Kieran Brennan

Kieran Brennan (born 1957) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Conahy Shamrocks and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s.^[1]

Playing career

Club

Brennan, along with his brother, Nickey, played club hurling and football with his local club Conahy Shamrocks. He was a key part of the team that won the junior county title in 1976 and county intermediate titles in 1977 and 1986.

Inter-county

Brennan first came to prominence as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team in the early 1970s. He won a Leinster title at this level in 1974, however, his side were subsequently defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland final. He won a second consecutive Leinster minor medal in 1975, however, in the subsequent All-Ireland final Kilkenny gained revenge on Cork and Brennan won a coveted All-Ireland medal. Brennan later joined the Kilkenny under-21 team where he enjoyed more success. In 1976 he won a Leinster title in this grade, however, old rivals Cork defeated Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland final. He won a second Leinster under-21 title in 1977, however, in a repeat of events during his minor career the subsequent All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny gain revenge on Cork, giving Brennan another All-Ireland medal.

Brennan subsequently joined the Kilkenny senior team, however, it took him a few years to nail down a regular place on the team. He was a member of the panel when ‘the Cats’ won Leinster and All-Ireland titles in 1979. Three years later in 1982 Brennan won his first National Hurling League medal before later winning his first Leinster medal on the field of play. Kilkenny later defeated Cork in the championship decider giving Brennan his first All-Ireland medal. He won a second National League title at the beginning of 1983 before later winning a second consecutive Leinster title. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a repeat of the previous year, with Kilkenny defeating Cork once again and Brennan collecting a second consecutive All-Ireland medal. In 1984 ‘the Cats’ lost their provincial crown, however, in spite of this Brennan won an All-Star award. Two years later he added a third set of National League and Leinster medals to his collection, however, Kilkenny were defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. 1987 saw Brennan win his fourth provincial medal, however, the subsequent All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny defeated by Galway once again. Brennan retired from inter-county hurling shortly afterwards.

References

Teams