Westmeath underage hurling received a double boost in June when both Raharney and Castletown-Geoghegan picked up All-Ireland Feile na nGael titles. Here, we take a look back at their successful campaigns.

Westmeath has been making great strides in underage hurling over the past few years and further evidence of this was provided when two of the county's most successful clubs savoured All-Ireland Feile glory in Co. Clare on June 20th last.
County Feile champions Raharney claimed the Division 2 (Canon Fogarty trophy) title when they powered to a 4-10 to 1-3 victory over Bredagh of Down at Cusack Park, Ennis. Twins Ciaran and Killian Doyle were the toast of the Meath-border village after they scored 2-4 and 1-5 respectively. 
Earlier, beaten county Feile finalists Castletown-Geoghegan picked up the Division 3 (Michael Cusack trophy) title following an emphatic 5-8 to 1-2 victory over local side Ruan. It was the black and ambers' second All-Ireland Feile success in three years - they won the Division 2 title in 2007.
"This was a very big achievement," Raharney manager Declan Mullen proudly stated.
"It was great to travel down to Clare on Friday and return home on Sunday evening as All-Ireland champions. We used our 25 players on the panel very well. The young Doyles grabbed all the headlines and they are excellent players, but this was a real team effort and all the young players played their part.
"Travelling down, we were quietly confident, but we battled very well in order to win our games. Our semi-final was a very tough game, but we came through it. We had no idea of the massive support we had until we ran out onto the field for the final. I think the whole of Raharney travelled down and the support was great.
"I would like to say a special thanks to John Coyne, Paul Quinn and Michael Doyle who helped to look after the team along with myself."
Castletown-Geoghegan manager Pat O'Brien was equally exuberant about his team's success.
"The team did very well. This is a very young side so it is a great achievement," said O'Brien, who also managed the Westmeath minor hurlers in 2010.
"We were fairly confident going down that we would do well, especially as we gave Raharney such a good game in the county final. Some of our players are just 13-years-old so they are a young side."
A former county hurler, O'Brien was particularly encouraged by the new family names that featured on the Castletown team. No one in the close-knit hurling-mad parish could remember the last time a successful Castletown team hadn't featured a Jackson, Clarke, Kirby or Dalton.
"It was interesting to see some new family names on the Castletown team that hadn't played in the past and this is good for the club. It was a special weekend for Shane Clavin as he had appeared as an 11-year-old in the final a few years ago," continued O'Brien, whose fellow mentors were Benny McDonald, Joe Glennon and Eamon McDonald.
"We had huge support down in Ennis and it was great to see so many parents and family members cheering on the team. This success doesn't come easy, though. We work very hard all the time and if you can get a few very good players along the way, they can make all the difference in a very good side."
Based in Clarecastle, Raharney signalled their intent with a 7-10 to 2-3 victory over the host club in their opening game. They accounted for another of the local teams, Tulla, by 4-9 to 1-3 before qualifying from the group by virtue of a 4-10 to 2-6 win over Loughgiel from Antrim.
Raharney travelled to Scariff for the semi-final against Feakle/Killenana and emerged as 6-3 to 3-2 winners to set up a final showdown with Down outfit Bredagh in Cusack Park on the Sunday. 
Raharney raced into an early 1-5 to 0-0 lead, only for Bredagh to haul themselves back into contention with an unanswered 1-3 in the closing five minutes of the first half. But the Westmeath side dominated after the restart with goals from Killian Doyle (two) and Eoin Weir putting the result beyond doubt. 
The team returned home to a hero's welcome on Sunday evening, first stopping off at Kinnegad GAA club and then at their home pitch of Joristown. And the celebrations lasted long into the night after the team paraded the Canon Fogarty Cup through Raharney.
Castletown-Geoghegan opened their Division 3 campaign with a 2-10 to 1-8 defeat of local side Broadford. They followed this up with further wins over another Clare team, Cratloe, 3-12 to 0-2, and Moytura of Mayo by 2-11 to 1-3 to earn a semi-final berth.
In the semi-final, the black and ambers whitewashed Camlough of Armagh by 4-9 to 0-0 and they secured the Michael Cusack Cup courtesy of another comfortable victory over Ruan in the decider at Cusack Park.
Pat O'Brien's young charges never looked back after goals from Liam Cassidy (two) and Paddy Doody helped them to a 3-4 to 0-1 interval lead. They continued to hold the upper hand in the second half with further goals from Doody and Andrew Corbett sealing the win and completing a memorable weekend for Westmeath hurling. 

Raharney's All-Ireland winners were: Daniel Greville, Jack Carroll, Killian Doyle, Sean Quinn, Ciaran Doyle, Darren Giles (captain), Jack Duignan, Derek Conroy, Jamie Duignan, Darren Finn, James Goonery, Jack Coyne, Eoin Weir, Jack Cully, Wesley Doyle, Theo Broderick, Aaron McHugh, Dylan Riggs, Kealon Hickey, Conor Murray, Conor Donoghue, Darragh Murray, Jack O'Leary, Aidan Shanley and Eoin Keys. 

The winning Castletown-Geoghegan squad was: Cathal Daly, Conor Glennon, Sean Maher, James Fox, Shane Clavin, Morgan Mealiffe, Liam McNally-Woods, Liam Cassidy, Joseph Fagan, William Hayes, Thomas Moran, Stephen Fagan, Johnny Bermingham, Eoghan Mullarkey, Andrew Corbett, Conor Kane, Brandon Carey, Alan Kincaid (captain), Paddy Doody, Brendan McMahon, Cormac Deegan, Pauric Kincaid, Brendan Heaney and Dan Glennon. Tweet

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