Laochra Gael (; "Heroes of the Gaels") is an Irish television programme. With the 2022 series its twentieth, the show profiles and celebrates some of the greatest names in Gaelic games (hurling, Gaelic football, ladies' Gaelic football and camogie) since the 1920s; most players are from the 1980s or later due to the lack of archive footage from earlier players. Each of the programmes contains interviews with the subject, archive footage of their exploits on the pitch and an assessment from GAA experts, friends, rivals and teammates. Laochra Gael is produced by Nemeton TV and broadcast on the Irish language television station, TG4.
Episode list Series 1 – 2001 #Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 28 May 2001 Ger Loughnane Clare hurling 2 4 June 2001 Brian Cody Kilkenny hurling 3 11 June 2001 Éamonn Cregan Limerick hurling 4 18 June 2001 Pat Fleury Offaly hurling 5 26 June 2001 Dermot O'Brien Louth Gaelic football 6 9 July 2001 Brian Mullins Dublin Gaelic football 7 16 July 2001 Enda Colleran Galway Gaelic football 8 23 July 2001 Con Murphy Cork hurling 9 30 July 2001 Páidí Ó Sé Kerry Gaelic football 10 8 August 2001 John Wilson Cavan Gaelic football
Series 2 – 2002
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 28 September 2002 Mick O'Dwyer Kerry Gaelic football 2 5 October 2002 Na Connollys (John, Joe, Michael) Galway hurling 3 12 October 2002 Martin McHugh Donegal Gaelic football 4 19 October 2002 John Doyle Tipperary hurling 5 26 October 2002 Jack Lynch Cork hurling & Gaelic football 6 2 November 2004 Paddy Doherty Down Gaelic football 7 9 November 2002 Eddie Keher Kilkenny hurling 8 16 November 2002 Dermot Earley Snr Roscommon Gaelic football 9 23 November 2002 Na Rackards (Nicky, Billy, Bobby) Wexford hurling 10 30 November 2002 Seán Boylan Meath Gaelic football
Series 3 – 2004
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 11 January 2004 Jimmy Keaveney Dublin Gaelic football 2 18 January 2004 Joe Cooney Galway hurling 3 25 January 2004 Colm O'Rourke Meath Gaelic football 4 1 February 2004 Frankie Walsh Waterford hurling 5 8 February 2004 Matt Connor Offaly Gaelic football 6 15 February 2004 Nicky English Tipperary hurling 7 22 February 2004 Billy Morgan Cork Gaelic football 8 29 February 2004 Gary Kirby Limerick hurling 9 7 March 2004 Tony Doran Wexford hurling 10 14 March 2004 Pat Spillane Kerry Gaelic football
Series 4 – 2004/05
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 September 2004 Angela Downey & Ann Downey Kilkenny camogie 2 12 January 2005 Justin McCarthy Cork hurling 3 19 January 2005 Frank McGuigan Tyrone Gaelic football 4 26 January 2005 Brian Whelahan Offaly hurling 5 2 February 2005 Peter McDermott Meath Gaelic football 6 9 February 2005 John Leahy Tipperary hurling 7 16 February 2005 Joe Brolly Derry Gaelic football 8 23 February 2005 Michael 'Babs' Keating Tipperary hurling 9 2 March 2005 Eoin 'Bomber' Liston Kerry Gaelic football 10 9 March 2005 Seán Purcell Galway Gaelic football
Series 5 – 2005/06
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 25 December 2005 Cormac McAnallen Tyrone Gaelic football 2 11 January 2006 Joe Hennessy Kilkennyhurling 3 18 January 2006 Dinny Allen Cork Gaelic football & hurling 4 25 January 2006 Donie Nealon Tipperaryhurling 5 1 February 2006 Mattie McDonagh Galway Gaelic football 6 8 February 2006 Tomás Mulcahy Corkhurling & Gaelic football 7 22 February 2006 Davy Fitzgerald Clarehurling 8 1 March 2006 Joe Kernan Armagh Gaelic football 9 8 March 2006 Liam Dunne Wexfordhurling 10 15 March 2006 Willie Joe Padden Mayo Gaelic football
Series 6 – 2007
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 10 January 2007 Joe, Johnny & Billy Dooley Offaly hurling 2 17 January 2007 John O'Mahony Galway Gaelic football 3 16 January 2007 Mickey Linden Down Gaelic football 4 23 January 2007 Tony McTague Offaly Gaelic football 5 30 January 2007 Tom Cheasty Waterford hurling 6 6 February 2007 Mickey Kearns Sligo Gaelic football 7 13 February 2007 Nudie Hughes Monaghan Gaelic football 8 20 February 2007 Ray Cummins Cork hurling & Gaelic football 9 27 February 2007 Charlie Redmond Dublin Gaelic football 10 6 March 2007 Tony Keady Galway hurling
Series 7 – 2008
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 10 January 2008 Peter Canavan Tyrone Gaelic football 2 17 January 2008 Martin Storey Wexford hurling 3 24 January 2008 Tony Hanahoe Dublin Gaelic football 4 31 January 2008 Mick Lyons Meath Gaelic football 5 7 February 2008 Noel Skehan Kilkenny hurling 6 14 February 2008 Jack O'Shea Kerry Gaelic football 7 21 February 2008 Seán Óg de Paor Galway Gaelic football 8 28 February 2008 Anthony Daly Clare hurling 9 6 March 2008 Teddy McCarthy Cork Gaelic football & hurling 10 13 March 2008 Jimmy Doyle Tipperary hurling
Series 8 – 2010: Na Coimhlintí Móra (The Sagas) Series 8 featured some of the most well-known rivalries in the games.
#Broadcast DateRivalry Period Sport 1 15 April 2010 Kerry vs Offaly 1980–82 Gaelic football 2 22 April 2010 Cork v. Waterford 2000–07 hurling 3 29 April 2010 Tyrone vs Armagh 2003–05 Gaelic football 4 6 May 2010 Cork vs Tipperary 1987–91 hurling 5 13 May 2010 Dublin vs Meath 1991 Gaelic football 6 20 May 2010 Wexford vs Cork 1996–97 hurling 7 27 May 2010 Kildare vs Meath 1997–98 Gaelic football 8 3 June 2010 Galway vs Tipperary 1987–91 hurling 9 10 June 2010 Galway vs Roscommon 1998, 2001 Gaelic football 10 17 June 2010 Kilkenny vs Wexford 1993 hurling
Series 9 – 2011: Na Coimhlintí Móra (The Sagas) Series 9 featured more of the most well-known rivalries in the games.
#Broadcast DateRivalry Period Sport 1 22 February 2011 10 mBliana de Pheil na mBan ar TG4(10 Years of Ladies' Gaelic football on TG4) 2001–10Ladies' Gaelic football 2 6 March 2011 Ulaidh Abú ("Up Ulster!") 1991–94 Gaelic football 3 13 March 2011 Dublin vs Meath 1986–90 Gaelic football 4 20 March 2011 Meat vs Cork 1987–90 Gaelic football 5 27 March 2011 Galway vs Mayo 1995–99 Gaelic football 6 3 April 2011 Offaly vs Kilkenny 1980–83 hurling 7 10 April 2011 Galway vs Limerick 1980–81 Gaelic football 8 17 April 2011 Offaly vs Clare 1998 hurling 9 24 April 2011 Kilkenny vs Cork 1999–2010 hurling 10 1 May 2011 Clare vs Tipperary 1997–2001 hurling
Series 10 – 2012
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 5 April 2012 Dan Shanahan Waterford hurling 2 12 April 2012 Oisín McConville Armagh Gaelic football 3 19 April 2012 Jimmy Barry Murphy Corkhurling & Gaelic football 4 26 April 2012 Mikey Sheehy Kerry Gaelic football 5 3 May 2012 D. J. Carey Kilkenny hurling 6 10 May 2012 Brian McEniff Donegal Gaelic football 7 17 May 2012 Brian Corcoran Cork hurling 8 24 May 2012 Liam Hayes Meath Gaelic football 9 31 May 2012 Ollie Canning Galway hurling 10 7 June 2012 Declan Browne Tipperary Gaelic football
Series 11 – 2013 #Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 14 February 2013 Eddie Brennan Kilkenny hurling 2 21 February 2013 Anthony Tohill Derry Gaelic football 3 28 February 2013 Damien Fitzhenry Wexford hurling 4 7 March 2013 Séamus Moynihan Kerry Gaelic football 5 14 March 2013 Gerald McCarthy Cork hurling 6 21 March 2013 Jarlath Fallon Galway Gaelic football 7 28 March 2013 Paul Flynn Waterford hurling 8 4 April 2013 Glenn Ryan Kildare Gaelic football 9 11 April 2013 Conor HayesGalway hurling 10 18 April 2013 Juliet Murphy Cork ladies' Gaelic football
Series 12 – 2014 #Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 2 February 2014 John Mullane Waterford hurling 2 9 February 2014 James McCartan Sr. & James McCartan Jr. Down Gaelic football 3 16 February 2014 Noel Lane Galway hurling 4 23 February 2014 Cora Staunton Mayo ladies' Gaelic football 5 2 March 2014 Larry Tompkins Cork Gaelic football 6 9 March 2014 Seán Óg Ó hAilpín Cork hurling & Gaelic football 7 16 March 2014 Paddy Cullen Dublin Gaelic football 8 23 March 2014 Brian Lohan Clare hurling 9 30 March 2014 Martin O'Connell Meath Gaelic football 10 6 April 2014 Willie & Eddie O'Connor Kilkenny hurling
Series 13 – 2015 #Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 3 February 2015 Liam McHale Mayo Gaelic football 2 10 February 2015 Ciarán Carey Limerick hurling 3 17 February 2015 Jamesie O'Connor Clare hurling 4 24 February 2015 Niamh Kindlon Monaghan ladies' Gaelic football 5 3 March 2015 Na Larkins (Paddy, Fan, Philly) Kilkenny hurling 6 10 March 2015 Barney Rock Dublin Gaelic football 7 17 March 2015 Brendan Cummins Tipperary hurling 8 31 March 2015 Denis "Ogie" Moran Kerry Gaelic football 9 7 April 2015 Michael Duignan Offaly hurling & Gaelic football 10 14 April 2015 Ryan McMenamin Tyrone Gaelic football
Series 14 – 2016 #Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 21 February 2016 J. J. Delaney Kilkenny hurling 2 28 February 2016 Ken McGrath Waterford hurling 3 6 March 2016 Declan O'Sullivan Kerry Gaelic football 4 13 March 2016 Richie Bennis Limerick hurling 5 20 March 2016 Steven McDonnell Armagh Gaelic football 6 27 March 2016 Eoin Kelly Tipperary hurling 7 3 April 2016 John Allen Cork hurling & Gaelic football 8 10 April 2016 Trevor Giles Meath Gaelic football 9 17 April 2016 Annette Clarke Galway ladies' Gaelic football 10 24 April 2016 Na Meehans (Declan, Michael, Tomás, Noel) Galway Gaelic football
Series 15 – 2017
#Broadcast DatePlayer County Sport 1 15 March 2017 Donal Óg Cusack Cork hurling 2 22 March 2017 Dara Ó Cinnéide Kerry Gaelic football 3 29 March 2017 Pete Finnerty Galway hurling 4 5 April 2017 Eamonn O'Hara Sligo Gaelic football 5 12 April 2017 Tommy Walsh Kilkenny hurling 6 19 April 2017 Clíodhna O'Connor Dublin ladies' Gaelic football 7 26 April 2017 Pat Fox Tipperary hurling 8 3 May 2017 Na Lowrys (Brendan, Seán, Mick) Offaly/Mayo Gaelic football 9 10 May 2017 Seánie McMahon Clare hurling 10 17 May 2017 Owen Mulligan Tyrone Gaelic football
Series 16 – 2018 This season saw a switch to an hour-long format. #Broadcast DateTitle County Sport 1 28 February 2018 Understanding Lar CorbettAg Tuiscint Lar Corbett Tipperary hurling 2 7 March 2018 The Real Graham GeraghtyAn Fíor Graham Geraghty Meath Gaelic football 3 14 March 2018 Ashling Thompson — Warrior WomanAshling Thompson — Gaiscíoch Ban Cork camogie 4 21 March 2018 Henry Shefflin — King of the CatsHenry Shefflin — Rí na gCat Kilkenny hurling 5 28 March 2018 Mickey Harte — Unquenchable SpiritMickey Harte — Spioraid Dochloite Tyrone Gaelic football
Series 17 – 2019
#Broadcast DateSubjectCounty Sport 1 20 February 2019 Jackie Tyrrell – The Journey Jackie Tyrrell – An Aistear Kilkenny hurling 2 27 February 2019 Séamus Darby – The Man Who Got the Goal Séamus Darby – An Fear a Scóráil an Cúl Offaly Gaelic football 3 6 March 2019 Rena Buckley – The Best Person in the World? Rena Buckley – An Duine is Fearr ar Domhain? Cork ladies' Gaelic football & camogie 4 13 March 2019 Kieran Duff – Don't Judge Me Kieran Duff – Ná Tabhair Breith Orm Dublin Gaelic football 5 20 March 2019 Andrew O'Shaughnessy – Shaughs' Story Andrew O'Shaughnessy – An Mórphictúir Limerick hurling 6 27 March 2019 Colm Cooper – Gooch Kerry Gaelic football
Series 18 – 2020
#Broadcast DateSubjectCounty Sport 1 5 March 2020 Kieran Donaghy — On the Edge Kieran Donaghy — Ar an Imeall Kerry Gaelic football 2 12 March 2020 Diarmuid Lyng — The Crossroads Diarmuid Lyng — An Crosbhóthar Wexford hurling 3 19 March 2020 Alan Brogan — The Family Silver Alan Brogan — Saibhreas Clainne Dublin Gaelic football 4 26 March 2020 Iggy Clarke — Body and Soul Iggy Clarke — Corp agus Anam Galway hurling 5 2 April 2020 David Brady — Against the Tide David Brady — In Aghaidh an Easa Mayo Gaelic football 6 9 April 2020 Brenda McAnespie — Beyond BordersBrenda McAnespie — Thar Teorainn Amach Monaghan ladies' Gaelic football
Series 19 – 2021 This season was broadcast in two parts of six episodes. The second part of the nineteenth series began on 25 March 2021.