The Laois Ladies are on the hunt for a new manager after Donie Brennan decided to step down from his role.,
The Arles-Killeen man took charge in 2020, shortly after Laois had beaten Limerick in an Intermediate relegation playoff.
He oversaw a massive improvement in fortunes with Laois gaining promotion from Division 3 in 2021 and reaching the All-Ireland semi finals.
They lost to Wexford then but would go two steps better last year – defeating the same opponents in the All-Ireland final.
Laois made the step up to senior and after an incredibly difficult year where Brennan had a very small panel, they did very well to reach the Division 2 final.
They lost that to Armagh in Croke Park and then lost to Meath and Dublin in Leinster before suffering a similar fate against Armagh and Mayo in the All-Ireland.
But the Brennan era ended on a high as they maintained their senior status by defeating Cavan,
In a letter addressed to Brennan and posted on the Laois LGFA Facebook page, they thanked him for all of his work.
They said: “The Executive committee met last night and have accepted your resignation as Senior Manager of Laois LGFA. You were appointed in 2019 and you brought Laois to winning ways.
“Under your guidance Laois won the Division 3 title , and continue to climb the ranks in Division 2 having reached the final this year.
“However, the highlight of your role was winning the All Ireland Intermediate title in 2022 and to further this ensured senior status for 2024 but you also must take credit in bringing the pride back into the Laois jersey.
“These ladies will go down in history in our County and have inspired other players to be proud to represent the Laois County.
“We are so proud of all these girls who are our role models and hope they will continue to give service to Laois LGFA both on and off the fields of play.
“These girls have inspired so many players and we hope this will continue and one day we might enjoy the success of winning a senior All Ireland.
“They wore the blue and white jersey with such pride and have inspired players from U8 to Senior level and hope we can build for the next generation on the success that you and your Management team have brought to the entire County and its supporters.
“We would like to thank a very committed and honest management team John Murphy, Maggie Murphy, Clare Conlon, Paddy O Connor, Conor Gorman,Tom Hargrove, Laura Nerney, Martina Phelan and Paddy our physio.
“Everyone was so professional in what they did and we thank you sincerely. As Donie said “success was slow but it was consistent and it allowed the girls to enjoy every moment of success and cherish those magical moments”.
“Words cannot say how much you have given to Laois LGFA since you took over in 2019.You stuck with it when you set out to get players to join your panel in 2019 when it was so difficult to get players to come on board.
“We thank you sincerely and we wish you every success in your future endeavour.”
SEE ALSO – ‘One of a kind’ – Eoin and Dylan Fitzpatrick’s funeral has taken place in Portlaoise
