Laois footballer Brian Byrne pictured at the launch of the Leinster SFC. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
By Cian O'Connell
Brian Byrne kept believing. Despite some disappointing days, Byrne always reckoned that Laois could make progress and generate that valuable sporting ingredient: momentum.
That is precisely what happened in 2024. An Allianz Football League Division Four triumph brought a drop of encouragement.
Then, Laois embarked on a Tailteann Cup adventure, culminating in a final loss to Down. "We had a couple years where we were struggling," Byrne acknowledges.
"The main thing that comes to mind, we played Down in the Tailteann Cup semi-final in Croke Park, and I think that was a sobering enough day for everyone. Last year we got up. The league was our main focus, getting up to Division Three."
During the winter new challenges presented themselves. "In the offseason, like a lot of counties, we had a lot of turnover of players, from retirements and travelling and different things get in the way," Byrne adds.
"But in fairness, a lot of lads stepped up. We were probably a bit disappointed in the league, as much as we were competitive in all the games, it was probably a learning curve playing some teams that maybe came down from Division Two, and a bit more experience. We let a couple of leads go in the last couple of minutes.
"Overall, it probably was a positive. We stayed up, we were competitive maybe in every game bar a night against Kildare. We learned a lot from that night. Overall, I feel we're on the right track. We have very good management and a good group in place there."
How hard is to deal with the turnover, especially considering the progress that was being made? "You're friendly enough with lads, you're not seeing them with work and everything else, it's a great environment to just come in and talk to lads outside of football as well," Byrne says.
"Probably at first in the off-season, it can be frustrating, maybe after Covid, I'm 27 now, you can see maybe a lot of lads' perspectives probably changed a small bit.
Barry McNulty, Leitrim, and Brian Byrne, Laois, in action during the 2024 Allianz Football League Division Four Final at Croke Park. Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
"There's different opportunities, and they kind of feel a bit - with work and you have to make the most what you have in the time you have. Lads going travelling, I'd never find fault or anything like that in going away. There's a lot more important things in life."
A Garda based in Crumlin, Byrne acknowledges the role manager Justin McNulty has occupied in Laois' improvement. "He was there maybe the guts of 10 years ago, a clubmate of mine, Mark Timmons, he was still there, e's a man who left this year now - he gave us prior warning, just coming in from last year now," Byrne laughs.
"He has been excellent. He has a great way with him, discipline wise etc. His player management skills are very good. He's very approachable and in fairness, the environment we have, if lads feel comfortable to speak their mind, it's healthy. If lads feel there's something wrong, they can bring it up. It's very positive so far."
Retaining Division Three status was crucial according to Byrne. "A lot of counties down in Division Three and Four, consistency is probably a reason why we're down there at the same time," he says.
"Listen, at the beginning of it, we were going to try to get up, to get promoted. We probably learned a lot from maybe the teams we played, who came down from Division Two and just how clinical they are, especially in the last five and 10 minutes.
"In terms of the skill execution and that, maybe ours was lacking a bit there. Some of the counties are non stop now. Overall, it was healthy. Looking at it, we learned enough from it, and we're still probably disappointed enough that come championship, it's probably a healthy place to be in."
Laois' 2025 Championship commences against a highly regarded Wexford on Saturday. "We've played them a lot the last few years in the league, and they're always very close," Byrne says.
"Probably the new rules there, they were flying it. They were very athletic, I know from playing against them. In the league, I think they were nearly the highest scorers in the whole league.
"Especially down there of a Saturday evening, the home crowd. It's a bit of a buzz going down to play of a Saturday evening, championship with the weather and the clocks going forward. We're looking forward to it."
