St Kieran’s face Presentation Athenry in high stakes All-Ireland Colleges Semi-Final

Not for the first time, St Kierans College are the one remaining Kilkenny school in contention for Croke Cup glory as they get ready to face Presentation Athenry in the All-Ireland semi-final this Saturday in Bansha, Tipperary at 2.30pm.

Not withstanding the Covid impacted seasons of 2020 and 2021, the Kilkenny school have been in every decider since Dungarvan Colleges and Kilkenny CBS locked horns in 2013 and it’s a record they will be eager to retain.

Kieran’s are also currently on track to win three All-Ireland titles on the trot but this weekend will be a major stumbling block and Brian Dowling’s side will have to be at their best if they are to overcome a school that they they defeated in Croke Park two years ago but crucially, Athenry had a very young side that day and will include a number of players from that occasion while the defending All-Ireland champions have a relatively new group of players.

Athenry in fact have been in three of the last five finals in Croke Park and Kieran’s have been their conquerors each time so they will be eager to get that sizeable Kilkenny monkey off their back as well as capture a first ever Croke Cup success.

Both teams come into the game as provincial winners with Kieran’s besting Kilkenny CBS in that thrilling Leinster Final while Athenry were much too good for Claregalway in the Connacht equivalent.

That formguide alone shows what Kieran’s have in opposition with Claregalway’s victory over Kilkenny CBS suggesting that the talent in the west is a formidable one.

Athenry’s star man and current Galway senior hurler Aaron Niland was unavailable for their Connacht Final victory but they still sauntered to a 3-15 to 0-9 victory with goals from Jason Rabbitte and Eoin Hannon as well as a ten point tally from Ciaran Leen.

The Galway school have since accounted for Harty Cup finalists St Flannan’s, but Kieran’s will be a another step up and it’s usually around this time of the year that the Kilkenny side really start to motor and that was fully in evidence when accounting for Ardscoil Ris at Saturday’s venue in last year’s semi-final.

With talented players like Jake Mullen, Noah Manogue, Evan Murphy, Ed Lauhoff and captain Sean Deely as well as an experienced management team, you can expect Kieran’s to put in a big display and it remains to be seen if that will be enough to make the final.