Laois senior football manager Justin McNulty reacts to Laois' O’Byrne Cup loss to Dublin

Laois began their O’Byrne Cup campaign on Saturday afternoon with a home fixture against Dublin at Ratheniska, marking the senior footballers’ first outing of the 2026 season.

Despite a spirited performance, the O’Moore County side fell to a six-point defeat. After the final whistle, Laois manager Justin McNulty was keen to acknowledge the efforts of Park-Ratheniska GAA Club in ensuring the game went ahead and in providing a strong backdrop for the occasion.

“They've put on a great, great show here. We've been very warmly welcomed, and to get the pitch ready, given the conditions, fair play to them. It was in question earlier in the day, and thank God it happened, because it would have been an awful shame for a small rural club to have to forfeit the game. It was a lovely occasion, a lovely setting, and we're just thrilled we’ve got the welcome we got from the Park-Ratheniska club,” he said.

While disappointed with the result, McNulty felt there were encouraging signs to take from the performance, even as Dublin punished mistakes with four goals and threatened for more.

“Ach listen, there's lots to take from that game, but I take mainly positives, because I think for the first 14 minutes, I think we had one shot, and that was never going to make us competitive. Guys were turning over balls unnecessarily, unforced errors galore. But they still dug in, they kept going, they worked scores, a bit of a purple patch, Evan (O’Carroll) was on fire for a period in the game. We led for a small part of the game, and then they got on top on kick-outs, and got goals that probably were too porous at the back. They could have had two or three goals on top of that, so that was the difference between the two teams,” McNulty said.

One of the main positives on the day was the return of Evan O’Carroll, who chipped in with six points on his first appearance in the blue and white of Laois since suffering a knee injury that kept him sidelined throughout the 2025 inter-county season. McNulty also highlighted the comeback of Mikie Dempsey as another boost for the panel.

“He deserves enormous credit. Evan and Mikie Dempsey, who are two fellas who have suffered cruciate ligament injuries, and they've gone through the loneliness of a cruciate injury, which is a huge, huge obstacle to overcome. Both of them fellas came back, and it's great to have them back on the pitch. Evan was on fire for flashes in that match, and it's just great to have him back on the pitch,” he added.

Entering his third season in charge of Laois, McNulty believes competitions such as the O’Byrne Cup play a key role in preparing teams for the challenges of league football.

“I think so, you need to have competitive games in advance of the league, especially last year with the new rules. We didn't have those competitive games, and we weren't really set for them as well as we could have been. So, listen, they're definitely useful, and, listen, people came here on a beautiful winter's day to get a bit of winter football. There were some positives in the game for both sides, some good football, but it's early doors for both sides.
Obviously, Dublin had a very trialist team out, so two different experiences for two different teams,” he commented.

Attention will now briefly turn to the Sigerson Cup, which gets underway on Tuesday evening and will see a number of Laois players wearing the jerseys of their respective colleges.

“It does affect a number of our players, but it's the same for every kind of team in the country. Sigerson is an important competition, and we have to facilitate that. I think it's important that we do, because university football is a breeding ground for footballers. We support that, big time,” he said.

McNulty also provided an update on the makeup of his panel.

“Nothing major. Obviously, we've got the Portarlington boys back after Christmas, which is a big boost for us. We're an open panel if fellas show form with university or club, we'll always give them opportunities,” he said.

Several players were handed their senior debuts during the contest, something McNulty viewed as another positive despite the loss.

“We feel we have a stronger panel than last year, and we're excited about the potential of our group. I think they did show character there today. We had a lot of debutants there today, and some of them showed positively. When things weren't going well for the first 10–15 minutes, they still dug in and showed character. They showed bravery to be able to stay in the game and against The Dubs,” McNulty added.

Looking ahead, the Laois boss stressed that the focus will be on learning from the opening-round defeat and improving ahead of the next outing in the O'Byrne Shield.

“There are positives throughout, I think. We need to focus on those positives and address the issues that need to be addressed. Kick-outs, turnovers, and those goal opportunities that we were coughing up too easily,” he ended.

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