Tailteann Cup Round 1 Preview: Laois vs Waterford.

Tailteann Cup Round 1 Preview: Laois vs Waterford.

Written by Laois PR Team

The Laois Senior Footballers are set to begin their 2025 Tailteann Cup campaign when they take on Waterford at home on Saturday May 10th at 3pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park.

Next Fixtures: Group Stages

Round 2: Saturday May 17th at 6pm in Echelon Park, Wicklow: Wicklow vs Laois.

Round 3: Weekend of May 31st/June 1st: Laois vs Offaly in a neutral venue. Details TBC.

Permutations: Tailteann Cup: The second-placed team in each group shall have home venue in the preliminary quarter-finals and will be joined there by only three of the best-placed third-placed teams. The fourth spot here will be taken by New York

Tickets for the Waterford Round 1 game can be purchased both online and in person using the following options below:

Tickets can be purchased online here: https://am.ticketmaster.com/gaa/buy/25OM1005

Tickets can be purchased in person via selected participating SuperValu stores:

SuperValu Stradbally

Breslin’s SuperValu Rathdowney

McConville’s SuperValu Mountmellick

McLoughlin’s SuperValu Portarlington

Mulhall’s SuperValu Portlaoise

SuperValu Abbeyleix

SuperValu Parkside Portlaoise

Follow live match scores and updates on our official CLG Laois Twitter account: @CLGLaois

Manager Justin McNulty has named the following side to face Waterford:

Latest Laois Stats:

Waterford will be Laois’ 31st different opponent in senior football championships (Sam Maguire & Tailteann Cup), leaving only Sligo and Galway. We did play Sligo in the 1993 Senior B final, but that was a standalone competition.

Against Louth, Mark Barry became the 38th* Laois footballer to score three times in a row in a championship match – and the first since Donie Kingston seven years ago (2018 vs Dublin). *since 1923. Records before this are too inconsistent to be of any use.

Against Louth, Trevor Collins made his 70th L&C app, Brian Byrne, his 50th and Niall Corbet, his 40th.

Trevor Collins & Mark Barry made their 25th SFC apps and Paddy O’Sullivan made his 20th app.

Trevor Collins is now in the top 50 footballers for apps.

Laois:

League: Finished 6th place in Division 3 in 2025. With wins over Leitrim, Antrim, Sligo. Defeats to Offaly, Kildare, Clare and Fermanagh.

Championship: Laois beat Wexford in Round 1 of the Leinster SFC, but were defeated by Louth in the Quarter final.

Standout Players:

In attack, Mark Barry’s scoring accuracy resulted in him finishing as the top scorer in Division 3 with a total 0-45 (5 two pointers). In the Leinster championship games vs Wexford (0-7) and Louth (0-8) , Barry scored a total 0-15. (6 frees).

Kevin Swayne’s great pace is a huge assset up front for Laois also as he is brilliant at beating defenders on long runs out wide.

In midfield, Seamus Lacey displays physical strength and shows strong fielding skills, competing successfully in the air and securing possession from kickouts.

In defence: Ben Dempsey is known for his ability to carry the ball at pace through the middle third, breaking defensive lines, setting up attacks for others and also scoring points from play himself.

Waterford:

League: Finished bottom of Division 4 in 2025. With 1 win over London.

Championship: Waterford were defeated by 3 points by Tipperary in the Munster SFC Quarter Final.

Standout Players: Jason Curry and Conor Murray are the highest scorers for Waterford in attack: Jason Curry had a total score of 30 points (from 1 goal, 4 two pointers and 19 points) in Division 4.

Conor Murray with a total 0-15 (3 two pointers and 9 points)

In midfield: Tholom Guiry’s athleticism and field coverage is a hugely beneficial asset.

In defence: Dermot Ryan produces performances made of up of hard work, commitment and physicality: plus as a result of his experience: he also demonstrates composure under pressure.

Previous Meeting:

Division 4 Round 7 on March 24th 2024 in SETU Waterford.

Laois: 5-19

Waterford: 0-9

Scorers:

Laois: Mark Barry 2-3, Paul Kingston 1-3, Evan O’Carroll 1-3, Rioghan Murphy 1-1 (one free), Eoin Lowry 0-2 (frees), Killian Roche 0-2 (one free, one 45), Brian Daly 0-2 (one mark), Niall Dunne 0-1, Conor Heffernan 0-1, Shaun Fitzpatrick 0-1

Waterford: Jason Curry 0-4 (three frees), Donie Fitzgerald 0-2, Tom O’Connell 0-2 (one free, one mark), Stephen Curry 0-1 (one mark)