Kildare's Leinster SHC clash with Galway will be special for the Qualter family

FAMILY AFFAIR: David Qualter is looking ahead to facing Galway after winning the Joe McDonagh Cup final. Pic: John Sheridan/Sportsfile.

Joe McDonagh Cup final hero David Qualter says facing Galway in next year's Leinster SHC will be a particularly special moment for him and his family.

Free-taker Qualter blasted 13 points at Croke Park to help Kildare secure a breakthrough tier two title win, returning them to the MacCarthy Cup race for the first time since 2004.

The Maynooth clubman is the grandson of Galway great PJ Qualter who, ironically, lined out in the 1975 National League and All-Ireland finals alongside Joe McDonagh, scoring a goal in both deciders.

David's father, Paul Qualter, is a Turloughmore stalwart too while his uncle, Seamus Qualter, had spells in charge of the Westmeath and Roscommon senior teams, as well as Ireland's hurling/shinty side.

"My Dad is Turloughmore and growing up I would always imagine myself playing for Galway nearly when I was out on the green playing hurling with the lads," said Qualter.

"That's what we're trying to be now for the young Kildare hurlers, a team to look up to and aspire to. Hopefully young lads are looking out at Cian Boran, James Burke and lads like that. We just need to give them a platform to look up to, at what they can be when they grow up.

"And look, now we're in the Leinster championship ourselves and we'll be facing them (Galway). It's unreal, I can't believe it."

Kildare will have another opportunity to promote hurling in the county when they host Dublin in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final tie this weekend.

"We'll get a big crowd into Newbridge," predicted Qualter.

But it's a MacCarthy Cup fixture that few anticipated, particularly when Kildare started the McDonagh Cup campaign with a loss to Kerry.

"We were in a dark place," acknowledged Qualter.

"Especially after losing to Down in the league final before that, and then the loss to Kerry. I don't know if I've ever been in a worse room in my life, never mind a dressing-room, after that loss to Kerry.

"But we had a chat about it and said a few realities there on the Tuesday night after that and we've just come such a long way since then."

Sunday's 10-point defeat of Laois followed Kildare's 11-point win over the same opposition at the group stage last month. They beat Westmeath and Carlow along the way too.

It has the appearance of an overnight success story though Qualter smiled at that misconception.

"It's just absolutely savage work that's been done by people in the background and Jesus, it's something to be really proud of," he said.

"That work didn't just appear after we beat Westmeath, Carlow and Laois, that work was already done even after we lost to Kerry."

Qualter said that he personally felt a Joe McDonagh Cup triumph was a possibility from as far back as a couple of seasons ago. That's despite losing all of the games that they'd played in the competition in their two previous seasons in it, 2021 and 2023.

"When we got relegated from it two years ago, we were in the pub the day after and we honestly said, 'We are good enough to win the Joe McDonagh'," said Qualter.

"We knew we had the talent within the group but then after the loss to Kerry, look, there might have been a seed of doubt out there but between us in the dressing-room and in the panel, and the management, we knew we were going to come back."