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Family affair

Kilkenny's Brian Hogan set to play against his brother Keith in a senior club hurling quarter-final

O’Loughlin Gaels face Clara in an intriguing game next Saturday.

WE’VE HEARD OF divided loyalties in the GAA but the Hogan family from Kilkenny face a unique challenge next Saturday.

Kilkenny defensive lynchpin Brian Hogan will be in action for O’Loughlin Gaels in the county senior hurling quarter-final against a Clara team that will include his younger brother Keith.

Last night’s draw for the quarter-final stage threw up the intriguing pairing for a game that takes place in Nowlan Park next Saturday at 5pm. The battle between the duo could be more intense as there is the prospect of them marking each other as Brian usually plays centre-back for his club while Keith is a recognized centre-forward.

Brian won a county senior title with O’Loughlin Gaels in 2010 while last October, Keith struck 0-10 in the final when Clara won the  Kilkenny senior crown.

Brian Hogan Brian Hogan playing for O'Loughlin Gaels in the 2011 AIB All-Ireland SHC club final. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

So the obvious question is how come the brothers ended up playing for different clubs? When Brian was born, the Hogan family lived in Kilkenny city and he played for the local O’Loughlin Gaels club.

The family then moved to Clara, just outside Kilkenny city, before Keith was born. Brian continued to play for O’Loughlin Gaels as he stayed going to St John’s NS in Kilkenny city. Keith attended primary school in Clara and that then became his club.

Keith Hogan Keith Hogan playing in last year's Kilkenny county final. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

In an interview about his club with the GAA’s official website in September, Brian explained how the brothers had played against each other before.

“Yeah, I’ve come up against him once. As luck would have it, Keith is centre-half-forward for his club (Brian plays centre-half-back), but they didn’t start him there the day we played them, thankfully, he played wing forward. He was a bit young and they didn’t want him to be squaring up to the big brother!

“To be honest, it’s something neither of us enjoy. That was in a league game and thankfully we haven’t met each other in the championship. It’s probably only a matter of time before we do though, if we both keep going.”

Saturday now looks set to see the duo in opposition in the championship arena. The story is similar to that of the O’Reilly brothers, Eoghan and Tommy, who played against each other in last year’s Mayo county senior final when Breaffy faced Castlebar Mitchels.

Brothers' Tommy O'Reilly and Eoghan O'Reilly The O'Reilly brothers Tommy (left) and Eoghan (right) James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

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