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When I think of a second club in the town of Portlaoise, I certainly do not think of splitting the current club. That, in my opinion would be counter productive both to the club and to tje GAA in Laois. No, what I mean is support being given to the birth of an entirely new club that might grow in a newish part of the town e.g. Kilminchy. Perhaps this club might start as a juvenile club initially and, eventually, become a club that supports juveniles and adult teams.

well IMO that's up to the area , and more power to them if they can set up a club and get it going , as we speak
we already see club's on the outskirts of town trying to get kids from the periphery of town to play for them,  be interesting to see how that goes as a test case for the next couple of years .

Who have you heard PortlaoiseKid?

I'd say the more important jobs will be the minor and u20. We need to stay competitive, bring through competitive teams with players full of pace and power. You look at Mayo and they aren't the best or most skillful players but are incredible athletes. They have a good pathway for underage teams that includes a senior development panel so ensures players get proper S&C

I certainly dont know  who is getting it but seems all the stories around point to a manager close to home...

On a different topic PK, do you think that the town of Portlaoise needs a second club or do you think Portlaoise GFC are taking full advantage of the big population in the town?

It all depends what a second club in town means. I believe there is no appetite in town for a second club if that means splitting our club in two,the notion of splitting our club is horrific to me as a Portlaoise club man.If a second club wants to form (just like Kilminchy a few years back ) then absolutely work away IMO, but to split our club  would be wrong and would solve nothing from a Laois point of view. Portlaoise do quite well with players and if a player is good enough and wants to put in the effort they will 100% get their chance to play senior. I cant name one player who didn't get their chance to prove themselves at senior if they were good enough and willing to put the effort in to be a senior player.

To answer your second question we are doing the best we can and that literally is all we can do ATM with the resources at hand.It is a battle though to get kids to play but we do fairly well in that regard.

Who have you heard PortlaoiseKid?

I'd say the more important jobs will be the minor and u20. We need to stay competitive, bring through competitive teams with players full of pace and power. You look at Mayo and they aren't the best or most skillful players but are incredible athletes. They have a good pathway for underage teams that includes a senior development panel so ensures players get proper S&C

I certainly dont know  who is getting it but seems all the stories around point to a manager close to home...

I see Davy Burke has stepped down as Wicklow manager. Has a good CV.

yeah he seems like a good manager..Rumours say  county board are going with someone close to home ... Time will tell I suppose

I'm really looking forward to when Port and Portlaoise meet in the 2021 championship. Hopefully they will be kept on opposite sides of the draw and not meet until the final. It could be a great rivalry over the next few years and with Port currently top dog in county it will surely drive Portlaoise' efforts for rest of year to regain their crown. Unlike when Stradbally won title few years back, this Portarlington team is going to be around for next 5/6 years.

It's going to be very hard for Graigue to regain the enthusiasm and drive for the 2021 championship. After shipping a comprehensive loss like that it surely will take the wind out of their sails.

it'll be interesting alright, Considering the post match interviews mentioned Portlaoise multiple times and apparently Port should be going for a 3in a row I think we can safely say Port have Portlaoise in their focus... It'll be interesting how Portlaoise react to this challenge,Port should win the next few but that's easier said than done.

Well done Port on their 2020 title , thoroughly deserved ...

Fair play to Graigue, I can still only see Port winning it out but wouldn't it be great to see Mark Timmons get his hands on a county winners medal after his years of service ..

Jeez I genuinely thought that was lost ,fair play to them for showing they are better than div 2, but unfortunately for a long time on the line and the pitch we didn't show that ..I really thought Westmeath had done a job on us..fair play to all

[Graiguecullen 0-9 Portlaoise 4-14]

ACFL Division 1A Semi-final

Graiguecullen 0-9 Portlaoise 4-14

That result wouldn't exactly breed confidence for Graiguecullen going into the Senior semi-finals in a couple of weeks time. Looks very much like Portarlington's championship to lose now..

Always was, clearly the best team left. They will win each game at a canter.

Today was a lot better and we absolutely competed to the end , now there's a world of a difference between competing and winning but today was progress. The Westmeath match is still the big one , win that and I trust this mgt and panel to be in a position to grow stronger next year .....

Last year running tipp close this year it's unreal to beat Antrim ffs it's no different than jumping around the place after winning the joe mcdonagh cup jeez Christ simple as Eddie is a v v v bad loss to Laois hurling know disrespect to cheddar but we have. Regressed totally

Again you post males no sense, 'Regressed totally'?? How exactly, we get that Eddie Brennan was excellent and really got the best out of the group but we are still in the bloody championship despite all the setbacks this year. Laois are the only county to have taken on a new manager during the pandemic so straight away its no normal season for them, they had had a host of injuries to deal with and losing a run of games culminating in a bad championship beating at the hands of Wexford. Not easy for the group to take and given how well Antrim performed in the league it looked like we would be dropping back to JMcD cup.

Yet they showed what they are made of and although there will be plenty of sore bodies and tired limbs after that, they have to pick themselves up and take on last years All Ireland finalists a week later who lets face it will be expected to slaughter Laois. How about we get behind these lads who are giving it everything rather than moaning about things.

Well said

The last thing we need now is another journeyman manager who is in for a short term gig.

The new manager really has to rip up the current panel and start from scratch, see as much championship action at all levels as physically possible and back to the days of having trial matches involving everybody and anybody and see where the panel sits after that.


In an ideal world Sugrue would come back on board ,be given free reign to mould a team and vision for Laois football over the next few years from the ground up, I would certainly trust him with Laois footballs short to medium term future.

Its all about the Antrim match now, its absolutely vital we win. Cheddar has made no secret of the fact we need to get through this year without being relegated and then hit the ground running in 2022....

Im not making excuses for him but everything has been so disjointed for the mgt team from the start, I tend to think he is the best man for the job but it'll be a hammer blow to get relegated.

The real question is how we get out of the cycle of bouncing around the divisions/championships and actually get to a place where we are truly competitive?

Jesus, that was awful ..I was hopeful we could show something tonight to suggest positivity with regards the relegation play offs that are ahead but by God that was awful ..

The hope is all will click at the right time Saturday but I cant see it happening, everything has been so disjointed in every way so far its going to be a tough ask...

If we avoid relegation  this year it will be success and something to build on but by god its a far cry from All Ireland 1/4 day in 2019 .