Kildare clinched their third Leinster U20 football championship title in five years by dethroning Louth with a 0-23 to 1-18 victory at Parnell Park yesterday (Wednesday) evening.

Ronan Kelly starred for the Lilywhites with 0-7 over the hour, while Ruaidhri Lawlor (0-5) and Jimmy Lynch (0-4) were also in excellent shooting form for the victors.

Niall Cronin’s side overcame the concession of an Adam Gillespie goal 13 minutes in by hitting two-pointers via Kelly and Lawlor (2) late in the first-half, with Kelly’s point seeing them edge a 0-12 to 1-8 lead at the half.

Goalkeeper Tiarnan Markey squared things up for the holders with a ‘45’ in the 31st minute and they’d usher themselves back in front with a Shane Lennon point two minutes later.

Liam Kenny and Markey (free) swapped scores ahead of Kildare hitting the front again and stretching their lead with scores from Euan Cowzer, Kelly (free) and Calum Keaveny before late points by Lynch and Kelly would seal their provincial triumph, as they now look forward to an All-Ireland semi-final date with Tyrone next Wednesday evening at Kingspan Breffni (7.35pm).

Kildare u20 Leinster Champions pic.twitter.com/wQVq2KEnZp

— james lawlor 📸 (@JamesLawPhotos) May 6, 2026

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