Laois GAA U-16 hurlers secure Plate glory as U-14s and U-15s also impress

It was a positive end to the underage inter-county hurling season for Laois, with the county’s U-14, U-15 and U-16 teams all in action in national competitions over the weekend.

There were some excellent performances across the three age groups, with the Laois U-14s, U-15s and U-16s all finishing their campaigns with plenty of positives to take from the season.

Laois U-14s

The U-14s had two teams competing at the Centre of Excellence in Portlaoise. The Blue team suffered defeat to Antrim before bouncing back to overcome Offaly, while the White team enjoyed a successful day as they won the Plate competition after victories over Meath and Westmeath.

Laois U-14 panel: Daniel Scully (Abbeyleix), Liam Noone (Abbeyleix), Malachy O’Connell (Abbeyleix), Sean Lynch (Ballyfin), Daniel Knowles (Ballypickas), Oliver Russell (Borris-Kilcotton), Cayden Dowling (Camross), Conall Keenan (Camross), Rian Nolan (Camross), Richard Lalor (Camross), Cian Peters (Castletown), Noah Delaney (Castletown), Sam Kingston (Castletown), Nikodem Andrzejkowicz (Clonad), Will Murray (Clonaslee), Corey Doheny (Mountrath), Killian Killeen (Mountrath), Liam Meade (Mountrath), Oisin Kirwan (Mountrath), Ross Osbourne (Mountrath), Tadgh Kavanagh (Mountrath), Tom Meade (Mountrath), Aidan Miller (Park-Ratheniska-Timahoe), Billy Conroy (Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe), Dan Carroll (Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe), Sam Lyons (Portarlington), Danny Kerry (Portlaoise), Lorcan McBride (Portlaoise), Michael McGrath (Portlaoise), Tadhg Bohan (Portlaoise), Tyler Whelan (Portlaoise), Tyrone O’Carroll (Portlaoise), Zac Bowe (Portlaoise), Aaron Kirwan (Rathdowney-Errill), Cian O’Connell (St Paul’s), Eoin O’Connell (St Paul’s), Adam Malone (The Harps), Ciaran Farrell (The Harps), Conor Campion (The Harps), Eddie Ince (The Harps), Frankie Carroll (The Harps), Taylor Mahony (The Harps), Todd Lalor (The Harps), Ned Fox (Trumera) and Oisin Dunne (Trumera).

The U-14 team was managed by Oisin Phelan, Dessie Conroy, Brian Bohane, Enda Carroll, Sean Murphy and Cian Moffitt.

Laois U-15s

The U-15s were competing at the highest level in the Arrabawn A competition this year and came second in their qualifying group after impressive wins over Dublin A and Tipperary Blue. Their only defeat came against Kilkenny A in the final group game.

They subsequently faced Limerick A in the Arrabawn Cup quarter-final and, despite a highly competitive contest, eventually lost out to the Munster side by six points.

That left Laois among the top eight teams in the country for the final day in Nenagh, where they were placed in the Arrabawn A Shield competition alongside Galway, Cork and Dublin. Laois produced an outstanding display in their semi-final against Galway, securing a narrow 3-12 to 1-17 victory.

They made a bright start, with Fionn Delaney, Ryan Guilfoyle and Max Whelan getting on the scoresheet before Delaney converted a 21-yard free to the net after Daire Moore was fouled.

Galway responded with a goal to lead by the narrowest of margins at half-time, before adding three points early in the second half.

Laois refused to let the game slip away, however, with their workrate eventually rewarded when Eamon Cahalan found the net to put them two points ahead.

They held on for an excellent victory, helped by a superb defensive effort from Cillian Murphy, Liam Ellis and captain Darragh Cuddy.

Cork had qualified for the Shield final after defeating Dublin and proved too strong for Laois in the decider, but the U-15s could look back on an impressive campaign.

Laois U-15 panel: Paddy Cleary (The Harps), Cillian Murphy (The Harps), Aaron Kirwan (Mountrath), Mikey O’Keefe (Abbeyleix), Paddy Corby (Clough-Ballacolla), Ryan Guilfoyle (Camross), Luke Hayes (Clough/Ballacolla), Sean Hyland (Mountrath), Jamie O’Halloran (St Paul’s), Joe Dunne (Castletown), Liam Ellis (The Harps), Charlie Conroy (Rosenallis), Alex Brophy (Castletown), Daire Moore (Borris-Kilcotton), Fionn Delaney (Portlaoise), Oisin Guilfoyle (Camross), Eamon Cahalan (Clough/Ballacolla), Max Whelan (Portlaoise), Jack Farrell (Mountrath), Peter Keane (Abbeyleix), Oisin O’Donnell (Borris-Kilcotton), Tristian Delaney (Clough/Ballacolla), Andrew Delaney (Clonad), Harry Barton (Rathdowney-Errill), Daniel Keeshan (Rathdowney-Errill) and Darragh Cuddy (Camross, captain).

The U-15 management team consisted of Trevor Moore, Jimmy Hyland, Shane Cahill, Jordan Walsh, Tadhg Doran and David Sheeran, with Dan Butler as GDA and Shane Keegan as Games Manager.

Laois U-16s

The U-16s were based in Kilcormac for their final day, having lost their quarter-final to Waterford three weeks earlier.

They were drawn against hosts Offaly and Clare in the U-16 A Plate competition and started with a hard-fought one-point victory over Offaly. Ross Quinlan scored the Laois goal as they edged Offaly, 1-13 to 1-12, with Luke Delaney, Tadhg Lowry, Jamie Mahoney, Jerry O’Connell and Darragh Mortimer also contributing scores.

Rian Dwyer, Dara Breslin and Fionn O’Sullivan were among those to impress defensively as Laois secured their place in the final.

They produced an even more convincing display against Clare, winning 3-13 to 1-8 to claim the Plate title.

Quinlan, Jamie Mahoney and Luke Delaney found the net, while James Doherty, Tadhg Lowry and Canice Meade also got on the scoresheet. Danny Campion, Leo Guilfoyle, Paidi Fahy and Fiac Gaffney were singled out for their defensive displays as Laois rounded off their campaign in style.

Laois U-16 panel: Fionnan Gilligan, Leo Guilfoyle, Paidi Fahy, Fionn O’Sullivan, Fiac Gaffney, Rian Dwyer, Dara Breslin, Danny Campion, Canice Meade, Darragh Mortimer, 11 Jamie Mahoney, Jerry O’Connell, Luke Delaney, Tadgh Lowry, Ross Quinlan, Sean Farrell, James Doherty, David Peters, Billy Lawless, Jack Delaney, Ben Heffernan, Jack Kelly, Dan Meade, Jake Keating, Aidan Byrne, Adam Somers, Adam Byrne, Ben Peake, Cillian Dunne, Patrick Bowe.

The U-16s were managed by Robbie Delaney, Matthew Collier, Jack Peters, Neil Foyle and Bryan Bredin.