NAME: Damien Delaney DATE OF BIRTH: 6/9/73 HEIGHT: 6' WEIGHT: 12st 7lb CLUB: Stradbally COUNTY: Laois HONOURS: Under 12 & Minor County Football and Under 15 Hurling INTER-COUNTY DEBUT: Fermanagh 1991 TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Fay Devlin, Tyrone FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Croke Park FAVOURITE POSITION: Left corner forward SPORTING AMBITION: To win a Leinster Final DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS: Hurling, soccer, golf & fishing BOYHOOD HEROES: Kevin Moran and Eoin Liston FAVOURITE PLAYER: Tony Maher, Michael Dempsey BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: Buggy and Tony Maher (both from Stradbally) WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Looking after county players better BEST GAME SEEN: Laois beating Meath in Navan last year PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Martin Slevin and Jeremy Kavanagh from Stradbally HOPES FOR 1993: To do well in the championship DELANEY IS A FAMOUS FOOTBALL NAME IN LAOIS. ARE YOU RELATED TO THE GREAT DELANEY BROTHERS? Yes, I am. I think about a third cousin WE ARE TOLD YOUR FATHER SEAN ONLY RETIRED A FEW YEARS BACK. HE WAS OBVIOUSLY A DEDICATED PLAYER: He retired in 1991. Played his football with Stradbally, hurling with Portlaoise and is the proud holder of six senior championship hurling medals. Now that he is retired, he is training teams - presently training Laois ladies football team AND A GREAT INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER: Yes he is and he is also my biggest critic - having my best interest at heart YOU ALSO ARE A USEFUL HURLER: I played in two Leinster Minor Finals and lost in both of them to Kilkenny. I played club hurling with Timahoe and Portlaoise. I haven't played in two years HOW STRONG IS FOOTBALL IN STRADBALLY? Football is very strong in Stradbally at the moment and now with the opening of our new grounds, hopefully it will get stronger TONY MAHER, THAT FINE YOUNG LAOIS MIDFIELDER, COMES FROM THE SAME CLUB: Thats right, he's a great player. He was very helpful to me when I started to play football with Laois ANY PAST COUNTY MEN FROM THE AREA: Yes, there are men like Bill, Michael, Teddy and Danny Delaney, Seamus Lawlor and my father LAOIS ARE PLAYING WELL AT THE MOMENT: Things are going well at the moment, so hopefully we can keep it up for the Louth game YOU ARE AGAIN PLACED IN THE HARDER SECTION OF THE LEINSTER CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW: We're not really thinking about that at the moment but yes, I would agree with you, it is a hard section. We have to get over Louth first before we can play Meath or Dublin RICHIE CONNOR, A HUGE INFLUENCE ON THE LAOIS CAMP: Yes he is. He captained an All-Ireland winning team. All the players have great respect for him because of his experience WHO ARE HIS BACK PUP TEAM? Dessie Brennan and Gerry Lawlor DESPITE AN INDIFFERENT NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE RUN, LAOIS HAVE QUITE A SETTLED SIDE: We had a bad run in the League ok, but things are starting to come together now. Hopefully we can put it together for the Louth game AND PLENTY OF GREAT PROSPECTS LIKE MICHAEL LAWLOR. WHO WOULD THE OTHER YOUNG GUNS ON THIS LAOIS TEAM BE? Hugh Emerson and Tom Bowe COLIN KELLY PROVIDED LAOIS WITH MANY HEADACHES LAST SUMMER. OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE MADE PLANS TO CURTAIL THE NEWTOWN BLUES STRIKER: Hopefully we won't concede as many frees as last year YOU ARE QUITE A USEFUL PLACE KICKER: I take frees for my club. I never really took them for Laois - only for one day - Michael Turley was injured and I have been taking them since NO NERVES: Only for the first few games I played for Laois, but I don't be that nervous now HOPING TO PUT OVER A FEW ON SUNDAY AND PUSH LAOIS INTO THE NEXT ROUND AGAINST MEATH: Hopefully Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 21st May 1993 Vol 3 No 20 Tweet

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