenians went down 2-21 to 1-18 against Carrickshock. The southerners will no doubt be energised by the result, not just at the satisfaction of earning the two points but by the confidence their showing will surely instill after the mental scars of appearing in a dreaded relegation final last year.

The final game of the intermediate weekend came on Sunday evening, where Danesfort comfortably secured a 2-28 to 1-17 victory over St Lachtains. The match was tight for parts of the first half with the teams level after 20 minutes. However, the winners put the foot down on the pedal as the half drew to a close and a late goal in the opening period from Daire O'Neill put them out of sight (2-16 to 0-11).

The Freshford men qualified for an intermediate county semi-final in 2021 but after a period away from the grade, it's clear it may take them time to settle back into the competition. For Adrian Burke's Danesfort, an awful lot of road has yet to be travelled in the league /championship but their performance certainly laid down a statement to their fellow contenders. 

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