St Joseph’s-Barrowhouse 2-5 Stradbally Parish Gaels 0-8
2008 Laois U-21 FC ‘A’ Final
For most of the late 90s and right throughout the Noughties Portlaoise dominated the Laois U-21 football championship.
They claimed six-in-a-row from 1997 to 2002 and then three-in-a-row again from 2005 to 2007, making it a whopping nine in 11 seasons – a run of success that contributed hugely to their current dominance at senior level.
Stradbally Parish Gaels put titles back to back in 2003 and 2004 and reached the final again in 2008, after beating Portlaoise in an early round.
But they were stopped in their tracks by St Joseph’s-Barrowhouse, who got their hands on the U-21 championship for the first time ever. They have since won the competition in 2011, 2015 and 2016.
Stradbally Parish Gaels haven’t reached the final since. Tragically, two of the Stradbally team that played that day have passed away – Kevin Molloy was killed in a farming accident in 2010 while Michael McEvoy died after a long battle with cancer in 2014.
ST JOSEPH’S-BARROWHOUSE: Tommy Knowles; Emmet Malone, Paddy Fleming, Peter Farrell; Ian Dunne, Martin Reilly; Sean Langton; Brian Brennan, Joe Murphy; Paddy Hickey, Billy Campion, Jack Dempsey; Ian Dempsey, James Doyle, Michael Byrne. Subs used: Brendan Hickey, Michael Fleming
STRADBALLY PARISH CENTRE: Robert Kelly; Kevin Molloy, Joe O’Connor, Martin O’Connor; Colin Beale, Keiran Delaney, James Whelahan; Michael McEvoy, Sean Ramsbottom; Cormac Delaney, Simon Shortall, Conor Delaney; Ruairi O’Connor, Michael Kelly, Simon Miller. Subs used: Ciaran Hennessy, Jamie Kelly
SEE ALSO – Funeral details for Laois man killed in workplace accident in Dublin
