And so the 2022 season is up and running - though defeat was the order of the day for both the Laois hurlers and footballers over the weekend. 

The footballers were beaten 6-10 to 0-13 by Wexford in Shelmaliers on Saturday while the hurlers entertained Wexford in Rathdowney on Sunday where they went down by 1-27 to 1-16. 

Steven and Alan look back on both game and try not get too excited either way by pre-season results in January. 

Still it was a far-from-ideal start for Billy Sheehan's management reign and they have little time to lick their wounds before playing Meath on Wednesday night in Stradbally. 

Alan also tries to explain the development work done in Rathdowney in the last couple of years while the lads also chat about Sue Ramsbottom's upcoming appearance on Laochra Gael, a off-broadway hurling success for a Friend of LaoisToday, a new Laois camogie manager and success for the Portlaoise Panthers U-20 ladies basketball team. 

As always the Talking Sport Podcast is brought to you in association with Booth Concrete.

Not even a global pandemic could bring an end to the GAA's pre-season O'Byrne and Walsh Cup competitions. 

And so the Laois hurlers begin their competitive campaigns this weekend - with the footballers away to Wexford on Saturday and the hurlers taking on Wexford in Rathdowney on Sunday. 

Steven and Alan are back with the first LaoisToday Talking Sport Podcast of the year as they run the rule over the new-look football panel and what we can expect in the first year under new manager Billy Sheehan. 

Cheddar Plunkett is back for a second season (of his second term) with the hurlers and there has been changes to his panel too. 

Needless to say the lads also talk about Covid, soccer and GAA facilities and structures!

As always the Talking Sport Podcast is brought to you in association with Booth Concrete. 

With the Clough-Ballacolla hurlers heading for Croke Park this weekend we have a bumper episode to look ahead to their Leinster club final against Ballyhale Shamrocks.

Steven takes a trip down to Aghaboe and lands himself in Hanlon Kitchens. 

Here, he finds the sharpshooting duo of Willie Dunphy and Stephen 'Picky' Maher who speak about their incredible 2021 journey so far. 

Steven may or may not have also bought himself a new kicthen while down there. 

We then here from corner back Eoin Doyle who has gone on something of a roller-coaster of emotions this year. 

From winning the delayed 2020 final to be suspended for the 2021 decider - Doyle's year has upturned again following wins over Kilmacud and Rapparees. 

Steven Miller and Alan Hartnett also give the insight on what way Ballyhale Shamrocks are going ahead of the weekend. 

With the Portarlington footballers heading for Croke Park this weekend we have a bumper episode to look ahead to their Leinster club semi-final against Kilmacud Crokes.

We hear from long-serving player David Murphy about his career with club and county, how he soldiered through the barren years with Port and how he's enjoying this incredible spell in his career.

We also chat to Tony Bambrick senior, who is part of the Portarlington stats team and has been involved with the club in some capacity for over 40 years.

We chat about Kilmacud Crokes and assess Port's chances of reaching a first ever Leinster club final.

The LaoisToday Talking Sport Podcast is brought to you in association with Booth Concrete.

The good times just keep on coming for Clough-Ballacolla.

They recorded a brilliant win over Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes on Saturday night to book their place in the Leinster club final next Sunday against Kilkenny giants Ballyhale Shamrocks. 

We hear from full-back Darren Maher, go through the game in detail, clarify the whole 'Clock'/Cluck' issue and discuss how the love for the Laois hurling champions is flooding in from around the county. 

As well as that we look back on the Laois U-20 'B' hurling final where Raheen Parish Gaels got the better of Portlaoise on Sunday. 

The Clough-Ballacolla hurlers are back in action this weekend when they welcome Kilmacud Crokes to O'Moore Park for the Leinster club championship semi-final.

A final place against Ballyhale Shamrocks or St Ryanagh's of Offaly in Croke Park in January is the prize for the winners and Steven and Alan assess Clough-Ballacolla's chances against the Dublin champions and wonder can they cause an upset?

The lads also look ahead to the U-20 'B' hurling final between Portlaoise and Raheen Parish Gaels.

As well as that, they look back on the Laois GAA convention and hear from former GAA president Nickey Brennan who has been overseeing a strategic review of Gaelic games in the county.

He chats about the Coaching and Games challenges, why he believes there should be a second juvenile club in Portlaoise, the haphazard approach to club amalgamations and embracing the 'New Irish' into the GAA.

The Portarlington footballers deservedly get top billing in our latest Talking Sport Podcast after their thrilling win over St Loman's of Westmeath in Portlaoise on Sunday. 

We hear from manager Martin Murphy in the aftermath of that game as they now look forward to a Leinster semi-final in Croke Park against Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes on Saturday week, December 18. 

We try to make sense of what was a brilliant game, go over the various talking points and pick our Man of the Match. 

We also chat about the rest of the weekend Leinster club championship action where there was disappointment for Park-Ratheniska, Trumera, O'Moores and Ballyfin while we also discuss the two U-20 'A' football semi-finals. 

As well as that we discuss Steven's favourite topic of Kerry football once again, coaching success for former Laois hurler Tommy Fitzgerald in Galway and we pay tribute to Colm Parkinson as his involvement with the brilliant GAA Hour Podcast comes to an end. 

We're into December but the action continues thick and fast in the world of GAA. 

The biggest news of the week is that for the second time in 2021, the LaoisToday Talking Sport Podcast is seeking a new football analyst. 

We lost Chris Conway to the Laois senior footballers and replaced him with Billy O'Loughlin - but he has now been named the new Longford football boss. 

We are now accepting applications for the vacancy - and with our track record of promoting people on to county positions, we expect to be inundated. 

The action continues on the field this weekend with five Laois teams set to be in action. 

Portarlington begin their Leinster senior adventure on Sunday against St Loman's and ahead of that game, we speak to captain Keith Bracken. 

Park-Ratheniska, Trumera, Ballyfin Ladies and O'Moore's are also in action this weekend. 

We preview all of those games too while also touching on other bits of GAA news. 

We might be heading for December but the GAA season shows no sign of letting up.

On the latest LaoisToday Talking Sport Podcast, we look back on all the weekend action.

Clough-Ballacolla were the big story with a win over Wexford champions Raparees while there was also U-20 hurling glory for Abbeyleix and U-20 'B' football success for Na Fianna Og.

We also chat about Ballinakill's exit from the intermediate championship, the draws for next year's Leinster inter-county championships, the Laois GAA awards and a new county board chairman.