The Laois Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1907.

Kilcavan are the title holders (2026), having defeated Ballyfin in the final to win their first ever intermediate title.

Format The Intermediate Championship has a 'back door' and operates similarly to the Senior Championship (and Junior Championship C only) by going for a straight knockout but the 'back door' is in place for anyone losing out.

The draw is first made for round 1 of the championship. The draw is then made for round 2 of the championship.

The final is held in O'Moore Park.

Honours The winners of the Laois Intermediate Championship qualify to represent their county in the Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship. The winners can, in turn, go on to play in the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship. They often do well outside the county, with the likes of Ballyroan Abbey (2008) and Crettyard (2005) among the clubs from Laois to win at least one Leinster Championship after winning the Laois Intermediate Football Championship. Ballyroan Abbey are the only Laois GAA club to have played in Leinster finals at senior and intermediate, Galway GAA club St Michael's narrowly defeating them in the All-Ireland semi-final.

History It was first held in 1907, with Killenard the victors.

There was no championship in 1911, and none again from 1913 through 1917 and 1919 through 1933.

In the mid-1990s, Rosenallis won the Intermediate Championship straight after winning the Junior Championship, putting back-to-back titles together.

It was once the "Campion Sparrow Laois Intermediate Football Championship" for sponsorship reasons (as recently as 2012) but no more.

The 2017 final went to a replay before Emo got the better of Portlaoise.

During the pandemic year of 2020, the Laois Intermediate Football Championship achieved the distinction of being the only adult football championship completed in the county that year.

List of finals

Year Winner Opponent 1907 Killenard 1908 Abbeyleix 1909 Ballyroan 1910 Vicarstown 1911 No competition 1912 Rathdowney 1913 No competition 1914 No competition 1915 No competition 1916 No competition 1917 No competition 1918 Vicarstown 1919 No competition 1920 No competition 1921 No competition 1922 No competition 1923 No competition 1924 No competition 1925 No competition 1926 No competition 1927 No competition 1928 No competition 1929 No competition 1930 No competition 1931 No competition 1932 No competition 1933 No competition 1934 Abbeyleix The Heath 1935 Ballybrittas Clonad 1936 Annanough Clonad 1937 Ballybrittas Clonad 1938 Ballyadams 1939 Portlaoise 1940 Annanough Worsted Mills 1941 Jamestown 1942 Flemings Fireclay The Heath 1943 The Heath Mountmellick 1944 Ballylinan Portarlington 1945 Portarlington 1946 Annanough Timahoe 1947 Park 1948 Ballylinan Timahoe 1949 Annanough Barrowhouse 1950 Wolfhill 1951 St Fintan's Hospital 1952 O'Dempsey's Mountmellick 1953 The Heath 1954 Clonad Jamestown 1955 Portarlington Portlaoise 1956 Portlaoise Barrowhouse 1957 Ballylinan Barrowhouse 1958 Killeshin Barrowhouse 1959 Stradbally Fairymount 1960 St Fintan's Hospital Portarlington 1961 Ballylinan Kilcavan 1962 Timahoe Kilcavan 1963 Stradbally Emo 1964 Emo Crettyard 1965 Crettyard St Fintan's Hospital 1966 Ballyroan Arles 1967 Arles Mountmellick 1968 Mountmellick St Fintan's Hospital 1969 St Joseph's Portlaoise 1970 St Fintan's Hospital Ballyroan 1971 Courtwood Portarlington 1972 Portlaoise Portarlington 1973 St Fintans Hospital Mountmellick 1974 Killeshin Ballyfin 1975 Portlaoise 0-12 Barrowhouse 1-8 1976 Crettyard The Heath 1977 O'Dempsey's Barrowhouse 1978 Annanough Park 1979 Ballyroan Barrowhouse 1980 Barrowhouse Clonaslee–St Manman's 1981 Clonaslee–St Manman's Park 1982 Portlaoise Killeshin 1983 Stradbally Killeshin 1984 Crettyard The Rock 1985 Barrowhouse The Rock 1986 The Heath The Rock 1987 Courtwood Portarlington 1988 Park–Ratheniska Graiguecullen 1989 Spink Portarlington 1990 Portarlington The Harps 1991 Portarlington The Harps 1992 Barrowhouse Mountmellick 1993 Killeshin The Rock 1994 The Harps Mountmellick 1995 Rosenallis The Rock 1996 The Rock St Michael's 1997 Arles–Killeen 2-06 Arles–Kilcruise 0-10 1998 Clonaslee–St Manman's Arles–Kilcruise 1999 Arles–Kilcruise Courtwood 2000 Timahoe Annanough 2001 Arles–Killeen Annanough 2002 Clonaslee–St Manman's Mountmellick 2003 Arles–Killeen Ballyroan 2004 Timahoe Mountmellick 2005 Crettyard Courtwood 2006 Mountmellick 1-12 Annanough 1-06 2007 Graiguecullen Courtwood 20082008 final report: Ballyroan Abbey Park–Ratheniska 20092009 final report: Clonaslee–St Manman's Killeshin 20102010 final report: Timahoe 0-15 Portlaoise 0-9 20112011 final report: Killeshin Ballyroan Abbey 2012 Emo 2-12 Ballyroan Abbey 1-10 2013 Ballyroan Abbey 1-09 Clonaslee–St Manman's 0-06 2014 Ballyfin Timahoe 2015 Clonaslee–St Manman's Annanough 2016 O'Dempsey's 1-13 Timahoe 1-12 2017 Emo 3-06 3-11 (R) Portlaoise 1-12 3-04 (R) 2018 Courtwood Mountmellick Gaels 2019 Rosenallis Clonaslee–St Manman's 2020 Clonaslee–St Manman's 1-13 Crettyard 1-10 2021 Park–Ratheniska Mountmellick 2022 The Heath 1-13 Arles–Kilcruise 0-08 2023 Ballylinan Crettyard 2024 Crettyard Mountmellick 2025 Park–Ratheniska Arles–Kilcruise 2025 Kilcavan Ballyfin

Wins listed by club

+# Club WinsYears won1 Clonaslee–St Manman's61981, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2015, 20202Ballylinan51944, 1948, 1957, 1961, 2023Annanough51936, 1940, 1946, 1949, 1978Portlaoise51939, 1956, 1972, 1975, 1982Crettyard51965, 1976, 1984, 2005, 20246Timahoe41962, 2000, 2004, 2010Killeshin41958, 1974, 1993, 2011The Heath41943, 1953, 1986, 20229St Fintan's Hospital31951, 1960, 1970Barrowhouse31980, 1985, 1992Arles–Killeen31997, 2001, 2003Emo31964, 2012, 2017Courtwood31971, 1987, 2018O'Dempsey's31952, 1977, 201615Mountmellick21968, 2006Arles–Kilcruise21967, 1999Ballyroan Abbey22008, 2013Rosenallis21995, 2019Park–Ratheniska21988, 202120Jamestown11941Stradbally11959Wolfhill11950St Joseph's11969Spink11989The Harps11994The Rock11996Graiguecullen12007Ballyfin12014Kilcavan12026Rathdowney11912

References