Laois Camogie's Pat Collier and Rob Jones hail Premier Junior All-Ireland winning side

12 months is a long time in sporting terms, but for the Laois Camogie team it will have felt like a lifetime. This time last year, they had just been beaten by Tipperary in an All-Ireland final, but this year, they made that wrong right to defeat Armagh and be crowned All-Ireland champions.

Winning managers Pat Collier and Rob Jones were beaming with pride when they spoke to the media under the Hogan Stand on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s been a long journey. Last year, we were here and we were interviewed and we lost by a point , as you know. This year it's just marvellous, the change in feelings. It’s all about the panel of players, Laois weren’t in a great place. In the last 18 months, them girls have really, really stood up to the plate. I'm just thrilled for them as a group. They've trained harder than any men's team I was ever with. I'm privileged and honoured to be over them with Rob,” Collier said.

Speaking before the game, Laois vice-captain Aimee Collier had mentioned that Laois were focusing on their third and fourth quarter performances. That came to fruition today as Laois dominated the second-half with a period of 1-6 without reply coupled with the last four points of the contest. Jones said that their message at half-time was for them to not panic. He also gave massive praise to the substitutes who came on for Laois. 

READ ALSO: Second-half surge delivers All-Ireland Premier Junior title for Laois Camogie against Armagh

“In the first half, we were on top of possession, we just weren’t taking our opportunities. We went into half-time in a good place. We told them to not panic. We went out in the second half, and in the third and fourth quarter, we pushed on. I think it was up to our subs that came on too, and we got a goal at a crucial time. As I say to the girls all the time, it always takes 20 girls to win it, and it showed today,” Jones said.

Laois had a good bit of the ball in the first-half, but only went in level at the break. A lot of the time they got the ball, they were finding the Armagh sweeper.  Jones admits that they told their players to focus more on trying to win the breaking ball

“Well in the first half,  they were winning a lot of the puck outs, and we weren't probably going to the ball enough. We were kind of hesitating a small bit and we told them that at half-time, just go for that breaking ball, and they did in the second half. I thought we really tied them up, and possession is key in Camogie, especially our team, when we have possession, we can take our chances, and we can punish them,” Jones added.

It was a bittersweet moment for Pat Collier on the sideline on Sunday as not only had he won an All-Ireland medal, but so had his daughter Aimee, who finished with seven points to her name.

“Rob will tell you, I'm probably harder on Aimee than anyone and you'd all be the same, but look, she's a good girl. She's no different than any of the rest of them, she's worked tremendously hard, she had two cruciate injuries three or four years ago. There were seven or eight of this team that me and Rob was in charge of that won a minor All-Ireland against Limerick in a replay. They’re the core of the team, and look, it's very nice, Rob's daughter was on as well there, she came in in the last 15, but like, it's not about individuals, this is about a special group of girls. People outside of our camp do not know where Laois Camogie was. The last 18 months, these girls have  done everything we asked them to do it,” Collier said.

Laois joint-manager Pat Collier hailed the influence of legendary Kilkenny boss Brian Cody, recalling how Cody’s stirring words at their very first team meeting in January 2024 lit the fire that carried them through the last 18 months.

“For me, huge credit has to go to Brian Cody; he's a good friend of mine, we brought him up the first night we met on January 28, 2024, and I won't forget it. He came up and he gave a speech, and I'm not codding you, there's a selector of ours, he's a character, and he said to his after, ‘if you were in the graveyard, you'd get up and hurl for that lad’. The girls really bought into what he spoke about unity and all that, which had a huge bearing on us to get the ball rolling,” he said.

Jones praised Laois’ resilience and steady improvement throughout the year, stressing that their All-Ireland success was built on the foundation of a pressure-filled league final win and expressing hope that the players will finally get the recognition they deserve.

READ ALSO: WATCH: 'We just kept plugging away' - Laois camogie Player of the Match

“We won the league first of all. That was a huge stepping stone for us, winning a final under pressure when we needed to do so. That drove us on, and I said it before, we did probably slightly underperform in our Leinster final, but since then, we're after improving immensely. Everything has improved, week on week, look it showed out there today. As Pat said, huge credit goes to these girls, a phenomenal group of girls, the commitment they put in, they don't get the recognition they deserve, and even in our county, I don’t think they do , but maybe they might now, because they're All-Ireland champions,” Jones said.

Captain Clodagh Tynan was impeccable at centre-back for Laois on Sunday. She got massive praise from Collier, with the Camross native adamant that she’s good enough to play for Cork, as are a few more Laois players.

“Clodagh Tynan is one of the best players in the game, she could tog out for the Cork Seniors today, and so could four or five more of our team. She's played a captain's part all year, last year, she was fantastic in the final too, and we'd expect nothing more of Clodagh,” Collier said.

Reflecting on the turnover in the Laois panel since last year’s final, Pat Collier revealed the scale of the rebuilding job he and Rob Jones faced, with nearly half of the previous year’s squad not returning, and credited the new, often younger players for providing the spark that drove the team to All-Ireland glory.

“For me and Rob, we were always going to stay on after what happened last year, but we got a bit of a shock when we contacted maybe 29 or 30 of that panel, and 13 or 14 or 15 said they weren't coming back. We went to meet them, we sat down with them, we did everything bar carry them to the field. But with college, with travelling and J1s, it's very understandable for young girls nowadays, we had to find 12 or 14 more girls, and there could be four or five of these out of minor level.

“They're the girls that actually probably won this for us, because they gave us a shove in training. Amy Daly came on, she's a minor this year, and she scored a goal that changed the game. So look, it's all about everyone you have. We were just thrilled they came back and the work behind us,and it's onwards and upwards. They're at the level they should be now. Intermediate will be tough, but that’s where Laois Camogie should be,” Collier ended.

READ NEXT: WATCH: 'No better bunch of women to get it done' Laois captain lifts All-Ireland Cup