The new inter-county season is less than a month away and the Laois senior football panel is beginning to take shape.
Justin McNulty’s third year in charge will begin in Ratheniska on January 3 against Dublin in the O’Byrne Cup.
The squad are back together now and have been training for the last few weeks.
It is understood that a panel of around 50 is currently there and that will be whittled down before the National League starts at the end of January.
From the side who were knocked out of the Tailteann Cup by Westmeath in June, three of the players who started that day are not with the panel.
O’Dempsey’s forward Mark Barry and Ballylinan’s Seamus Lacey will miss all of 2026 as they are abroad for the year.
While Portlaoise midfielder Damon Larkin is also currently not with the squad.
But there is some good news for McNulty as two of his long-serving forwards are back after missing 2025.
Crettyard’s Evan O’Carroll, a former Laois captain, has made a full recovery from the knee injury that sidelined him for the majority of this season.
While Arles-Killeen forward Paul Kingston, who opted off the panel in 2025, is also believed to have returned.
And McNulty is bound to be heartened by the buy-in that he has received from the two teams who contested the county final.
Courtwood currently have six players with the squad as Matthew Byron, Dan Boland, Eoghan Slattery, Rob Tyrrell, Cian Doyle and Alan Kinsella have committed.
All of those players starred on the historic run to the decider this year and none were part of the squad in 2025.
However, neither Niall Dunne nor Sean O’Flynn, who have represented Laois in the past, have committed.
Portarlington’s Ronan Coffey, voted Laois Player of the Year recently, has also committed while so too has Paddy O’Sullivan.
They were present this year and are set to be joined by their club colleagues Alex Mohan, Daragh Galvin and Rioghan Murphy.
Murphy and Mohan have played for Laois previously but for Galvin, who has played for Laois at minor and U-20 level, this will be his first senior involvement.
Another interesting addition is Arles-Killeen forward Colin Dunne who has featured prominently for Laois at the minor and U-20 grades in the past.
Laois have played challenge matches against Cavan and Wicklow over recent weeks.
After the O’Byrne Cup, Laois’s National Football League Division 3 campaign begins on Saturday, January 24, at home against Limerick at 6pm.
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