JJ Kavanagh County Junior E Hurling Final 2026.
O’Loughlin Gaels 1-19; Glenmore 1-12.
John Power at UPMC Nowlan Park
O’Loughlin Gaels are the new JJ Kavanagh Junior E champions following a deserved victory over a spirited Glenmore side in an entertaining and competitive final at UPMC Nowlan Park. This was very much a game of two halves, with Glenmore enjoying plenty of success during the opening 30 minutes before O’Loughlin Gaels produced a vastly improved second-half performance to take control of the contest.
The first half was a hugely competitive affair, with the sides level on no fewer than six occasions. Glenmore made good use of the conditions and the stiff breeze, while O’Loughlin Gaels had to work hard to find space and establish any real authority.
After the interval, however, it was a different O’Loughlin Gaels side that emerged. The city outfit moved the ball with greater speed, their hurling became more assured, and they made excellent use of the wide expanses of Kilkenny GAA headquarters.
Whatever Andy Cantwell, along with selectors Gary Bryan, Mick Galway and Sean Cleere, said to their charges during the half-time interval certainly had the desired effect. O’Loughlin Gaels upped the tempo considerably and gradually pulled away from their Southern opponents.
Glenmore made the brighter start, with Rory Atkins opening the scoring. O’Loughlin Gaels responded with points from James Houlahan and Sean Cahalane, before Atkins levelled matters from a free. The exchanges continued to be evenly balanced. The evergreen Alan Geogheghan put O’Loughlin Gaels back in front, while Jack Walsh followed with another point to leave the city side 0-4 to 0-2 ahead.
Glenmore were beginning to get to grips with the challenge, however, and the stiff breeze was proving useful to their cause. They hit three unanswered points, two from the influential Atkins and the other from James Reid from a free, as the Glens regained the initiative. O’Loughlin Gaels responded in style. Robbie O’Driscoll levelled the contest before Jack Walsh put them back in front with two fine points. The first was particularly impressive, a superb score struck from the touchline on the new stand side of the ground.
Glenmore refused to let their heads drop and Emmett Vereker reduced the margin to a single point. Robbie O’Driscoll then converted a free for O’Loughlin Gaels as both sides continued to trade scores.
The Southern side enjoyed their best spell of the opening half between the 18th and 24th minutes. Glenmore hit an unanswered 1-2 during that period, with Emmett Vereker and Rory Atkins finding the target before Atkins grabbed the game’s first goal. The Glenmore goal came after Atkins collected possession close to the O’Loughlin Gaels goal before keeping his composure and finishing neatly to the net.
Suddenly, Glenmore were in the ascendancy and had opened up a five-point advantage, leading 1-8 to 0-8. O’Loughlin Gaels, though, finished the half strongly. They showed considerable composure to work their way back into contention, with Harry Nowlan and Sean Cahalane pointing before Robbie O’Driscoll converted another free.
Those three scores brought the sides level once again, leaving the city side trailing no longer as the half-time whistle sounded. Half-time: O’Loughlin Gaels 0-11, Glenmore 1-8.
The second half belonged largely to O’Loughlin Gaels. Within eight minutes of the restart, they had moved four points clear. Harry Nowlan was central to the revival, contributing two points, while Robbie O’Driscoll and Sean Cahalane also found the target.
Glenmore did their best to stay in touch and points from James Reid and James Aylward, the latter from a free, halved the deficit to leave the score at 1-10 to 0-15. At that stage, however, O’Loughlin Gaels were beginning to find their rhythm. Their movement was much sharper, and they were using the available space at Nowlan Park to particularly good effect.
The final quarter proved decisive. O’Loughlin Gaels outscored Glenmore by 1-4 to 0-2 and gradually turned a closely fought final into a convincing victory. James Houlahan and Harry Nowlan added points for the Gaels, with Glenmore responding through James Aylward. Two further Jack Walsh points increased the city side’s advantage, although Aylward kept Glenmore ticking over with another well-struck free.
With the score standing at 0-19 to 1-11, Glenmore needed something special to get back into the contest. Instead, O’Loughlin Gaels delivered the decisive blow. On the 60th minute, James Houlahan found the net with a match-clinching goal that effectively settled the destination of the JJ Kavanagh Junior E title.
From there, O’Loughlin Gaels were able to see out the remaining minutes and celebrate a deserved championship success. It was a victory built on a strong collective effort, but there were several individual performances of note. James Houlahan was hugely influential, while forwards Jack Walsh and Harry Nowlan were particularly impressive. Both contributed important scores and were heavily involved in the Gaels’ attacking play, causing the Glenmore defence plenty of problems throughout. Robbie O’Driscoll also played his part, particularly from placed balls, while the improvement shown by the city side after the interval was a credit to their management team.
Glenmore can be proud of their contribution to an entertaining final. They competed strongly during the opening half and, for long periods, looked capable of causing an upset. Luke Vereker, Rory Atkins and James Reid were among their better performers, with Atkins particularly prominent in attack and responsible for much of Glenmore’s first-half threat.
Ultimately, however, O’Loughlin Gaels produced the stronger second-half performance. Their sharper hurling, better use of possession and ability to exploit the space at Nowlan Park proved decisive. For Andy Cantwell, Gary Bryan, Mick Galway, Sean Cleere and their players, it was a thoroughly deserved afternoon of celebration as O’Loughlin Gaels added the JJ Kavanagh Junior E title to their list of achievements.
SCORERS
O’LOUGHLIN GAELS: Jack Walsh (0-5), James Houlahan (1-2), Harry Nolan (0-4), Robbie O’Driscoll (0-4, frees), Sean Cahalane (0-3), Alan Geogheghan (0-1)
GLENMORE: Rory Atkins (1-4), James Aylward (0-4, 0-3 frees), James Reid (0-2, 0-1 frees), Emmett Vereker, Luke Vereker (0-1 each).
TEAMS
O’LOUGHLIN GAELS
Michael Lambert, Peter McNamara, Micheal Twomey, Jack Kearns (JC), Diarmuid Considine, Mark Croghan, Josh Owens, John Comerford, James Holohan, Cathal O’Leary Harry Nolan, Robbie O’Driscoll, Jack Walsh, Alan Geoghegan, Sean Cahalane. Substitutes: Eddie Kearns for Josh Owens, Kevin Rowe (JC) for Cathal O’Leary, Podge Nolan for Robbie O’Driscoll, Odhran Lawlor for Jack Walsh.
GLENMORE
Mark Phelan, Sean Phelan, Ben Maher (Captain), Ruaidhri Heffernan, Luke Vereker, Brian O’Donoghue, Jack Cody, James Hendrick, Michael Phelan, James Aylward (VC), James Reid, Patrick O’Connor, Rory Atkins, Emmett Vereker, Tommy Maher. Substitutes: Christopher Hennessy for Tommy Maher, Mark Cody for James Hennessy, Rowan Halligan for Ben Maher, Aaron Talbot for Rory Atkins.
Referee: Gay Rafter (Threecastles).
