While Ballyhale Shamrocks would come up short in last night’s Leinster senior final, there would prove to be more success for Kilkenny at intermediate level this afternoon.

Danesfort would take on Meath’s Ratoath in the Leinster intermediate final on Sunday, with the two sides meeting in Navan. While you expect the Kilkenny outfit to be big favourites in the game, they were facing a formidable challenge from a team who were crowned senior champions within their own county.

That proved to be the case, with Rathoath leading the contest by six points with 15 minutes left to play. However, the introduction of a certain Kilkenny legend would prove to be a turning point in the contest.

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Kilkenny Legend Leads Club To Leinster Final Comeback In Season Debut

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Richie Hogan had not featured for Danesfort in 2025, with the 37-year old not part of their intermediate county title win. Despite this, he was named on the bench for today’s final.

The Kilkenny legend would end up coming off the bench to make his first appearance of the season. His club trailed by six points at the time, with just 15 minutes left to play.

What followed was a dramatic comeback that saw Danesfort score 2-9 without reply to win the game, with this goal from Hogan handing them the lead for the first time in the contest.

He would go on to tack on another point soon after.

Richie Hogan has been a magnificent servant to Danesfort down through the years, winning a Leinster junior crown with the club all the way back in 2007. He would captain them to an intermediate Kilkenny title in 2011, now adding a provincial intermediate crown to his CV.

While it remains to be seen if he will be part of their exploits in senior in 2026, this would be some way to bring down the curtain on his time with the club.

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