Profile: Joe Phelan
Joe Phelan was one of the finest hurling players of his generation. He was a fine dual player for the club but hurling was the sport in which he shone.
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Paddy was a member of the Laois minor hurling team of 1934 that won Leinster honours and was pipped by a point by Tipperary in a farcical finish to the All-Ireland final which was kept going for over ten minutes of extra time until the Munster men got the winning score. His father, also Paddy, was a well-known boxing coach and was an ally for many years of the legendary Portlaoise boxing supremo, Garda Billy Blackwell, who helped establish Portlaoise Boxing Club as one of the foremost in the country. His sister, Rosie, was wife of another famous Laois hurler of the period, Mick Hopper, and their son Noel, also a great supporter of the “Town”, was a classy player for Portlaoise under age teams in the 1950s.
Joe Phelan was one of the finest hurling players of his generation. He was a fine dual player for the club but hurling was the sport in which he shone.
Jimmy Doyle was one of the giants of hurling. Born and reared within the shadow of hurling’s great amphitheatre, Semple Stadium, he went on to become one of the greatest hurlers of all time.
Pat Delaney describes the emergence of Portlaoise as a Hurling power house in the late 70s and 80s.
Ⓒ 1887 - 2025 - Portlaoise GAA - C'MON THE TOWN