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Are the rumours to be believed about the u20s management? If so seems to be a very positive appointment from the county board.
ear2ground (Westmeath) - Posts: 125 - 11/08/2026 12:14:16
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Replying To ear2ground: "Are the rumours to be believed about the u20s management? If so seems to be a very positive appointment from the county board." What is it ?
Ayardout (Westmeath) - Posts: 26 - 11/08/2026 12:58:25
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Replying To Claretandblue: "It's far from a perfect structure and that's been well commented on here but what has been very noticeable in the opening two rounds has been the intensity and championship type tempo of the games. Teams know that losing one match could have a huge effect on qualifying so there's far greater urgency in the games. Caulry vs Garrycastle on Friday night was virtually a knockout game with both sides having lost their opening match and with tough games to come. The game was played at a great level of intensity with Caulry very unlucky. In Section A a side that could reach a county final will be eliminated, three draws out of six matches played suggests teams realise the importance of not losing early on, structure likely to be tweaked again next year but doubtful if scenario of four teams qualifying out of six will be reintroduced. Teams qualifying with one win out of five games hardly what supporters wish to see." Claretandblue, well done on getting the go-ahead for the COE plans. It looks very impressive, and the location is excellent for people in Mullingar, especially given that most of the County Board seem to be from North Westmeath.
That said, the cost of the land, along with the huge investment required to get it to the stage where a pitch can actually be developed, is a massive negative. Hopefully, you and the other County Board members will still be in office when it is finally built in 15 years' time!
Regarding the football championship structure, I agree with you that there has been a lot more urgency in the games so far this year. However, I think by Round 5 we could see a lot of teams with very little to play for, resulting in a huge number of dead rubbers.
The quarter-final weekend is immediately after Round 5. If you're in Group B and have already qualified for the quarter-finals going into the final round, there is no real incentive to play your strongest team. It doesn't matter whether you finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Group B because the quarter-finals are an open draw.
I feel the final round of fixtures could be a farce. I'd say we will be lucky if more than three of the six Senior games have anything meaningful riding on them. You then have Round 4, Round 5 and the quarter-final weekend all coming back-to-back.
So what would you rather have: greater urgency in the first three rounds, or the four best teams playing in the semi-finals when it matters most?
Kinnegad, Lomans, The Downs and Shamrocks are all miles ahead of the rest of the county at the moment. Yet one of those four won't even qualify for the knockout stages.
Tubberclair look to be flying, but they might not even face a Senior A team until the semi-finals. Moate and Athlone look likely to finish 2nd and 3rd in Senior B, but they are miles off the top four teams in the county.
For me, it's a terrible format. I've really enjoyed the first two rounds because there has been genuine urgency in the games, but I fear the final round of fixtures and, ultimately, the knockout stages could be a real let-down.
Temple56 (Westmeath) - Posts: 660 - 11/08/2026 15:48:17
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Replying To Ayardout: "What is it ?" Shane Curran
sourmilk93 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1305 - 11/08/2026 15:49:32
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Replying To Temple56: "Claretandblue, well done on getting the go-ahead for the COE plans. It looks very impressive, and the location is excellent for people in Mullingar, especially given that most of the County Board seem to be from North Westmeath.
That said, the cost of the land, along with the huge investment required to get it to the stage where a pitch can actually be developed, is a massive negative. Hopefully, you and the other County Board members will still be in office when it is finally built in 15 years' time!
Regarding the football championship structure, I agree with you that there has been a lot more urgency in the games so far this year. However, I think by Round 5 we could see a lot of teams with very little to play for, resulting in a huge number of dead rubbers.
The quarter-final weekend is immediately after Round 5. If you're in Group B and have already qualified for the quarter-finals going into the final round, there is no real incentive to play your strongest team. It doesn't matter whether you finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Group B because the quarter-finals are an open draw.
I feel the final round of fixtures could be a farce. I'd say we will be lucky if more than three of the six Senior games have anything meaningful riding on them. You then have Round 4, Round 5 and the quarter-final weekend all coming back-to-back.
So what would you rather have: greater urgency in the first three rounds, or the four best teams playing in the semi-finals when it matters most?
Kinnegad, Lomans, The Downs and Shamrocks are all miles ahead of the rest of the county at the moment. Yet one of those four won't even qualify for the knockout stages.
Tubberclair look to be flying, but they might not even face a Senior A team until the semi-finals. Moate and Athlone look likely to finish 2nd and 3rd in Senior B, but they are miles off the top four teams in the county.
For me, it's a terrible format. I've really enjoyed the first two rounds because there has been genuine urgency in the games, but I fear the final round of fixtures and, ultimately, the knockout stages could be a real let-down." Agreed about the COE, it looks class. They spoke a good bit on the podcast about hoping to get around 70% through grants and then having to fundraise the other €4/5m. It's going to be a huge undertaking, so hearing a 10-year plan is probably realistic. One thing I found mad though was no mention of a gym in the plans. Maybe there is one and I missed it, but a Centre of Excellence without a gym would be fairly crazy.
Pat obrien hit the nail on the head too something has to be done for the next 5-10 years while it's being developed. We can't have another year of county teams training in different places all over the country. They need some sort of permanent base in the meantime. Maybe upgrading Lomans could be the best option, but again it's hard to see where the money comes from when funding the COE itself is already going to be a massive job.
TheWagonWheel-N91Y529 (Westmeath) - Posts: 9 - 11/08/2026 17:18:34
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Replying To Temple56: "Claretandblue, well done on getting the go-ahead for the COE plans. It looks very impressive, and the location is excellent for people in Mullingar, especially given that most of the County Board seem to be from North Westmeath.
That said, the cost of the land, along with the huge investment required to get it to the stage where a pitch can actually be developed, is a massive negative. Hopefully, you and the other County Board members will still be in office when it is finally built in 15 years' time!
Regarding the football championship structure, I agree with you that there has been a lot more urgency in the games so far this year. However, I think by Round 5 we could see a lot of teams with very little to play for, resulting in a huge number of dead rubbers.
The quarter-final weekend is immediately after Round 5. If you're in Group B and have already qualified for the quarter-finals going into the final round, there is no real incentive to play your strongest team. It doesn't matter whether you finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Group B because the quarter-finals are an open draw.
I feel the final round of fixtures could be a farce. I'd say we will be lucky if more than three of the six Senior games have anything meaningful riding on them. You then have Round 4, Round 5 and the quarter-final weekend all coming back-to-back.
So what would you rather have: greater urgency in the first three rounds, or the four best teams playing in the semi-finals when it matters most?
Kinnegad, Lomans, The Downs and Shamrocks are all miles ahead of the rest of the county at the moment. Yet one of those four won't even qualify for the knockout stages.
Tubberclair look to be flying, but they might not even face a Senior A team until the semi-finals. Moate and Athlone look likely to finish 2nd and 3rd in Senior B, but they are miles off the top four teams in the county.
For me, it's a terrible format. I've really enjoyed the first two rounds because there has been genuine urgency in the games, but I fear the final round of fixtures and, ultimately, the knockout stages could be a real let-down." Mullingar Shamrocks are absolutely not miles ahead of anyone in this championship. They may well advance and do well but premature to put them in that bracket just yet.
DelaneyCup2026 (Westmeath) - Posts: 21 - 11/08/2026 17:35:59
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Replying To TheWagonWheel-N91Y529: "Agreed about the COE, it looks class. They spoke a good bit on the podcast about hoping to get around 70% through grants and then having to fundraise the other €4/5m. It's going to be a huge undertaking, so hearing a 10-year plan is probably realistic. One thing I found mad though was no mention of a gym in the plans. Maybe there is one and I missed it, but a Centre of Excellence without a gym would be fairly crazy.
Pat obrien hit the nail on the head too something has to be done for the next 5-10 years while it's being developed. We can't have another year of county teams training in different places all over the country. They need some sort of permanent base in the meantime. Maybe upgrading Lomans could be the best option, but again it's hard to see where the money comes from when funding the COE itself is already going to be a massive job." The big green thing beside the dressing rooms is a gym! I'd also be concerned with the time frame for the completed complex. If work started today it would be 2 years before you could reasonably train on it. That's another 2 years of looking for the goodwill of the club's to make their grounds available. And the work will hardly start that soon. 3/4 years is more realistic. In the meantime the county teams will be on a magical mystery tour.
kingfixer1 (Westmeath) - Posts: 7 - 12/08/2026 12:55:57
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Replying To Claretandblue: "It's far from a perfect structure and that's been well commented on here but what has been very noticeable in the opening two rounds has been the intensity and championship type tempo of the games. Teams know that losing one match could have a huge effect on qualifying so there's far greater urgency in the games. Caulry vs Garrycastle on Friday night was virtually a knockout game with both sides having lost their opening match and with tough games to come. The game was played at a great level of intensity with Caulry very unlucky. In Section A a side that could reach a county final will be eliminated, three draws out of six matches played suggests teams realise the importance of not losing early on, structure likely to be tweaked again next year but doubtful if scenario of four teams qualifying out of six will be reintroduced. Teams qualifying with one win out of five games hardly what supporters wish to see." Yes the intensity of the first 2 rounds of game this year has been very high but I completely disagree that this hasn't been the case in previous years or that it has anything to do with only 3 teams getting to a quarter final. You can't tell me that in previous years any club is going out in the first round and not absolutely gunning for the win, especially in intermediate where there has been very little between the teams in the last number of years. Yes it might mean that there is even more on the line because only 3 teams go to a semi final but it will no doubt increase the number of dead rubber games and will be a failed structure.
You could argue it made the likes of Senan Baker's decision to go to the US for the summer an awful lot easier because he probably knew himself they were never going to make it out of section A.
crispsandwich99 (Westmeath) - Posts: 21 - 12/08/2026 13:50:02
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Replying To kingfixer1: "The big green thing beside the dressing rooms is a gym! I'd also be concerned with the time frame for the completed complex. If work started today it would be 2 years before you could reasonably train on it. That's another 2 years of looking for the goodwill of the club's to make their grounds available. And the work will hardly start that soon. 3/4 years is more realistic. In the meantime the county teams will be on a magical mystery tour." why havent they agreed a deal with TUS in Athlone I wonder? Otherwise they should prioritise upgrading the all weather pitch in Lomans, isnt it shared ownership between Lomans, Westmeath and Leinster council?
martyW (Westmeath) - Posts: 360 - 12/08/2026 14:41:21
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Replying To ear2ground: "Are the rumours to be believed about the u20s management? If so seems to be a very positive appointment from the county board." emmett Mcdonald ?
PowellJohn3 (Westmeath) - Posts: 100 - 12/08/2026 15:29:22
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Replying To kingfixer1: "The big green thing beside the dressing rooms is a gym! I'd also be concerned with the time frame for the completed complex. If work started today it would be 2 years before you could reasonably train on it. That's another 2 years of looking for the goodwill of the club's to make their grounds available. And the work will hardly start that soon. 3/4 years is more realistic. In the meantime the county teams will be on a magical mystery tour." I just did a bit of Googling. Both Kerry and Roscommon COE's both took 20 years from the acquisition of land/planning to their opening. Leitrim took 14 years. Monaghan are 10 years in and more work planned. Offaly's Fraher Fields took 3 years. So if Westmeath take 4-5 years i'll take it.
So yes, the County team will certainly have to continue to use Club facilities for some time. There is no other option. I know people have issues with the location, the cost yadda yadda yadda. Its decided now so lets just get on with it and support it. If we don't support it it will go on longer than the 4-5 years people were quoting here. Move on.
Meridian (Westmeath) - Posts: 734 - 12/08/2026 15:38:01
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Replying To crispsandwich99: "Yes the intensity of the first 2 rounds of game this year has been very high but I completely disagree that this hasn't been the case in previous years or that it has anything to do with only 3 teams getting to a quarter final. You can't tell me that in previous years any club is going out in the first round and not absolutely gunning for the win, especially in intermediate where there has been very little between the teams in the last number of years. Yes it might mean that there is even more on the line because only 3 teams go to a semi final but it will no doubt increase the number of dead rubber games and will be a failed structure.
You could argue it made the likes of Senan Baker's decision to go to the US for the summer an awful lot easier because he probably knew himself they were never going to make it out of section A." There was plenty of dead rubber games last year too. Very hard to avoid in a non knockout system.
CasKD (Westmeath) - Posts: 50 - 12/08/2026 21:33:03
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Presumably the Ladies' center of excellence at the Rochfortbridge old pitch won't go ahead now as the new proposal is a joint mens / ladies effort.
Any merit to Westmeath GAA now acquiring the old pitch in Rochfortbridge? With some investment, it could be an ok training pitch to use for the next 3/4 years before the COE is ready? At least then Westmeath GAA would have control over their own pitch.
ondeball (Westmeath) - Posts: 131 - 13/08/2026 11:03:14
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Replying To martyW: "why havent they agreed a deal with TUS in Athlone I wonder? Otherwise they should prioritise upgrading the all weather pitch in Lomans, isnt it shared ownership between Lomans, Westmeath and Leinster council?" Because it is in Athlone and not in Mullingar. Imagine having a 3rd level university with excellent sporting facilities within your county and not engaging with them to use on a full time basis while we wait for the centre of excellence to be funded and built. But as we all know, it's located in the wrong part of the county for the county board
mintyfresh (Westmeath) - Posts: 298 - 13/08/2026 12:01:11
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Replying To CasKD: "There was plenty of dead rubber games last year too. Very hard to avoid in a non knockout system." Two groups of five, keep finalists from last year apart. Top two in each group into semifinals, third place in each group play a shield final. 4th and fifth teams play relegation semifinal and losers into relegation final. Would be no dead rubbers in those groups.
Minimum of five games per team. Makes it more competitive and improves intermediate competition as well.
2maroonjerseys (Galway) - Posts: 181 - 13/08/2026 12:19:49
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Replying To CasKD: "There was plenty of dead rubber games last year too. Very hard to avoid in a non knockout system." There were no dead rubber games in the Senior A Championship last year, all 6 teams had something to play for going into the last round. Caulry could be effectively eliminated after just 3 games if they lose this weekend, having already lost their opening two rounds. But the Championship structure was a farce before a ball was kicked. The issue isn't simply that a team can be eliminated after 3 defeats, it's the imbalance between Section A and B. If Section A is supposed to be the elite section, how can 50% of its teams progress while 50% of Section B also progress? Historically, Section B teams have an extremely poor record when they come up against the leading Section A sides in the knockout stages. Sending 3 of them into the Quarter Finals (1 will make the Semis) while eliminating the 4th best team in the grade risks producing exactly what nobody wants at that stage of the Championship, one sided games. If there's one thing to take from this farcical Championship structure, it's the importance of Clubs having representation at Committee level. One Section B Club alone has 3 representatives on the Committee. Make of that what you will.
iarmhiabu (Westmeath) - Posts: 360 - 13/08/2026 12:51:05
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Killucan v Tubberclair- Tubber by 7
Tang v Moate All Whites - By 11
The Downs v Mullingar Shamrocks - Shamrocks by 2 depending on what players the downs have back
Tyrrellspass v Athlone - Athlone by 2
Coralstown-Kinnegad v Caulry - Kinnegad by 5
Garrycastle v St Loman's Mullingar - Lomans by 7
Can't see Tang being any test at all for Moate, especially after their discipline and numbers last week. I think they'll struggle badly. It'll be interesting to see if Kevin O'Sullivan plays a full game, and obviously Luke Loughlin will be a big test for Shamrocks.
Fighting-Cocks69 (Westmeath) - Posts: 212 - 13/08/2026 13:00:53
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Replying To Ros13: "Neutral here but I can't get my head around the structure change.
Surely if you wanted 3 coming out of each group you keep the 2 groups of 6 but have 3 from the current Section A and 3 from the Current Section B in each group?
So for example;
Group A:
The Downs
Shamrocks
Garrycastle
Athlone
Tyrrellspass
Killucan
Group B:
Lomans
Kinnegad
Caulry
Tubberclair
Moate
Tang
Winner of each group straight through to semi finals. 2 v 3 from each group in quarter finals. Bottom of each play each other in relegation playoff" This is the way it was structured for a good few years. One finalist and one beaten semi finalist from previous year in each group, to give it some sort of balance.
Then they decided to change it to the "A" and "B" section a few years ago, which was still better than the system we have now in my opinion.
What we have now appears to be all the "stronger" teams in the A group, but the bottom 3 from this being eliminated. These eliminated teams would all fancy their chances of beating the top 3 in section B, in my opinion.
iarmhi_an_mhaith (Westmeath) - Posts: 296 - 13/08/2026 13:03:28
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Replying To Temple56: "Claretandblue, well done on getting the go-ahead for the COE plans. It looks very impressive, and the location is excellent for people in Mullingar, especially given that most of the County Board seem to be from North Westmeath.
That said, the cost of the land, along with the huge investment required to get it to the stage where a pitch can actually be developed, is a massive negative. Hopefully, you and the other County Board members will still be in office when it is finally built in 15 years' time!
Regarding the football championship structure, I agree with you that there has been a lot more urgency in the games so far this year. However, I think by Round 5 we could see a lot of teams with very little to play for, resulting in a huge number of dead rubbers.
The quarter-final weekend is immediately after Round 5. If you're in Group B and have already qualified for the quarter-finals going into the final round, there is no real incentive to play your strongest team. It doesn't matter whether you finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Group B because the quarter-finals are an open draw.
I feel the final round of fixtures could be a farce. I'd say we will be lucky if more than three of the six Senior games have anything meaningful riding on them. You then have Round 4, Round 5 and the quarter-final weekend all coming back-to-back.
So what would you rather have: greater urgency in the first three rounds, or the four best teams playing in the semi-finals when it matters most?
Kinnegad, Lomans, The Downs and Shamrocks are all miles ahead of the rest of the county at the moment. Yet one of those four won't even qualify for the knockout stages.
Tubberclair look to be flying, but they might not even face a Senior A team until the semi-finals. Moate and Athlone look likely to finish 2nd and 3rd in Senior B, but they are miles off the top four teams in the county.
For me, it's a terrible format. I've really enjoyed the first two rounds because there has been genuine urgency in the games, but I fear the final round of fixtures and, ultimately, the knockout stages could be a real let-down." What exactly are you congratulating the County Board on? For coming up with the plans? It will be another 30 years at the rate they are moving. Clubs will be left with a financial noose around their necks trying to fund a Centre of Excellence. Any other County with plans to build a Centre of Excellence would be actively sourcing external funding rather than simply passing the entire cost down to the Clubs.
iarmhiabu (Westmeath) - Posts: 360 - 13/08/2026 13:10:08
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