Laois county football team

Laois contested the second ever All-Ireland final in 1889 and also won the first ever National Football League final beating Dublin in the 1926 final. 1936 saw the only other appearance by Laois in an All-Ireland senior decider.

Laois beat Monaghan by a point in the 1986 National Football League final. Liam Irwin and Colm Browne both won All Stars for their performances that year.

During the 1990s Laois had a number of successes at Minor and U-21 level, including All-Ireland Minor Football Championships in 1996 and 1997.

During the mid-2000s Laois football became a strong force at all age levels.

Under former Kerry and Kildare manager Mick O'Dwyer, Laois were National Football League runners-up and Leinster Senior Football Championship winners in 2003. Laois would go on to contest the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final again in 2004 (lost after a replay) and 2005 (lost by 1 point). During the same period the Minor team were All-Ireland Minor Champions in 2003, and Leinster Champions in 2004, 2005 and 2007, while the U-21 panel were Leinster Champions in 2006 and 2007.

In 2006, Mick O'Dwyer's management of Laois ended and he was replaced by the former Limerick manager, Liam Kearns. After two years Liam Kearns was replaced by Sean Dempsey in 2008. Dempsey who had led the Laois minors to All-Ireland success in 2003 commenced a major re-building exercise in 2009 but failed to achieve any success and was replaced by Justin McNulty for the 2011 season. After three seasons in charge, McNulty stepped down to be replaced by Tomás Ó Flatharta.[1]

Ó Flatharta lasted until 2015, resigning after a Leinster quarter-final loss to Kildare and an All-Ireland qualifier exit against Antrim.[2] Mick Lillis from Clare replaced him.[3] Lillis led Laois to bottom of Division 2, a Leinster quarter-final exit and then an All-Ireland qualifier exit to Clare before he resigned in 2016.[4][5] He also used seven substitutes in a win causing the game to be replayed, complained about a fixture against Dublin being held at Nowlan Park and dropped Gary Walsh when he cursed at him after being substituted.[6] Peter Creedon was the next manager; he too did not last long, exiting under heavy criticism from county board delegates, with Mick Lawlor claiming the county would be set "back by five or six years" if Creedon were not ousted.[7] He went, amid allegations of a drinking culture within the squad, Laois having been relegated to Division 4 and knocked out of the All-Ireland by Clare.[8]

In September 2017, John Sugrue from Kerry was appointed senior manager of the Laois football team.[9] He spent two seasons with the county, guiding them to two promotions that brought them from Division Four to Division Two of the National Football League, making Round Four of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifiers in both years and bringing Laois to the 2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship final.[10]

In October 2019, Mike Quirke, another Kerryman, succeeded Sugrue.[11]

Team as per Laois vs Dublin in the Leinster SFC semi-final, 15 November 2020

• Manager: Mike Quirke
• Selectors: Eoin Kearns, Maurice Browne, Maurice Horan
• S&C Coach: Tom Hargroves

Laois have a total of five football All Stars.

• 1986: Colm Browne, Liam Irwin
• 2003: Fergal Byron, Joe Higgins, Tom Kelly

• Twice Finalists in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
  • 1889, 1936
• 3 All-Ireland Minor Football Championships
  • 1996, 1997, 2003
• 1 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
  • 1973
• 1 All-Ireland 'B'
  • 1993
• 2 National Football Leagues
  • 1926, 1986
    • Once runners-up: 2003
    • Five times semi-finalists: 1952, 1978, 1994, 1995, 1997
• 6 Leinster Senior Football Championships
  • 1889, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1946, 2003
• 8 Leinster U21 Football Championships
  • 1964, 1969, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2007
• 9 Leinster Minor Football Championships
  • 1932, 1966, 1967, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007
• 5 Leinster Junior Football Championships
  • 1907, 1941, 1968, 1973, 1993
• 5 O'Byrne Cups
  • 1978, 1987, 1991, 1994 and 2005