Laois bosses concerned at player drain

LAOIS GAA officials last night admitted the trend of senior stars transferring from the county is a ‘huge concern’ as star forward MJ Tierney is the latest high-profile player planning to switch to Dublin club, Parnells.

Tierney is set to join fellow Laois players Colm Parkinson, Darren Rooney and, the most recent transfer, Colm Begley in defecting from their home clubs to Parnells, citing a search for employment as the reason for the move.

The news has prompted complaints against the Coolock club’s apparent pursuit of top Laois talent and county board secretary Niall Handy expressed his disappointment at the latest switch of Tierney from his native Ballyroan-Abbey.

“It is very disappointing to hear that another top player has left his club in Laois. That’s the fourth player in the space of a year that has decided to move. That is a huge concern for us. Our clubs have lost some of their best players, while for the Laois county championship this year it’s not good that some of the biggest players won’t be involved.”

Handy insisted that the county board are actively seeking to assist players in their search for employment.

“Work in the building and construction industries has slowed down considerably, and it’s hard to help our players get jobs. Several other lads on our county panels are out of work and we’re on the lookout for them as well.”

Tierney refuted any suggestions that he was ‘poached’ by Parnells and revealed he initiated contact with the club. The attacker stated he was forced into the decision by his futile 18-month search for employment and having got engaged shortly before Christmas, his Scottish fiancée Nicola’s impending move to Dublin in May was also a factor. His desire to continue featuring for the Laois senior side ruled out the possibility of emigrating for work.

“The plan was to move to Dublin. She is from Glasgow, the Parnells club is only five minutes from the airport, so it turned out to be ideal for me. She wasn’t that happy about coming over to the midlands, there is no work down here. Dublin is the place (to find work). There is a good network of people in Parnells.

“I know these are my best years as regards football. Nicola knew I didn’t want to be leaving Ireland. She knew I wanted to stick around because Laois are going to make a good push this year. We are confident that we are going to try and make a good go of it. After getting engaged, if I couldn’t get any work I was going to have to emigrate. Nicola was very supportive of staying here, so this has given us both the opportunity.”

The presence of other Laois players in the Parnells setup made it ‘a lot easier’ to make the switch and Tierney is optimistic that his transfer will be rubber stamped. “I got onto the (Laois) boys playing there already. I sussed out the club and what they thought of it. I wasn’t poached.”