This Saturday's opening O'Byrne Cup match against Athlone IT has come too soon but Colm Parkinson is expected to return to the Laois panel early in the new year.
The Portlaoise forward returns from South America on Friday and considering his father, Martin, is the latest addition to Mick O'Dwyer's backroom team it seems a mere formality Parkinson will be back wearing a Laois jersey in 2006.
"Well, yes he is back on Friday so we are fairly optimistic he will join the panel as soon as he can," said selector Declan O'Loughlin. "He is a wonderful footballer so what county wouldn't want him back on board?"
It's a timely return as the county lost two young stars last month when Colm Begley and Brendan Quigley signed rookie forms with Australia Rules club the Brisbane Lions.
"They are a huge loss to Laois football, something we will probably only really feel over the next two years when they should have started to make an impact," continued O'Loughlin.
Laois will field a makeshift side this weekend because of injuries and the loss of several regulars who will line out for their third-level institutions in the same competition.
This includes Billy Sheehan who is with UCD while Ross Munnelly, who is on a scholarship to DCU for this academic year, has been suspended by the Comhairle Ardoideachais, the governing body for Higher Education GAA. This is likely to be appealed by DCU. Also, the under-21s under Seán Dempsey are training separately from the senior panel.
GAA president Seán Kelly launched a TG4 programme on the life of the late Cormac McAnallen in Croke Park yesterday. This will be broadcast on Christmas Day and repeated on TG4 on December 28th and again on February 15th.
Contributors to the programme include Cormac's parents Bridget and Brendán McAnallen, Dónal McAnallen, Mickey Harte, Mark Harte, Peter Canavan, Fr Gerard McAleer, Seán Kelly, Kieran McGeeney, Enda McNulty, Conal Ó Máirtín, Maighréad Uí Mháirtín and Dr Gareth Loughrey.
The launch included the announcement of a fifth series of Laochra Gael. This season nine GAA stars will be profiled on the programme - footballers Mattie McDonagh (Galway), Joe Kernan (Armagh), Dinny Allen (Cork dual player) and Willie Joe Padden (Mayo) and hurlers Donie Nealon (Tipperary), Joe Hennessy (Kilkenny), Tomás Mulcahy (Cork), Liam Dunne (Wexford) and Davy Fitzgerald (Clare).
Meanwhile, Dominic McCaughey has been appointed as full-time administrator of Tyrone GAA. County board secretary for almost 20 years, McCaughey relinquished this post to take on the new role.
Pat Darcy was re-elected as county chairman for a second year, while the county games administration committee has followed the route of the national GAC by separating into two sub-committees, one for dealing with games, fixtures and referee appointments, and the other to deal with disciplinary issues.
