Sinead Farrelly: 'We’ll have to throw everything at it' as Laois Ladies begin All-Ireland campaign

The Laois Ladies will begin their TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship campaign this weekend when they welcome Roscommon to Laois Hire O'Moore Park for a crucial Group 1 clash.

Following their Leinster final defeat to Westmeath two weeks ago, Laois are eager to bounce back and get their All-Ireland journey off to a winning start. The group contains just three teams, with only the top two progressing to the knockout stages. Laois face a long trip to Fermanagh on Sunday, June 8, for their second and final group game.

Laois fell short against Westmeath in the provincial decider, with a sluggish start proving costly. Westmeath stormed into a 1-4 to no-score lead after eight minutes and maintained control, eventually running out 1-12 to 0-9 winners. Now, attention turns to the All-Ireland series, and Laois' Sinead Farrelly says the team have regrouped and are ready to rise to the challenge.

“It was tough picking ourselves back up after the Leinster final,” Farrelly admitted. “We did prepare well for it, and losing out obviously wasn't easy, but we did regroup at training. We refocused ourselves for the weeks we knew we had ahead and I suppose this shows the resilience we have within the panel. We'll have to throw everything at this All-Ireland campaign. It won't be easy, but sure, we'll have to accept the challenge.”

Roscommon, Laois’ first opponents, didn’t feature in the Connacht championship due to being the only Intermediate team in the province. Farrelly believes Laois' greater match sharpness could be an advantage, but only if they match it with performance.

“That's right, and we have the work done. We've had our extra couple of matches, so we have to build towards the two huge tests that we have in Roscommon and Fermanagh. We will obviously have to get the result at the weekend, and it's so important for us. We'll have to perform all over the pitch.”

Laois will be determined to avoid a repeat of the Westmeath game, where the contest was effectively decided inside the opening ten minutes. Farrelly says lessons have been learned.

“Looking back on the game, we did have most of the possession. We just really couldn't convert our chances, and that's where the downfall was. You can't let key players run riot basically. We're going to have to win our individual battles on Sunday and try to stop that from happening again.”

The return of 2022 All-Ireland winners Clodagh Dunne and Jane Moore to the panel is a timely boost, bringing experience and leadership to the setup. Farrelly also highlighted the impact of Laois’ younger players, praising their hunger and drive as a sign of the county’s bright future.

“Those girls bring huge experience, and they've been around for a couple of years, so that's great for us. It's really adding to our momentum. But also the younger girls as well, they've been good and they're really driving the standards too and showing what's to come in the future.”

Farrelly praised the depth of the Laois squad, with five of their nine points in the Leinster final coming from substitutes, a sign of strength as the side heads into the most important part of their season.

“It really brings depth into our team knowing that we had girls like Emily Lacey and Emma Lawlor to come in off the bench against Westmeath. That's huge for us when you know you have players like that also to come on.”

With one eye on qualification and the other on redemption, Laois will look to make a statement on Sunday. Victory over Roscommon would put them in a strong position ahead of their trip to Fermanagh, and after the disappointment of Leinster, this panel is clearly ready to respond.

Laois v Roscommon takes place on Sunday, June 1, in Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Portlaoise, from 2pm.

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