Laois Team named for Semi clash

28 June 2007

Tom Kelly and Donie Brennan come into the Laois team for Sunday’s Leinster SFC semi-final against Wexford at Croke Park.

Kelly, who missed the quarter-final win over Longford through injury, replaces the injured Aidan Fennelly at full back, while under 21 star Brennan is an indirect replacement for Noel Garvan, who is also ruled out through injury.

Brennan, who was dropped from the panel at the start of the year only to be reinstated after the under 21 campaign, is named at right corner forward with Michael John Tierney switching to the half forward line and Brendan Quigley moving from full forward to midfield where he will partner his cousin Padraig Clancy.

Gary Kavanagh and Barry Brennan weren’t considered for selection due to injuries, while Billy Sheehan has to be content with a place on the subs’ bench once again.

Commenting on former All-Star Kelly’s long-awaited return, Laois boss Liam Kearns said: “Tom Kelly is one of our best players but he’s missed three months.

“He played against Down in the league and was man of the match but he played no more league games after that. He returned then and played very well against Kerry in a challenge but was out again for the last five or six weeks.”

Laois (SF v Wexford): F Byron; C Ryan, T Kelly, J Higgins; P McMahon, D Rooney, B McCormack; P Clancy, B Quigley; R Munnelly, C Conway, MJ Tierney; D Brennan, P Lawlor, B McDonald.

Fox admits to uncertainty

29 June 2007

Laois hurling manager Damien Fox has conceded that he’s not quite sure what to expect from his team this weekend.

The O’Moore boys were desperately disappointing in the Leinster SHC defeat to Offaly and have had four weeks to stew in their own misery ahead of the opening qualifier clash with Galway in Portlaoise on Saturday June 30.

Speaking of the prospect of some form of redemption, he says: “I was kind of glad of the break. We were very, very disappointed after the [Offaly] game, but we won’t know where we stand until this Saturday.

“Hopefully we’ll play to the best of our ability and get back up a few steps of the ladder.

“You’re going to have to win two or three games to get through to a quarter-final, so whether you play Galway first or last, it doesn’t really matter.

“It’ll show us where we’re at.”

The Laois boss hands championship debuts to JJ McHugh and Philip Russell for Saturday’s All-Ireland hurling qualifier against Galway at O’Moore Park.

Ballyfin clubman JJ McHugh is named at left half forward, while Russell, who plays with Galmoy in North Kilkenny, gets his first championship start at top of the left. Russell featured during last year’s National League.

Jason Phelan, who played in the Leinster SHC quarter-final defeat to Offaly, loses his place, while dual star Darren Rooney is concentrating on Laois’ Leinster SFC semi-final against Wexford on Sunday.

Laois (SH v Galway): P Mullaney; C Fitzpatrick, C Healy, C Dunne; Joe Phelan, M Whelan, M McEvoy; J Fitzpatrick, S Dollard; J Brophy, J Young, JJ McHugh; T Fitzgerald, W Hyland, P Russell.

Leinster SFC final: Dubs power past Laois

15th July 2007

Dublin captured their third successive Leinster title with an emphatic 3-14 to 1-14 victory over Laois in an energy sapping provincial decider at Croke Park.

The midlanders’ blaring physical limitations were ruthlessly exposed by a powerful Dublin outfit, who rolled over them at will for long periods. The Dubs were full of heart and passion but the key to their success was a knack for finding the net at crucial stages.

They did have lapses during the game and their tendency to rub opponents’ faces in it is certainly not attractive, but the men from the capital were full value for their 47th provincial final triumph, with Ciaran Whelan, Brian Cullen, Mark Vaughan and Alan Brogan causing the losers most trouble.

Goals in the 28th and 29th minutes from Vaughan and Bernard Brogan respectively gave Dublin a 2-7 to 1-7 interval advantage. Laois had led by four shortly after Ross Munnelly supplied their first-half goal but were frustrated to see their defence exposed twice in a minute as the half drew to a close.

Paul Caffrey’s charges struck early frees from the unerring Vaughan and Conal Keaney but the O’Moore men levelled on each occasion with strikes from play by the honest Colin Parkinson and Peter O’Leary.

On six minutes, Laois stunned the holders when Ross Munnelly rolled the ball into an empty Dublin net. Brian ’Beano’ McDonald caught full back Ross McConnell out and his partially blocked shot was rolling goalward when Munnelly slid in and knocked it to the Canal End net.

The challengers led by 1-3 to 0-2 when Munnelly followed up with a ninth-minute free off his left foot from the left wing. Keaney replied for Dublin.

Michael Tierney and Vaughan traded frees and Munnelly was unlucky in between to see his high, instinctive first-time shot come back off an upright. Laois had the better of the opening exchanges but when Vaughan slotted over his third free in the 21st minute, the gap was a mere two points: 1-4 to 0-5.

The Dubs had landed three in a row, while the visitors had now gone 15 minutes without a score. Joe Higgins was fortunate to escape with a black card when he dragged Alan Brogan down and Vaughan drove the resultant free into the Hill to narrow the gap to just a single point.

Tierney ended Laois’ lengthy scoreless spell with a nice 25th-minute score from a free but the Sky Blues replied instantly when Alan Brogan held off Higgins’ blatant foul to place brother Bernard for a good point.

After Keaney had sent an aimless right-footed shot into the air, Laois mounted a counter attack which culminated in a Parkinson point. O’Leary’s selfless running created that score for the 1996 All-Ireland minor medallist.

Dublin turned the game on its head with two goals inside a minute just before the half hour mark. Vaughan got the first and embarrassed himself with a taunting, sneering celebration into an opponent’s face, while Bernard Brogan slotted the second expertly past Fergal Byron for a tremendous score.

If there was an element of fortune to the first major (as Brian Cullen, who improvised superbly to find his blonde colleague from a prostrate position, seemed to overcarry in the build-up), then the second was pure class: Brogan got on the end of a superb Keaney handpass and found himself staring into the whites of Byron’s eyeballs. In full flow, the No.12 maintained his composure to slide the ball low into the bottom left corner of the net.

Tierney clawed back another free for the stunned O’Moore men but the Metropolitans led by a goal at the short whistle.

Ciaran Whelan had enjoyed an excellent first half for Dublin and he stretched their advantage with a lovely point at the end of a surging run only seconds after the restart. Brendan Quigley brilliantly won the next two balls at midfield and his fetching led to points from Parkinson and wing back Brian McCormack.

But Dublin pulled clear again when Alan Brogan rolled a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net after being set up by Keaney, who got out in front of his man to gather possession. The lead was six – 3-9 to 1-9 – once Vaughan converted his fifth free following an obvious foul on Jason Sherlock.

Alan Brogan pointed on the turn and the Hill breathed a sigh of relief when Laois No.5 Padraig McMahon drove a fierce left-footed shot off the bottom of the crossbar.

Vaughan brought his tally to 1-6 with his first point from play and All Star goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton narrowed his angles well and spread himself to deny Parkinson a second Laois goal.

Tierney kept his composure to clip over a ’45’ into the Hill despite a cacophony of jeers. Trailing by seven points with three-quarters of the match remaining, Laois were panicking and started to go for goals. McMahon and O’Leary both missed when they should have either taken points or picked out a colleague.

Tierney’s 53rd-minute free following Collie Moran’s foul on Quigley closed the gap to six points, 3-11 to 1-11. Before that score, Sherlock had a legitimate-looking claim harshly ruled wide and the Dublin veteran would strike an upright after receiving a magical Alan Brogan pass.

There was no shortage of Laois attacks as Dublin – virtually home and dry - began to fade out of the game a little. The Dubs looked surprisingly casual in the latter stages but, fortunately for them, Laois’s forays forward kept breaking down as soon as they approached the final third of the pitch.

Paul Griffin made an inspirational block to deny Munnelly just before the hour mark, emulating his corner counterpart David Henry who had effected a similar skill earlier in the first half.

Tierney dropped a shot into Cluxton’s arms after Keaney had found only the woodwork with a free but Whelan was on hand to end the winners’ long scoreless spell with an excellent 64th-minute point. Tierney tagged back a Laois free and Keaney’s first-time pull at the other end flew harmlessly high and wide.

Mossie Quinn signalled his arrival from the bench with a tidy point four minutes from time. Another substitute, Ger Brennan, grabbed the next score before Tierney and Billy Sheehan closed the scoring with two late Laois consolation points.

Kelly’s eye on Leinster minor final

29 June 2007

O’Moore County minor boss Eddie Kelly is also thinking in terms of booking a Leinster final place this weekend.

Laois take on Offaly in Portlaoise on Saturday June 30, with a provincial final meeting against surprise packets Carlow up for grabs.

The hosts have a superb recent pedigree at underage level in Leinster and beyond, so their manager is hoping they can march onwards to another decider:

“It’s a big prize if we can win because we’ll have two more games regardless,” Kelly says.

“The Leinster final is a huge occasion in itself to get to and hopefully we can play as well as we did against Dublin.

“Our lads certainly have the ability to win but Offaly won’t mind coming to Portlaoise for the match because they’ve played all their games away this year.”

Laois turn on the style to leave Model Men looking for Answers

Laois 1-13

Wexford 0-13

Leinster SFC semi-final

IT was a virtual repeat of their anaemic first half performance against Longford, as Laois footballers had to rely on a much improved second-half display to see off a gutsy challenge from Wexford in this Leinster semi-final clash at Croke Park.

For Wexford, their provincial penultimate jinx struck once again, with the result meaning that the men from the south-east have now lost four Leinster semi-finals on the trot, following the defeats by Westmeath (2004), Dublin (2005) and Offaly last year.

On the balance of play, the Midland outfit deserved their victory as Liam Kearns’ charges, who now face Dublin in the Leinster final on July 15, showed their territorial edge by totting up 18 wides compared to Wexford’s five.

However, Wexford had to cope with two hammer blows - having a ‘goal’ disallowed by Ciaran Lyng on l7 minutes, and being forced to play with 14 men for the last 20 minutes in the aftermath of referee Martin Sludden handing centre-back David Murphy a second yellow card.

Wexford also suffered a major setback even before the throw-in, with outstanding full-back Philip Wallace ruled out after injuring his ankle during the pre-match warm-up in the changing room.

“Because of Philip’s injury, we had to re-jig our team,” explained Wexford manager Paul Bealin, who brought in sub David Fogarty at left half-forward. “We had to bring an attacking forward, Adrian Flynn, to wing-back, and then we had to bring (Eric) Bradley off (after 20 minutes) after he got a dead leg. We put him out on the wing, but he just couldn’t run.

“After this, we struggled at midfield, and then we had to bring our other midfielder Rory Stafford off in the second half after he ran out of steam. We brought a few fellas on, but they didn’t add much to the game.

“After David was sent off, Laois were good at creating over-laps, and holding on to possession.”

Aftermath

In the aftermath of Wexford leading 0-10 to 0-6 at half-time, the ascendancy passed over to Laois on the restart, with top-scorer Michael Tierney, who finished with seven points, splitting the posts on 37 minutes, and Paul Lawlor netting 10 minutes later, to level at 1-7 to 0-10.

Once again, Tierney was very much involved, crossing the ball from the right wing, and Chris Conway flicked it on to Lawlor who cooly beat Wexford goalkeeper John Cooper with a low shot from close range.

Five minutes later, Colm Parkinson, who had started in place of the injured Brian ‘Beano’ McDonald, edged Laois in front for the first time. And when Mattie Forde levelled shortly afterwards, Parkinson clinically punished some sloppy play from Stafford, and that marked the first of five points on the trot by the rampant Midlanders.

It would have been worse for Wexford only for goalkeeper Cooper, who pulled off a brilliant save from sub Peter O’Leary late on. “We didn’t need a goal at the time,” said Liam Kearns, “but it was a one-on-one situation, so you couldn’t fault him for trying for a goal.”

Wexford put a more favourable gloss on the final scoreboard with two points from Ciaran Lyng before the final whistle, but they never looked like scoring the goal which would have earned a replay.

As well as Lyng’s two closing points, Wexford managed only one other score in the second half, and that replicated their similar second half fade-out in the quarter-final victory against Louth.

It was a different story in the first half, however, with the Wexford attack, and particularly Lyng, ably assisted by Forde and Redmond Barry, often leading the Laois defence a merry dance.

Former soccer star Lyng, who played with Shrewsbury Town in England, shot two glorious points in the opening three minutes, and added three more, two from frees, before the break.

In addition, the St Martin’s clubman set up Barry for another point, and, as stated, shot to the net on 17 minutes.

On the restart, the Laois defence gradually got to grips with the Wexford attack, with Tom Kelly, often previously struggling at full-back, looking much more comfortable in the half line, from where he launched a series of telling counter-attacks.

Joe Higgins also began to exert more influence, and one of the outstanding features of the second half was the sight of the St Joseph’s clubman outfielding the considerably taller Forde in one exchange.

Padraig Clancy, particularly, and Brendan Quigley took over at midfield, and Tierney, Parkinson and O’Leary availed effectively of the improved ball supply.

Colm Morris, Brian Malone and Adrian Morrissey continued to provide defiant resistance in the Wexford rearguard, but too often they were left exposed by the outstanding support play of the Laois midfield and attack.

SCORERS - Laois: M Tierney 0-7 (5f), P Lawlor 1-0, C Parkinson 0-2, C Ryan, P Clancy, C Conway, P O’Leary 0-1 each. Wexford: C Lyng 0-7 (3f), M Forde 0-4 (2f), A Morrissey 0-1, R Barry 0-1 each.

LAOIS - F Byron 7; J Higgins 7, T Kelly 7, C Ryan 6; P McMahon 5, D Rooney 7, B McCormack 6; P Clancy 8, B Quigley 7; R Munnelly 5, C Conway 6, M Tierney 9; D Brennan 5, P Lawlor 6, C Parkinson 7. Subs: P O’Leary 7 for Brennan (half-time), B McDonald 5 for Conway (inj 52), R Stapleton for McMahon (68), D Murphy for Lawlor (71).

WEXFORD - J Cooper 7; C Morris 7, B Malone 7; N Murphy 6; A Morrissey 7, D Murphy 7, A Flynn 7; R Stafford 6, E Bradley 6; C Deely 6, R Barry 6, D Fogarty 6; C Lyng 8, P Colfer 6, M Forde 7. Subs: J Mernagh 5 for Bradley (inj 20), P Byrne 5 for Mernagh (51), R Qunlivan 4 for Stafford (57).

REF - M Sludden (Tyrone).

'Beano' blow for Laois

29 June 2007

Speculation is mounting that Brian ’Beano’ McDonald won’t start Laois’ Leinster SFC semi-final against Wexford at Croke Park on Sunday.

McDonald was included in manager Liam Kearns’ team selection earlier this week, but reports suggest that the Arles/Killeen man will miss out with a back injury. If this proves to be the case, his place at left corner forward is expected to be filled by Kerry native Billy Sheehan, who was introduced during the quarter-final win over Longford.

Kearns is already planning for Sunday’s game without injured stars Noel Garvan, Gary Kavanagh and Barry Brennan, but Tom Kelly returns at full back after a three-month lay-off.

Laois SFC and IFC fixtures Called Off

Due to the drawn Leinster MFC 1/4 final and the resultant replay next Wednesday night, the Laois County Board have announced that a number of this weekends Laois SFC and IFC Championship games are off.

The only games which will be unaffected are the following :

The Rock v Ballyroan

St Jospehs v The Heath

Graiguecullen v Kilcavan

Dubs dazzled as purple patch propels Laois to handy win.

Leinster MFC replay

Laois 2-12 Dublin 1-3

AN eight-minute purple patch that yielded a 1-4 helped propel Laois to an ultimately comfortable victory over Dublin in last night’s ESB Leinster MFC quarter-final replay at a rainswept O’Moore Park.

Donie Kingston was the star for the winners, weighing in with six points and a super display. The hosts began well, dominating the midfield exchanges, but a combination of profligate shooting plus three kicks that dropped short meant that initial progress was slow.

Indeed, Dignam was called into action in the opening minute when making a sensational save from a Mark Coughlan blockbuster. Dublin opened the scoring from a Barry O’Rourke free, but Laois finally found their shooting boots, with Kingston slotting two frees and John O’Loughlin rampaging forward for a fine point. A 20th minute goal by Shane Gallagher, following a sumptuous Brendan Staunton pass, heralded a brief period of ascendancy for the Sky Blues and Gallagher followed up with a point inside 60 seconds to push them two points clear.

Smyth’s 25th minute goal restored Laois’s advantage, however, and they never relinquished it, with three points in as many minutes giving them a 1-7 to 1-2 interval lead. Kingston was irresistible in the second half, causing mayhem as Laois put their visitors to the sword. The 16-year-old added three further points to his tally as well as setting up the goal, while Dublin could only manage one point - from a Ted Furman 45 - eight minutes from the end.

SCORERS - Laois: B Smyth 2-2, D Kingston 0-6 (0-3f), Z Tuohy, J O’Loughlin, C Meredith (f), E Kelly 0-1 each. Dublin: S Gallagher, 1-1, B O’Rourke (f), T Furman (45) 0-1 each.

LAOIS - M Webster; R Keogh, J Mulhare, J Connor; C Lillis, C Boyle, Z Tuohy; S Ramsbottom, J O’Loughlin; B Smyth, C Meredith, C Farrell; S Miller, D Kingston, E Kelly 0-1. Subs: C Delaney for Farrell; D Lowry for Ramsbottom; C Hyland for Smyth.

DUBLIN - J Dignam; R O’Loughlin, R O’Carroll, D Lynch; J Cooper, S Casserley, N Brogan; K O’Connor, D Moher; M Coughlan, C McLoughlin, B Staunton; B O’Rourke, S Gallagher, T Furman. Subs: F McMahon for O’Connor; C Dorney for Gallagher; J Edwards for O’Loughlin.

REF - S Carroll (Westmeath)

O'Connor Park gets the all clear

The Leinster Council has announced that the Leinster Football Championship quarter-final between Laois and Longford will proceed on Saturday 2 June at O’Connor Park in Tullamore as planned.

Health and Safety Officers inspected the ground this morning following a delay to construction work on a new terrace.

However the ground has passed the inspection and the game will proceed as planned.

www.laoistalk.com

Laois Senior Football Championship 2007

Group A:- Ballyroan, The Rock, Mountmellick and Stradbally

Group B:- Emo, Ballylinan, Timahoe and Crettyard

Group C:- Arles Killeen, Portlaoise, Clonaslee and Portarlington

Group D:- Arles Kilcruise, O'Dempseys, St Josephs and The Heath

Quarter Finals will be drawn after Group Stage whereby Group Winners will be drawn against Group Runners up (with the condition that two teams from one Group cannot meet in the Quarter Final only)

Laois Junior B Football Championship 2007

Killeshin v Arles Kilcruise winners play Emo

Timahoe v Portlaoise, Ballyroan Abbey v Ballylinan,

Crettyard v Rathdowney, Stradbally v O'Dempseys winners play Courtwood

Colt v The Harps, The Rock v Trumera, Mountrath v Arles Killeen

Laois Junior C Hurling Championship 2007

Arles Killeen v Ballypickas winners play Kyle

Park Ratheniska v Courtwood winners play Trumera

Colt v Camross winner play Shanahoe

Timahoe v Abbeyleix winners play Ballylinan

Cork Break Laois Hearts

An injury-time free from Daniel Goulding saw Cork take the Cadbury All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship title for the first time since 1994 tonight, following a pulsating win over Laois at Semple Stadium.

The sides were level on eight occasions during this game and it took that late Goulding point to seal victory.

Laois were left ruing their wides tally of 15 by the finish, which included a late chance to level the game from the 16-year-old Donie Kingston.

Both sides had needed replays to separate them at minor level three years ago and in the Under-21 Championship last year. In the opening half of this game, it looked like another close affair was on the cards, with the sides level on five occasions inside the opening 24 minutes.

Early nerves were certainly evident in the opening with Cork kicking two chances for scores wide of the target, while their midland counterparts had one chance of a score within the opening four minutes.

Remarkably, Cork were not to kick wide of the target for the remainder of the half as clinical finishing helped to reap huge dividends for the Munster champions.

David Conway opened the scoring after six minutes for Laois and the brother of senior star Chris went on to score two further points over the remainder of the opening half, with defenders John O’Loughlin and Niall Donoher along with MJ Tierney also chipping in for the O’Moore County.

Points from Colm O’Neill, Goulding (0-03) and Fiachra Lynch ensured the sides were level at 0-05 apiece, six minutes before the interval, but Laois then hit a purple patch and pulled three points clear thanks to scores from Conway and Tierney (2) as injury-time approached.

However, Cork had the final say before the half-time whistle with a well taken goal from Goulding, the championship’s top scorer, ensuring parity for his side by the interval at 1-05 to 0-08.

Laois notched the first point of the second half from Tierney but Goulding points from a ‘45′ and a free ensured Cork regained the lead.

Goulding could have so easily been Cork’s villain as he kicked two scorable chances wide in the second half and as Laois came good once more, they held a 0-14 to 1-09 lead with six minutes remaining thanks to points from Craig Rogers, the Cadbury’s Hero of the Match, Tierney (0-03) and Donie Brennan.

A late Cork goal from Colm O’Neill levelled the tie once more and it was Goulding’s late kick which helped steal victory at the death.

Scorers - Cork: D Goulding 1-06, (5f, 1 ‘45′), C O’Neill 1-01, F Lynch, S O’Donoghue, P Kerrigan 0-01 each. Laois: MJ Tierney 0-07 (5f), D Conway 0-03, C Rogers, D Brennan, N Donoher, C Óg Greene, J O’Loughlin 0-01 each.

Cork: K O’Halloran; R Carey, M Shields, K Harrington; S O’Donoghue, D Limerick, E Cadogan; F Gould, A O’Sullivan; F Lynch, C Keane, P Kerrigan; C O’Neill, D Goulding, S Cahalane.

Subs used: R Leahy for Cahalane (41 mins), S McCarthy for Lynch (56), G O’Shea for Keane (both 56).

Laois: C Munnelly; C Healy, M Timmons, B Meredith; S Lalor, J O’Loughlin, N Donoher; B Quigley, C Óg Greene; D Brennan, C Rogers, S O’Leary; MJ Tierney, S O’Neill, D Conway.

Subs used: D Kingston for O’Neill (38 mins), I Fleming for O’Leary (44).

Referee: Vincent Neary (Mayo).

Laois suffer heavy defeat

Graham Canty made his long-awaited return to inter-county action as Cork hammered Laois by 3-12 to 0-8 in a senior football challenge at Portlaoise on Bank Holiday Monday.

Canty had been sidelined since suffering a cruciate ligament injury in last year’s Munster final replay against Kerry, had played a number of games for Bantry Blues in recent weeks before returning to Billy Morgan’s side for this challenge. He played 60 minutes at full back, keeping Laois’ Paul Lawlor scoreless in the process.

The Rebels, who will meet Limerick in the opening round of the Munster SFC on May 20, have also welcomed back Brendan Jer O’Sullivan to training in recent weeks, but the talented attacker didn’t feature against Laois because of an important club game this Wednesday evening.

The game was never a contest with Cork ahead by 2-6 to 0-1 at half-time. Under 21 star Fintan Goold was very much to the fore in the second half as the Rebels completed their second victory over the O’Moore County in 48 hours, following on from their thrilling All-Ireland under 21 success on Saturday.

Scorers – Cork: J Masters, K O’Sullivan 1-2 each, B Collins 1-1, M Cussen, F Goold 0-2 each, N O’Leary, P O’Neill, C McCarthy 0-1 each. Laois: C Conway 0-3, R Munnelly 0-2, P Clancy, G Ramsbottom and P O’Leary 0-1 each.

Dublin scramble replay

13 May 2007

Three points in extra time helped Dublin chisel out an exciting 1-13 to 0-16 draw with Laois in the Leinster MFC quarter-final at Parnell Park.

A Karl O’Connor goal straight after the break along with two quick scores from Barry O’Rorke had Dublin six points up after 34 minutes.

Laois had Ciaran Farrell sent off after 59 minutes but Conor Meredith levelled matters in injury time.

Restored to 15 men, Laois started the first period well but poor shooting allowed Dublin to nick another bite at the apple.

Laois may rue toss of coin

LONGFORD and Laois will find out on Friday where their Leinster quarter-final is to be played, but it seems Luke Dempsey’s men will enjoy home advantage for the June 2 meeting.

Tullamore was to host the game between Liam Kearns’ side and the winners of Sunday’s clash between Longford and Westmeath but a delay to construction work at O’Connor Park has put that in jeopardy.

An 8,000 capacity terrace is currently being built opposite the recently-opened main stand, but the first phase of the project, which was due to be completed by the start of June, is behind schedule.

“It’s hard to know if it will be ready or not,” said Offaly county secretary Christy Todd yesterday.

“The inspection team had a look at it last Friday week and decided to come back and have another look this week. A lot of the flooring work has been done but we will wait and see.”

Both Longford and Westmeath tossed a coin last week as a precautionary measure with Longford winning the right to host the 2003 provincial champions if they won on Sunday while Westmeath were pencilled in for a trip to Portlaoise.

Whatever the decision Friday, the venue will still cater for the Leinster hurling championship fixture between Laois and Offaly in two weekends’ time as the 7,000-seater stand will be able to cater for the attendance.

The Laois footballers will be keeping their fingers crossed that O’Connor Park gets the green light. Not only does the county have a favourable history there but, as Longford’s win on Sunday proved yet again, Pearse Park is developing the air of a fortress.

Kerry, Derry, Offaly, Kildare and Westmeath have now all fallen there in recent years and Longford are undefeated in all competitions at home since the narrow championship loss to Dublin 12 months ago.

“Hopefully we’ll be on the crest of another wave this year,” said Brian Kavanagh, whose 2-6 at the weekend earned him the man of the match award. “Laois will be a very tough battle. It looks like the game will be here in Pearse Park so we should have another bumper crowd.”

Kavanagh himself is quickly emerging as one of the country’s best young forwards. After a slow start to last summer’s campaign, he scored eight points against Tipperary, seven against Derry and 1-6 in the defeat to Kerry. That was enough to earn him an All-Star nomination but his attacking colleague Padraic Davis was eager to spread the acclaim after Longford won their first Leinster Championship match in six years.

“One man carrying the thing is never going to work,” said Davis. “Brian stepped up there and David Barden terrorised Westmeath. The forwards get a lot of credit. I understand that but there are a lot of other lads working incredibly hard.

“You can’t forget the performance of Declan Reilly on Dessie Dolan. For the last ten minutes of the first half and the entire second half he was absolutely outstanding. He’s definitely in the top 20 footballers in the country. In weaker counties defenders are overlooked. Looking down from the stand you would think Declan is a schoolboy from his stature but since 2004 he has proven he is up there with the best.”

For Davis himself, Sunday’s result vindicated his decision to return to the inter-county game after injury forced him to call time on his Longford career last year at the age of just 30.

“One or two first rounds of the championship was all I ever won, outside of round robin games so to come back here and get a run for ten or 15 minutes was great. I’m 31 now and playing on borrowed time so whatever is left in me I’m going to enjoy

Minor team to face Kilkenny named

The Laois minor footballers begin their Leinster campaign this Saturday, as they travel to Ballyragget to take on Kilkenny.

The good news for Laois is that their Under 21 players, John O’Loughlin and Donie Kingston, are fit and available for the clash. Kingston had been a doubt with a hamstring injury, but he has sufficiently recovered to take his place in the line up.
Other notable names on the team are Sean Ramsbottom, in his third year on the panel, at midfield, and O’Dempsey’s man Conor Meredith at full forward. Meredith is in his second year with the panel, having played last year at corner forward.
Beside him is his club mate Eddie Kelly, while Annanough’s Simon Miller completes the full forward line. The full back position has gone to Arles/Killeen’s Joe Mulhare, after a series of impressive displays there for Knockbeg during their Leinster Colleges campaign.
Throw in this Saturday is at 3pm.
Laois team v Kilkenny: Michael Webster (Portarlington); Robbie Kehoe (O’Dempseys’), Joe Mulhare (Arles/Killeen), Joe O’Connor (Timahoe); Keiran Lillis (Portlaoise), John O’Loughlin (Mountmellick), Conor Boyle (Portlaoise); Sean Rambottom (Timahoe), Jonathon Booth (Emo); Brian Smith (Portlaoise), Donie Kingston (Barrowhouse), Zach Tuohy (Portlaoise); Simon Miller (Annanough), Conor Meredith (O’Dempseys), Eddie Kelly (O’Dempseys)

Byron back for Laois

06 April 2007

Former All-Star goalkeeper Fergal Byron comes back into the Laois team for Sunday’s winner-takes-all NFL Division 1B clash with Kildare at Newbridge.

Laois need to win to be assured of a semi-final spot, and despite last weekend’s fine home win over Armagh, manager Liam Kearns has decided to make four changes. The experienced Byron returns in place of Michael Nolan, while Ross Munnelly is also restored to the starting line-up in place of Michael John Tierney at right corner forward.

Chris Bergin replaces David Murphy at right half forward with Billy Sheehan taking over from the suspended Brendan Quigley on the opposite wing.

Laois (SF v Kildare): F Byron; P McMahon, C Ryan, J Higgins; P O’Leary, D Rooney, B McCormack; P Clancy, N Garvan; C Bergin, C Conway, B Sheehan; R Munnelly, P Lawlor, B McDonald.

Aussies begin to circle Quigley again

Brendan Quigley scores a goal against Aramagh

FEARS are growing in Laois football circles that they may lose one of their best young talents to Australia for a second time, after reports that Brendan Quigley was approached by two separate Australian Rules clubs earlier this week.

The Aussies are circling because Quigley, a former AFL recruit, looks set to get a four-suspension for ‘contributing to a melee’ after being sent off against Armagh in the NFL last week.

The suspension will affect him badly, forcing him out of the Leinster U21 final on Sunday week and also all of Laois’ remaining NFL games, which could yet include a semi-final and final.

Quigley, like fellow Laois minor Colm Begley, was recruited by Brisbane Lions in the winter of 2005 but did not settle in Australia.

He returned home last February to play a key part in Laois’ Leinster U21 title and also played county senior, but the Timahoe star is said to be deeply disillusioned with this latest twist in his Gaelic career.

Ballylinan GAA Publish Website Stats

The Ballylinan GAA Club website www.ballylinangaa.com was first launched in 2005 and has since grown from strength to strength. Today for the first time Ballylinan GAA Club publish the stats from activities on the website. These figures show the number of visitors to the website and are divided into three categories. The figures listed below are for the twelve month period from January 1st 2006 to December 31st 2006.

2006

1. Unique Visitors:- 28,568

2. Number of Visits:- 67,652

3. Hits to the Website:- 286,372

Ballylinan GAA Club has also released the figures for the first quarter of 2007. These figures show the number of visitors to the website under the same three categories as above and cover the period from January 1st 2007 to March 31st 2007.

2007 (1st Quarter)

1. Unique Visitors:- 10,491

2. Number of Visits:- 26,687

3. Hits to the Website:- 81,722

As these first quarter figures show the club are well on their way to exceeding the 2006 figures when it is taken into account the busy period for traffic on the website are the middle two quarters.

If you have any suggestions on improving the website we would be delighted to hear from you. Also if you have any club related material you feel may be of interest to us please let us know.

Click Here to Contact Us

Laois clinch title

15 April 2007

Laois are this year’s Cadbury’s Leinster Under 21 football champions after seeing off the challenge of Offaly by 0-13 to 1-7 in a fascinating final at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.

The defending champions laid the foundation for their win by careering into a 0-6 to 1-1 lead with points from David Conway and Donal Brennan helping to counter a 26th minute goal by Sean Ryan for Offaly.

Laois finished the half strongly too with a Craig Rogers gem helping to give the homesters that bit of a leeway at the interval.

Offaly improved in the second half and points from Thomas Coughlan, Ken Casey and Stephen Lonergan helped leave just one point between the sides entering the final quarter.

However Laois managed to keep their distance for the remainder of the match with a fifth point from MJ Tierney late on helping to hand them their eighth title.

Dempsey Announces Team For
Under 21 Final

Seán Dempsey has kept faith with his starting 15 for the 4th consecutive game as Laois face into their first All Ireland U21 Final in 9 years.

Minor team to face Kilkenny named

The Laois minor footballers begin their Leinster campaign this Saturday, as they travel to Ballyragget to take on Kilkenny.

Byron back for Laois

06 April 2007

Aussies begin to circle Quigley again

Brendan Quigley scores a goal against Aramagh

The Aussies are circling because Quigley, a former AFL recruit, looks set to get a four-suspension for ‘contributing to a melee’ after being sent off against Armagh in the NFL last week.

The suspension will affect him badly, forcing him out of the Leinster U21 final on Sunday week and also all of Laois’ remaining NFL games, which could yet include a semi-final and final.

Quigley, like fellow Laois minor Colm Begley, was recruited by Brisbane Lions in the winter of 2005 but did not settle in Australia.

Ballylinan GAA Publish Website Stats

2006

1. Unique Visitors:- 28,568

2. Number of Visits:- 67,652

3. Hits to the Website:- 286,372

2007 (1st Quarter)

1. Unique Visitors:- 10,491

2. Number of Visits:- 26,687

3. Hits to the Website:- 81,722

As these first quarter figures show the club are well on their way to exceeding the 2006 figures when it is taken into account the busy period for traffic on the website are the middle two quarters.

If you have any suggestions on improving the website we would be delighted to hear from you. Also if you have any club related material you feel may be of interest to us please let us know.

Click Here to Contact Us

Laois clinch title

15 April 2007

Dempsey Announces Team For
Under 21 Final

Seán Dempsey has kept faith with his starting 15 for the 4th consecutive game as Laois face into their first All Ireland U21 Final in 9 years.

Laois and Cork go head to head

The 2006 semi-final is now the 2007 Final as another epic battle is expected between Cork and Laois in the Cadbury U21 Football Championship.

Cork certainly have the experience of last years final to draw on, but after running them to a replay in last year’s semi and with a large chunck of a victorious minor side of four years ago, Laois will be looking to secure yet another underage honour on May 5th in Semple Stadium in Thurles.

An ill tempered affair at Hyde Park saw a power-packed second half display prove pivotal as Laois booked their place in this year’s Cadbury’s All-Ireland Under 21 FC final after recording a 0-11 to 0-6 win over Mayo. Mayo’s journey for a second All Ireland title effectively ended when wing-back Colm Boyle was sent off early in the second period for a second yellow card offence just after Barry Moran was stretchered off injured.

Cork recorded a hard-fought victory over Ulster champions Armagh in their semi-final at Portlaoise. The Rebels looked to be coasting to victory early in the second half, but Armagh then suddenly came to life by scoring six unanswered points to leave the Munster kingpins hanging on for the win and finally to take the victory by one point.

This year’s Cadbury U21 Football Final looks certain to provide a feast of open attacking football, with both of these teams been familiar with each other it should prove a close game. Match practice may just tip the scales in favour of the Leinster side as Laois have played a total of five championship matches accounting for Wicklow, Louth, Westmeath and Offaly before taking on Mayo while Cork have beaten Limerick, Waterford and Tipperary before seeing off Armagh.

Cork will be looking to the likes of Goulding and Goold to demonstrate their scoring ability and spearhead their attacks while Laois will expect big performances from MJ Tierney and Donnie Brennan if they are to secure this years Cadbury U21 Football Championship.

Kearns lauds players’ efforts

Although seeing his side lose out on promotion from Division 1B of the NFL, Laois football supremo Liam Kearns still had much praise for his players.

"We just came up short," said Kearns.

"We had to win the game. We had a couple of good chances at the finish which I though we probably should have taken but we didn’t.

"I would like to pay tribute to my panel because we had ten players not togged out today.

"In the circumstances they have done a great job in securing our Division One status and coming within a kick of the ball in the semi-finals."

All Even in Newbridge

By Brendan O’Brien
A DRAW in Newbridge, but Kildare were the undisputed winners after a result that sees them, and not Laois, progress to the semi-finals.

A bumper crowd of 14,000 filed into St Conleth’s Park anticipating a ding-dong derby and they weren’t disappointed by a riveting tussle that saw the teams level on 11 occasions.

All afternoon, the two mirrored each other’s footsteps. Where Laois kicked nine wides, Kildare kicked eight. While Laois picked up five yellows, Kildare earned four. Five of Laois’ starting forwards kicked at least one score. Kildare’s did the same.

It was that tight.

“It’s a win in everything but name,” said Kildare manager John Crofton. “I was conscious all the time that a draw would do us but the heart missed a beat a few times towards the end.”

It will be Kildare’s first appearance in the last four of the NFL since 1991 when they reached the final in Mick O’Dwyer’s first year in charge and Crofton was in bullish humour with regard to their chances of winning the county’s first league crown.

“We’ve now got a game in the knockout stages of a national competition which we haven’t come close to since 2000. We have an opportunity to get into a National League final. Mayo and Donegal seems to be the stronger group but we certainly won’t belacking in confidence after ourcampaign.”

They are certainly a team on the up. Though John Doyle was again their chief scorer yesterday, he was well supported by his peers with Tadhg Fennin’s three points an indication that the veteran corner-forward is returning to his best.

Their midfield duo of Killian Brennan and Kevin O’Neill claimed 52% of the possession from kick-outs against Pauric Clancy and Noel Garvan and Laois were made work for most of their 13 scores by some dogged home defending.
Crofton has used his 18 months in charge to blood a handful of youngsters and, with two draws and their biggest win this spring being by a three-point margin, they are clearly adept at grinding out results.

They had the best of this game for long spells, enjoying an excellent start before being pegged back and overtaken by Colm Parkinson who capped a superb pass from Brian McDonald with a low finish under Enda Murphy and into the net.

Laois played with real pep in their step for the next few minutes and went two points ahead briefly when Chris Conway added on a point but that was to be the biggest lead either side would enjoy all day.

Kildare responded well and drew level three times in four minutes before Fennin’s first point handed them the lead and the psychological advantage before the break.

Up until that, Laois had won the lion’s share of possession at midfield but the roles were reversed on the turnaround with Kildare winning eight consecutive kick-outs midway through the second period.

The result was that Laois were the ones playing catch up for most of the half with Liam Kearns’ men relying on speedy breaks for their scores — three of them coming from full-forward Paul Lawlor.

With so much at stake, it was no real shock when a minor scuffle broke out with seven minutes to go but both sides regained their senses and returned to the business of playing football before too long.

McDonald restored parity for the eleventh and last time in the last minute but the same player blotted his exemplary copybook by kicking a bad wide seconds later when he seemed odds on to score.

“We just came up short,” said Kearns. “We had to win the game. We had a couple of good chances at the finish which I thought we probably should gave taken but didn’t, but there was some good scores from both sides.”

Three draws ultimately cost Laois their place in the knockout stages but they have shown enough this season to suggest that they will be a main player in the Leinster Championship in the months to come.

Kearns’ disappointment was tempered by his side’s ability to eke out some manner of a positive result despite the absences of key figures such as Ross Munnelly, Brendan Quigley, MJ Tierney, Aidan Fennelly and Tom Kelly.

“I would like to pay tribute to my panel because we had ten players not togged out tonight,” said Kearns. “We had 22 players fit and, in the circumstances, they have done a great job in securing Division One status and coming within a kick of a ball of a semi-final.

“Kildare were missing the likes of Dermot Earley and one or two more so I am sure they would say it was 15 against 15 out there but I’m happy enough with the way the league has gone. I’m proud of what my squad has done in this league campaign.”

KILDARE: E Murphy; E Callaghan, D Lyons, A McLoughlin; A Rainbow, M Hogarty (0-1), E Bolton (0-1); K Brennan, K O’Neill (0-1); J Kavanagh (0-1), J Doyle (0-4, 1f), K Donnelly (0-2); T Fennin (0-3, 1f), J Phillips, P O’Neill (0-1).
Subs: T O’Connor (0-1) for Donnelly 52, M Scanlon for Rainbow 65, B Flanagan for Fennin 72.

LAOIS: F Byron; P McMahon, C Ryan, J Higgins; P O’Leary, D Rooney, B McCormack; P Clancy (0-1), N Garvan; C Bergin (0-1), C Conway (0-1), D Murphy; C Parkinson (1-0), P Lawlor (0-3), B McDonald (0-5, 2f).
Subs: B Brennan (0-1) for Bergin 49, C Meaney for Murphy 60.

Referee: M Meade (Limerick).

Quigley set to play in under 21 final

Laois chiefs are confident that star midfielder Brendan Quigley will be cleared to play in Saturday’s Leinster under 21 football final against Offaly at Portlaoise.

The Timahoe clubman, who has attracted the interest of AFL club scouts in recent weeks, could be eligible to line-out even if the outcome of Friday night’s appeal against his sending off in last Saturday week’s NFL Division 1B clash with Armagh isn’t successful.

Quigley was issued with a straight red card by Roscommon referee Declan Hunt after a first half brawl involving up to 20 players. He will be accompanied to Friday’s Hearing Committee’s meeting in Kilkenny by a county board official.

Laois will argue that Quigley’s four-week suspension should not apply to the under 21 grade, which would allow him to play against the Faithful County

REMAINING FIXTURES - Sunday: Galway v Down; Kildare v Laois; Armagh v Westmeath; Derry v Louth.

KILDARE - Have definitely preserved Division 1 status, but need to draw with Laois to ensure a semi-final spot. Otherwise, they are relying on Down to beat Galway and Louth to overcome Derry.

LAOIS - With a strong scoring difference, Laois have probably preserved Division 1 status. Need to beat Kildare, but could still nick a semi-final spot if Galway lost to Down and Derry draw.

GALWAY - Like last year they are coming with a strong late run, but will it be enough? Yes if there is a decisive result in the game between the division’s top two - Laois and Kildare. A draw between the two would require Galway to beat Down by more than six points to pip Laois for the remaining semi-final spot, provided Derry don’t put up a big score, 11 points or more, against Louth.

DERRY - Have at least ensured Division 2 status next year. Will fancy beating Louth at home, but must then depend on Galway losing to Down. For Derry to catch Laois, they need the midlanders to lose to Kildare and a nine point swing between the two results to occur.

WESTMEATH - The threat of Division 3 still hangs in the air if Armagh beat them in Crossmaglen by more than five points and Louth topple Derry. Ironically, they still have an outside chance of making the league semi-finals, but they need an most unlikely series of miracles.

LOUTH - Division 3 is staring them in the face if they don’t beat Derry and Armagh win in Crossmaglen. Can’t make the semi-finals, but could still retain Division 1 status if they beat Derry and Armagh also win. A draw with Derry and an Armagh win over Westmeath would keep them in Division 2

DOWN - . . . and out! A miserable first campaign for Ross Carr and DJ Kane. Division 3 status is assured.

NFL: Laois reap a rich harvest from Orchard defeat

01 April 2007

Laois stormed to the top of Division 1B of the NFL last night (Saturday) following a convincing 1-13 to 0-8 win over Armagh at Portlaoise.

A power-packed first half laid the foundation for Laois’s impressive win in front of 5,000 fans at O’Moore Park.

Top class displays up front by Brian McDonald (0-3) and Michael Tierney (0-5) helped the homesters cruise home even though they lost Brendan Quigley to a red card after just 33 minutes.

Earlier Quigley bagged a ninth minute goal which helped propel the homesters into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead before Stevie McDonnell replied for Armagh’s opening point.

Trailing by 0-2 to 1-8 on the restart, Armagh huffed and puffed but never looked like gaining parity with four of their six second half points coming in the final 12 minutes of the match.

Laois to appeal Quigley dismissal

THE LAOIS County Board are expected to mount a serious challenge to the sending off of U21 star Brendan Quigley against Armagh last weekend.

Quigley was sent off - on the word of a linesman - during Saturday night’s clash at O’Moore Park.

Laois officials studied the video yesterday and are waiting to see what he has been reported for before mounting an expected challenge.

Even if Laois manage to get the red card rescinded, Quigley will miss this weekend’s all-or-nothing clash with Kildare in Division 1B of the National League.

Manager Liam Kearns has agreed to rest the county’s underage stars this week because of their impending Leinster U21 final against Offaly on Sunday week.

Kearns has three U21 players on his panel and two of them - Quigley and Michael Tierney - are regular starters. Quigley scored a goal against Armagh before his dismissal, while Tierney contributed an impressive 0-5 from play.

If Quigley were to get the minimum four-week ban, it would be a major blow for Laois, ruling him out of the U21 final as well as the rest of the league campaign.

Laois are also likely to still be without the injured Kevin Fitzpatrick and Tom Kelly for the clash with Kildare, but Ross Munnelly and Barry Brennan are expected to return.

All County Football League Div.2

Ballylinan Senior Footballers are to kick off their assault on this year’s league with an away game to Annanough on Saturday 24th March 2007 at 4.30pm. Ballylinan have set themselves the target of regaining Division 1 status for the 2008 season but are fully aware of how tough a task this will be with four other senior teams as well as a number of strong intermediate teams in this division. The full fixtures list for Ballylinan is listed below. The top four teams in the division will compete in the semi finals with top playing fourth and second playing third. The two finalists will then be promoted to Division 1.

Saturday 24th March 2007      Annanough       v    Ballylinan
Sunday 8th April 2007               Ballylinan        v      Clonaslee St. Manmans
Saturday 21st April                   Crettyard         v       Ballylinan
Tuesday 29th May                      Ballylinan        v         Killeshin
Thursday 14th June                   Ballylinan        v        Courtwood
Thursday 21st June                   St. Josephs      v        Ballylinan
Thursday 28th June                    Ballylinan        v         Portarlington
Tuesday 3rd July                        Kilcavan          v         Ballylinan
Saturday 14th July                     Ballylinan        v        Timahoe

Croker finals call next week

THE GAA will decide early next week whether the 2007 National League finals need to be moved from Croke Park.

Extensive work, which could take up to six or eight weeks, is due to be carried out on the pitch at HQ and it needs to be completed before the start of the championship.

The football decider is due to be played on April 22 with the hurling following seven days later.

The next game scheduled for Croke Park is a Leinster Football Championship double header on May 20, a gap of just three weeks.

We will have a decision by Monday evening,” said Brennan. “We are having a meeting on some aspects of the pitch that afternoon. We can’t afford to leave it go any further than that.”

Moving the league deciders out of Croke Park would certainly be an unpopular decision among the teams involved but Brennan stressed yesterday that every effort is being made to accommodate all competitions at the venue.

The All-Ireland Junior and Intermediate hurling and football finals will be played there this weekend and organisers of the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon competitions, as well as other lower-profile competitions, have also been offered the opportunity.

“I want to dispel the notion that, because other sports are being played in Croke Park, our own guys are going to be squeezed out,” he added. “Croke Park is the national GAA stadium where our games will get priority, irrespective of what happens down the road.”

The GAA is also launching a two-pronged assault on player burnout. First up is the creation of a special committee on the problem, the members of which will be announced before the end of the week.

Brennan expects a report to be delivered after consultations with medical personnel, team managers and third-level institutions among others. The likelihood is that recommendations would then be forwarded to Congress.

“We will see what comes out of it because there is a parallel exercise as well in relation to the whole club versus county scene,” said Brennan. “We are preparing a document at the moment, which won’t be a committee job.

“It is being prepared internally and we’ll send that out after Congress for consumption as well. We will want counties and clubs to closely consult this document with a view to getting some motions for either the 2008 Congress or Special Congress.”

Brennan is hoping to cement a set of rules regarding player eligibility with their clubs while the committee’ will focus on players between the ages of 16 and 21.

The president has already accepted the possibility of combining the minor and U21 grades into one U19 level but is looking for the lead on the issue to be taken by the grass roots and not the top table.

“I don’t want to push my opinion because I think it’s wrong for a president to be doing that all the time. The bottom line is that there is an acceptance that players in this bracket are under too much pressure, particularly the more successful players.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism has sent correspondence to Croke Park clarifying the details regarding the proposed grants scheme for inter-county players.

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell is confident that an agreement can be reached soon but Brennan was reluctant to put a timeframe on that when pressed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Donegal footballer Barry Dunnion and Waterford hurler Eoin Kelly were honoured yesterday as the Vodafone GAA All-stars of the Month for February. The awards were presented to the players at a reception in Dublin’s Westbury Hotel by Mr Brennan, accompanied by Vodafone’s Interim Marketing Director Martin Wells.

The players were honoured for their contributions to their county’s successes in the opening rounds of the National Leagues last month which saw Donegal unbeaten after three rounds and leading Division One A and Waterford enjoy a comprehensive victory over Wexford.

Laois denied by late Derry strike

Conleth Gilligan pounced deep into injury time to hand Derry a 1-11 apiece draw with Laois in Division 1B of the national football league at Celtic Park.

Gilligan’s late, late point would not have mattered but for a controversial decision from the match official to disallow a Ross Munnelly effort three minutes from the end.

One umpire felt the ball had dissected the posts but referee Jimmy White deemed it off target, much to the obvious dismay of the O’Moore County camp

The Leinster travellers started brightest and looked on course when Paul Lawlor hit 1-2 early on but – thanks to a 24th-minute Paddy Bradley major – the Oak Leafers were in touch at the short whistle, 1-5 to 1-2.

Bradley supplied 1-4 of Derry’s full-time tally, while Gilligan’s late leveller was his fourth shot on target.

In the end, both teams lost ground.

Brennan backs county versus club clarification

GAA President Nickey Brennan has invited the wider membership of the Association to contribute to a debate on the "availability of county players to their clubs."

Brennan addressed his invitation to the thousands of supporters at the St. Patrick’s Day club finals via the programme notes.

"During the coming months, we will be issuing a document dealing with the thorny issue of club and county fixtures," wrote Brennan, "including the availability of county players to their clubs.

"This document will outline many areas of concern and will set out a number of proposals for consideration by county boards and their clubs.

"Your views are important because the current situation, which is skewed in favour of county sides, is no longer tenable and some changes are essential."

Quigley guides Laois into decider

A five-star performance by midfielder Brendan Quigley helped propel Laois into the final of this year’s Cadbury’s Leinster Under FC final (1-10 to 0-7) at the expense of Westmeath after a lively affair at Mullingar.

The Laois lads did most of their best work in the first half when they were playing against the elements but still managed to bag the only goal of the game.

Laois’s goal came just seconds before half-time when Shane O’Neill hammered the ball beyond David Bryan after Westmeath midfielder David Duffy misjudged a free from MJ Tierney.

Laois almost doubled their goal tally before the interval but Kieran Gavin made a goal-saving block to keep the hosts in touch, 0-3 to 1-3 at half-time.

A blizzard greeted the players as they made their way back onto the pitch for the start of the second half and after a delay of 20 minutes the game was restarted.

David Glennon cut into Laois’ lead with a free but the winners-elect hit back with a three points tally inside the next seven minutes to up the ante considerably.

Westmeath worked overtime to eat into Laois’ lead but their cause wasn’t helped by the sending off of defender Micheal Curley ten minutes from the close of play.

Laois showed a real killer instinct thereafter with Tierney and man of the match Quigley sharing four points in the final quarter.

Laois take points in Down

Despite squandering numerous opportunities, Laois were comfortable 1-13 to 0-9 winners over struggling Down in Division 1B of the NFL at Newcastle.

Down changed all eight of their forward personnel for this game and their new-look team came up against a Laois side welcoming back Noel Garvan and Tom Kelly.

True to form, it was the Leinster team who started best. Ross Munnelly pointed three times (including two frees) inside six minutes to give the visitors an early 0-3 to 0-0 advantage

Down clawed back two points but Laois hit six points in a row to take control of the match. Gary Kavanagh. Beano McDonald (2), Munnelly and David Murphy were amongst the scorers.

Down corner forward Mark Poland closed the first-half scoring but the Mourne County were clearly in trouble, trailing by 0-9 to 0-3.

Dan Gordon and Benny Coulter were brought on at half time and Down reduced the gap to three, with Barry Doran and Daniel Hughes on target.

But Beano popped over his third free before Chris Conway halted the Down momentum completely as he restored Laois’ five-point cushion, 0-11 to 0-6.

Kavanagh and McDonald stretched Laois’ lead but Coulter kickstarted a late Down revival which saw them rattle off three scores in a row, with Colin McCrickard and Poland on song.

Laois finally put the match to bed when substitute Chris Bergin fired the only goal of the game right at the death.

Under 21s have injury worries

Laois under 21 boss Sean Dempsey is sweating on the fitness of a number of key players ahead of Sunday’s Leinster championship semi-final against Westmeath in Mullingar.

Daithi Carroll is the biggest concern after picking up a hamstring injury in last weekend’s narrow victory over Louth. Enda Butler, Mark Delaney and Simon Shortall are also on the doubtful list for the meeting with the Lake County.

Changes are expected to the starting line-up, and Ian Fleming, Kieran Delaney and Shane O’Neill will all be pushing for starting places after coming on against Louth. Laois will be looking for big performances from the likes of Cahir Healy, Brendan Quigley, Michael Tierney and Donie Brennan to see them through to another final.

In last year’s corresponding game, Laois produced a powerful second half display to overwhelm a Westmeath team which had been well in contention at half-time. Westmeath have 11 survivors from that team, including senior stars Francis Boyle and David Duffy, and are sure to provide stiff opposition for the holders in front of their home fans.

Tierney points the way

A great point on the stroke of full-time by Michael Tierney helped Laois scrape home by 1-9 to 0-11 against Louth in their Cadbury’s Leinster championship under 21 quarter-final clash at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.

The home side were made to work all the way for their win and it took a cool finish from Donie Brennan to ensure Laois went in half-time level at 1-3 to 0-6.

Sean Dempsey’s charges raced from the blocks on the restart with two quick points from Kieran Delaney and Brendan Quigley but Louth pegged them back and it looked like it was heading for extra-time until Tierney’s last gasp effort.

Laois U21 Side to face Louth

Laois face Louth in the Quarter Final of the Leinster Under 21 Championship in O'Moore Pk, Portlaoise on Saturday 10th March 2007 at 3.30pm. After a far from impressive opening round win over Wicklow, Laois playing with home advantage should book a semi-final meeting with Westmeath. But it must be remembered Laois were pushed all the way by Louth in Dundalk last year. The team to face Louth is as follows,

Laois ring the changes

The Laois team to face Down in Sunday’s NFL Division 1B meeting at Portlaoise shows five changes from that which drew with Louth last time out.

Padraig McMahon and Tom Kelly come into defence in place of Rory Stapleton and Peter O’Leary, with Darren Rooney switching to full back in the subsequent reshuffle. Noel Garvan makes his first start of the year at midfield with Brendan Quigley dropping to the bench.

David Murphy and Gary Kavanagh come back into the attack in place of Billy Sheehan and Barry Brennan. As a result, Chris Conway moves to centre forward and Paul Lawlor switches to full forward.

Laois (SF v Down): M Nolan; C Ryan, D Rooney, J Higgins; P McMahon, T Kelly, B McCormack; P Clancy, N Garvan; D Murphy, C Conway, G Kavanagh; B McDonald, P Lawlor, R Munnelly.

Football League heads for crucial weekend

Three rounds played....four to go. It’s at this stage that the Allianz Football League begins to take shape and with high finishing places so crucial for every county this season, next weekend’s fourth series of games will have the turnstiles clicking at sixteen venues on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th March.

ON TV: The Ulster derby clash between Armagh and Derry will be shown live on TG4 from Crossmaglen on Sunday. Throw-in will be at 2.30.

DIV 1A: FLOODLIT ACTION FOR TWO CRUCIAL CLASHES

Saturday (7.30): Dublin v Cork, Parnell Park; Tyrone v Donegal, Omagh.

Sunday: Fermanagh v Mayo, Clones, 2.30; Kerry v Limerick, Tralee, 2.30

There’s Saturday night action under lights at two venues for games that are absolutely crucial to all four counties. Dublin’s defeat by Donegal last Sunday week saw them drop to second last in the table and has raised the stakes for the visit of Cork, who have a good record against the Dubs in recent seasons. Cork picked up their first win of the season against Tyrone last Saturday week.

Stunned by the eight-point defeat, Tyrone return to their home base in Healy Park, Omagh where they take on unbeaten table-toppers, Donegal who have already beaten three 2006 provincial champions, Cork, Mayo and Dublin. However, Tyrone beat Donegal by 2-9 to 0-5 in their recent Dr.McKenna Cup final clash. After losing to Mayo in the first round, defending League champions, Kerry got back on track with wins over Cork and Fermanagh and will have home advantage in Tralee against 6th placed Limerick on Sunday. Fermanagh, the only team in either Div 1 group still without a point, take on Mayo who are in third place on the table, at Clones on Sunday.

Round 5 (March 24/25): Dublin v Fermanagh; Cork v Mayo; Donegal v Kerry; Limerick v Tyrone.

DIV 1B: WESTMEATH BID TO MAINTAIN 100 PER CENT RECORD

Sunday (2.30): Armagh v Derry, Crossmaglen; Galway v Kildare, Pearse Stadium; Down v Laois, Newcastle; Louth v Westmeath, Dundalk.

Leaders, Westmeath v third placed Louth will be one of the highlights of the weekend as two sides who were promoted from Div 2 last year hit good early form in their bid to ensure a place in the top flight next year. Westmeath have already beaten Laois, Derry and Down while Louth beat Down, lost to Armagh by a point and drew with Laois last Sunday week. They are the group’s top scorers on 4-35.

Kildare have also made an impressive start, picking up five of six points, and will bring that good form to Galway to take on a side that turned in a great second half to overtake Armagh last time out. Galway are in the unusual position of having the lowest scoring return (0-24) and the lowest concession total (0-28) in the group. Down, who have picked up just one point so far, are in desperate need of a win to begin the climb from the bottom but face a tough test against Laois who have won one, drawn one and lost one so far. Armagh and Derry, both of whom are on two points clash in Crossmaglen in a game that’s crucial for both as they attempt to move towards the top half of the table.

Round 5 (March 25): Armagh v Down; Westmeath v Galway; Derry v Laois; Kildare v Louth.

DIV 2A: TIGHT CALLS IN COMPETITIVE GROUP

Sunday: Longford v Leitrim, Pearse Park; Clare v Monaghan, Ennis; Offaly v London, Tullamore; Carlow v Roscommon, Dr.Cullen Park.

Only four points separate the top six in what is a very competitive group. Leaders, Monaghan take their 100 per cent record to Ennis while second placed Roscommon are also on the road in Carlow. Offaly will be hoping to pick up crucial points at home to bottom-placed London while the clash of Longford and Leitrim in Pearse Park looks certain to be very close. The sides finished level in the corresponding tie last year.

Round 5 (March 25): Leitrim v Carlow; Offaly v Clare; London v Monaghan; Roscommon v Longford.

DIV 2B: CAVAN, MEATH SET THE PACE

Saturday (7.30): Cavan v Sligo, Kingspan Breffni Park; Meath v Tipperary, Navan;

Sunday: Waterford v Wicklow, Dungarvan, 2.30; Antrim v Wexford, Casement Park, 1.30.

It s tight at the top as Cavan and Meath set the pace, having taken five of six points but Wexford are only a point back with Sligo in fourth place on three points. Both Cavan and Meath will have home advantage on Saturday night. Cavan will be at home to Sligo, whom they beat by three points last year while Meath host Tipperary. Mick O Dwyer takes his Wicklow sides to Dungarvan to take on Waterford, whom they beat by nine points last year while Wexford face the longest haul of the weekend as they head for Casement Park to take on Antrim.

Round 5 (March 24/25): Antrim v Cavan; Wicklow v Meath; Wexford v Sligo; Tipperary v Waterford.

HURLING TIES RE-FIXED

The Allianz hurling League ties that were called off last Sunday due to the bad weather have been re-fixed as follows.

Next Saturday
Div 1A: Waterford v Cork, Walsh Park, 2.30
Div 2A: Carlow v Meath, Dr. Cullen Park, 1.0 Wednesday, March 28 Div 1B: Antrim v Dublin, Casement Park, 7.30
2007 ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE RESULTS DIVISION 1A
Round 1
Feb 3
Tyrone 0-11 Dublin 0-10, Croke Park
Donegal 1-12 Cork 2-7, Pairc Ui Rinn.

Feb 4
Mayo 1-11 Kerry 0-11, Castlebar
Feb 18: Limerick 2-10 Fermanagh 1-8, Clones.

Round 2
Feb 10
Dublin 0-14 Limerick 1-10, Gaelic Grounds
Kerry 0-11 Cork 2-2, Tralee
Tyrone 0-14 Fermanagh 0-8

Feb 11
Donegal 1-13 Mayo 1-10, Ballybofey

Round 3
Feb 24
Cork 0-15 Tyrone 0-7, Pairc Ui Rinn

Feb 25
Donegal 0-9 Dublin 0-5, Ballyshannon
Kerry 1-12 Fermanagh 0-8, Kingspan Breffni Park
Mayo 1-10 Limerick 0-7, Castlebar

DIVISION 1B
Round 1
Feb 4
Derry 0-12 Galway 0-7, Pearse Stadium
Louth 2-14 Down 1-13, Drogheda
Westmeath 1-11 Laois 1-9, Mullingar
Kildare 0-12 Armagh 0-10, Newbridge.

Round 2
Feb 10
Laois 0-8 Galway 0-7, Portlaoise

Feb 11
Armagh 1-9 Louth 0-11, Crossmaglen
Westmeath 3-10 Derry 1-9, Celtic Park
Down 0-14 Kildare 1-11, Newcastle

Round 3
Feb 25
Laois 1-13 Louth 2-10, Portlaoise
Galway 0-10 Armagh 0-8, Pearse Stadium
Westmeath 0-9 Down 0-7, Cusack Park
Kildare 0-10 Derry 0-7, Newbridge

DIVISION 2A

Round 1
Feb 4
Monaghan 2-11 Roscommon 1-10, Dr.Hyde Park
Clare 0-17 Carlow 1-9, Dr.Cullen Park
Longford 5-19 London 0-8, Pearse Park
Leitrim 0-11 Offaly 0-10, Cloone

Round 2
Feb 10
Monaghan 1-14 Longford 3-6, Clones

Feb 11
Clare 1-14 Leitrim 1-9, Ennis
Roscommon 1-16 London 0-10, Ruislip
Offaly 3-12 Carlow 1-8, Tullamore

Round 3
Feb 25
Monaghan 1-17 Carlow 0-9, Clones
Longford 3-8 Offaly 1-14, Pearse Park
Roscommon 2-10 Clare 1-7, Dr.Hyde Park
London v Leitrim - Postponed

Division 2B
Round 1
Feb 3
Meath 2-7 Cavan 0-13, Navan.

Feb 4
Wicklow 4-9 Antrim 1-10, Aughrim
Waterford 2-13 Wexford 1-12, Dungarvan
Tipperary 1-12 Sligo 0-15, Ardfinnan.

Round 2
Feb 10
Cavan 0-17 Wicklow 0-10, Breffni Park
Meath 2-11 Antrim 1-11, Casement Park
Sligo 0-14 Waterford 1-8, Markievicz Park
Wexford 0-16 Tipperary 0-7, Wexford Park

Round 3
Meath 3-12 Sligo 1-10, Markievicz Park
Antrim 1-13 Waterford 0-8, Dungarvan
Cavan 1-14 Tipperary 0-12, Ardfinnan
Wexford 1-6 Wicklow 0-6, Aughrim

Laois unveil hurling plan

Former Kilkenny hurler and Leinster Council hurling development officer Lester Ryan has drawn up an ambitious plan aimed at improving Laois’ hurling fortunes at senior level.

Ryan is proposing the establishment of a development squad in the county over the next three years. Under the terms of the proposal, the 30-man squad will have an average age of 22, each player will be interviewed before being invited onto the squad, a programme will be followed and preference will be given to squad members for the next three National League campaign.

“I would like this proposal to be seen as an opportunity to reinvigorate Laois hurling,” Ryan said.

“The object of this plan is to have a Laois senior hurling squad in place in three years’ time that is hurling competitively at inter-county level in the National League and the Liam McCarthy Cup.”

An 11-man steering committee will include county chairman Dick Miller, new Laois hurling manager Damien Fox, hurling board chairman Donal Deegan and Ryan.

The O’Moore County only managed one competitive victory in 2006, but still managed to retain their McCarthy status.

Leinster squad announced

Leinster football boss Val Andrews has named his panel for the Inter-provincial semi-final against Ulster at Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday night.

The 26-strong squad features players from 10 counties, with the only counties not represented being Wicklow and Kilkenny. Andrews is without the services of a host of big names, including Ciaran Whelan, Alan Brogan and Dessie Dolan, who have club commitments this weekend.

Leinster (SF panel v Ulster): G Connaughton, M Ennis, A Mangan (all Westmeath); A Fennelly, D Rooney, B Quigley, P Clancy (all Laois); J Sheridan, C King (both Meath); K Slattery (Offaly); C Moran, D Lally, C Keaney, B Cahill (all Dublin); J Doyle, D Earley, P O’Neill (all Kildare); M Carpenter, T Walsh (both Carlow); D Clarke (Louth); M Forde and D Kinsella (both Wexford); B Kavanagh, B McElvaney, D Reilly and D Sheridan (all Longford).

Laois Credit Unions Kelly Cup Football Championship Quarter Finals

The draw for the quarter finals of the Kelly Cup Football Championship has paired Ballylinan against Timahoe. The game will be played on Saturday 30th September 2006 at Timahoe. The full details of the draw are listed below:-

Timahoe                                  v          Ballylinan        @ 5.00 pm
Graiguecullen                          v          Portlaoise        @ 5.00 pm
Clonaslee St. Manmans           v          The Heath        @ 5.00 pm
The Rock                                 v          Crettyard         @ 5.00 pm

GAA at the Ploughing Championships

The GAA will have a stand at the National and World Ploughing Championships at Grangeford, Tullow later this week featuring all kinds of information on Gaelic games including Ladies Football, Handball and Camogie.

It is intended to distribute over 80,000 posters, Games development literature and other general promotional material to visitors to the Championships. It is expected that an average of 20,000 people a day will visit the GAA stand and it is the first time that the Association will have had such a presence at the championships.

GAA President Nickey Brennan said: "We expect that there will be a lot of visitors to the championships and we hope that through our presence we will be able to heighten awareness of the Association for those who are coming into contact with the GAA for the first time.

"For those more familiar with our games, it will be a chance to learn some more about our latest coaching and Games Development initiatives and other projects within the Association and people will also have the chance to discuss various aspects of the Association with GAA staff and some county players who will also be present."

The Map below shows you where the Ballylinan GAA Club Stand will be so make sure to come and vist us at the National and World Ploughing Championship at Grangeford, Tullow, Co. Carlow on Wednesday
27th to Saturday 30th September 2006

Laois to take tough action

The Laois county board is expected to come down hard on Camross and Castletown following the disgraceful scenes which marred last Sunday’s senior hurling championship quarter-final.

It was the second time in less than a year that the arch-rivals made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In last year’s county final, 16-year-old Camross player Dean Delaney was knocked unconscious after being struck on the head by a hurl.

And last Sunday in O’Moore Park, another vicious row erupted in the closing stages with Camross leading by 2-11 to 0-10.

“Hopefully we will have the referee’s report by tomorrow. As soon as we get the report, we will set up a meeting of the GAC and then bring in the two clubs. It’s disappointing that the same two clubs are once again involved,” said Laois chairman Dick Miller.

Fox is new Laois hurling boss

26 September 2006
Tullamore man Damien Fox has been appointed as the new Laois hurling manager in succession to Dinny Cahill.

Fox was a surprise choice as Tommy Buggy, who guided the Carlow minors to their first ever Leinster final appearance earlier this year, had been the hot tip to replace the Tipperary man, who was axed after just one season in charge.

Local names such as Joe Dollard, Sean Plunkett, PJ Cuddy, John Taylor and Mick Dempsey had also been linked with the job, but it has instead gone to Fox, who managed Portlaoise to a SHC success two years ago when they stopped Castletown’s bid for a sixth consecutive title.

The O’Moore County managed just one competitive win in 2006 (the All-Ireland qual

Laois Team named for Semi clash

Fox admits to uncertainty

Leinster SFC final: Dubs power past Laois

Kelly’s eye on Leinster minor final

Laois turn on the style to leave Model Men looking for Answers

'Beano' blow for Laois

Laois SFC and IFC fixtures Called Off

Dubs dazzled as purple patch propels Laois to handy win.

O'Connor Park gets the all clear

www.laoistalk.com

Cork Break Laois Hearts

Laois suffer heavy defeat

Dublin scramble replay

Laois may rue toss of coin

Minor team to face Kilkenny named

Byron back for Laois

Aussies begin to circle Quigley again

Ballylinan GAA Publish Website Stats

Laois clinch title

Dempsey Announces Team For Under 21 Final

Minor team to face Kilkenny named

Byron back for Laois

Aussies begin to circle Quigley again

Ballylinan GAA Publish Website Stats

Laois clinch title

Dempsey Announces Team For Under 21 Final

Laois and Cork go head to head

Kearns lauds players’ efforts

All Even in Newbridge

Quigley set to play in under 21 final

NFL: Laois reap a rich harvest from Orchard defeat

01 April 2007

Laois to appeal Quigley dismissal

All County Football League Div.2

Croker finals call next week

Laois denied by late Derry strike

Brennan backs county versus club clarification

Quigley guides Laois into decider

Laois take points in Down

Under 21s have injury worries

Tierney points the way

Laois U21 Side to face Louth

Laois ring the changes

Football League heads for crucial weekend

Laois unveil hurling plan

Leinster squad announced

GAA at the Ploughing Championships

Laois to take tough action

Fox is new Laois hurling boss

Dempsey Announces Team For
Under 21 Final

Dempsey Announces Team For
Under 21 Final