The Bogey is Laid to Rest!
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, My, oh my, what a wonderful day,Plenty of sunshine headin' my wayZip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay! Bit of a long winded introduction but what a hell of a result that was on Sunday at Croke Park. Westmeath 3-19 Meath 2-18.  The score tells it all; finally at long last a win over our illustrious neighbours in a Senior Football championship encounter. 22 times before we failed to nail a result previously but thankfully the bogey has finally been laid to rest.  Behind by 2-12 to 1-6 at half time, Westmeath despite a well crafted Kieran Martin goal looked very ragged and very, very few people would have bet on them to win this match. But Sport is a fascinating thing and games change on slender moments with Westmeath somehow clawing up the belief that this game was there for the taking. Westmeath trailed by nine at the break and were still nine down with 20 minutes to go despite a much better showing in the second half to that point.  However once Kieran Martin's goaled in the 51st minute, then there was only one team in it as Westmeath took over. Some assiduous switches plus a large dollop of self belief saw the Lake County finish very strongly to carve open a Royal feast and win by four in the end.  The second half return of 2-13 to 0-6 in Westmeaths favour tells its own tale. So it's on to a Leinster final in two weeks time against Dublin and that's another task for another day. For now let's enjoy the sweet taste of victory; a great day. Get out the colours and support our county. Iarmhí Abú !
Ladies do the business:
Westmeath Ladies footballers were in action on Sunday at Cusack Park as they also faced Royal opposition against Meath in the Leinster Senior Semi final.   While the result in Croke Park could be classed as a surprise, the same cannot be said for the Ladies game as Westmeath on current form were favourites to progress. And that is how it panned out as Westmeath powered home on a score of 3-14 to 1-5 to claim a place in this years Provincial decider. Ahead by 2-9 to 0-2 after 22 minutes, the Lake County ladies were full value for the win and will play either Dublin or Laois in the final in a couple of weeks time.
Sympathy to Hayes & Carthy Families:
Leaving aside the joy of sport for a moment; we in Westmeath GAA along with our colleagues in Meath GAA shared the sadness of the Carthy & Hayes familes from both our counties before the Leinster Semi final.   Lorna Carthy from Meath along with Larry and Martina Hayes from Athlone had their lives cut short in a terror attack in Tunisia.  No words can describe the hurt that both these families are suffering at the moment and all we can do from our behalf is to offer our support and sympathies. May they all rest in peace.
Club Iarmhí Draw:
The Club Iarmhí draw is on Wednesday 1st July in the Annebrook House Hotel with the draw at 9-30pm. It's the last few days in the run up to the draw and with over €16000 in prizes so if you want to be in the draw, well it's coming near last chance at this stage. Tickets will be on sale on the night of the draw so don't miss the opportunity to become a member of Club Iarmhi.

Westmeath V Limerick:
Westmeath Senior Hurlers resume action in this years Championship when they face Limerick in the first round of the All Ireland Hurling Qualifiers at Cusack park on Sunday 5th July. Westmeath bowed out of the Leinster Championship when losing to Wexford on Sunday 7th June by 1-24 to 1-16 while Limerick lost out to Tipperary by 4-23 to 1-16 at Semple Stadium on Sunday 21st June.  This will be the first ever championship encounter between the teams and it is certainly an opportunity for Westmeath to make progress but obviously Limerick will be hot favourites.  Limerick who were Munster Champions in 2013 and pushed reigning All Ireland Champions Kilkenny to two points at the semi final stage last year have many class players but they seem to have regressed a bit. Westmeath have improved considerably this year and while it might be seen as too much of a step up to progress next week, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility. Westmeath when playing Wexford were a bit in awe of the Slaneysiders for long portions of the game but when they got stuck in over the last twenty minutes, they showed huge promise. If the players get stuck in from the start and use their abilities for the entire game, then a win is entirely possible. The win by the footballers should be a confidence booster and I think it will be a very interesting game. Throw in on Sunday is at 3-00pm.
Westmeath GAA Development Lotto:
The most recent draw was on Tuesday 23 June and the numbers drawn were 14,15,20 and 26. There was no Jackpot winner so next weeks draw will see the Jackpot reach €12060. We had four match three winners of €80 each and they were;
Tony Irwin C/O Mullingar Shamrocks
Liam Dalton C/O St Oliver Plunketts GAA
Louise & Sean C/O St Oliver Plunketts GAA
Shay Maloney C/O Ballinagore GAA

I can be contacted at [email protected] or 086 3992403

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