James John Delaney (born 6 March 1982) is an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back and full-back at senior level for the Kilkenny county team.
He won his first adult county medal after the Fenians defeated Piltown by 1-14 to 1-12 in the Kilkenny Junior 'C' Hurling Championship final in 2021 at the age of 39 playing in the center back position.
Delaney won his first National League medal, as a late Brian Dowling free secured a narrow 2–15 to 2–14 victory.
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.
[19] After facing a shock, last-minute 2–15 to 1–16 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster semi-final in 2004, Kilkenny worked their way through the qualifiers and lined out against Cork in the All-Ireland decider on 12 September 2004.
[20] The game was expected to be a classic, however, a rain-soaked day made conditions difficult as Kilkenny aimed to secure a third successive championship.
With an All-Ireland showdown with Cork beckoning, Delaney damaged the cruciate ligament in his left knee which ruled him out of the game which Kilkenny won by 1–16 to 1–13.
[28] Initial concerns that Delaney would be absent for most of 2007 proved unfounded, as surgery revealed that 75% of the ligament remained undamaged and intact.
[30] On 2 September 2007 Kilkenny faced defeated Munster finalists and surprise All-Ireland semi-final winners Limerick in the championship decider.
Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes to set the tone.
In a disappointingly one-sided final, Kilkenny produced a near perfect seventy minutes as Waterford endured a nightmare afternoon.
A 23-point winning margin, 3–24 from play, only two wides in the entire match and eight scorers in all with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin leading the way in a 3–30 to 1–13 victory.
[36] On 6 September Kilkenny were poised to become the second team ever in the history of hurling to win four successive All-Ireland championships when they faced Tipperary in the decider.
For long periods Tipp looked the likely winners, however, late goals from Henry Shefflin and substitute Martin Comerford finally killed off their efforts to secure a 2–22 to 0–23 victory.
"The Cats" lost talisman Henry Shefflin due to injury, while Tipperary's Lar Corbett ran riot and scored a hat-trick of goals as Delaney's side fell to a 4–17 to 1–18 defeat.
Goals by Michael Fennelly and Richie Hogan in either half gave Kilkenny, who many viewed as the underdogs going into the game, a 2–17 to 1–16 victory.
Galway stunned the reigning champions with two first-half goals, however, Kilkenny's championship debutant Walter Walsh gave a man of the match performance, claiming a 1–3 haul.
Kilkenny's dominance showed no sign of abating in 2013, with Delaney winning a seventh National League medal following a 2–17 to 0–20 defeat of Tipperary in the decider.
That year he collected his eighth league medal, as Kilkenny secured a narrow one-point 2–25 to 1–27 extra-time victory over Tipperary.
[48] Delaney subsequently secured an eleventh Leinster medal, as a dominant Kilkenny display gave "the Cats" a 0–14 to 1–9 defeat of Dublin.
John O'Dwyer had the chance to win the game, however, his late free drifted wide resulting in a draw.
If he had remained on the Kilkenny Senior Hurling panel in 2015 he would possibly have equalled Henry Shefflin's record of winning 10 All-Ireland medals.