Walsh says Laois can deliver like Dublin

THERE may be action earlier in the day in Ulster, but to the hurlers of Laois and Antrim falls the honour of kicking off the 2011 campaign for Liam MacCarthy.

Neither side has any chance of making it all the way to Croke Park in September, but Laois midfielder James Walsh insists that wouldn’t detract from their efforts — or ambitions.

“We’re not looking beyond this game. This is a big game for us and we can’t take anything for granted. But we have bigger ambitions. We look to teams like Dublin.