Southern Gaels could be described as the forgotten club of Westmeath hurling as the majority of the small ball game takes place in the north of the county.

The gaels from Athlone have always had a fight to promote the game in the town, but this is certainly their toughest period. However, it is one that they are determined to come through as club secretary Patrick Flynn reveals to 'Maroon & White'.
There is no getting away from the fact that Southern Gaels are struggling at adult level in the last few years and the fact that they re-graded back to junior B for the 2010 campaign tells its own story.
Patrick points to the fact that the unforeseen loss of nine players from their squad in 2008 is a situation that they are still coming to terms with.
"I suppose it's fair to say that any club in the county would struggle to overcome the loss of so many in one year. The fact that we didn't see it coming made it all the harder and it really left us reeling for some time," said Patrick.
"We just weren't competing in the intermediate championship in 2009 and we felt it would be best if we took a step down, just to get the lads competing again and in fairness at least we are doing that now and we're managing to field a team."
Although Southern Gaels failed to reach the knockout stages of the junior B championship, Patrick feels that they certainly made the right decision.
"We picked up a few wins and competed well in most of the games and that renews the interest for lads. It was a dramatic fall as we had a reasonably good intermediate team and now we are back in the junior B.
"The fact of the matter is that we don't have enough players at adult level. Football is first choice amongst all the dual players and they generally just concentrate on that and don't bother with the hurling. We understand it is hard to play both codes, especially in these times, but we would love to see a few of them come back into the fold."
The appointment of staunch clubman and former county goalkeeper Brendan Keogh as manager for the coming season is seen as a move of intent as the club make a bid for the junior B championship.
"It is a struggle to keep the adult team going, but we feel optimistic that with the appointment of Brendan as manager that it will encourage some of the lads that have not played to maybe come back and give us a dig out. We know that with the right effort, we can keep things going and realistically that is our aim for the next few years."
Patrick hails from Tipperary and arrived in Athlone seven years ago and immediately got involved with the club as a player. As well as beginning his second year as secretary, he still lines out for the club and admits that when he first arrived, there were not many locals playing on the intermediate team.
"When I first started playing with the club seven years ago, there were only three locals on the team, the rest were lads that had moved to the area for work. Since then, work is not as plentiful in Athlone as is the case in the rest of the county and we have very few new players coming in."
The picture may be bleak at adult level, but there is always hope and the work being done with their underage suggests that the club are heading in the right direction.
Apart from his roles as secretary and player, Patrick will manage the under-12 side this year and he admits that the club's underage structure is improving by the year.
"At most grades we would have an average of 20 players, that's from under-14 down to the nursery, which we started last year and has been a huge success so far.
"I don't think we will have a minor team this year as we are lacking numbers, while the under-16s could struggle too, but after that we are hoping to compete for honours at all levels.
"A number of the adult players have got involved in training some of the underage teams and that has made a huge difference. We would always welcome more help of course."
Indeed it is a testament to the hard work by club members that they are fielding at all at underage level, given the fact that they were joined with Ballymore for a number of years.
"There has been a greater emphasis placed on the underage in recent years and we are delighted to be fielding on our own as it gives the club its own identity. We're a stand alone club and that is the way it should be."
Situated in a large town like Athlone means that there are plenty of other interests for youngsters and Patrick revealed that it is a continuous battle to keep them interested in hurling.
"It is an ongoing problem as there are so many sports played in the town and its hard to keep lads committed, they seem to come and go as the please and have no real allegiance to any sport, which is understandable given the choices they have.
"That is why we set up the nursery, in order to get kids interested at a very young age and hope that they develop a love for the game that they will carry through to adult level.
"There is plenty of work to be done within the club, but in fairness I feel that we are heading in the right direction. It is going to be a long process and it will take a huge effort by all involved."
Success in the division 3 under-16 hurling championship proves that the club are making strides and with hard working people like Patrick involved then it won't be too long before Southern Gaels are competing for major honours at all levels. 
 
 
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