Laois Soccer Podcast

After a string of fine guests, the Laois Soccer Podcast returns to basics this week. Steven Miller is joined by Alan Hartnett where the lads look ahead to the start of the League of Ireland First Division.The Premier Division got underway last weekend and the second tier, which has plenty of Laois involvement, starts from Friday. Treaty United contain two Laois players with Portlaoise's Colin Conroy and Emo's Roy Lawlor signed for this season. Portlaoise's Aaron Doran is once again with Longford Town while Crettyard's Peter Grogan has returned from Austin FC in Texas to join Athlone Town. Steven also chats about his time in the Limerick Leader where he was actively following the exploits of Limerick FC. While they also speak about their own coaching exploits in the Midlands League.

The latest episode of the Laois Soccer Podcast is here and this is guest is certainly our most high profile to date. Alan is joined by a Republic of Ireland international who played in the Champions League and is now a dedicated coach - Sylvia Gee. Originally from Ballacolla and now living in Shinrone, Sylvia was educated in Abbeyleix South School.She then attended secondary school in Wesley College in Dublin and despite her love of soccer, she never actually played for a team throughout all of these years. After playing hockey in secondary school, it was only when she went to college that Sylvia had the opportunity to play soccer for a team. And from there, her career took off - she soon signed for Listowel Celtic and they went on a magical run all the way to the FAI Cup final at Landsdowne Road. After that, Sylvia received her first international call up and made her debut against Belarus before going on to play against USA in Foxboro in front of 32,000 people. Gee then headed across the water to play for Leeds United and when that didn't work out, she returned to Ireland for a newly formed club - UCD. Success followed a that resulted in qualification for the Champions League where Gee and her teammates faced teams from Norway, Sweden and Poland. Gee continued to play right up until the age of 42 and in total, she played 37 seasons across summer and winter leagues. In 2003, Sylvia set up her own coaching business - Primary Coaching - where she provides in school and after school sessions across the midlands. Gee also has a long standing association with Portlaoise AFC where she played and now coaches. She has run the academy there for the last 15 seasons, dealing with hundreds of children each year. Sylvia's story is fascinating and is well worth a listen. 

The Laois Soccer Podcast returns and we are joined by a very special guest - Chris Nestor. Chris is the chairman of the Midlands League - the juvenile soccer league comprising of teams from Laois, Westmeath, Offaly plus parts of Roscommon, Tipperary and Galway. But Chris has a fascinating story that has taken him to this point in life. He was born to Irish parents and grew up in Cricklewood, London, where he could see the iconic Wembley arch from his window. Chris and his family relocated to Ireland when he was 12 - and landed in Clonaslee which was something of a culture shock. Having played in England and being an avid Spurs supporter, it wasn't long before Nestor became involved in soccer here. He started as a player in Portlaoise AFC and then quickly moved into the coaching sphere. When the Midlands League formed in 1996, Nestor became involved and became chairman in the early 2000s. This is a role that he still holds and he has overseen a massive expansion of the league which now boasts thousands of players across more than 30 clubs. Chris joined Alan Hartnett and Steven Miller to chat about all of that and much more - including the topic of summer soccer. We also finish with some quickfire questions around the best stadiums Chris has been too, best player he ever seen and the best player he has ever coached.  

Our second episode of the Laois Soccer Podcast is here and while we don't have a guest this time, we do have plenty of information. Steven Miller is joined by Alan Hartnett where the pair give a comprehensive run down of the local soccer scene. There are Laois clubs competing in six different leagues spanning multiple counties and provinces. Laois teams are in the Combined Counties Football League, Carlow League, Kilkenny League, Kildare District League, North Tipperary League and Leinster Senior League. The lads explain how each team is going at what is essentially the midpoint of the season.

After many months of talking about it, we have finally gone and done it - the LaoisToday Soccer Podcast is here. We’ve had numerous soccer interviews over the past couple of years and the chat on our other podcasts have meandered into soccer discussion at times too.But this is a new semi-regular dedicated Laois Soccer Podcast by LaoisToday. We can’t guarantee it’ll be every week but it will be every other week. Hopefully something like maybe two out of every three weeks or so.We hope it’ll be a mix of discussion on how the Laois teams are faring in their various leagues, updates on how Laois players are doing further afield, interviews with special guests and just general chat and observations on what’s going on in the wider soccer world.Up first, Alan and Steven are joined by an actual Director of Football!Stradbally's Derek Beale is in the role at CK United - a club based in the Carlow and Kilkenny area.Formed in 2016, the club provides elite level soccer for boys and girls from U-14 upwards. And recently, it was announced that they were one of 15 clubs who have successfully secured a place in the newly formed League of Ireland National League that will begin in August.So that means that this year, for the very first time, the club will have a men's senior team. And they have recently signed a deal that will see them play their matches in Buckley Park - the old home of Kilkenny City.  Derek chats about his soccer and sporting journey from his playing days right up to the present day. He has played for Stradbally Town, Portlaoise AFC, Newbridge Town, Wolfhill AC and also spent one season with St Patrick's Athletic in League of Ireland. Derek talks about all of the people who have influenced his career to date and how he has ended up in the role he currently holds.

When we last spoke to Aaron Doran, he had just assisted Evan Ferguson to help Bohemian's win the U-17 League of Ireland. Fast forward almost five years, and the Ratheniska man is still playing the sport that he loves. While some of his teammates from that game are plying their trade in England, Italy and Scotland, the midfielder's journey has taken him around Ireland. When his time at Bohemian's came to an end, Doran signed for First Division club Wexford FC. After a difficult 2023 season in the sunny South East, Aaron received the news that his contract would not be extended and he found himself without a club for the first time ever. But rather than pack it in, Doran dropped into the Leinster Senior League and rebuilt his career with Maynooth - a place where he was also in college at the time. A successful spell there saw him score a move to Longford Town this season where things took off again. Operating in midfield, Doran led his side up the table and they just missed out on a place in the playoffs. In the off season, Doran was named the club's Player of the Year and in the middle of his off season, Aaron joined Alan Hartnett for a chat.

Alan sat down with Portlaoise teenager Jack Cleland who spoke about his journey in the world of soccer. The 16-year-old, who started out with Portlaoise AFC, is now ripping it up with St Patrick's Athletic in the U-17 League of Ireland. Comfortable as a striker or on the wing, Jack details how he has ended up where he is today. He highlights the ups and downs of such a cut throat sport and talks about his hopes for the future.