in an 0–11 to 0–9 victory for Delaney'e side. Club Delaney plays his club hurling with the Fenians club in Johnstown. He has enjoyed some success with the club at underage levels, beginning with an under-16 north county club medal. Delaney later won both an under-21 north county club medal and an under-21 county medal. Minor and under-21 Delaney first played for Kilkenny in 1999 when he joined the minor side. He won his sole Leinster medal that year following a 2–13 to 1–11 defeat of Wexford. By 2003 Delaney was a key member of the Kilkenny under-21 team. He won a Leinster medal that year following a 0–12 to 1–4 defeat of Dublin. Kilkenny later faced Galway in the All-Ireland decider. "The Cats" outsmarted a Galway side which struggled in attack and conceded a goal a minute into the second half. The 2–13 to 0–12 score line gave Delaney an All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship medal. Senior Early successes Delaney was just out of the minor grade when he was added to the Kilkenny senior panel in 2001. That year he won his first Leinster medal following a 2–19 to 0–12 trouncing of Wexford. Kilkenny bounced back in 2002. Delaney won his first National League medal, as a late Brian Dowling free secured a narrow 2–15 to 2–14 victory. He later collected a second Leinster medal as Kilkenny recorded a narrow 0–19 to 0–17 defeat of fourteen-man Wexford. On 8 September 2002 Delaney lined out in his first All-Ireland decider as Kilkenny faced first-round losers Clare. Kilkenny forwards Henry Shefflin and D. J. Carey combined to score 2–13 between them, as Kilkenny secured a 2–20 to 0–19 victory. It was Delaney's first All-Ireland medal for Kilkenny. In 2003 Delaney won a second league medal as Kilkenny came back from eight points down to secure a stunning 5–14 to 5–13 extra-time defeat of Tipperary. He later won a third successive Leinster medal, as Kilkenny defeated Wexford by 2–23 to 2–12. The subsequent All-Ireland final on 14 September 2003 saw Kilkenny face Cork for the first time in four years. Both teams remained level for much of the game, exchanging tit-for-tat scores. A Setanta Ó hAilpín goal gave Cork the advantage, however, a Martin Comerford goal five minutes from the end settled the game as Kilkenny went on to win by 1–14 to 1–11. It was Delaney's second All-Ireland medal on the