Laois senior football team named for O'Byrne Cup opener against Dublin in Ratheniska

The Laois senior footballers are set to get their 2026 inter-county campaign underway this weekend when they welcome Dublin to Ratheniska in Round One of the O'Byrne Cup.

Manager Justin McNulty has named his starting 15 and substitutes for Saturday's game, which will be Ger Brennan's first game in charge of The Dubs.

Crettyard’s Evan O’Carroll will be back in the blue and white of Laois, having missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury. He only returned to action for Crettyard in the latter stages of the club championship, as they secured their senior status for 2026 by defeating Ballyfin in the Laois SFC relegation final. 

Courtwood, fresh from reaching their first-ever Laois SFC final, have five players in Saturday's matchday panel. Rob Tyrrell and Cian Doyle are set to start for McNulty's side. Laois SFC Player of the Year for 2025, Portarlington's Paddy O'Sullivan, is included in the 26-man panel, representing the two-in-a-row county champions.

See the full Laois team below.

LAOIS: Killian Roche (Killeshin); Conaire Gee (Ballyroan-Abbey), Trevor Collins (Graiguecullen), Ben O’Connor (Portlaoise); Jack Lacey (St Joseph’s), Kevin Swayne (Portlaoise), Aaron McEvoy (Ballyroan-Abbey); Robert Tyrrell (Courtwood), Conor Heffernan (Killeshin); Killian Byrne (Ballyroan-Abbey), Cian Doyle (Courtwood), Josh Hogan (Portlaoise); Niall Corbet (Clonaslee St Manman’s), Brian Byrne (Graiguecullen), Evan O’Carroll (Crettyard). Substitutes: Matthew Byron (Courtwood), Dan Boland (Courtwood), Mikie Dempsey (St Joseph’s), Colin Dunne (Arles-Killeen), Darren Brennan (Portlaoise), Alan Kinsella (Courtwood), Cathal Lee (Clonaslee-St Manman’s), Eoin Montague (Emo), Sean O’Neill (The Rock), Paddy O’Sullivan (Portarlington), Joey Shelly (Rosenallis).

A win for Laois on Saturday would put them into the semi-finals of the O'Byrne Cup against either Wexford or Kildare. A defeat would see them drop into the O'Byrne Shield, where they'll also be in the last four. Laois' next game will be on Saturday, January 3.

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