There is a sense of unease among Dublin hurling supporters ahead of Sunday’s Leinster round-robin meeting with Kilkenny. In some circles, the Dubs are even being tipped as favourites, a suggestion that still feels hard to fully accept, despite Kilkenny’s form in 2026.
The Stats: Dublin vs Kilkenny
Dublin have held their own against most of Leinster’s leading sides in recent years, but their record against Kilkenny tells a very different story. Since Wexford’s win over the Cats in 2017, the Yellowbellies have gone on to record four more championship victories against their western neighbours, along with a draw. Galway have also enjoyed success in that period, beating Kilkenny five times, including last month’s 15-point victory at Pearse Stadium.
Dublin’s own provincial form is strong in other match-ups. They have lost just once to Wexford in the championship since 2008 and have beaten Galway in four of their last seven championship meetings. Against Kilkenny, however, the numbers are stark: 11 defeats and no wins since their last victory over the Cats.
That last Dublin win came in 2013, when an unfancied side edged past Kilkenny after a replay in the Leinster semi-final.
80 Years of Kilkenny Dominance
Stretch the timeline back to Dublin’s previous win in 1942 and the scale of Kilkenny’s dominance becomes even clearer. The counties have met 49 times in the championship since then, with Kilkenny winning 44 of those games and four ending in draws, three of them in the 1950s.
In the modern era, this has looked less like a rivalry and more like a familiar routine: Dublin arrive, Kilkenny arrive, and the Cats usually win. For all their status as the most successful county in hurling history, Kilkenny have effectively become Dublin’s ultimate bogey team.
How Dublin Won in 2013
Johnny McCaffrey captained Dublin during that breakthrough 2013 campaign, but he is quick to point out that the famous win came only after two painful defeats to Kilkenny in the previous seasons, both in fixtures where Dublin had been expected to put up a far stronger challenge.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport this week, McCaffrey recalled the build-up to the 2012 meeting in Portlaoise, when there was real belief that Dublin could finally get the better of the Cats. Dublin had won the league in 2011, only to lose to Kilkenny in that year’s Leinster final, and there was a sense that Anthony Daly’s side were ready to build on that progress.
Instead, Kilkenny delivered a brutal reminder of their class. They overwhelmed Dublin by 18 points, with the Dubs managing just three points after half-time. Eddie Brennan later questioned the display on The Sunday Game, suggesting Dublin had looked sluggish and laboured.
McCaffrey accepts there was no hiding from the scale of the defeat, admitting Kilkenny were superior from the opening stages and had Dublin under pressure throughout.
That made the turnaround in 2013 all the more remarkable. After losing the 2011 Leinster final by 11 points and the following year’s semi-final by 18, Dublin somehow found a way to reverse the trend.
Conal Keaney, who scored in that memorable game in Portlaoise, credits Anthony Daly with changing the group’s mindset. He said Daly convinced the players they were capable of more than many outside the camp believed, and that confidence helped them approach Kilkenny without fear. Rather than seeing the fixture as something to dread, Dublin treated it as a chance to test themselves against the best.
The victory was even more notable because it came after a replay. Dublin had led late on twice in the drawn game, only for Kilkenny to claw their way back. Many felt the Dubs had missed their opportunity and that the Cats would finish the job second time around.
Keaney said Daly turned that narrative on its head, telling the squad that Kilkenny were the lucky ones to be getting another shot at Dublin. That shift in perspective helped free the players up. Dublin rode their luck at times, but they played with belief, backed themselves, and approached the replay with the attitude that they had nothing to lose.
What Awaits Dublin This Weekend
That brings the focus back to this weekend, with Kilkenny heading for Parnell Park still unbeaten there in championship hurling. Their last championship defeat to Dublin at a venue in the capital came in 1941, and even that was at Croke Park.
Eighty-five years on, that record still stands.
McCaffrey believes Kilkenny will travel to Donnycarney confident of getting the result they need, regardless of Dublin’s recent progress.
He notes that Dublin have not beaten Kilkenny in the championship since 2013, while the Cats have continued to dominate Leinster even if their All-Ireland return has been more modest by their own standards. For Dublin, he says, any championship win over Kilkenny remains a huge achievement.
McCaffrey expects Kilkenny to arrive at Parnell Park fully focused and with real urgency, knowing how important the result is. While Dublin will take encouragement from being at home, he points out that Kilkenny have already beaten them there in recent championship meetings and will not be intimidated by the trip.
In his view, it has all the makings of a tight contest, with little likely to separate the sides.
How might Dublin find that edge on Sunday?
For Keaney, the key battle will be psychological, and he believes the current Dublin squad can take something from the mindset that drove the 2013 team.
He says belief is central to any performance against Kilkenny. If a team goes into the game convinced the Cats are superior and will win every contest, that can quickly become reality. During his own playing days, Dublin worked hard to block out outside noise, whether it came from the media, supporters, friends, family or work colleagues.
Keaney recalls that Anthony Daly repeatedly told the players in training that they were every bit as good as Kilkenny, if not better. The challenge was to bring that belief onto the pitch and play with freedom. While skill, conditioning and preparation all mattered, Keaney believes much of the battle was won in the mind.
He also feels Dublin’s hurlers may draw some encouragement from Westmeath’s recent win over the Dublin footballers. Keaney, who also represented Dublin in football, says the current hurling group do not appear burdened by history or previous results.
Instead, he sees a team taking the season game by game. Dublin have built a strong squad, with their bench making major contributions, and Keaney believes they have plenty in their favour as they prepare for one of their biggest challenges of the campaign.
With the wider GAA weekend offering no shortage of talking points, attention in the capital will centre on Parnell Park, where Dublin will attempt to end their long championship wait against Kilkenny.
Historical Head-to-Head Analytics
The following table breaks down the historical championship encounters between Dublin and Kilkenny, highlighting the sheer dominance of the Cats over the decades.
| Period | Total Matches | Kilkenny Wins | Dublin Wins | Draws |
| 1942 – 2012 | 49 | 44 | 1 | 4 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 – 2025 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall (Since 1942) | 62 | 55 | 2 | 5 |
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