Colm Begley still ‘very vital part’ of Laois panel

As so-called crises go, Laois manager Tomás Ó Flatharta didn't take long to clear this one up by declaring Colm Begley "still a very vital part of our panel" as the build-up to face All-Ireland champions Dublin gathers pace.

Things didn’t seem that straightforward when Begley was withdrawn from the panel on Friday, having opted to play for his Dublin club Parnells, during the week. However, Begley did travel to Aughrim and, even if he didn’t feature, was with the backroom team and will be back training with Laois this week.

“I fully understood the awkward situation that he was in,” explained Ó Flatharta. “Colm plays his club football with Parnells in Dublin, and he’s also a coach there, so he found himself in a very awkward situation.

“So myself and Colm had a discussion during the week about it. He understood where we were coming from. And look, it’s gone now. He’s still a very vital part of our panel, and he’s going to be fully involved from now on. We’re back training on Tuesday night so we welcome everyone back.”

There are no hard feelings, either: “We’re heading for Croke Park now. and it’s all systems go.”