Tommy Fitzgerald adds All-Ireland winner to Laois GAA senior hurling setup
Former Limerick goalkeeper Barry Hennessy joins Laois after coaching Meath in 2026, replacing Tipperary’s Aidan Stakelum, who will be with Tipperary in 2027
The Leinster Express/Laois Live can confirm that Limerick native Barry Hennessy was ratified at Monday evening’s Laois GAA County Board meeting as the new senior hurling coach for 2027.
Hennessy will join Tommy Fitzgerald’s backroom team and fill the void left by Tipperary’s Aidan Stakelum, who has moved from the Laois setup into Liam Cahill’s backroom team with the Tipperary senior hurlers for next year.
Holycross man Stakelum was with Laois for the 2026 season, and what a season it was as Laois got their hands back on the Joe McDonagh Cup after defeating Carlow in Croke Park. That victory also secured their return to the Leinster Championship after they were relegated in June 2022.
It was Laois’ third successive Joe McDonagh Cup final appearance, having lost to Offaly in 2024 and Kildare in 2025 before finally making it third time lucky against Carlow in June.
Stakelum had taken over the role for 2026 from Niall Corcoran, after the Kilkenny man joined up with former Laois manager Eddie Brennan as part of Derek Lyng’s backroom team with Kilkenny for the 2026 season.
Hennessy was head coach of the Meath senior hurling team during the 2026 season. Meath competed in Division 2 of the National League, with Laois getting the better of Meath en route to winning all six of their league matches before going on to beat Kerry in the final.
Meath then competed in the Christy Ring Cup, where they narrowly missed out on a place in the final on scoring difference to eventual champions Derry, who defeated Kerry by five points in the decider.
Hennessy has already enjoyed considerable success on the sideline, guiding Smith O’Brien’s to Clare Intermediate Championship glory in 2025.
That followed a two-year spell in charge of Kerry club Lixnaw in 2023 and 2024, during which he also reached a Kerry SHC final, only to come up short against Crotta O’Neill’s in 2023.
A four-time All-Ireland winner as a substitute goalkeeper to Nicky Quaid, Hennessy won All-Ireland senior hurling titles with Limerick in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. He also won four Munster senior hurling championship titles in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 during his inter-county career with Limerick from 2010 until 2022, as well as two National Leagues in 2019 and 2020.
The Kilmallock native called time on his club playing career in 2024, having won four Limerick Senior Hurling Championships with his club.