I FEEL good ..and I knew that I would

SILVER LINING IS KEVIN SENT FOR LILIES AFTER 10-YEAR WAIT

- BY PAUL KEANE

KEVIN FEELY hailed his greatest day in a Kildare jersey as his 10-season wait for silverware finally came to an end.

The Lilywhites held off a late Limerick rally to capture the Tailteann Cup title, with boss Brian Flanagan promising it's 'purely the beginning' for an ambitious group.

But Flanagan also acknowledged they need to stop and celebrate now because it's been a success starved few years.

Ex-Charlton Athletic professional Feely quit a soccer career in 2016 to play for Kildare but while he played in six finals before Saturday, he lost the lot.

There were Division 3 league final defeats to Clare (2016) and Offaly (2025) and a Division 2 final loss to Galway (2017) as well as three Leinster final reversals.

Throw in the difficult spell under former boss Glenn Ryan - Kildare won just 13 of their 37 games between 2022 and 2024 under Ryan and you get a feel for their heartache.

Kildare captain Feely said of lifting silverware: "I have a couple of county finals to look back on but this is the best day for Kildare.

"It's everything that I would have wanted coming back from soccer - just to get the opportunity to lift silverware with Kildare.

"I can't exaggerate how much we all wanted that. Hopefully it continues but we're a long time waiting for this one.