Kilkenny GAA


The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny county teams in all codes at all levels. The Kilkenny branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in 1887.
In hurling, Kilkenny competes annually in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, which it has won 36 times, the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, which it has won 73 times, and the National Hurling League, which it has won 19 times.
The camogie team has won both the National Camogie League and the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship 15 times each.
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Hurling

Clubs

12 club teams annually contest the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship. Tullaroan and Ballyhale Shamrocks are the competition's most successful clubs with 20 championship titles apiece, though Shamrocks has a better record in both the Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship.
A secondary competition, the Kilkenny Senior Hurling League, takes place annually between the same 12 teams.
A second tier of 12 club teams compete annually in the Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship as well as in the Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling League.
A third tier of 12 club teams compete annually in the Kilkenny Premier Junior Hurling Championship as well as in the Kilkenny Premier Junior Hurling League.

County team

Kilkenny is the most successful county team at senior level in the history of the game of hurling. Kilkenny has won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 36 times and has won the provincial Leinster Senior Hurling Championship on 75 occasions, as of 2023.

Camogie

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion," five new camogie clubs were to have been established in the county by 2015. Five Kilkenny clubs have won the All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, St Paul's, St Lachtain's, and Lisdowney. There is one Kilkenny club to so far have won the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship, and that is Piltown, and this happened in 2015.
Kilkenny's camogie breakthrough came with the county's first Leinster SCC title in 1972, and, then, the All-Ireland SCC title in 1974. Kilkenny has experienced two different periods of ascendancy in the All-Ireland SCC, winning 13 titles in all, three titles in four years between 1974 and 1977, another title in 1981, seven consecutive titles between 1984 and 1991, and then the title of 1994, and the latest victory coming in 2016. Kilkenny has won a National Camogie League four-in-a-row between 1987 and 1990, and had won a total of nine titles by 1993, adding five more titles in 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Kilkenny dominated the under-18 minor grade in the four years immediately after it was introduced, winning each one of the championships held between 2006 and 2009.
As of 2025, Kilkenny were threatened with relegation. Peter "Chap" Cleere was the manager, but he resigned after one year with Tommy Shefflin put in his place.
Among the All-Ireland SCC winning captains for Kilkenny were Ann Downey, Ann Downey, Angela Downey, Angela Downey, Angela Downey, Mary Fennelly, Bridie Martin, Bridie Martin, Liz Neary, Liz Neary and Teresa O'Neill.
Several Kilkenny players, such as Neary Martin and one of the Downeys, were included on the team of the century. Other notable players include Catriona Carey, who is the sister of hurler D. J. Carey, the two Fennellys, Keva, who is the daughter of hurler Ger Fennelly, and Leanne, who is the daughter of hurler Liam Fennelly, Karen Duggan, Ann Dalton, and Ann Carroll, whose father Bill donated the Bill Carroll Cup for various camogie clubs to compete to win.
Mary Fennelly also served as president of the Camogie Association.
Kilkenny has the following achievements in camogie.

Football

Clubs

Their local competition is the Kilkenny Senior Football Championship.

County team

In the GAA's early years, Kilkenny had some success at football. Between 1888 and 1911 Kilkenny contested seven Leinster finals, winning three. They won the first-ever Leinster Senior Football Championship, which was played in 1888, with a victory over Wexford. However, the rest of the championship was abandoned due to the players’ tour of America, known as the US invasion. Further success in Leinster followed in 1900 against Louth 12 points to no score. Kilkenny went on beat Tipperary in the 1900 All-Ireland semi final, 1–7 to 0–8. The game was refixed following an objection by Tipperary, Kilkenny refused to play, so the match was awarded to Tipperary. Tipperary went on to win the All-Ireland final, beating Galway 2–20 to 0–1. The 1911 Leinster final between Kilkenny and Meath was awarded to Meath because Kilkenny were late. Kilkenny objected and won by 2–4 to 1–1 on the field of play. In 1914, the young team mascot, Peter Dunne, had to line out to complete their team. Kilkenny county footballers have not won a senior championship match since 1929, when they defeated Louth by 0–10 to 0–4. Their best championship result since was a 3–8 to 3–4 defeat against Kildare in 1961. 1982 was their last championship campaign. In the league their 1970–71 league campaign yielded four victories and they won three games in a row in early 1988 League and O'Byrne Cup games.
Kilkenny is unique among the 32 Irish county associations in not participating in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. They played in the Tommy Murphy Cup, a second-tier competition for weaker footballing counties, for four of the five years it was played. However, even in this competition they lost every game they played. Kilkenny entered the National Football League for the first time in many years in 2008 but did not find any success, losing every game bar one up to, and including, the 2011 competition. The county withdrew from that competition following the 2012 edition. Kilkenny compete in the Leinster Junior Football Championship, their most notable win coming in 2011, when they defeated Wexford 3–5 to 0–13.
There is an underage and adult club football structure in Kilkenny. Glenmore, Mullinavat, Railyard and Muckalee are the football strongholds. However the lure of county and club hurling championships deprives Kilkenny of its best footballers.
In 2015, Kilkenny won the All-Britain Football Championship, defeating Scotland in the final.

Honours

Ladies' football

Kilkenny won the 2025 AIB All Ireland Junior Club Championship in Parnell Park. There, they defeated one of the strongest football counties, County Kerry, by 1-13 to 2-9, proving that Kilkenny can make history as both a hurling and a football county.

In 2007, Kilkenny won the All Ireland Ladies' Junior Football Championship, defeating London by 3–5 to 2–5 in Croke Park.

Chairman – John Gorey

Secretary – Trish Dempsey

Treasurer – Richie Windle

PRO – Noelle Curran
Kilkenny has the following achievements in ladies' football.