James Stephens are back in senior hurling after claiming the Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship title with a 1-16 to 0-16 victory over Rower-Inistioge.
The Village avenged last year’s final defeat to Danesfort, with a Willie Spencer goal proving crucial as they secured their return to the senior ranks.
For captain Cian Kenny, the final whistle marked the culmination of a journey that had featured disappointment, criticism and plenty of resilience.
Speaking to KCLR after the game, Kenny paid tribute to the character within the group,
“There’s been real hurt and real pain behind this. Like I said in my speech, hats off to characters in this group. We bounced back when we were written off an awful lot of times.
“We’ve got abuse along the way, and I know that’s part and parcel of hurling. But we’ve got a fair bit, but we took that as a compliment. But no, I’m absolutely buzzing.”
The victory brings James Stephens back to the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship, with Kenny and his teammates able to celebrate a hard-earned success after responding to last season’s disappointment.
