O'Dempsey's GAA is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club located in the northeast of

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) 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 medieval kingdom. Hist ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

History

The club was founded in 1951, won the Laois Junior Football Championship title in that same year and followed up by winning the Laois Intermediate Football Championship title the following year. The club name refers to the Ó Díomasaigh (O'Dempsey) family, the ancient

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

rulers of the Clann Mhaolughra (Clanmaliere) region, incorporating Portnahinch and

Upper Philipstown Upper Philipstown () is a barony in County Offaly (formerly King's County), Ireland. Etymology The name Upper Philipstown is derived from Philipstown, the former name of Daingean. Location Upper Philipstown is located in northeast County Offa ...

on both sides of the

River Barrow The Barrow () is a river in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters (Ireland), The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers and, at 192 km (12 ...

. O'Dempsey's went on to win two

Laois Senior Football Championship The Laois Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888. Portarlington won the 2024 title, af ...

titles in 1963 and 1980. Locally well-known county players that have played for the club Include John Costello, Billy Walsh, John Paul Kehoe, Johnny Behan, Brian Nerney, Eddie Kelly, Jack Kenna,

Mick Aherne Mick Aherne was a Gaelic football and hurling player from County Laois in Ireland. He played for many years on the Laois senior football and hurling teams in the defence. In 1986, he starred on the Laois senior football team that won the coun ...

Leo Turley Leo Turley (born 7 December 1966) is a former Gaelic footballer from County Laois. Playing career Leo played for the Laois senior football team from the late 1980s until the 1990s primarily as a forward. In 1991, he played on the Laois team be ...

and Peter O'Leary. O'Dempsey's GAA club grounds are located at the Old Pound, halfway between

Ballybrittas Ballybrittas (, IPA: �bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪt̪ˠaːʃ is a small village in the northeast of County Laois, Ireland situated on the R445 about 5 km SW of Monasterevin, County Kildare. Formerly on the N7 Dublin - Limerick road, the village i ...

and Killenard.

Achievements

: (2) 1963, 1980 *

Laois Intermediate Football Championship The Laois Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1907. Crettyard are the title holders ...

: (3) 1952, 1977, 2016 *

Laois Junior Football Championships The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Football Championships. The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates similarly to the Senior Cha ...

: (2) 1951, 2019 *

Laois Junior B Football Championship The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Football Championships. The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates similarly to the Senior Cha ...

: (2) 1992, 2009 *

Laois Junior C Football Championship The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Championships, Laois Club Football Championships. The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates sim ...

: (1) 2011 * Laois Minor Football Championship: (2) 1980, 1997 * Laois Minor B Football Championship: (5) 1983, 1984, 1990, 2014, 2015 * Laois Under 21 Football Championship: (1) 1973 * Laois Under 21 B Football Championship: (2) 2010, 2014 * Laois All-County Football League Div. 1: (4) 1990, 2006, 2017, 2018 * Laois All-County Football League Div. 2: (1) 2010 * Laois All-County Football League Div. 4: (1) 2012 * Laois All-County Football League Div. 5: (1) 2010

Notable players

* John Costello *

* Peter O'Leary *

Johnny Behan John Harris Behan (October 24, 1844 – June 7, 1912) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his oppositi ...

References

Gaelic games clubs in County Laois Gaelic football clubs in County Laois {{Leinster-GAA-club-stub