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Westmeath Football thread

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Replying To Greengrass1:  "Ryanair head could easily pay for it out of his back pocket like JP in Limerick but he won't!!"
O'Leary was,is and will always be a rugby man. Why would he fund a GAA centre. He does loads of donations for his locality that isn't public knowledge.

ExiledCuCu (Cavan) - Posts: 303 - 07/08/2026 22:30:44    2689027

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Two poorest teams in Section A going at it tonight in relegation final. Athlone and South Westmeath offering very little at the moment, Mullingar and north to Mullingar is football stronghold.

iarmhiabu (Westmeath) - Posts: 357 - 07/08/2026 22:40:35    2689028

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Replying To iarmhiabu:  "Two poorest teams in Section A going at it tonight in relegation final. Athlone and South Westmeath offering very little at the moment, Mullingar and north to Mullingar is football stronghold."
The South Westmeath clubs may not be setting the place alight at the moment but to say they are offering very little is an insult to the players from southern clubs who made such an important contribution to Westmeath's success this year. These things tend to come in cycles. The clubs from Mullingar area are dominant now but history shows that this won't last forever. All of Westmeath's five football All-Stars came from the south of the county, Athlone has more senior titles than any other club, while Garrycastle is the only Westmeath club to win a Leinster senior title.

midlands (Westmeath) - Posts: 646 - 08/08/2026 12:12:58    2689056

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new Centre of Excellence plans got me thinking.
It looks like a fantastic project and would be a huge asset for Westmeath GAA. One thing I was wondering about is the six pitches, considering you've got Plunketts 500 metres away with two pitches, Shamrocks nearby where another 3-4 pitches are planned with Andrews Construction, and Lomans also developing another 3-4 pitches.
Was there ever any consideration given to collaborating with one or more of the clubs? I completely understand the benefits of having a dedicated county facility, but it just crossed my mind. My only other thought is funding, with so many clubs fundraising at the minute. Hopefully a few big sponsors get behind it because it would be a fantastic development for the county.

TheWagonWheel-N91Y529 (Westmeath) - Posts: 2 - 08/08/2026 13:56:21    2689074

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Replying To midlands:  "The South Westmeath clubs may not be setting the place alight at the moment but to say they are offering very little is an insult to the players from southern clubs who made such an important contribution to Westmeath's success this year. These things tend to come in cycles. The clubs from Mullingar area are dominant now but history shows that this won't last forever. All of Westmeath's five football All-Stars came from the south of the county, Athlone has more senior titles than any other club, while Garrycastle is the only Westmeath club to win a Leinster senior title."
Soon to be all six

lakecounty76 (Westmeath) - Posts: 13 - 08/08/2026 14:06:28    2689075

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Replying To midlands:  "The South Westmeath clubs may not be setting the place alight at the moment but to say they are offering very little is an insult to the players from southern clubs who made such an important contribution to Westmeath's success this year. These things tend to come in cycles. The clubs from Mullingar area are dominant now but history shows that this won't last forever. All of Westmeath's five football All-Stars came from the south of the county, Athlone has more senior titles than any other club, while Garrycastle is the only Westmeath club to win a Leinster senior title."
I have to disagree with the history part. I don't see the Mullingar clubs struggling for a long time; they're nearly all fielding two teams at U14 and U16 level, all in the top division. I know Athlone had a good Féile team this year, but aside from that, the majority of their South Westmeath teams are in the mid divisions and lacking the numbers the Mullingar teams are fielding.

TheWagonWheel-N91Y529 (Westmeath) - Posts: 2 - 08/08/2026 14:11:06    2689076

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Replying To iarmhiabu:  "Two poorest teams in Section A going at it tonight in relegation final. Athlone and South Westmeath offering very little at the moment, Mullingar and north to Mullingar is football stronghold."
Certainly offering very little apart from Tadhg Baker, Matthew Whittaker, Shane Allen, Ray Connellan, Senan Baker, Harry Niall, Robbie Forde, James Mitchell, Eoghan McCabe, Stephen McGonagle, Jack Duncan, Conor Dillon, Shane Corcoran.

The U20 panel has huge numbers from Tubberclair and players from Moate, Garrycastle, Caulry and so on.

DelaneyCup2026 (Westmeath) - Posts: 17 - 08/08/2026 14:38:07    2689082

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Replying To midlands:  "The South Westmeath clubs may not be setting the place alight at the moment but to say they are offering very little is an insult to the players from southern clubs who made such an important contribution to Westmeath's success this year. These things tend to come in cycles. The clubs from Mullingar area are dominant now but history shows that this won't last forever. All of Westmeath's five football All-Stars came from the south of the county, Athlone has more senior titles than any other club, while Garrycastle is the only Westmeath club to win a Leinster senior title."
It is not a reflection on the County set up, the area continues to provide plenty of players to the County cause but at Club adult level in general they have regressed rather than progressed despite significant population growth. I would safely say no Club from the area will win a Senior Championship in the next 5 or 6 years. Riverstown Emmets were a good side too but I am looking ahead.

iarmhiabu (Westmeath) - Posts: 357 - 08/08/2026 14:40:42    2689083

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No one in Moate tonight would think k it will be 5-6 years before Tubberclair win a senior championship, minus Matthew Whittaker and Tom Bourke who are their two best players, they destroyed Tyrrellspass, Tyrrellspass not as strong as in recent years but to win any championship match by 17 points is impressive. One more win should secure a quarter final place as their score difference is + 23 after just two games. No side in section A will fancy meeting them, they have great pace, in form players like Keegan, Duffy, McCabe, McGonagle, Connell and Kelleher, Sean Whittaker eligible for senior next year and he's a great prospect. The first game in Moate this evening is unlikely to be matched all year, two attack minded sides shooting for fun, a fantastic spectacle, brilliant comeback by St. Malachy's from 8-9 points down early in 2nd half.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2735 - 08/08/2026 21:44:19    2689114

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Replying To Claretandblue:  "No one in Moate tonight would think k it will be 5-6 years before Tubberclair win a senior championship, minus Matthew Whittaker and Tom Bourke who are their two best players, they destroyed Tyrrellspass, Tyrrellspass not as strong as in recent years but to win any championship match by 17 points is impressive. One more win should secure a quarter final place as their score difference is + 23 after just two games. No side in section A will fancy meeting them, they have great pace, in form players like Keegan, Duffy, McCabe, McGonagle, Connell and Kelleher, Sean Whittaker eligible for senior next year and he's a great prospect. The first game in Moate this evening is unlikely to be matched all year, two attack minded sides shooting for fun, a fantastic spectacle, brilliant comeback by St. Malachy's from 8-9 points down early in 2nd half."
A senior championship is a stretch. Have to take into account the opposition who were very poor albeit missing some key players. I can see them being relegated in the next couple of years and tubberclair will take there place as a seasoned senior team but I cant see them winning a senior championship

DanGer966 (Westmeath) - Posts: 51 - 08/08/2026 22:50:06    2689122

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Very entertaining second half in Cusack tonight which finished 1-13 apiece between The Downs and Kinnegad.
Kinnegad led for most of it until a late Niall Mitchell flicked goal put them a point ahead going into injury time. Inexplicably a late free for The Downs was ballooned and not put dead - Kinnegad went up and got a great equaliser with last kick of the game. Great to see Luke Loughin back who came on at half time and kicked 2 x 2 pointers. Seemed to be moving well.

BigSur (Westmeath) - Posts: 1260 - 08/08/2026 23:03:57    2689123

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Replying To Claretandblue:  "No one in Moate tonight would think k it will be 5-6 years before Tubberclair win a senior championship, minus Matthew Whittaker and Tom Bourke who are their two best players, they destroyed Tyrrellspass, Tyrrellspass not as strong as in recent years but to win any championship match by 17 points is impressive. One more win should secure a quarter final place as their score difference is + 23 after just two games. No side in section A will fancy meeting them, they have great pace, in form players like Keegan, Duffy, McCabe, McGonagle, Connell and Kelleher, Sean Whittaker eligible for senior next year and he's a great prospect. The first game in Moate this evening is unlikely to be matched all year, two attack minded sides shooting for fun, a fantastic spectacle, brilliant comeback by St. Malachy's from 8-9 points down early in 2nd half."
Junior B standard.

ExiledCuCu (Cavan) - Posts: 303 - 09/08/2026 00:19:51    2689126

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Replying To Claretandblue:  "No one in Moate tonight would think k it will be 5-6 years before Tubberclair win a senior championship, minus Matthew Whittaker and Tom Bourke who are their two best players, they destroyed Tyrrellspass, Tyrrellspass not as strong as in recent years but to win any championship match by 17 points is impressive. One more win should secure a quarter final place as their score difference is + 23 after just two games. No side in section A will fancy meeting them, they have great pace, in form players like Keegan, Duffy, McCabe, McGonagle, Connell and Kelleher, Sean Whittaker eligible for senior next year and he's a great prospect. The first game in Moate this evening is unlikely to be matched all year, two attack minded sides shooting for fun, a fantastic spectacle, brilliant comeback by St. Malachy's from 8-9 points down early in 2nd half."
Last week you said no other team would score more than 1-24 for the remainder of the championship.
This week Tubberclaire said hold my beer... What a performance without key players.

Chops (Westmeath) - Posts: 945 - 09/08/2026 11:38:08    2689150

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Replying To DanGer966:  "A senior championship is a stretch. Have to take into account the opposition who were very poor albeit missing some key players. I can see them being relegated in the next couple of years and tubberclair will take there place as a seasoned senior team but I cant see them winning a senior championship"
They certainly have a good crop of players coming through with a good age profile, other teams have done this in the past number of years and not kicked on. Mullingar are in a very similar situation as both sets of players competed for championships at the same age group for a number of years. Making the step and maintaining it as an established senior team isn't easy.

DelaneyCup2026 (Westmeath) - Posts: 17 - 09/08/2026 12:42:24    2689165

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