Back in May we looked back at Laois’ emphatic victory over Kildare which saw them reach the Leinster Football Championship semi-final.
Laois 3-9 Kildare 0-13
1996 Leinster SFC Quarter-final
When Laois GAA people look back on old Laois-Kildare games, the 2003 Leinster football final stands out like a beacon.
Given that it was the county’s best day and a lifetime highlight for so many supporters it’s understandable that other games fade into the memory.
But one fine day was a Leinster championship clash seven years earlier, in June 1996, when Laois were 3-9 to 0-13 winners in Croke Park.
The game came in the aftermath of the terrible Maher tragedy in Portarlington, one that saw former Laois footballer Colm Maher die in a house fire that also claimed the lives of his mother Breda, brother Mark (24), Barry (12), Joanna (9), Fiona (6) and Martina (2).
In the Leinster Express edition the week before brought the incredibly heart-breaking coverage of the funerals. “Thousands unite in sorrow for fire victims,” was the front page headline.
Colm Maher’s fine sports career was remembered in the sports pages while the paper also carried a report on a challenge game between Laois and Carlow that was played in aid of fundraiser for the family. Over 1500 people had been in attendance.
In Croke Park that day high profile GAA personalities from across the country took part in a bucket collection.
It was a big day of GAA action. Meath beat Carlow in the first game in Croker while in Munster, Limerick and Clare met in a game for the ages, one immortalised by Ciaran Carey’s unforgettable winner for Limerick against the All Ireland champions.
And the sports pages were also dominated by Euro 1996 coverage – with England getting the competition underway the previous day with a 2-0 win over Scotland.
Though Kildare had beaten Laois in a Division 1 relegation game a couple of months earlier, it was the first championship meeting between the counties since 1984.
“Laois will be attempting to put in one big performance but even allowing for that I think Kildare will win,” wrote Colm O’Rourke in his Sunday Independent preview.
And they were also outsiders in the paper’s match preview and in Tommy Carr’s column in Saturday’s edition.
But Laois got off to a dream start with Tom Bowe getting a goal after a minute and Leo Turley scoring the first of his two goals in the 28th minute to give Laois a 2-5 to 0-7 lead at the break.
“When the battle began, Laois had the cutting thrust you need for championship battle,” wrote PJ Cunningham in his report in Monday’s Irish Independent.
“Kildare’s demeanour spoke more of the O’Byrne Cup variety.”
The sending off of Denis O’Connell early in the second half was another blow for Kildare and a brilliant Laois move with quarter of an hour remaining ended with Turley getting his second goal.
Given the sadness of the previous couple of weeks, it was no surprise the match coverage referenced the tragedy.
“Playing Kildare in yesterday’s Leinster championship match at Croke Park had as much to do with helping the mourning process in Laois than any footballing ambitions harboured by the county further down the line,” wrote Cunningham.
“Match winner Leo Turley said as much when he described the victory as ‘hopefully bringing a little joy to Portarlington this evening’.
“Referring to the horrific tragedy which claimed the lives of seven members of the Maher family including his friend Colm, Turley added: ‘The win will give Portarlington a lift. God knows it needs a lift. I know, I’m from there myself.
“The quiet eloquence of the O’Dempsey’s man to his former inter-county colleague, the bereaved family and the town shows just how much Laois football took that tragedy to heart.”
Laois were beaten by Meath in the semi-final a couple of weeks later and in 1997 Kildare, back under Mick O’Dwyer after Dermot Earley stepped down, got their own back on Laois with a famous win despite playing most of the game with only 13 men.
Tomorrow’s game in O’Moore Park won’t have anything like the same importance or status but in the catalogue of great Laois days against Kildare, that Sunday in 1996 is right up there in the battle for second place!
SCORERS – Laois: Leo Turley 2-0, Ian Fitzgerald 0-3 (one free), Michael Lawlor 0-3, Tom Bowe 1-0, Tony Maher 0-1, Damian Delaney 0-1 (free), Tony Maher 0-1. Kildare: Eddie McCormack 0-4 (one free), Niall Buckley 0-2 (frees), Tom Sullivan 0-2, Anthony Rainbow 0-1, Martin Lynch 0-1, Denis O’Connell 0-1, Paul McCormack 0-1, John Whelan 0-1
LAOIS: Emmet Burke; Adrian Phelan, Eamon Delaney, Tom Conroy; Brian Kirwan, Denis Lalor, Damian Ryan; Tony Maher, PJ Dempsey; Ian Fitzgerald, Tom Bowe, Michael Lawlor; Damian Delaney, Hugh Emerson, Leo Turley. Sub: Enda McDonald for Bowe (50)
KILDARE: Christy Byrne; Ken Doyle, Glen Ryan, Seamus Dowling; Fergus Aspell, Martin Murray, Anthony Rainbow; Niall Buckley, Martin Lynch; Eddie McCormack, Denis O’Connell, Willie McCreery; Paul McCormack, Noel Donlon, Tom Sullivan. Subs: John Whelan for Donlon (30), John Finn for Murray (half time), Peter McConnon for Sullivan (65)
SEE ALSO – Check out all of our 2021 Remembered stories here
