Ahead of Laois’s NFL Division 4 final appearance in March, we looked back at the county’s 1978 success.
Laois adult teams winning finals have been few and far between over the years though some stand out more than others, naturally enough.
The 2003 Leinster final win and the 1986 league triumph are standout memories, glorious occasions in our county’s history.
But beyond that, the better days have invariably been at underage level.
The 2018 Division 4 triumph was thoroughly enjoyable and there have been league final appearances also in 2002 (Division 2 loss to Kerry); 2003 (Division 1 loss to Tyrone); 2011 (Division 2 loss to Donegal) and 2019 (Division 3 loss to Westmeath).
One that doesn’t hold the same status is the 1978 Division 2 South win, when Laois beat Wexford in front of 12,000 supporters in Dr Cullen Park before later contesting the Division 1 semi-final proper against the all-conquering Dublin team of that era and the reigning All Ireland champions.
The league was in a considerably different format back then and under player-manager Kieran Brennan, Laois found themselves in a five-team Division 2 South alongside Meath, Tipperary, Clare and Limerick.
Though it was a Laois team packed with highly-rated players, it was as low-key a campaign as you could think of, particularly in the early stages.
With the leagues beginning before Christmas, and just two weeks after the All Ireland final, Laois beat Tipperary by two points in the opening round on October 9, 1977, in Graiguecullen. Media reports described it as “modest surroundings” but the big talking point was goalkeeper Mick Mulhall crucially saving a penalty twice – the initial effort and the retaken one!
They later beat Clare in Portarlington and Limerick in Askeaton but lost by a point to Meath in Navan.
That loss necessitated a playoff with Meath to decide who took top spot. Played in Tullamore in late January, Laois won 4-8 to 1-12 on a day Eamon Whelan struck for two goals.
Two week later they romped to a 4-16 to 1-7 win over Wicklow in Athy. Tom Prendergast scored 3-5 and Wille Brennan got 1-4.
From there it was on to Dr Cullen Park where Laois were 1-12 to 1-6 winners, Prendergast hitting 1-2 and his Portlaoise clubmate Billy Bohane with 0-5.
“Laois men back in the big time,” was the headline in the Irish Press the following day in an edition which devoted considerable coverage to the Ireland-Wales Five Nations game played that weekend also, where JPR Williams was the star attraction on the swashbuckling Welsh side of that era.
The Irish Press report noted the significance of Laois bringing on the “near veteran” Bobby Miller early in the second half.
“With Miller opening up the play, and the wind freshening behind them, the Laoismen suddenly began to produce the flashing movement that had been entirely lacking until then
“They might well have earned a great winning margin than their final six points so convincingly were they moving through most of the last quarter.”
That success in Carlow set Laois up for a Division 2 final meeting with Down, who won the Division 2 North title. But that final wasn’t played until the following October, which Down won.
In the meantime, Laois went to Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day for a Division 1 quarter-final against Cavan, which they won 4-9 to 2-10. Prendergast and Brennan again top scored; Prendergast with 2-1, Brennan with 0-5.
The scores didn’t come as freely the next day against Dublin with Laois going down by 0-12 to 0-7. Dublin’s big names were all on the scoresheet: Bobby Doyle, Brian Mullins, Anton O’Toole, Tommy Drumm, Bernard Brogan, David Hickey, Fran Ryder and Pat O’Neill.
The Dubs would later win the final against Mayo and in September their three-in-a-row All Ireland bid ended against Kerry on the day of the iconic Mikey Sheehey chipped goal over Paddy Cullen.
Laois’s championship that year amounted to just one match, a narrow 0-16 to 2-8 loss to Eugene McGee’s coming Offaly side in O’Moore Park, in front of a crowd of 20,000.
The following year Laois lost all five games in Division 1 South in the league – to Cork, Kerry, Kildare, Dublin and Galway – and duly returned to where they came from.
But with precious little silverware over the years, that 1978 Division 2 South success was still some recognition for a fine crop of Laois players.
The Laois team that won Division 2 South in 1978 was: Mick Mulhall (Portlaoise); Pat Fingleton (St Joseph’s), Jimmy Harding (Portlaoise), Dessie Brennan (St Joseph’s); Colm Browne (Portlaoise), Pat Brophy (Emo), Fintan Hennessy (The Heath); John Costello (O’Dempsey’s), Eamon Whelan (Portlaoise); Liam Scully (Portlaoise), Tom Prendergast (Portlaoise), Willie Brennan (Graiguecullen); Billy Bohane (Portlaoise), Stevie Allen (Portarlington), Mick Moore (St Joseph’s). Subs: Bobby Miller (Timahoe) for Hennessy, Brian Nerney (O’Dempsey’s) for Costello
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