Laois Senior Football Championship Preview

The Laois Shopping Centre Senior Football Championship is due to get underway this week with Portarlington aiming to lift their fourth successive Jack Delaney Cup. They face a tricky opponent in the opening round in the form of Ballyfin, who were knocked out in Round 3 last year by Ballyroan-Abbey.

The first game of the championship sees O'Dempsey's face Graiguecullen on Wednesday evening with Eoin Kearns' side having reached last year's county final. They have however suffered relegation in the league having finished bottom of the Relegation Phase of Division 1.

This game has the potential to be game of the First Round with both sides having aspirations of winning this year's championship. Graiguecullen come into the championship having competed well in the league and will be hopeful of going deep in this year's championship.

Thursday evening sees the clash of Portlaoise and St Joseph's where Mikey Dempsey's men will be hoping to use their league form to propel them into the latter stages of the championship. St Joseph's reached the league final this year and were beaten by Portarlington in what was a titantic battle. Meanwhile, Portlaoise will be hoping they can get finally get their hands on the Jack Delaney Cup for the first time since 2019 when they defeated Killeshin. 

There are also two senior games due to be played in club grounds as Ballyroan-Abbey and Park Ratheniska are due to collide in Stradbally on Friday night while Arles-Killeen and Clonaslee St Manman's are down to play their first round fixture in Ratheniska on Saturday evening.

Ballyroan-Abbey have high hopes of reaching their potential as Shane Wall takes his side into championship for the first time. Wall, a member of the Meath Ladies backroom team for the last few years, will bring experience to the role and he'll be hoping that can transfer onto his players on the pitch. Park-Ratheniska come into this year's championship having reached the quarter-finals in 2022 and will want to reach the same stage again or maybe even go further than last year's exploits. The 2021 Intermediate champions will know that their game against Ballyroan-Abbey will be a tough one.

Arles-Killeen will once again play in the Senior Championship this year after a Paul Kingston masterclass in last year's relegation semi-final saw them preserve their status for another year. Kingston kicked all 1-10 of his side's score as they defeated Killeshin. They also secured promotion to Division 2 of the ACFL despite losing to Mountmellick in the decider at the beginning of July. Clonaslee St Manman's like Arles-Killeen will be content with securing their place at the senior grade for 2023.

Portarlington's clash with Ballyfin will take centre stage on Friday evening as Anthony Cunningham takes his Portarlington side into Laois Hire O'Moore Park for the first time. They were recently crowned ACFL Division 1 champions after defeating St Joseph's and Cunningham will be hopeful his side can once again climb the steps in O'Moore Park and lift the Jack Delaney Cup for fourth year running.

Saturday is the busiest day of action with a triple header of matches lined up in Laois Hire O'Moore Park. The first match is a battle of the villages as Rosenallis take on Emo with the clash of Stradbally and Courtwood sandwiched in between The Heath and Killeshin. All three of these matches will be close encounters with results hard to call. The Heath come into this year's championship as the Intermediate champions from 2022 with their main objective being to cement their position at the Senior grade.

Like most years, there'll always be a result that stands out as a shock and this year could be the same with the potential for some of the big names to be caught on the hop.

See the full list of First Round fixtures below:

Wednesday July 26- O'Dempsey's v Graiguecullen at 7.45pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

Thursday July 27- Portlaoise v St Joseph's at 7.45pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

Friday July 28- Ballyroan-Abbey v Park-Ratheniska at 7.30pm in Stradbally GAA

                         Ballyfin v Portarlington at 7.30pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

Saturday July 29- Emo v Rosenallis at 4.30pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

                             Stradbally v Courtwood at 6pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park

                             Arles-Killeen v Clonasleee St Manman's at 6pm in Ratheniska

                             The Heath v Killeshin at 7.30pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park