Lawless first played hurling to a high standard as a student at Presentation College, Athenry.
He was part of the Pres team that won consecutive Connacht Colleges SAHC titles in 2018 and 2019 but lost the subsequent All-Ireland finals to St Kieran's College.
[1] Lawless later lined out with the University of Galway team that lost back-to-back Fitzgibbon Cup finals in 2022 and 2023.
[4] Lawless has since joined the St Mary's senior team.
Lawless first appeared at inter-county level with Galway as a member of the minor team that won back-to-back All-Ireland MHC titles in 2018 and 2019.