Inter-county
By 1972, Henderson was a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team that won the All-Ireland title. He later joined the county's under-21 side, winning back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1974 and 1975. By this stage, Henderson was also a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling panel. In 1976, he tasted his first senior hurling success when he won a National Hurling League medal. Two years later, in 1978, Henderson had taken over from his brother Pat as centre-back on the team, and he won his first Leinster title that year. Kilkenny were later defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland final. In spite of this, Henderson's championship performance earned him his first All-Star award.
In 1979, Henderson captured a second Leinster title before later collecting his first All-Ireland following a win over Galway. Once again he was presented with an All-Star award, as well as claiming the Texaco Hurler of the Year award. Three years later, Henderson won a second National League and a third Leinster medal, before winning a second All-Ireland medal[1] following a win over Cork. Once again, his performance at centre-back earned him his third All-Star award. In 1983, Henderson captured another quartet of National League, Leinster, All-Ireland[1] and All-Star honours.
The following few years saw Kilkenny's hurling fortunes take a downturn. In spite of this, Henderson won a fourth National League in 1986, before adding a fifth Leinster title in 1987. Kilkenny were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland final.
