Portlaoise RFC, a local rugby club, is based outside the town at Togher. Portlaoise GAA is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club and the most successful GAA club in Leinster. Other local sports clubs include Portlaoise Association Football Club and Portlaoise Senior Basketball Club.

Sporting facilities in the area include Portlaoise Leisure Centre (which has a 25m pool, a gym, astro and soccer pitches, and a skate park) and Portlaoise Golf Club (which has an 18-hole course on the Abbeyleix Road).

Portlaoise AFC is located on the Mountmellick road in Rossleighan Park.