'We fought there tonight' delighted joint-captain Ben Ryan reacts Kildare's U20 Championship win
Kildare faced Louth in the 2026 Dalata Hotel Group Leinster U20 Football Championship Final in Parnell Park and emerged as 0-23 to 1-18 winners
A season of setbacks and heartaches were all forgotten on a magical night for Kildare football in Parnell Park when The Lilies' U20s turned over a superb Louth side to win the 2026 Dalata Hotel Group Leinster U20 Football Championship.
Joint-captain Ben Ryan, son of Leinster SFC winning captain Glenn Ryan reacted after the game, he said: “(Leinster U20 Football Champions) you can say it again there, you can say it again! That is brilliant. We fought there tonight and that just shows for that group. We were out of it and then we were back in it and then we were out of it and back in it again.It's a testament to the lads and the management, so it's just brilliant altogether.
“From 1-15, to 24-36, we all back each other. We all know that the next man up, it's the next man up. Every game it's been like that. We knew we were never out of games, we know we have the squad there that we're never out of games. The character shown today was brilliant, it really was.”
Ben Ryan of course bears a striking physical resemblance to his father but the joy for Kildare football fans comes in the mirroring of their shared tenacity and visible passion for playing the game.
He was asked about the legacy of Championship-winning Kildare captains and added, "Myself and Colm get the title of joint captains, but there's 15 lads out there on the pitch and there's 15 captains in our eyes. Every single one lad is a leader. Even on the bench, Harry Redmond there today was brilliant coming off the bench. But look, it's brilliant. It's just class, I can't put into words how good it feels."
“We always know we can come out with a result. It was a huge win last week against Meath and in Conleth’s we had a great crowd behind us and today again, just when it was nip and tuck there, we got a turnover, we got a score and all you could hear was the crowd behind us. The crowd behind us again, it was just brilliant. They really, really backed us.”
Kildare and Louth were largely inseparable throughout with ups, downs, backs and forths and extra-time a very real prospect down the home straight.
Ryan tried to sum the feeling of playing in this chaotic final, "With 10 minutes to go you're thinking we're losing and then with eight minutes to go we were winning. It was like that all game, it was just nip and tuck, nip and tuck. I was watching back and I knew the way we were setting up and just slowing it down, slowing it down. I was like there's no way we're not winning this game in normal time.
"I backed the lads and every single one of us backed each other. That's the main thing, we stuck to the plan. The management have us absolutely nailed down a plan. That's an absolute testament to them. The four lads there, five lads that are getting the main focus, the lads in the background, they put in huge, huge effort for us and they're just brilliant. I cannot speak highly enough of the management team."
Kildare manager Niall Cronin has had plenty of heartbreak in recent years with near misses during his time as The Lilies' minor manager and his joint-captain had plenty of kind words for the manager of the team he led to glory.
Ryan said, “I'm delighted for him, he deserves that more than anyone. He really does. That was really, really good for him. I was absolutely delighted we won that for him as well.
“He's the epitome of what it means to manage Kildare, he just loves it. He loves it, he loves it, he loves it. As much as us playing football, he loves managing Kildare. It was just brilliant, it was class, I was delighted to win it for him.”