PREVIEW: Leixlip hoping for IHC glory against Naas after Senior promotion
Daragh Nolan previews the UPMC Intermediate Hurling Championship final between Leixlip and Naas
Leixlip received the good news on the evening of Tuesday, October 13 that Naas had beaten Moorefield to reach the final of this year’s rebranded Kildare Intermediate Championship. Naas’ second team occupying the second spot in the 2026 decider promotes Leixlip to Senior Hurling Championship action once again for 2027.
The IHC takes the form of a five-round group stage where every team in the competition plays each other once, meaning there is little mystery left between Leixlip and Naas headed into this year's final.
The sides met on August 16 where Leixlip emerged victorious by a margin of three points and they will meet again on Saturday, October 24 to decide who the Intermediate champions will be.
Despite Leixlip dominating the group stage, Naas scored more and conceded less than the table-toppers who finished with five wins from five. Naas managed four wins with the sole blemish on their record being that aforementioned defeat to their final opponents.
An encouraging sign for Naas headed into this game however was Leixlip’s semi-final battle with Broadford. Leixlip, just two weeks after beating Bradford by 14 points, needed late magic from Darragh Melville to carry them to victory in a game they by no means performed in.
The Lip led for a lot of this game but never pulled away, trailing with 10 minutes to go after Aedan Boyle found the net. The eventual winners can take huge pride in how they held their nerve but it was not a showing they will be lauding in the lead up to this decider.
Naas in truth are hoping to overcome the one team they haven’t blown away in this championship so far. Was that result a blip or are Leixlip the one team that stands above the rest in the IHC? Charlie Carroll and Fionn Maher have been among the top performers for Naas alongside two more Boran’s, Tom and CJ.
Naas outfits are rarely the underdogs these days but they are in this case and they will be massively motivated to pick up a Kildare hurling championship winner’s medal, even if promotion is not on the table for them.
The weight of promotion pressure will have come off Leixlip shoulders after their semi-final win and they can now attack this final with more freedom in pursuit of a county title.
Naas remain a dangerous prospect but, while Darragh Melville kept his cool in that game with Broadford, there is plenty more to come from some of their other key men like James Canning and Cathal Derivan when they head to Cedral St Conleth’s Park for a 4pm throw-in.
PREDICTION: Leixlip
Route to the final
Leixlip – R1: 1-22 to 2-16 win over Maynooth; R2: 1-18 to 1-15 win over Naas; R3: 1-15 to 0-11 win over St Laurence’s; R4: 3-28 to 2-8 win over Moorefield; R5: 1-21 to 0-10 win over Broadford; SF: 0-21 to 1-14 win over Broadford.
Naas – R1: 4-22 to 0-13 win over Moorefield; R2: 1-18 to 1-15 defeat Leixlip; R3: 7-32 to 0-11 win over Maynooth ; R4: 3-22 to 0-16 win over Broadford; R5: 4-18 to 1-3 win over St Laurence’s; SF: 4-21 to 2-13 win over Moorefield.