Laois GAA hurlers set to play challenge match against Joe McDonagh Cup opposition in Portlaoise

With the GAA suspending the Walsh Cup and other early-season competitions for 2025, January will be a lot quieter on the GAA front for inter-county teams across Ireland.

For this reason, challenge matches during the first month of the year will be the only chance for GAA fans to see their respective counties before they kick off their Allianz League campaigns on the last weekend of January.

Down, who will once again compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup alongside Laois in 2025, are set to travel to the LOETB Centre of Excellence on Friday evening, January 10 at 8pm.

The Laois hurlers, now managed by Portlaoise's Tommy Fitzgerald, will take on Galway this weekend in a charity challenge game in aid of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. 

Fitzgerald was appointed Laois manager in November in what was their second appointment for the 2025 season. Former Antrim manager Darren Gleeson had been chosen to replace Willie Maher at the end of August but unfortunately, he had to step down in November after he had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Laois' first competitive fixture of 2025 will come when they make the trip to Mullingar to take on Westmeath in the first set of games in the newly formed Division 1B. 

Dublin, Offaly, Carlow, Antrim and Waterford will join Laois and Westmeath in the seven-team league phase. The counties that finish first and second will get promoted to Division 1A for the 2026 season and face off in the Division 1B final. The bottom two teams will be relegated to Division 2 for next year's league campaign.