PREVIEW: Wicklow up first for Laois senior footballers in the Tailteann Cup in Portlaoise
The game will be shown live on GAA+
It’s that time of year again for the Laois senior footballers, with the Tailteann Cup set to get underway this weekend. Justin McNulty’s side come into the competition off the back of a Leinster quarter-final defeat to Kildare on Sunday, April 19.
Kildare won that game by five points, 2-20 to 2-15. The game turned after half-time, when Laois went 15 minutes without scoring while Kildare hit five points without reply.
Up to that point, it had been fairly even, with the sides level at the break, 2-7 to 1-10. Laois never really recovered from their sluggish start to the second half, and Kildare built a lead they would not relinquish.
Laois finished fourth in this year’s Division 3 standings, two places higher than in 2025. They ended their league campaign with a strong win in Newry over already-promoted Down before beating Offaly in the opening round of the Leinster Championship.
The Laois campaign was consistent in that they tended to win a game and then lose a game. They began with a draw against Limerick, who were relegated alongside Fermanagh, before suffering a heavy defeat to Wexford. Laois then beat Sligo, lost to Clare, recorded a nine-point win over Leinster finalists Westmeath, lost in Enniskillen to Fermanagh, and finished with a four-point win over Down.
Offaly came next in the Leinster Championship and, in truth, Laois were never really in danger, without playing particularly well. They went over half an hour without scoring, but still finished with 3-12 and a nine-point victory. Their goals on the day, coming from Ciaran Burke, Kevin Swayne and Simon Fingleton.
Wicklow will provide plenty of problems for Laois on Sunday. Oisín McConville’s side could, and perhaps should, have beaten Dublin in Aughrim in their Leinster quarter-final, losing by just two points. Wicklow goalkeeper Mark Jackson is well known for his two-point attempts, but he missed all six of his efforts in that game. Dublin probably had an off day when you compare that Wicklow performance to the one they put in against Louth in Portlaoise last Saturday evening. They ended Louth’s reign as Leinster champions with a 10-point win, 0-20 to 0-10.
Laois and Wicklow are no strangers to each other in the Tailteann Cup, having met in 2024 and 2025, both times in Aughrim. Laois won a low-scoring affair, 0-11 to 0-10, in 2024, while Wicklow won 0-21 to 0-16 in 2025.
Wicklow will come into this game with a point to prove after missing out on promotion from Division 4, with Longford catching them in the final round of fixtures.
If the best versions of both sides turn up, we should be in for a cracker in Portlaoise. The game throws in at 2pm on Sunday, May 10.