Keoghan confident Cats can fill holes left by departed duo Lawlor and Ryan

Kilkenny hurler Mossy Keoghan during a promotional event at UPMC Nowlan Park Kilkenny as Avonmore owner Tirlán reaffirm sponsorship commitments to Kilkenny GAA for the 2026 season. Pic: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

Mossie Keoghan laughs when asked if his 2025 All-Star award has pride of place alongside his father, Liam’s, 1997 equivalent on the mantlepiece in the Tullaroan homestead.

"Not quite! I suppose it's still his house so mine got thrown into a different kind of wardrobe out the back there somewhere. It's there, though!” 

Keoghan senior still has the edge over his cub. He won an All-Ireland senior medal in 1993 and there was the senior county honour a year later.

"I suppose you would like to have the bragging rights on him in every regard. An All-Star is an unreal achievement and it's a cool accolade to have. But the All-Ireland medal and bringing the Liam MacCarthy back would be the pinnacle, really."

Aged 27, Keoghan is two years younger than Huw Lawlor and Billy Ryan who have left the panel this year to travel. A sabbatical was never on his radar – “I wouldn’t get away with it,” he smiles.

Losing a fellow 2025 All-Star winner and a nominee are blows for Kilkenny but Keoghan is assured they will be replaced. 

“People ask me about Billy and Huw going travelling, but I'd be fairly confident that we'll have 15 players going onto the field anyway.

“The people we have on the panel, I'd have 100% confidence in them to do a job. If it's three or six, they're important positions but the way the game has gone now, you could end up in any position in the backs regardless.” 

Keoghan can understand why they would want to experience life outside the inter-county bubble but adds, “I suppose the grass is always greener, isn't it?” 

For himself, it’s vital to switch off from a demanding, if rewarding pursuit. 

“When you're at training, you're so kind of hyped up and it takes a toll mentally that you definitely need to have your downtime on a weekly basis, when you completely shut off and think about anything but hurling.

“If you're not able to do that, you can definitely see how it would take a toll and maybe people do need the year out or need to go travelling to try to switch off and relax mentally."

Wearing the black and amber brings added expectations too. 

“Every time you put on the Kilkenny jersey, there is a certain sense of pressure to it and a certain sense of expectation that comes with being part of the panel. It's something you have to be able to deal with.” 

Keoghan has no hesitation in saying he has had to be ruthless to succeed. 

“If you don't make it a priority to get your recovery, get your gym, get to training, get your time of rest, you're not going to make it. Your body is going to break down and you're not going to be producing the goods on the weekend. I think you don't have a choice but to be selfish."

The nature of Kilkenny’s win over Offaly last Sunday week wasn’t much to write home about, but Keoghan qualifies that it’s early doors. Nothing is set in stone.

“I don't think we're particularly close to a settled team but I think that's a good thing. It shows that there's competition there. If you're settled the whole way throughout the year, it might look like a bad thing if there aren't people pushing (for places).” 

Sensing Waterford “may have poked the bear” last weekend, Keoghan is braced for a Limerick backlash on Sunday following their defeat in Azzurri Walsh Park.

"You want to be impressing at home and when teams are coming to visit you, you definitely want to make a stand and try to get the win at home. The fact that they lost last week, the fact they're at home this weekend, it's going to be a big challenge for us but we're looking forward to it now."