Kilkenny want All-Ireland U20 hurling final to mark James Nowlan anniversary

A general view of UPMC Nowlan Park

Kilkenny GAA has requested to host this year’s All-Ireland U20 hurling final to mark the 100-year anniversary of James Nowlan’s death.

Both the county’s home venue UPMC Nowlan Park and the cup awarded to the U20 champions are named after James Nowlan, who was the longest-serving president of the GAA between 1901 and ’21 before being made an honorary life president.

Nowlan was born in Monasterevin but his father was from Kilkenny and he returned to live there and played for the Confederation club in the city. He was Kilkenny’s Central Council delegate and Leinster chairman between 1901 and ’05.

Nowlan was a passionate Republican who was arrested following the Easter Rising while he held the office of uachtarán. 

This year’s O’Neills.com U20 final between the Leinster and Munster winners is set to take place on the weekend of June 1/2, the same month in which Nowlan passed away.

The O’Loughlin Road venue was christened Nowlan Park in 1928, four years after his death. In 2016, the GAA released the new U20 All-Ireland championship trophy in his name.

In the GAA’s 140th year in existence, it is expected Kilkenny’s request to stage the game will be given the green light by Croke Park. The last U20 All-Ireland hurling final held there was Cork’s four-point win over Dublin in 2020, the first decider there since the 2004 Kilkenny-Tipperary U21 clash.

Three weeks before the U20 final, Nowlan Park plays host to Bruce Springsteen on May 12. Kilkenny's home games in the Leinster SHC come against Antrim on April 21 and Wexford on May 25.

Meanwhile, a decision on the rotation of venues for the Munster senior hurling final is due to take place in the coming weeks. Clare are against one proposal that the decider be shared between Cork, Limerick and Thurles.