The Laois county hurling team represents

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and is governed by

Laois GAA The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Laois) or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois. The county board i ...

, the

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

, the

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...

and the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

. Laois's home ground is

O'Moore Park , image = , location = Portlaoise, County Laois, R32 CRF3, Ireland , coordinates = , opened = , renovated = 2002 , owner = Laois GAA , cost = , capaci ...

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

. The team's manager is Willie Maher. The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 1949, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

and has never won the National League.

History

Laois won one

title, in 1915, when the day was so wet the team reportedly played the second half in their overcoats. Laois currently competes in the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the main competition in the prehistoric sport of hurling. Based on the design of a ...

(Tier 1 of the Senior Hurling Championship), but has also won three

All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship The All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship was an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1974 and 2004 for the so-called 'weaker' hurling teams in Ireland. The teams now play in the Joe McDonagh Cup (Tie ...

s. The hurlers reached

semi-finals in 1981 and 1983 before losing the Centenary Cup hurling final to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in 1984, and were back in the

semi-final in 1996. Laois most recently contested the

final in 1985, in what was to be a disappointing final defeat against

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. Laois won the

Joe McDonagh Cup The Joe McDonagh Cup is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It forms the second tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and is the second highest level of inter- ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, and went on to shock

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in the preliminary quarter-final the next week to reach the All-Ireland Quarter Final. This was considered one of the greatest shocks in the history of the championship. The manager departed amid controversy in November 2020 after his criticisms of county board officials appeared on a podcast.

Current panel

^INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
^RET Player has since retired from the county team.
^WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.

Current management team

:''Appointed 12 September 2022:'' *

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

: Willie Maher *Backroom:

Dan Shanahan Daniel Shanahan (born 4 January 1977) is an Irish former hurler. He has been a selector with the Waterford county team since 2013. Born in Lismore, County Waterford, Shanahan was introduced to hurling by his father, a former hurler with Wat ...

( Lismore, Waterford)

Managerial history

Laois have a history of appointing "foreign" managers, with Georgie Leahy the most successful. Georgie Leahy 1979–1985

Jimmy Doyle James Doyle (20 March 1939 – 22 June 2015) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Tipperary senior team. Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Doyle first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Thurles CBS. He ar ...

1985–1987 Paddy Kelly 1987–1989 Georgie Leahy (2) 1989–1991

Paddy Doyle Paddy Doyle is an English athlete. The 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records recognised him as "The World Fitness Endurance Champion". Personal history Doyle was a member of the British Parachute Regiment The Parachute Reg ...

1991–1993 Pat Critchley 1993–1995

Babs Keating Michael "Babs" Keating (born 17 April 1944) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a forward for the Tipperary senior teams. Born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Keating first played competitive Gaelic games during his ...

1995–1997

Pádraig Horan Pádraig Horan (born 21 April 1950) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-forward for the Offaly senior hurling team. Horan made his first appearance for the team during the 1968–69 National League and subsequently became a regular ...

1997–2000 Seán Cuddy 2000–2001 Pat Delaney 2001–2002

Paudie Butler Paudie Butler (born 1950) is a retired former GAA hurling coach and team manager, and former hurling, hurler and Gaelic footballer who was a dual player for the Tipperary GAA, Tipperary senior teams in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. But ...

2002–2005

Dinny Cahill Dinny Cahill (born 29 December 1954 in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, Ireland) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the former manager of the Antrim senior hurling team. Cahill enjoyed a successful playing career at club lev ...

2005–2006

Damien Fox Damien Fox (born 1961 in Tullamore, County Offaly) is an Irish sportsperson. The Gift as he is known on and off the field by his peers, plays hurling with his local club Tullamore and was a member of the Offaly and London senior inter-county ...

2006–2008

Niall Rigney Niall Rigney (born 1969 in Portlaoise, County Laois) is an Irish retired hurling manager and player. He played hurling with his local club Portlaoise and was a member of the Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ire ...

2008–2010

Brendan Fennelly Brendan Fennelly (1956 – 31 July 2019) was an Irish hurling manager and player. A member of the famous Fennelly hurling dynasty, he enjoyed a successful playing career at club level with Ballyhale Shamrocks and at inter-county level with Ki ...

2010–2011

Teddy McCarthy Thaddeus "Teddy" McCarthy (born 1 July 1965) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Cork county football and hurling teams. In an eleven-year senior inter-county playing career, McC ...

2011–2012 Séamus Plunkett 2012–2015

Ger Cunningham Gerard Cunningham (born 30 August 1961) is an Irish hurling manager and former player who played for Cork Senior Championship club St Finbarr's. He played for the Cork senior hurling team for 20 years, during which time he lined out as a goa ...

2015** Séamus Plunkett (2) 2015–2016

Éamonn Kelly Éamonn Kelly (born 1968) is an Irish hurler who played as a full-forward for the Tipperary junior hurling team. Born in Puckane, County Tipperary, Kelly first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up w ...

2016–2018

Eddie Brennan Edward Joseph Brennan (born 2 October 1978) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. His league and championship career with the Kilkenny senior team lasted twelve seasons from 2000 until 2011. Brennan was the manager of the Laois seni ...

2018–2020 Séamus Plunkett (3) 2020–2022 Willie Maher 2022– **=In a caretaker role

Players

Notable players

All Stars

Laois has 1 All Star. 1985: Pat Critchley

Honours

National

** Winners (1):

** Runners-up (2):

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

** Winners (3): 1977, 1979, 2002 *

** Winners (1):

Laois turn on the style to capture Joe McDonagh Cup at Croke
''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its view ...

'', 1 July 2019. *

** Semi-finalists (3): 1981, 1983, 1996 * National Hurling League Division 2 ** Winners (2): 1960, 1965 *

All-Ireland Under-21 B Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Under-20 (previously Under-21) B Championship, the second tier competition in hurling is an annual series of games for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaeli ...

** Winners (2): 2004, 2006

Provincial

** Winners (3): 1914, 1915, 1949 ** Runners-up (12): 1889, 1890, 1891, 1909, 1912, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1936, 1948, 1951, 1985 *

Leinster Junior Hurling Championship The Leinster Junior Hurling Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Hurling played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council. The winners of the Leinster Junior Hu ...

** Winners (3): 1910, 1914, 1933 * Walsh Cup ** Winners (2): 1980, 1991 * Walsh Shield ** Winners (2): 2008, 2010 *

Kehoe Cup The Kehoe Cup ( ; ga, Corn Mhic Eochaidh) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA) since 1977 for second- and third-tier inter-county teams in the province of Leinster in Irel ...

** Winners (1): 1982 *

Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling All-Ireland Under-20 Championship known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the high ...

** Winners (1): 1983 *

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Ass ...

** Winners (4): 1934, 1940, 1941, 1964

References

{{GAA National Leagues County hurling teams