Clough-Ballacolla go in search of fourth straight hurling championship

This week sees the return of the Laois Shopping Centre Club Championships. Hurling is first on the agenda with that getting underway on Wednesday evening with the football due to kick off next week.

Clough-Ballacolla come into the championship hoping to lift the Bob O'Keefe Cup for the fourth successive year. They recently got to the ACHL Division 1 final where they lost out to Camross by seven points but come the championship that could be a different story.

Garry Mernagh is the new man in charge of the side. He's a former Thurles Sarsfields senior hurler and has been out of the game for the past few year but has plenty of management experience on his CV and will be hoping to continue the success at the club in recent years.

They've been drawn into Group A alongside The Harps, Rathdowney-Errill and Rosenallis. They'll be expecting to top the group with the Rathdowney-Errill game potentially deciding who comes first and secures a semi-final place or who comes second and plays in a quarter-final.

Group B meanwhile sees Camross, Abbeyleix St Lazarians, Castletown and Borris-Kilcotton face off against one another. Camross will come into the championship as the team most likely to give Clough-Ballacolla a run for their money and they'll be hoping for a repeat of last year's final coupled with the result from the Division 1 decider.

Dan Delaney comes into the championship in a rich vein of form as his scoring exploits secured the Division 1 crown for Camross. His tally of 1-12 in the semi-final classic with Abbeyleix St Lazarians propelled them into the final while in the decider the Camross man fired over 11 points.

IN PICTURES: Laois GAA Club Championships launched

Rathdowney-Errill will be hopeful of reaching their first final since 2019, the last time that they've lifted the Bob O'Keefe Cup. Their opponents on that day, Borris-Kilcotton have only won the championship once back in 2016 where they defeated Rathdowney-Errill after a replay. Group B is a lot more open in terms of who'll place where.

Rosenallis and Castletown will both be well-placed to finish third in their respective groups and in turn secure a spot in the quarter-finals against a second-placed team.

In terms of the relegation battle, Abbeyleix St Lazarians will be hoping to cement their place at the Senior grade having won the Premier Intermediate Championship in 2022. The Harps will want to avoid a repeat of last year as they stayed up thanks to an extra-time victory over Ballinakill in the relegation final. It's all to play for!

See the First Round fixtures below:

Wednesday July 19
Castletown v Camross at 7.45pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

Thursday July 20
Rathdowney-Errill v Clough-Ballacolla at 7.45pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

Friday July 21
Borris-Kilcotton v Abbeyleix St Lazarians at 7.45pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

Saturday July 22
The Harps v Rosenallis at 7pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park