'Mick O'Dwyer was gold dust, he was the king'- Laois GAA’s Ross Munnelly pays powerful tribute

Laois senior football selector/coach Ross Munnelly was the man tasked with media duties following Saturday evening's Leinster Championship victory in Wexford.

It was a poignant occasion, coming just days after the passing of legendary manager Mick O’Dwyer, the man who led Laois to Leinster glory in 2003, with Munnelly playing a starring role that day in Croke Park.

Munnelly commended the squad’s collective effort and the backing of the travelling supporters.

"Brilliant for Laois, brilliant for our supporters, and most of all, for the lads. In the last two games, we had performances where, coming down the stretch, we were a little bit disappointed. To come out today and play so well in the first half, yes, we were wind assisted, but we turned up the heat and we were able to get scores on the board. So just the effort in the group the last two weeks has been huge. We've been nursing a couple of injuries, trying to get a couple of guys right and we had to dig into our panel and we had to trust our panel and we did that today and we got a result," he said.

There was a debut championship appearance for Stradbally's Liam Knowles, who slotted in seamlessly, a reflection of the depth that has been built within the squad.

"Well, we’re two years on the road with some of these guys, and Liam Knowles came in November twelve months ago and worked hard. When we needed him, he got his debut today which was huge and he played well but the competition for places goes up every week. We’ll be back in training during the week and it'll be tough, it'll be straight back at it, trying to train at a high intensity and getting ready for the next day because next weekend is a step up," Munnelly said.

Attention now turns to Louth in the quarter-final, a side Munnelly knows will bring a different level of physicality and experience.

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"With the new rules, there are a lot of big men out there in the middle of the field and ball is going to break, fantastic if you can catch it, that's great, but in all these games there's a lot of ball going to go to the floor and you have to be hungry and you have to have desire and you have to have the will to win it. Today, that went our way but as I say we're very proud of that but we're going to need that next week in Newbridge. Louth are a really, really good team, they're physically very strong and they've played in the All-Ireland Series, they've been playing in Division Two, they're a really good team, a really big step up and a step up that we have to embrace next week," Munnelly said.

Munnelly then took a moment to pay tribute to his former manager Mick O’Dwyer, who passed away earlier in the week. Munnelly was the youngest member of the Laois panel when he broke into the senior team in 2003, O’Dwyer’s first year in charge. At just 20 years of age, the Arles-Kilcruise forward scored a crucial goal in that year’s Leinster final against Kildare, the defining moment of O’Dwyer’s time with Laois. Speaking after the game in Wexford Park, Munnelly recalled the influence the legendary Kerryman had on him and on Laois football as a whole.

"Before Thursday evening’s training, we had a minute's silence for Micko before we got going out on O’Moore Park. We just spoke for a minute about how Micko was a competitor and how he was a winner.

"He used to love going away from home and getting a result on the road and we said we were going to try and put in a performance this weekend that would live up to the kind of mentality he had. I hope going on the road and getting the win lives up to his memory because what he did for Laois in that four years, he made us believe that we were contenders and that we could win every single day that we went out.

"The people of Laois will be truly grateful to Micko and we wish the O'Dwyer family the very best. I'm sure it's going to be a huge, huge loss for them and the GAA as well but Mick O'Dwyer was gold dust, he was the king and we are so, so fortunate to have had him in our county," he said.

Among the standout performers on the day was Portarlington's Ronan Coffey, who impressed on his first championship outing, while Crettyard's Jonah Kelly also marked a personal milestone when he came onto the pitch in the 71st minute.

READ NEXT: 'A genius in the dressing room' Laois GAA's Declan O'Loughlin pays tribute to the late Mick O'Dwyer

"Ronan is improving every day he goes out. We're working hard on trying to generate our scores up front. There’s good movement every single night at training and those guys are trying to get better and better, Ronan included. I'm delighted for him on his championship debut, it's a nice feeling but listen, Ronan is a winner and he knows what's coming next week, he knows it's going to be a step up and we all have to be better, every single one of us has to be better next week.

"It was brilliant for Jonah Kelly to get his first championship score, he's working really hard in training as well. He got his opportunity and got to raise the white flag and that's a special moment for any player to get his first but the big thing now is whether he can get his second, and a third, and a fourth, and really kick on with his inter-county career.
That’s the opportunity to come in training next week and for every single one of us to just get better because as I said and I've said it a few times now, next week is a different challenge but we're improving every single day we go out. We're trying to get better and better and next week is a real pitch for us to see when we go to Newbridge against a really good team, let's see can we go after it," he ended.

Laois will take on Louth on Sunday, April 13 in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Leinster Championship in Cedral St Conleth's Park Newbridge from 3pm.