Pitch issues forced first round of Club Championships out of Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Says PJ Kelly

In a decisive move reflecting both the challenges and commitments of Laois GAA, Chairman PJ Kelly has announced that the first round of the Senior Club Championships will be relocated from Laois Hire O'Moore Park. Essential maintenance work on the pitch has necessitated this change, which will see the first round matches held at the LOETB Centre of Excellence and various club grounds a around the county.

Laois GAA Chairman PJ Kelly spoke to the Leinster Express/ Laois Live  at the launch of the Laois Shopping Centre Club Championships to explain the decision as to why the first round of games for both the Senior hurling and Senior Football Championship will be played outside the county ground.

Reflecting on this decision, PJ Kelly highlighted his experiences and observations from his previous role as development officer. "In my previous role as development officer, I would have seen the money that was put into the clubs around Laois, and there has been a call over many years to get certain games back out to the clubs. Last year would have been the first year that we would have gone with some of the football out. This year, we're going again. I think it's brilliant," he said.

He emphasised the unique atmosphere that local grounds offer. "You have the closer, we'll say, compact feel when you're in the grounds,” Kelly noted. “But the other side of that, then, is players alike, they like coming back into O’Moore Park, it’s the Croke Park for them. It does work both ways," PJ Kelly said.

The Laois GAA Chairman shed some light on the unexpected challenges that have arisen with the maintenance of O'Moore Park's pitch. Despite significant investments and efforts to improve the facility, unforeseen weather conditions have complicated matters. Kelly explained the situation, noting the uncertainty and the additional measures taken to address the issues.

"We weren't sure up to last week whether it would be available or not. The reason being is we had trouble this year with the pitch, it's kind of contradictory in a way.

"First of all, we spent over €70,000 putting in an irrigation system and then it turned around with the inclement weather we're having that there was too much water so it started to flood. Unfortunately, like the weather we're getting now, it wasn't able to take the sufficient elements so we had to invest again. We're after re-draining and resodding the whole thing and receding areas of it as well," he said.

Despite these challenges, there is optimism for the near future. "So we’re hopeful it’ll be ready for Round 2 of the hurling and Round 2 of the football,” Kelly concluded, expressing confidence that the improvements will soon allow O'Moore Park to once again host matches," he ended.