Laois Soccer Podcast

JP Cushen - almost 30 years following the Irish soccer team around Europe

JP Cushen can vividly recall the first time he ever watched the Ireland soccer team in the flesh.  He was a primary school student in Stradbally and it was a friendly against Wales in the old Lansdowne Road, a midweek afternoon kick off as the stadium then didn't have floodlights. It was ahead of the 1990 World Cup. Ireland won 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Bernie Slaven. Cushen was hooked and has followed Ireland all over the continent ever since.  He is a season ticket holder with the FAI and was a founding member of the Laois branch of the Republic of Ireland Supporters club.  As he prepares to head to Prague this week for the World Cup qualifier against Czechia, he joins us to chat about his various experiences over the years, including trips to Euro 2012 and 2016 in Poland and France and trips to the likes of Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta, Italy and, of course, Hungary for that famous win last November.

Playing at a World Cup, sharing a pitch with Lamine Yamal now with Bournemouth - Portarlington's Ade Solanke

After a one week sabbatical, the Laois Soccer Podcast is back and we have an absolutely massive guest.  Alan is delighted to be joined on this week's episode by a Laois man who has just signed for a Premier League club.  Ade Solanke recently transferred to AFC Bournemouth and has been registered with their U-21 side.  Originally from Sli na Mona in Portarlington, Ade shot to prominence late last year as he starred for the Republic of Ireland at the U-17 World Cup. Playing from left back or left wing back, he provided a number of assists as Ireland reached the last 16 stage of the competition. While the Solanke family now live in Newcastle in Dublin, Ade was brought up in Portarlington to Nigerian parents Busola and Michael. Solanke attended primary school in St Patrick’s BNS Portarlington and his talent was evident from a very early age. Solanke began his club soccer career at Arthur Griffith Park who are from Lucan in Dublin. He then played for Monasterevin AFC and Newbridge Town before transferring to Shamrock Rovers. Solanke spent several years there before moving to FC Lorient at the start of 2025 where he featured for the reserves before making the switch to Bournemouth in the Premier League.  Ade speaks to Alan Hartnett about his incredible journey to date, the importance of sacrifice, his hopes for the future and much more.

Laois lads in League of Ireland, Limerick FC and coaching endeavours

After a string of fine guests, the Laois Soccer Podcast returns to basics this week.  Steven Miller is joined by Alan Hartnett where the lads look ahead to the start of the League of Ireland First Division. The Premier Division got underway last weekend and the second tier, which has plenty of Laois involvement, starts from Friday.  Treaty United contain two Laois players with Portlaoise's Colin Conroy and Emo's Roy Lawlor signed for this season.  Portlaoise's Aaron Doran is once again with Longford Town while Crettyard's Peter Grogan has returned from Austin FC in Texas to join Athlone Town.  Steven also chats about his time in the Limerick Leader where he was actively following the exploits of Limerick FC.  While they also speak about their own coaching exploits in the Midlands League.

Irish international, Champions League player and now a dedicated coach - Sylvia Gee

The latest episode of the Laois Soccer Podcast is here and this is guest is certainly our most high profile to date.  Alan is joined by a Republic of Ireland international who played in the Champions League and is now a dedicated coach - Sylvia Gee.  Originally from Ballacolla and now living in Shinrone, Sylvia was educated in Abbeyleix South School. She then attended secondary school in Wesley College in Dublin and despite her love of soccer, she never actually played for a team throughout all of these years.  After playing hockey in secondary school, it was only when she went to college that Sylvia had the opportunity to play soccer for a team.  And from there, her career took off - she soon signed for Listowel Celtic and they went on a magical run all the way to the FAI Cup final at Landsdowne Road.  After that, Sylvia received her first international call up and made her debut against Belarus before going on to play against USA in Foxboro in front of 32,000 people.  Gee then headed across the water to play for Leeds United and when that didn't work out, she returned to Ireland for a newly formed club - UCD.  Success followed a that resulted in qualification for the Champions League where Gee and her teammates faced teams from Norway, Sweden and Poland.  Gee continued to play right up until the age of 42 and in total, she played 37 seasons across summer and winter leagues.  In 2003, Sylvia set up her own coaching business - Primary Coaching - where she provides in school and after school sessions across the midlands.  Gee also has a long standing association with Portlaoise AFC where she played and now coaches.  She has run the academy there for the last 15 seasons, dealing with hundreds of children each year.  Sylvia's story is fascinating and is well worth a listen.

From Cricklewood to Clonaslee and on to the Midlands League - Chris Nestor

The Laois Soccer Podcast returns and we are joined by a very special guest - Chris Nestor.  Chris is the chairman of the Midlands League - the juvenile soccer league comprising of teams from Laois, Westmeath, Offaly plus parts of Roscommon, Tipperary and Galway.  But Chris has a fascinating story that has taken him to this point in life.  He was born to Irish parents and grew up in Cricklewood, London, where he could see the iconic Wembley arch from his window.  Chris and his family relocated to Ireland when he was 12 - and landed in Clonaslee which was something of a culture shock.  Having played in England and being an avid Spurs supporter, it wasn't long before Nestor became involved in soccer here.  He started as a player in Portlaoise AFC and then quickly moved into the coaching sphere.  When the Midlands League formed in 1996, Nestor became involved and became chairman in the early 2000s.  This is a role that he still holds and he has overseen a massive expansion of the league which now boasts thousands of players across more than 30 clubs.  Chris joined Alan Hartnett and Steven Miller to chat about all of that and much more - including the topic of summer soccer.  We also finish with some quickfire questions around the best stadiums Chris has been too, best player he ever seen and the best player he has ever coached.