Games, Growth and Green Shoots Across Laois GAA.
There was a strong sense throughout Episode 14 of the Laois Games and Gaels Podcast that momentum continues to build across schools, underage development and academy structures within Laois GAA.
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Laois Games and Gaels Podcast Episode 14
The latest episode of the podcast, hosted by Shane Keegan and Dean Malone, covered a wide range of topics from post-primary success stories and academy activity to Féile preparations, Go Games and exciting new coaching initiatives across the county. Listeners can catch the full episode on the official Laois Games & Gaels Podcast.
As the post-primary season begins to draw to a close, several schools across the county continue to make significant strides, while preparations are now intensifying for a hugely busy summer period across coaching, Féile and academy activity.
One of the standout recent achievements came from Heywood Community School, who claimed the Leinster B Second Year Hurling title following an impressive 1-14 to 2-9 victory over Johnstown. Played in The Harps grounds in Durrow, the result represented another hugely encouraging sign for hurling development within the county.
Having already captured the North Leinster title, Heywood faced a difficult challenge against Kilkenny opposition but rose to the occasion superbly. The success was managed by Conrad Drennan of Galmoy, whose involvement was highlighted as another example of the strong teacher coaching links helping to drive standards within schools hurling in Laois.
The success was viewed as another major positive step for the school under principal Eamonn Jackman, with the outright Leinster success seen as a significant boost for schools hurling within Laois overall.
Meanwhile, Portlaoise CBS continued their own strong year across several grades. Their senior footballers bounced back from championship disappointment by capturing the South Leinster League title with a one-point victory over Coláiste Chroíst Rí from Dublin.
While progress has clearly been made, Laois GAA Games Development Officer Shane Keegan stressed that there remains more work ahead.
Meetings are planned with post-primary schools in the coming weeks to review current supports around coaching and strength and conditioning, while exploring how schools competing at C level can become competitive at B level, and whether successful B schools can begin challenging at A standard.
Attention is also now turning towards the hugely anticipated launch of the 2026 Setanta and O’Moore Óg juvenile programmes, which continue to attract exceptional numbers across both football and hurling.
This year’s programmes have already drawn approximately 700 registrations across both codes, with around 350 players signed up in each. The initiatives cater for players aged under-10 through under-13 and rely heavily on volunteer coaches alongside Games Development staff.
On the football side, Dornie Brennan, Dean Malone, John Noonan and Niall Heagney will coordinate the various age grades, while Dan Butler, Seán Murphy and Cian Moffitt oversee the hurling structures within the Setanta programme.
The level of volunteer support has been described as extraordinary, with many highly experienced coaches offering their services throughout the six-week programmes. Organisers believe this calibre of coaching involvement will play a major role in ensuring the programmes’ continued success.
There has already been one logistical adjustment ahead of launch, with the O’Moore Óg programme pushed back by a week due to O’Moore Park hosting both the Leinster Minor and Under-20 Hurling Finals.
Setanta will proceed as planned in The Heath GAA Grounds, with the younger age groups beginning on Wednesday May 20th and older groups starting on Saturday May 23rd. Football activity in the Centre of Excellence begins on Tuesday May 26th.
Laois GAA are also currently seeking sponsors for this year’s programme jerseys, with approximately 700 jerseys due to be distributed by the conclusion of the programme. Businesses have been invited to support either individual codes or both programmes overall.
At grassroots level, Go Games activity is now fully underway across the county, with Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings continuing to provide hundreds of young players with regular activity.
Coaches and clubs were praised for their flexibility and willingness to adapt to logistical challenges around numbers and team balancing, while special mention was also given to the growing use of young referees and whistlers at blitzes and Go Games events.
One of the standout annual initiatives returns this Friday evening with the hugely popular Under-9 O’Moore Park Experience. Young players from clubs throughout the county will get the opportunity to play games in the county grounds, complete with national anthems and a full matchday atmosphere.
Due to strong football participation numbers, two football nights will take place before hurling clubs receive their opportunity the following week under Dan Butler’s coordination.
Academy activity is also ramping up significantly across both football and hurling.
Recent football academy fixtures saw strong performances from Laois under-14, under-15 and under-16 squads against opposition including Offaly, Galway and Mayo.
On the hurling side, under-14 and under-15 panels enjoyed productive outings against Offaly, Kildare, Westmeath and Tipperary.
Particularly notable was the Laois under-15 Blue team’s comprehensive 3-21 to 1-11 victory over Tipperary in the Arrabawn Tournament, while the Laois White side also impressed with a 4-21 to 0-7 win over Westmeath in the Hibernia competition.
The under-16 hurlers also made major progress in the Celtic Challenge competition, reaching Tier 2 level after an impressive group campaign before narrowly losing out to Waterford in the quarter-final stages.
Preparations are simultaneously intensifying for Féile 2026, which takes place on June 20th. Féile chairperson Peter O’Neill has been heavily involved in coordinating the event, while a major launch night is planned for the Midlands Park Hotel on June 3rd.
The launch will involve host clubs, players, officials and past Féile participants, with organisers aiming to build excitement and atmosphere ahead of the national festival of underage GAA.
Finally, Laois GAA also confirmed details of their Primary School Teachers GAA Upskilling Course, which returns again this summer.
The course, now entering its third year, is designed to help teachers integrate Gaelic games into schools more effectively. A major addition for 2026 will be the integration of the new Gaelic Time website, a comprehensive online platform featuring lesson plans, activity ideas and demonstration videos fully aligned with the new primary school wellbeing curriculum.
Games Promotion Officers across the county will receive training on the platform during the summer before rolling it out in schools ahead of the 2026-27 academic year.
Overall, the latest episode painted an extremely positive picture of player development, volunteer engagement and grassroots momentum across Laois GAA, with significant activity continuing right across every level of the county.
