Cha Dwyer has returned to the Laois senior hurling set up for the first time since 2022 as the new season edges ever closer.
The Ballinakill forward last played for the O’Moore County under Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett but missed the two years under Willie Maher as he was abroad.
Laois, now under Tommy Fitzgerald, faced Tipperary in a challenge match last night.
Dwyer started in a forward line that also included Ballyfin’s Eanna Lyons – who last featured for Laois in 2019 under Eddie Brennan before suffering a serious knee injury.
Abbeyleix’s Colin Byrne is another new face as he played corner forward while, after a one year absence, Clough-Ballacolla’s Jordan Walshe is also back and started at midfield.
Laois named a panel of 33 on the night and there were plenty of interesting names among the substitutes.
Slieve Bloom’s Ben Conroy is back after a period abroad while Borris-Kilcotton forward PJ Scully returns after being absent last year.
Camross’ Eoin Gaughan has also opted to return after missing the last few years while there are several other new faces.
Defenders Ciaran Flynn (The Harps) and Cormac Hogan (Clough-Ballacolla) are involved for the first time while so too is forward Cormac Byrne of Abbeyleix. All three of those are eligible for U-20 in 2025.
Clonad’s David O’Brien is part of the panel while so too are veterans Willie Dunphy and Paddy Purcell.
From the team that started in the defeat to Offaly in the Joe McDonagh Cup final last summer, the following players were not part of the panel last night.
Diarmaid Conway, Ian Shanahan, Ryan Mullaney, James Duggan, Stephen Maher and Ross King.
Of those, both Ryan Mullaney and Ross King are out of the country but the status of the other players is unknown.
Manager Fitzgerald is due to meet the media this week so a clearer picture will be known by that stage.
As for the game itself, Laois were well beaten by Tipperary in the end.
Goals from Joe Fogarty, Andrew Ormond and Darragh McCarthy left them 3-18 to 0-7 ahead at half time.
Dillon Walsh got another goal in the second half as Tipperary won 4-39 to 0-18 in the end.
The game, played in Templemore, was in aid of a charity called Mary’s Meals.
Mary’s Meals provides life-changing school meals to children living in some of the world’s poorest communities.
LAOIS: Enda Rowland (Abbeyleix); Padraic Dunne (The Harps), Podge Delaney (The Harps), Donnchadh Hartnett (Rosenallis); Lee Cleere (Clough-Ballacolla), Tom Cuddy (Camross), Fiachra C-Fennell (Rosenallis); Aidan Corby (Clough-Ballacolla), Jordan Walshe (Clough-Ballacolla); Cha Dwyer (Ballinakill), Eanna Lyons (Ballyfin), Cody Comerford (The Harps); Aaron Dunphy (Borris-Kilcotton), Martin Phelan (Castletown), Colin Byrne (Abbeyleix).
SUBS: Cathal Dunne (Clough-Ballacolla), Ciaran Flynn (The Harps), Cormac Hogan (Clough-Ballacolla), Liam O’Connell (Rathdowney-Errill), Noah Quinlan (Borris-Kilcotton), David O’Brien (Clonad), James Keyes (Clolt-Shanahoe), Cormac Byrne (Abbeyleix), John Lennon (Rosenallis), Ben Conroy (Slieve Bloom), Jer Quinlan (Borris-Kilcotton), Tomas Keyes (Camross), PJ Scully (Borris-Kilcotton), Willie Dunphy (Clough-Ballacolla), Eoin Gaughan (Camross), Mark Dowling (Camross), David Dooley (Rosenallis), Paddy Purcell (Rathdowney-Errill)
