Kildare v Laois LIVE score updates from the final of the Joe McDonagh Cup
It's a huge day for Kildare hurling as they take on Laois in the final of the Joe McDonagh Cup.
A win for the Lilywhites would earn them a place in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship for the first time since 2004.
Their appearance in the final didn't look likely when losing to Kerry on the opening day, but they have won four from four since to book their place in the decider.
That run of four consecutive victories included a shock 11-point win over Laois in the penultimate round of action.
Laois are the slight favourites though, with experience of these occasions on their side, and having snatched a draw in Carlow to make the final.
The match is scheduled for a 1.45pm throw-in at Croke Park, and you can follow all the action right here on Irish Mirror Sport.
Laois last won the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2019 and were beaten finalists by Offaly twelve months ago.
But the county made this year's final by the skin of their teeth. Ahead of their final group match against Carlow, they knew they only needed a draw to make the decider.
All seemed to be lost, though, when, deep into additional time at Netwatch Cullen Park, they trailed by three points.
They were awarded a 65, though, that was fired towards goal by Podge Delaney and ended up finding the back of the net via James Duggan and Mark Dowling.
That was enough to send Laois through to the final, where Kildare now stand in their way of lifting the Joe McDonagh Cup.
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
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Kildare roar to Liam MacCarthy status with convincing victory over Laois
Joe McDonagh Cup final: Kildare 2-26 Laois 1-19 Just 12 months after lifting the Christy Ring Cup, Kildare have remarkably added the Joe McDonagh Cup title and will compete in the Leinster SHC in 2026. Brian Dowling's Lilywhites would have been happy to simply retain their Joe McDonagh Cup status this term, initially at least. They lost their opening group game to Kerry, their ninth defeat from nine games in the competition, but have bounced back in incredible fashion since then to claim a historic win. Tied at half-time in their first ever McDonagh Cup final, and fortunate to be level at that stage given the amount of chances favourites Laois wasted, Kildare cut loose after the break to beat Laois comfortably for the second time in the competition. Second-half goals from Jack Sheridan and substitute Jack Travers proved crucial while free-taker David Qualter finished with 13 points on a famous day for the county. But it was a powerful collective performance with centre-back Cian Boran standing out in a strong defence. Kildare, who have already secured Division 1B hurling for 2026, will get an immediate chance to test themselves at the higher level next weekend when they play Dublin in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Laois, who lost last year's Joe McDonagh Cup final too, have at least another week to run in their campaign with Tipperary set to visit Portlaoise in the MacCarthy Cup. Just like the Dublin footballers a week earlier on the same turf, Laois reflected on a first-half of squandered chances which cost them dearly in the end. The half-time stats made for painful reading for them; 11 wides, five point attempts that dropped short and a shot at goal that was saved. Kildare were more efficient when the ball was at the opposite Davin End and started brighter, showing no signs of anticipated nerves. It was their first final at the grade and they were bidding to return to Leinster championship hurling for the first time since losing to Westmeath 21 years ago. But they were calm and composed and deserved their early 0-4 to 0-2 lead with Sheridan, James Burke and Qualter picking off three terrific points from play. They showed their athleticism in the 18th minute when they snuffed out a Laois goal chance and worked a speedy move up the pitch that ended with a free and a handy Qualter tap over. Free-taker Qualter finished the half with seven points to his credit and was influential in open play too. Kildare retained their two-point lead approaching the half-hour mark when they were 0-9 to 0-7 ahead. But with the Laois wides tally into double figures at that stage, the scoreline flattered the Lilywhites. Three Laois points in a row from James Keyes and free-taker Tomas Keyes amounted to a strong finish to the half from them, levelling it up at 0-11 apiece at the break. And Laois held onto that momentum with their goal coming just seconds after the restart. Paddy Purcell raced clear with the ball from the throw-in and though his eventual shot off the turf was saved, Ben Conroy came sliding in and bundled it to the net. Laois were desperate to kick on from there and to impose themselves on the game but couldn't. Instead, it was Kildare that reeled off two separate bursts of three points, taking a three-point lead at the hour mark and then killing off Laois with the two goals. Travers grabbed his in the 61st minute, following up on the rebound after Sheridan's initial shot was blocked. Five minutes later, Sheridan netted himself, shrugging off a jersey pull and darting beyond Ryan Mullaney to get a low shot away that hit the net. Kildare sub Muiris Curtin pointed in the 68th minute and punched the air in delight, realising that the job was done at that stage. Scorers for Kildare David Qualter 0-13 (0-11f, 0-1 65), Jack Sheridan 1-4, Jack Travers 1-1, Gerry Keegan 0-3, James Burke 0-2, Simon Leacy 0-1, Paul Dolan 0-1, Muiris Curtin 0-1. Scorers for Laois: Tomas Keyes 0-6 (0-5f), Ben Conroy 1-2, Padraig Delaney 0-2 (0-2f), James Keyes 0-2, Paddy Purcell 0-2, PJ Scully 0-2 (0-1f), Lee Cleere 0-1, Fiachra C Fennell 0-1, James Duggan 0-1. KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Richy Hogan, Rian Boran, Daniel O'Meara; Paul Dolan, Cian Boran, Simon Leacy; Daire Guerin, Cathal McCabe; Cathal Dowling, Jack Sheridan, David Qualter; Darragh Melville, James Burke, Gerry Keegan. Subs: Jack Travers for Dowling 59, Muiris Curtin for McCabe 64, Conn Kehoe for Melville 69, Liam O'Reilly for Dolan 69, Oisin Lynam for Keegan 72. LAOIS: Cathal Dunne; Fiachra C Fennell, Jordan Walshe, Cody Comerford; Padraig Delaney, Lee Cleere, Diarmaid Conway; Aidan Corby, James Keyes; Paddy Purcell, Tomas Keyes, David Dooley; Mark Dowling, Jer Quinlan, Ben Conroy. Subs: Aaron Dunphy for Tomas Keyes 54, Padraic Dunne for Comerford 60, James Duggan for Dowling 62, Ryan Mullaney for Walsh 64, PJ Scully for Conroy 66. Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).
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Kildare are Joe McDonagh Cup champions for the first time following a 2-26 to 1-19 win over Laois at Croke Park. #RTEgaa 📺Watch LIVE on RTÉ2 🎙️ Listen on RTÉ Radio 1 📱 Follow on — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 8, 2025 But it was a powerful collective performance with centre-back Cian Boran standing out in a strong defence. Kildare, who have already secured Division 1B hurling for 2026, will get an immediate chance to test themselves at the higher level next weekend when they play Tipperary in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Laois have at least another week to run in their campaign too with Dublin set to visit Portlaoise in the MacCarthy Cup. Just like the Dublin footballers a week earlier on the same turf, Laois reflected on a first-half of squandered chances which cost them dearly in the end. The half-time stats made for painful reading for them; 11 wides, five point attempts that dropped short and a shot at goal that was saved. Kildare were more efficient when the ball was at the opposite Davin End and starter brighter, showing no signs of anticipated nerves. It was their first final at the grade and they were bidding to return to Leinster championship hurling for the first time since losing to Westmeath 21 years ago. But they were calm and composed and deserved their early 0-04 to 0-02 lead with Sheridan, James Burke and Qualter picking off three terrific points from play. They showed their athleticism in the 18th minute when they snuffed out a Laois goal chance and worked a speedy move up the pitch that ended with a free and a handy Qualter tap over. Free-taker Qualter finished the half with seven points to his credit and was influential in open play too. Kildare retained their two-point lead approaching the half-hour mark when they were 0-09 to 0-07 ahead. But with the Laois wides tally into double figures at that stage, the scoreline flattered the Lilywhites. Three Laois points in a row from James Keyes and free-taker Tomas Keyes amounted to a strong finish to the half from them, levelling it up at 0-11 apiece at the break. And Laois held onto that momentum with their goal coming just seconds after the restart. Paddy Purcell raced clear with the ball from the throw-in and though his eventual shot off the turf was saved, Ben Conroy came sliding in and bundled it to the net. The perfect start to the second half for Laois. Ben Conroy forces home from close range for the game's first goal. Kildare 0-11 Laois 1-11 #RTEgaa 📺Watch LIVE on RTÉ2 🎙️ Listen on RTÉ Radio 1 📱 Follow on — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 8, 2025 Laois were desperate to kick on from there and to impose themselves on the game but couldn't. Instead, it was Kildare that reeled off two separate bursts of three points, taking a three-point lead at the hour mark and then killing off Laois with the two goals. Travers grabbed his in the 61st minute, following up on the rebound after Sheridan's initial shot was blocked. "It's put in the back of the net by the man whose only just come on!" Jack Travers goals with his first touch and Kildare have one hand on the Joe McDonagh Cup. Kildare 1-21 Laois 1-15 #RTEgaa 📺Watch LIVE on RTÉ2 🎙️ Listen on RTÉ Radio 1 📱 Follow on — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 8, 2025 Five minutes later, Sheridan netted himself, shrugging off a jersey pull and darting beyond Ryan Mullaney to get a low shot away that hit the net. Kildare sub Muiris Curtin pointed in the 68th minute and punched the air in delight, realising that the job was done at that stage. Kildare: Paddy McKenna; Richy Hogan, Rian Boran, Daniel O'Meara; Paul Dolan (0-01), Cian Boran, Simon Leacy (0-01); Daire Guerin, Cathal McCabe; Cathal Dowling, Jack Sheridan (1-04), David Qualter (0-13, 0-11f, 0-01 65); Darragh Melville, James Burke (0-02), Gerry Keegan (0-03). Subs: Jack Travers (1-01) for Dowling 59, Muiris Curtin (0-01) for McCabe 64, Conn Kehoe for Melville 69, Liam O'Reilly for Dolan 69, Oisin Lynam for Keegan 72. Laois: Cathal Dunne; Fiachra C Fennell (0-01), Jordan Walshe, Cody Comerford; Padraig Delaney (0-02, 0-02f), Lee Cleere (0-01), Diarmaid Conway; Aidan Corby, James Keyes (0-02); Paddy Purcell (0-02), Tomas Keyes (0-06, 0-05f), David Dooley; Mark Dowling, Jer Quinlan, Ben Conroy (1-02). Subs: Aaron Dunphy for Tomas Keyes 54, Padraic Dunne for Comerford 60, James Duggan (0-01) for Dowling 62, Ryan Mullaney for Walsh 64, PJ Scully (0-02, 0-01f) for Conroy 66.
