# Laois county hurling team

The Laois county hurling team represents Laois in hurling and is governed by Laois GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and the National Hurling League.
Laois's home ground is O'Moore Park, Portlaoise. The team's manager is Willie Maher.
The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 1949, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 1915 and has never won the National League.

## History

Laois won one All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title, in 1915, when the day was so wet the team reportedly played the second half in their overcoats.
Laois currently competes in the Liam MacCarthy Cup (Tier 1 of the Senior Hurling Championship), but has also won three All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championships.
The hurlers reached National Hurling League semi-finals in 1981 and 1983 before losing the Centenary Cup hurling final to Cork in 1984, and were back in the National Hurling League semi-final in 1996.
Laois most recently contested the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final in 1985, in what was to be a disappointing final defeat against Offaly.
Laois won the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2019, and went on to shock Dublin in the preliminary quarter-final the next week to reach the All-Ireland Quarter Final. This was considered one of the greatest shocks in the history of the championship. The manager departed amid controversy in November 2020 after his criticisms of county board officials appeared on a podcast.

## Panel

Team as per Laois vs Tipperary in the All-Ireland SHC quarter-final, 14 July 2019
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 1 | Enda Rowland | Goalkeeper | Abbeyleix |
| 2 | Lee Cleere | Right Corner Back | Clough/Ballacolla |
| 3 | Matthew Whelan | Full back | Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton |
| 4 | Joe Phelan | Left Corner Back | Camross |
| 5 | Jack Kelly | Right half back | Rathdowney-Errill |
| 6 | Ryan Mullaney | Centre back | Castletown |
| 7 | Pádraig Delaney | Left half back | Harps |
| 8 | John Lennon | Midfield | Rosenallis |
| 9 | Paddy Purcell | Midfield | Rathdowney-Errill |
| 10 | Aaron Dunphy | Right half forward | Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton |
| 11 | Mark Kavanagh | Centre forward | Rathdowney-Errill |
| 12 | Éanna Lyons | Left half forward | Ballyfin |
| 13 | Willie Dunphy | Right corner forward | Clough/Ballacolla |
| 14 | Charles Dwyer | Full forward | Ballinakill |
| 15 | Ross King | Left corner forward | Rathdowney-Errill |
| 16 | Thomas Dunphy | Substitute | Camross |
| 17 | Eric Killeen | Substitute | Rathdowney-Errill |
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 18 | Andrew Mortimer | Substitute | Camross |
| 19 | Lorcan Burke | Substitute | Camross |
| 20 | Colm Stapleton | Substitute | Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton |
| 21 | Conor Phelan | Substitute | Castletown |
| 22 | Eoin Gaughan | Substitute | Camross |
| 23 | Neil Foyle | Substitute | Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton |
| 24 | Aaron Bergin | Substitute | Portlaoise |
| 25 | Stephen Bergin | Substitute | Clough/Ballacolla |
| 26 | Stephen Maher | Substitute | Clough/Ballacolla |
| - | Donncha Hartnett | Substitute | Mountmellick |
| - | Jake Cranny | Substitute | Abbeyleix |
| - | Daniel Comerford | Substitute | Harps |
| - | Mark Dowling | Substitute | Camross |
| - | Ciaran Comerford | Substitute | Harps |
| - | Ben Conroy | Substitute | Slieve Bloom |
| - | Patrick Keating | Substitute | Rosenallis |
$^{INJ}$ 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.

## Management team

    Appointed August 2024:
* Manager: Darren Gleeson
* Backroom: TBC

## Managerial history

Laois have a history of appointing "foreign" managers, with Georgie Leahy the most successful.
Georgie Leahy 1979–1985
Jimmy Doyle 1985–1987
Paddy Kelly 1987–1989
Georgie Leahy (2) 1989–1991
Paddy Doyle 1991–1993
Pat Critchley 1993–1995
Babs Keating 1995–1997
Pádraig Horan 1997–2000
Seán Cuddy 2000–2001
Pat Delaney 2001–2002
Paudie Butler 2002–2005
Dinny Cahill 2005–2006
Damien Fox 2006–2008
Niall Rigney 2008–2010
Brendan Fennelly 2010–2011
Teddy McCarthy 2011–2012
Séamus Plunkett 2012–2015
Ger Cunningham 2015**
Séamus Plunkett (2) 2015–2016
Éamonn Kelly 2016–2018
Eddie Brennan 2018–2020
Séamus Plunkett (3) 2020–2022
Willie Maher 2022–2024
Darren Gleeson 2024-present
**=In a caretaker role

## Players
### All Stars

Laois has 1 All Star.
1985: Pat Critchley

## Competitive record

Laois's only All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title win is from 1915.
Laois won three All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship titles, in 1977, 1979 and 2002.
Séamus Plunkett managed the team to its third title in 2002.
* 1 John Lyons
* 2 Pat Mahon
* 3 Paul Cuddy
* 4 Michael McEvoy
* 5 Joe Phelan
* 6 Cyril Cuddy
* 7 Owen Bergin
* 8 Ollie Dowling
* 9 James Young
* 10 Fionán O'Sullivan
* 11 Darren Rooney
* 12 Michael Dunphy
* 13 Tommy Fitzgerald
* 14 David Cuddy
* 15 P. J. Peacock
Subs used: Declan Conroy for M. Dunphy; Jack O'Shea for P. J. Peacock; Lar Mahon for O. Bergin; Brian Ferns for F. O'Sullivan; Eamon Jackman for T. Fitzgerald

## Honours
### National

* All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
** Winners (1): 1915
** Runners-up (2): 1914, 1949
* All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship
** Winners (3): 1977, 1979, 2002
* Joe McDonagh Cup
** Winners (1): 2019
** Runners-up (1): 2024
* National Hurling League
** Semi-finalists (3): 1981, 1983, 1996
* National Hurling League Division 2
** Winners (2): 1960, 1965
* All-Ireland Under-21 B Hurling Championship
** Winners (2): 2004, 2006

### Provincial

* Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
** Winners (3): 1914, 1915, 1949
** Runners-up (12): 1889, 1890, 1891, 1909, 1912, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1936, 1948, 1951, 1985
* Leinster Junior Hurling Championship
** Winners (3): 1910, 1914, 1933
* Walsh Cup
** Winners (2): 1980, 1991
* Walsh Shield
** Winners (2): 2008, 2010
* Kehoe Cup
** Winners (1): 1982
* Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship
** Winners (1): 1983
* Leinster Minor Hurling Championship
** Winners (4): 1934, 1940, 1941, 1964