‘The girls were saying they’re going to come back next year’ - Collier

THE Laois camogie team are back in an All-Ireland Premier Junior final, 12 months on from their heartbreaking one-point defeat to Tipperary in Croke Park. They’re set to face Armagh on Sunday next and joint-manager Pat Collier says the pain of last year has been a powerful driving force all season.

Speaking at the team’s Meet and Greet evening in Clonad GAA, Collier recalled the emotional aftermath of that final and outlined the scale of the rebuild that took place in the months that followed.

“We're absolutely thrilled to be back and when we went back down the tunnel after being interviewed last year, we stopped at the dressing room wall because there was a good speech inside by some of our senior players and tears and you know yourself. It was really refreshing for me and Rob (Jones) to hear, even though we were heartbroken.

“The girls inside were saying that they’re going to come back next year to try and give this one more go. People think we have 17 or 18 clubs to pick from, but we have eight. Last year, we had a panel of 31, 16 or 17 came back due to college, work, travelling, all that, that's part of sport. That's huge for Laois and we had to find another 15 girls, which took a lot of doing, a lot of work for Rob and me behind the scenes and those girls have driven the other girls on.

“As far as learning from last year, for me, Laois were the better team, but we just missed clinical scores at an important time. This year, we’ve been working on that the whole time in training about the finishing and I think we've improved. We've scored a lot of goals this year, I believe if we can get two or three in the final, we'll take some beating,” he said.

With so many new players on the panel in 2025, the Laois managers have been pleased with how quickly the younger players have stepped up to the mark.

“For me and Rob as managers, that's the biggest thing this year. Three or four of those young girls will probably start in this final, most of them came out of minor last year so like it's a huge step up to get into an All-Ireland final and play but they've played all year, they've learned their trade through the league, we've played good practice matches over the last month and like they'll be ready to rock and roll, they won’t let us down,” Collier said.

From the very beginning of their tenure, Collier and Jones believed that Laois were underachieving at Junior level. He referenced the talent in the county and touched on the fact that Laois Intermediate champions St Brigid’s were beaten in an All-Ireland semi-final by eventual champions Clanmaurice of Kerry. Nine of those Clanmaurice players will take to the field for Kerry in the Intermediate final.

“When Paddy (Dwyer) contacted me about this job, I went to Rob. Once Rob was happy to come with me, the one thing that we said when we sat down was that this team is hurling below where we believed that Laois camogie should be. We had a club team last year that almost got to an All-Ireland final at intermediate level. There are nine of that team playing for Kerry next Sunday in the Intermediate final. There is no reason that this team can't take that step up.

“I always believed when I was playing myself that you definitely have to lose one to win one. This is a very young team average age of maybe 21. The girls who are coming in the next two or three years are going to strengthen this team again, so I do believe that they're good enough to be Intermediate, but you've still got to go out and take that step up.

“That day against Carlow, we didn't play to our potential. We didn’t have our full team; we were missing maybe four that day, that's a lot for Laois with small numbers. Since then, we've improved, especially up front. It’s up front where we need to get more clinical. Our back line for the last year and a half, they're just a class outfit. They're tough, they're hardy and they're not afraid to put into our heads.

“That's the way we play the game and that's the way we train our backs. You've got to be vicious, but up front, you need to hurl with your head, get your head up find a girl in a better place and punish when you get a chance to punish. This year in Croke Park, we will punish. That's a cert,” he explained.

Collier also highlighted an important shift in how Laois Camogie operates, giving the county setup more authority over player management. He believes it’s been a game-changer and credits Laois Camogie Chairman Paddy Dwyer for backing their vision.

“When Rob and I decided, after a month of talking, to take this job, the first man we sat down with was Paddy. People don't realise that in Laois camogie, the clubs ruled the roost and that's always the way it's been.

“I'm involved with Laois camogie for over 10 years. Rob was too with the minors, but the clubs ruled the roost. County players were training with their clubs during the week, so when Rob and I came in, there was one thing we requested. We wanted the county board and us as the managers to rule the roost on when players train with their clubs or when we release them to their club.

“I believe that's a huge factor, so that's thanks to Paddy and Robert and me and our county board for backing us up on this. That has turned Laois camogie inside out. Irrelevant of who takes up this job next year, the year after, that rule must stay. It's in every county, I've done my homework; Tipperary, Kilkenny, Cork, they're the rules. I said to Paddy, if you don't row in with us, we won't be here for a month, but Paddy did and his committee did, even though the clubs might not have been that happy, but now they see the fruition. We're in our second All-Ireland final in 12 months, and this year we're going to do it,” Collier stated.

And with the big day fast approaching, Collier is relieved that injuries haven’t been a major concern, something he hopes continues in the final days of preparation.

“Liadan C-Fennell had a broken hand there for six weeks and she's back for the last three weeks. She has played two matches and she was our captain last year. She's a huge cog in this wheel, so it's great to have her back. We need her firing on all cylinders like everybody else, but she was the only injury worry that we had.

“We were just speaking last night that we’re after being blessed with injuries and I just hope it continues that we get through without any major injuries, so, look hopefully onwards and upwards,” he ended.

“It's great to see the footballers in the All-Ireland on Sunday and we gave the girls Sunday off. We normally train on Sunday, but we're training Saturday night instead so all of our girls can support them. We'll support them and it's hugely important that the people of Laois get behind both these teams. When was the last time a county had two teams in an All-Ireland final, football and hurling?

“That's the mix we have in Laois, so we should be very proud of them and I just hope the Laois people get off their backsides and support these two teams and hopefully there’ll be two wins.”