The Laois county football 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 medi ...

in men's

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

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 sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

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

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

, the

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GA ...

and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Laois's home ground is

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

, Portlaoise. The team's manager is

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

. The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 2003 and the National League in 1986. Laois has never won the All-Ireland Senior Championship.

History

Laois contested the second ever

(SFC) final in 1889. In 1926, the county won the final of the first

competition, defeating

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 ...

. Laois's only other appearance in an All-Ireland SFC decider was in 1936. Laois defeated

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...

by a point in the 1985–86 National Football League final.

Liam Irwin Liam Irwin is a former Gaelic football player with Laois in Ireland. Nicknamed "George", he played at midfield and in 1986 was part of the Laois team that won the county's second National Football League title. Liam also picked up an All-Sta ...

and

Colm Browne Colm Browne was a Gaelic footballer and manager with Laois. He also managed the Tipperary senior football team. Browne won numerous honours in the game including an All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship with his club Portlaoise in 198 ...

both won All Stars for their performances that year. However,

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

knocked the team out of the Leinster SFC. During the 1990s Laois had a number of successes at minor and under-21 level, including

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

s in 1996 and 1997. During the mid-2000s Laois football became a strong force at all age levels. Under former

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

manager

Mick O'Dwyer Michael O'Dwyer (born 9 June 1936) is an Irish retired Gaelic football manager and former player. He most famously managed the senior Kerry county team between 1974 and 1989, during which time he became the county's longest-serving manager an ...

, Laois finished as National Football League runner-up and

winner in 2003. Laois would go on to contest the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final again in 2004 (lost after a replay) and 2005 (lost by one point). During the same period the minor county team won the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship again in 2003 and the

Leinster Minor Football Championship The Leinster Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in gaelic football played in the province of Leinster. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under 17 ...

in 2004, 2005 and 2007, while the under-21 county team won the

Leinster Under-21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highe ...

in 2006 and 2007. In 2006,

's management of Laois ended and former

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

manager

Liam Kearns Liam Kearns (1962 – 12 March 2023) was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He managed Offaly from 2022 until his death in 2023. Kearns previously managed the Limerick, Laois and Tipperary county teams, as well as several clubs in ...

replaced him. Laois reached the finals of both the O'Byrne Cup and Leinster SFC in his first season as manager: calls for Kearns to be sacked after one season, with former players and club delegates saying "the man has to go", went unheeded.

Seán Dempsey Seán Dempsey is an Irish Gaelic football manager, coach, selector and former player. He played at minor, under-21 and senior level for the Laois county team. Dempsey later managed Laois at minor, under-21 and senior level and has been involve ...

replaced Kearns as manager after two years in 2008. Despite a poor first season, with disciplinary problems surfacing in the panel,

knocking the team out of the

and Down knocking the team out of the

, Dempsey was unexpectedly retained as manager for one more year. Dempsey had led the Laois minor team to the 2003 All-Ireland title and had commenced a major re-building exercise in 2009 but without success.

Justin McNulty Justin McNulty MLA (born 15 November 1974) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, a former Gaelic football manager, and a former player at senior level for the Armagh county team. He has sat in the Northern Irelan ...

replaced him for the 2011 season. After three seasons in charge, McNulty stepped down to be replaced by

Tomás Ó Flatharta Tomás Ó Flatharta is a Gaelic football manager who is originally from County Kerry. He has managed three county teams: Westmeath, Galway and Laois. Playing career Durling his playing days, Ó Flatharta played for his local An Ghaeltacht ...

. Ó Flatharta lasted until 2015, resigning after a Leinster SFC quarter-final loss to Kildare and an All-Ireland SFC qualifier exit against Antrim.

Mick Lillis Mick Lillis is a Gaelic games coach and manager and former player. He played for the Laois county football team, later managing them and has also been involved with numerous clubs in several counties. As well as managing winning senior champion ...

from Clare replaced him. Lillis led Laois to the bottom of Division 2, a Leinster SFC quarter-final exit and then an All-Ireland SFC qualifier exit to Clare before he resigned in 2016. He also used seven substitutes in a win, causing the game to be replayed, complained about a fixture against Dublin being held at

Nowlan Park UPMC Nowlan Park (; ) is the principal Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Kilkenny, Ireland. Named after James Nowlan (the longest serving President of the GAA), the stadium hosts major hurling matches and is home to the Kilkenny hurling te ...

and dropped Gary Walsh when he cursed at him after being substituted.

Peter Creedon Peter Creedon is a Gaelic football manager. He is originally from Rosscarbery, County Cork. He has managed two county teams: Tipperary and Laois. Early life Creedon worked as the principal of St Ailbe's School in Tipperary Town and lives in Th ...

was the next manager; he too did not last long, exiting under heavy criticism from county board delegates, with Mick Lawlor claiming the county would be set "back by five or six years" if Creedon were not ousted. He went, amid allegations of a drinking culture within the squad, Laois having been relegated to Division 4 and knocked out of the All-Ireland SFC by Clare. John Sugrue spent two seasons managing the team, guiding them to two promotions that brought them from Division Four to Division Two of the National Football League, making Round Four of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers in both years and bringing Laois to the 2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship final before departing after the 2019 season.

Current panel

Currently abroad:

Stephen Attride Stephen Attride (born 1993) is a Gaelic footballer who has played for the Killeshin club and the Laois county team, serving as captain of his county for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons. Attride was primarily interested in athletics from a young ...

^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

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 ...

, appointed October 2021 *

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

es: Chris Conway ( Arles/Kilcruise), Brian "Beano" McDonald ( Arles/Killeen)

Managerial history

Laois have a history of appointing "foreign" managers, with

proving to be the most successful; O'Dwyer led Laois to the 2003 Leinster SFC (a first in 57 years) and then to three All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals in his four years in charge. However, by 2015, Laois had also acquired a reputation for appointing managers who lasted two years or less, with journalist

Martin Breheny use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , nationality = , other_names = , siglum = , citizenship = , ...

commenting that "there seems to be an inflated view of self-worth in the county" and that the manager "becomes the easy scapegoat" as a result of those heightened expectations.

Players

Notable players

Records

Most appearances

1st and 2nd:

Ross Munnelly Ross Munnelly (born 23 December 1982) is an Irish sportsperson from County Laois. He plays Gaelic football for his club Arles–Kilcruise and previously for the Laois senior team. In 2003, he was part of the Laois team that won the Leinster ...

Michael Lawlor Michael P. Lawlor is an American politician, criminal justice professor, and lawyer from Connecticut. A Democrat, he served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1987 to 2011, representing the 99th district in East Hav ...

3rd: John O'Loughlin: 167 appearances

All Stars

Laois has 5 All Stars. 1986:

2003:

Fergal Byron Fergal Byron is a former Gaelic footballer for Laois from Ballybrittas. A goalkeeper, he won a Leinster Senior Football Championship medal with Laois in 2003 and picked up an All-Star award in the same year. He also won a Leinster Under 21 F ...

, Joe Higgins, Tom Kelly

Honours

National

** Runners-up (2): 1889, 1936 *

** Winners (2): 1925–26, 1985–86 ** Runners-up (1): 2003 ** Semi-finalists (5): 1952, 1978, 1994, 1995, 1997 *All-Ireland Senior B Football Championship ** Winners (1): 1993 *

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a GAA competition involving four Junior Gaelic football inter-county teams. Prior to a change in competition structure in 2021, the competition was previously for all Junior Gaelic football inte ...

** Winners (1): 1973 *

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

** Runners-up (3): 1964, 1998, 2007 *

** Winners (3): 1996, 1997, 2003 ** Runners-up (3): 1932, 1967, 1998

Provincial

** Winners (6): 1889, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1946, 2003 ** Runners-up (15): 1929, 1940, 1943, 1947, 1951, 1959, 1963, 1968, 1981, 1985, 1991, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2018 *

O'Byrne Cup The Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. The competition is named after Matt Byrne, a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, ...

** Winners (5): 1978, 1987, 1991, 1994, 2005 *

Leinster Junior Football Championship The Leinster Junior Football Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council. The competition began in 1906, ...

** Winners (5): 1907, 1941, 1968, 1973, 1993 *

** Winners (8): 1964, 1969, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2007 ** Runners-up (4): 1975, 1986, 1999, 2009 *

Leinster Under-20 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA, Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associa ...

** Runners-up (2): 2019, 2020 *

** Winners (9): 1932, 1966, 1967, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007 ** Runners-up (7): 1933, 1964, 1968, 1973, 1995, 2003, 2016

References

{{GAA National Leagues County football teams