A year on from contesting the Laois IFC final against Park-Ratheniska, Arles-Kilcruise were relegated to the junior ranks at the weekend.

Formed following a split in the old Arles club over 30 years ago – Arles-Killeen also emerged from the division – Arles-Kilcruise went on to complete a clean sweep of football championships in a glorious 10-year period, culminating in an historic SFC title triumph in 2003.

With county stars Ross Munnelly and Chris Conway to the fore, they also contested Laois SFC finals in 2009, 2010 and 2012, only to come up short each time against a dominant Portlaoise outfit. Ironically, it was Portlaoise’s second team who condemned the Carlow-border club to the dreaded drop last Friday evening when winning their IFC relegation playoff by 3-10 to 0-6 in Stradbally.

It was a bitter pill for Arles-Kilcruise to swallow, but no doubt this proud club will bounce back in the near future.

 

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