Fitzgerald was not expecting to be preparing Laois of the National Hurling League

WHEN Portlaoise were knocked out of the Laois senior hurling championship by Abbeyleix in September 2024, manager Tommy Fitzgerald couldn’t have imagined that less than six months later, he’d be preparing for his first Allianz Hurling League fixture as the new Laois senior hurling boss.

Fitzgerald’s appointment came after the unfortunate news that Darren Gleeson wouldn’t be able to take the job as Laois manager due to him undergoing treatment for a recent cancer diagnosis.

“We all know the circumstances with Darren Gleeson. Very unfortunate circumstances really, if the truth be told. I got a phone call after Darren had got the news and spoken to the county board and I had a decision to make quickly then. Darren got the bad news and I suppose initially just our thoughts went to him. I know he's going through treatment at the moment so it's a tough time for him and his family. I know he had a lot of work done in terms of preparing things in the background. Such unfortunate circumstances really,” Fitzgerald said.

“A few conversations were had at home alright. It was late and if you're going to do it, I couldn't dwell on it too long because I was conscious that most counties were organised at that stage and were probably up and running doing bits. When PJ rang me, I said I'd be back within 48 hours and I was.” A big deciding factor in his decision to take the job was that Niall Corcoran agreed to be part of his backroom team. Both were selectors under Eddie Brennan in 2019 when Laois famously beat Dublin in Portlaoise having won the Joe McDonagh Cup the week before.

“Myself and Niall have been very friendly over the years and we've kept in close contact since we last worked together here. He was probably my first phone call and when he was on board, it helped in terms of making a decision. We started putting the other pieces of the jigsaw together after that. It took time really to have everyone in place but we don't have a big background team either compared to some other counties.” Fitzgerald reflected on the difficult decision to step away from his role with Portlaoise, emphasising the deep connection that he and his players all have for their clubs and Laois as a whole.

“That was probably the biggest stumbling block because we'd put a lot into the last two years with the club. It was tough, there's no point in saying any different but you have to make those decisions.

“We're all club people and I'm very passionate about my club I know all the lads are very passionate about their clubs as well but at the end of the day, we're all still Laois people.

“I played for a long time with Laois and was involved previously and even over the last couple of years, you're playing every ball in the stand as well. It means a lot to me and everybody involved.” The Laois job is his first job in inter-county management and he admits that he’s beginning to see how much more difficult it is to manage a county as opposed to a club.

“I'm starting to see that now, it's busy. What we're finding hardest at the moment is just the lack of preparation time. We've Westmeath next weekend and we could do with another couple of weeks to be honest. We've only had two challenge games and when you're in a new management team, you’d like to have more time with the players.” The cold snap in the first week of January didn’t help as they missed a full week of training and practice matches.

“The weather last week didn't help, we missed a full week's training but hopefully when we’re up and running. We've got good people around us and they're all doing their jobs so it might ease.” The Laois panel will be without some members who were there in 2024 but there are also welcome returns to the squad for PJ Scully, Eanna Lyons and Cha Dwyer to mention a few. The Laois manager was impressed with the response he received from the players when he started making phone calls.

“I made initial phone calls and I was enthused by the response we got. I think there were only two players that we would have liked to have had in that couldn't commit this year, but they're two genuine reasons. Ross King has gone and Eric Kileen, they're out of the country. The response has been good and Cha is back as well. We have a few young lads in as well. I think we've five under-20s on the panel at the moment so it's a good experience for them.” Fitzgerald hasn’t got many lads in his backroom team but he’s happy that the team he does have are well capable of doing the jobs that he wants them to do.

“Andrew Kavanagh is in and he’s excellent. As I said, we have a tight enough management and back-room team. Between Andrew, Niall and myself, we're gelling well together. Paddy Quinlan is the S&C coach and Darren had him lined up. Having met him, I've just been really impressed by him. He's well on top of his brief.” Laois’ main focus at the minute will be on the league and once the league is over, that’ll naturally shift to the Joe McDonagh Cup.

“We haven't sat down and named our goals as such. At the moment, it's the National League because it's a very competitive division. It's a good division for us, there are good games in it. I'd like to think we're going to be competitive every day we go out. I know it's a cliché but all the focus is on next weekend. When the league is over, it turns to the McDonagh then.” Laois won the league in 2024 and they’ll compete in Division 1B for 2025 with Fitzgerald hoping that they can get lads match fit, targeting wins in their first three games.

“We have the three games and then there's a week off so we're just going to go as hard as we can in the first games. We’ve a couple of lads on the panel, who probably aren’t match fit yet. We're going to have to manage that as best we can. The league is probably going to come a little bit too soon for a few of them. Whatever our best hand is we'll be putting that forward next Saturday.” When asked about what style of hurling he’ll bring to the job, Fitzgerald says that there’s nothing he’ll do that’ll be any different to most inter-county teams.

“Apart from one or two teams, what you'd find is most inter-county teams are probably playing a similar brand in terms of trying to use the ball well, make good decisions on the ball and get it higher up the field. It's not going to be revolutionary as such. It's just trying to execute the basics well under pressure. More than anything, you want to see them working really, really hard every time they put on the jersey.” Laois will be disappointed not to be competing in the Leinster Championship this year after their narrow loss to Offaly in June’s Joe McDonagh Cup final. Fitzgerald was part of the setup when Eddie Brennan took Laois to glory in the same competition so ‘that will be the ultimate aim for the year’.

“There's a four-week gap in between the end of the league and we play Dublin here on the 22nd of March. It'll be four weeks before we play Westmeath and that gives us time to focus on the McDonagh Cup. Obviously, championship is championship and that will be the ultimate aim for the year. At the moment, that's all we can focus on because we have some tough games coming up and we have to win a few of them.” Reflecting on his role, Fitzgerald made it clear that coaching is his true passion while acknowledging the broader challenges that come with inter-county management.

Laois have plenty of up-and-coming youngsters with five on the senior panel also being eligible to play for the U/20 side.

“Two of them were actually on the team last year in the McDonagh final, Tom Cuddy and Jer Quinlan, they’re both still under-20. At the moment, we've Ciarán Flynn, Cormac Hogan and Cormac Byrne as well. We'll see how they're going in training and everyone's going to get a chance.” Laois played Tipperary in a challenge game for charity and while Tipperary coasted to victory, the Laois boss was able to get a clear picture as to where his side is and what they need to work on.

“It was our first game on grass and it was an eye-opener. We are a long way behind Tipperary. The main thing we took from it is we got a clear picture of where we are at and what we need to work on. It's probably better to get that then than in the first or second round of the league.” The team are struggling a bit with injuries and knocks, ones which will rule players out of the opening on Saturday.

“We have a few lads that are carrying knocks and the first league game will probably come a little too early for them. Diarmaid Conway had a shoulder operation after the county final and realistically he's going to struggle to see any game time in the league. Cathal Cuddy hasn't returned to the field of play either. A few lads we're nursing back.” Conway’s injury means that Laois will be without the full-back line that started against Offaly but Fitzgerald admits it’s a case of just getting on with it.

“It was a big blow. We're down our whole full-back line from last year. That's going to take a bit of a replacing but look, that horrible phrase, it is what it is. You just get on with it and we've lads putting their hand up and trying to get the jersey. They're good lads and they're going to get their chance.” Laois supporters will be delighted to see that Paddy Purcell and some of the older players on the panel have returned. According to Fitzgerald, it’s very important to have that balance between experience and youth.

“It's good to have a balance between the experience and the youth. They're important and they've been around a while. There's still plenty in them and they have huge experience and a lot to offer. They're obviously very talented as well which helps.” The interview ended with the Laois manager hoping that the Laois public would get behind him and his team this year.

“It's very important. I think it's fair to say there's always been a huge goodwill towards the Laois senior hurling team around the county, that's my experience. I often say that lads are just looking for a team to go and follow but that's a two-way street as well. They will expect the fellas who are turning up every day and us as a group to be highly organised and to be fit and to come with a huge work rate every day we put on the jersey. That's what they deserve as well so you're hoping that we can feed off each other. We absolutely want the public out there to come and support us because it definitely makes a difference,” he ended.