After an unsuccessful tenure in this grade, he joined the Cork senior team for the 1984-85 season and made his last appearance as a substitute during the 1990 Munster Championship when injury effectively ended his career.
On 23 September 1990, Kingston was selected at centre-forward when Tracton faced St. Finbarr's in the final of the Cork Intermediate Championship.
Tracton qualified for a second successive Cork Intermediate Championship final on 24 August 1991, with Kingston lining out at left corner-forward.
He made his first appearance for the team in a drawn first-round game with Waterford in April 1983, however, he enjoyed little success during his two seasons on the panel.
He was listed amongst the substitutes for Cork's seven-point semi-final win over Limerick, however, he failed to make the match-day panel for the Munster final defeat of Tipperary.
On 4 August 1985, Kingston made his championship debut when he was a late addition to the starting fifteen for Cork's 4-12 to 5-05 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Galway.
Kingston made a number of appearances during the 1985-86 National League, however, he failed to secure inclusion on any of the match-day panels during Cork's successful 1986 Munster Championship campaign.
[3] After again making a number of appearances during the 1987–88 National League, a campaign which saw Cork relegated from Division 1, Kingston was consigned to the substitutes' bench for the 1988 Munster Championship.
In Cork's opening game on their return to Division 1 during the 1989–90 National League, Kingston suffered a career-threatening depressed fracture of his skull.
On 1 September 2011, Kingston was one of four selectors named by new Cork senior hurling team manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy.
[5] During Kingston's second season as a selector he helped guide the team to the Munster final on 14 July 2013, however, Cork suffered a 0-24 to 0-15 defeat by Limerick.