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Richard Leahy (born 13 March 1997) is an Irish hurler who plays for Kilkenny Senior Championship club Rower–Inistioge and at inter-county level with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a midfielder.

Playing career

St. Kieran's College

Leahy first came to prominence as a hurler with St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny. Having played in every grade as a hurler, he was eventually called up the college's senior team. On 9 March 2014, Leahy was an unused substitute when St. Kieran's College suffered a 2-13 to 0-13 defeat by Kilkenny CBS in the Leinster final. On 5 April 2014, he was named on the substitutes' bench for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny CBS. He remained as an unused substitute but collected a winners' medal following the 2-16 to 0-13 victory.

On 28 February 2015, Leahy won a Leinster Championship medal when St. Kieran's College defeated St. Peter's College by 1-14 to 1-06 in the final. He was again selected at midfield when St. Kieran's College faced Thurles CBS in the All-Ireland final. Leahy scored two points and collected a second All-Ireland medal following the 1-15 to 1-12 victory.

Rower-Inistioge

Leahy joined the Rower–Inistioge club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 27 October 2013, he won a Kilkenny Minor Championship medal after lining out at left wing-forward in a 2-09 to 1-07 defeat of O'Loughlin Gaels in the final.

Kilkenny

Minor and under-21

Leahy first played for Kileknny as a member of the minor team during the 2015 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 25 April 2015 and scored a point from midfield in a 1-18 to 1-17 defeat of Wexford. Leahy was again at midfield when Kilkenny faced Dublin in the Leinster final on 5 July 2015. He ended the game as man of the match after scoring four points in the 1-17 to 1-15 victory.

Leahy was drafted onto the Kilkenny under-21 team for the 2017 Leinster Championship. After missing Kilkenny's opening game through injury he made his debut on 21 June 2017 in a 1-21 to 1-11 defeat of Westmeath. On 5 July 2017, Leahy won a Leinster Championship medal following Kilkenny's 0-30 to 1-15 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 9 September 2017, he lined out at midfield when Kilkenny suffered a 0-17 to 0-11 defeat by Limerick in the All-Ireland final.

Leahy was once again eligible for the under-21 grade in 2018. He made his final appearance for the team on 20 June 2018 when he scored three points from midfield in a 1-17 to 3-13 defeat by Galway in the semi-final.

Intermediate

Leahy was added to the Kilkenny intermediate team in advance of the 2016 Leinster Championship. On 13 July 2016, he won a Leinster Championship after scoring 1-01 from play in Kilkenny's 3-14 to 2-14 defeat of Wexford in the final. Leahy lined out at left wing-forward for the All-Ireland final against Clare on 6 August 2016 and ended the game with a winners' medal after a 5-16 to 1-16 victory.

Senior

Leahy was added to the Kilkenny senior team in advance of the 2017 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 12 February 2017 when he came on as a 56th-minute substitute for Pat Lyng in a 1-15 to 0-17 defeat by Waterford.

On 8 April 2018, Leahy lined out at midfield when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the National League final. He ended the game with a winners' medal after scoring a point in the 2-23 to 2-17 victory. Leahy was switched to left wing-forward on 1 July 2018 when Kilkenny drew 0-18 apiece with Galway in the Leinster final. He retained his position for the replay a week later, however, Kilkenny suffered a 1-28 to 3-15 defeat.

On 30 June 2019, Leahy lined out at right wing-forward when Kilkenny suffered a 1-23 to 0-23 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final. On 18 August 2019, Leahy was listed amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. He was introduced as a substitute for Cillian Buckley at midfield but ended the game on the losing side after a 3-25 to 0-20 defeat.

Career statistics

As of match played 18 August 2019.

Honours

St. Kieran's College

• All-Ireland Colleges Senior Hurling Championship (2): 2014, 2015
• Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2015

Rower–Inistioge

• Kilkenny Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 2016
• Kilkenny Minor Hurling Championship (1): 2013

Kilkenny

• National Hurling League (1): 2018
• All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 2016
• Leinster Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 2016
• Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 2017
• Leinster Minor Hurling Championship (1): 2015

References

1. Cormican, Eoghan (10 March 2014). "Byrne the hero as CBS grab the glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
2. Spillane, Trevor (5 April 2014). "19th All-Ireland for St. Kieran's after win over Kilkenny CBS". The 42. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
3. "Schools: St Kieran's back in the winners enclosure". Hogan Stand. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
4. Cahill, Jackie (5 April 2015). "Kilkenny school St Kieran's have won their 20th All-Ireland title". The 42. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
5. Furlong, Brendan (26 April 2015). "Kilkenny beat Wexford by a single point". Wexford People. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
6. Cahill, Jackie (5 July 2015). "Late late show from Kilkenny seals another Leinster minor hurling crown". The 42. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
7. "Leinster U21HC: Cats dethrone Dubs". Hogan Stand. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
8. O'Toole, Fintan (21 June 2017). "Kilkenny avoid another shock in Mullingar as they finish strongly to see off battling Westmeath". The 42. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
9. O'Brien, Kevin (5 July 2017). "Kilkenny land 30 points en route to completing U21 and minor Leinster hurling double". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
10. Cormican, Eoghan (11 September 2017). "Limerick savour that September excitement in U21 hurling final". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
11. "Galway down Cats to book Leinster U-21 final spot". RTÉ Sport. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
12. Dwyer, Michael (13 July 2016). "Late Kilkenny rally beats Wexford in Leinster decider to set up All-Ireland final with Clare". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
13. Brennan, Eoin (6 August 2016). "5-star Kilkenny secure first All-Ireland Intermediate title in 6 years". The 42. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
14. McCarthy, Tomás (12 February 2017). "Deise lay down marker as Mahony's 10-point haul secures first away win over Cats in 13 years". The 42. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
15. McGoldrick, Seán (8 April 2018). "Kilkenny whirlwind blows Tipperary away as Brian Cody claims ninth league title". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
16. "Leinster SHC final: Cats and Tribe must meet again". Hogan Stand. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
17. Rooney, Declan (8 July 2018). "Galway retain Leinster crown after epic battle with Kilkenny". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
18. O'Brien, Kevin (30 June 2019). "Wexford land first Leinster title in 15 years with thrilling victory over Kilkenny". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
19. McGoldrick, Seán (18 August 2019). "Tipperary are All-Ireland champions as Liam Sheedy's men see off 14-man Kilkenny in Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

• 1997 births
• Living people
• Rower-Inistioge hurlers
• Kilkenny inter-county hurlers
• 21st-century Irish sportsmen