Under 21s to face Royals in crucial championship clash

Leinster Under 21 Football ChampionshipWestmeath's Under 21 footballers face neighbours Meath in the next round of their Leinster Championship next Saturday afternoon in Cusack Park. Having narrowly defeated last year's Championship semi-finalists Kildare in the first round and fielding a strong side, which includes several senior panel members, this is a fixture which Westmeath should be capable of wining.Meath received a bye in the first round and this will be their first outing in this year's championship and having lost out by just the bare minimum to Dublin last year they will be hoping to go a step further this year. Westmeath will know the battle they are facing and will need a big performance from the senior members of the team if they are to come away with a win.National Hurling LeagueWestmeath hurlers played Carlow in their second round of this years national League last Sunday in Cusack Park. The home county were fast out of the blocks and raced into an early 1-3 to 0-1 lead, the goal coming from Craig Doyle on 10 minutes.It took Westmeath 17 minutes to open their account with an Andrew Mitchell point from a free. However, a brace of Carlow goals from their top marksman Paudie Kehoe his first from a penalty after 27 minutes (Keogh was Carlow's top marksman on the day scoring 2-5, 2-1 from play) placed Carlow in a comfortable 3-7 to 0-7 interval lead.Shortly before the half-time break, Westmeath's problems were compounded when left half-back Paul Greville was given his marching orders after receiving his second yellow card.Westmeath made three half-time substitutions in order to get themselves back in the game, with the most significant being the introduction of Brendan Murtagh, who crashed a close-range free to the Carlow net on 40 minutes to cut the home lead to six points.But Carlow remained composed despite being under some pressure and were 4-9 to 1-8 to the good when Doyle found Damien Roberts for their fourth goal.Substitute Derek Byrne nabbed Carlow's fifth green flag before the end as the Westmeath challenge disintegrated, despite the best efforts of Pat burke, Andrew Mitchell and Brendan Murtagh in particular. This loss leaves Westmeath in a very precarious position as they could now well be facing relegation to Division 3 if things don't change.National Football LeagueWestmeath footballers have their next outing in the League next weekend when they travel to Navan to take on Meath. This will be another tough encounter for Westmeath as they try to pick themselves up and will need to be able to put something together up front to get the better of the normally water tight Meath defence. Meath will be anxious to get their League campaign back on track after narrowly losing out to Armagh and Down and no doubt will be favourites to do so.However never rule out an upset as Westmeath really need a win to get their year going and need to remain in Division 2 where they will be playing at a higher standard of football which is necessary to improve the performances of the newer faces and get them up to a faster pace and tougher competition.Minor Board NotesMeetingA meeting of the Minor Committee due to take place on Monday, March 1 has been re-scheduled to March 8 at 8pm in the meeting room Cusack Park, Mullingar.All Clubs are requested to have a delegate in attendance.Kilbeggan to honour 1959 GAA heroesA special event to commemorate Kilbeggan Shamrocks' winning of the 1959 Westmeath junior football and hurling championships will take place in Locke's Distillery, Kilbeggan on Sunday, March 7 next.The unique double holds a special place in the annals of the Kilbeggan Shamrocks club which has been in existence for 121 years.Now, a year later than planned, the 50th anniversary of those wonderful successes will be marked when surviving and deceased members of both teams will be honoured.The guests of honour will be provided with a free tour of Locke's Distillery Museum at 2pm before the main event gets underway at 3pm.The great battles of 1959 will be fondly recalled in both words and song, while a framed photograph of the winning junior football and hurling championship teams will be presented to surviving members and families of deceased members. Refreshments will also be provided. Admission is €10.The event will also honour the Kilbeggan Boys' National School team which won the Comortas na mBunscol football title in 1954. A number of players from that team went on to feature in the junior successes of five years later.The junior football and hurling championships were annexed within a fortnight of each another in 1959, with 13 players figuring in both successes.The hurling championship was the first title to come to the banks of the Brosna on September 20 when Glenidan were overwhelmed on a 7-7 to 4-4 scoreline.A brace of early goals from Paddy Gorry set the tone for the afternoon and Jack McCormack had added a third before Glenidan opened their account. When Gorry completed his hat-trick after the restart, the game was ended as a contest.After drawing the junior football final with Mullingar Shamrocks on September 13, Kilbeggan ran out comfortable 3-4 to 0-4 winners in the replay on October 4 to complete a famous double.The dominance enjoyed by county star Ned 'Dinger' Bruer and Jim Grehan at midfield ensured a constant supply of possession to the Kilbeggan forwards with PJ Smith, Paddy Gorry and Des Kelliher all among the goals.All sponsorship for the event is welcome. For further information, contact Stan McCormack on 087-9089674 or email florandstan@eircom.netThe organising committee is: Stan McCormack, Dan Scally, Frank Keoghan, Kitty Flynn, Randal Scally, Frank Ryan, Anne Carton, Donal Fox and John O'Brien.The surviving members of the 1959 Kilbeggan junior hurling and football teams are: J Lynagh, S Craig, N Rooney, P Clavin, P Keegan, V Ryan, M Moran, J Grehan, D Kelliher, M Guilfoyle, L Wyer, JJ Sheerin, S Stokes, W Corcoran, B McCormack.The deceased members are: J McCormack, PJ Carton, M Craig, J Ryan, T McCormack, PJ Smith, E Bruer, P Wyer, P Gorry, P Carton, C Dunne, J Quinn, P Quinn, T Dunican.Foundation level hurlingcoaching courseA Hurling Foundation Course is taking place in Clonkill next Friday night/Saturday morning, March 5 and 6.Friday's session runs from 7.00 - 10.00 with Saturday morning running from 10.00 - 1.30pm. While Clonkill are hosting the course limited places are also available to other clubs. The area of Coach Education, and specifically Foundation and Level One, has been revamped at Croke Park Level and this is the first 'new' Foundation Hurling course to be delivered in Westmeath.The certification process has also been revamped with all certs. now being processed by The Sports Council/Coaching Ireland as well as Croke Park. The Course has a good mix of theory and practice and we feel any Mentor that attends would find it beneficial for the year ahead.If any member(s) of your club wishes to avail of this course could you contact the undersigned by Wednesday next, March 3rd. With the new system as in place by Croke Park courses are strictly limited to 24 so if you have coaches interested could you contact me as soon as possible.GAA membershipdatabaseAs it is now time for clubs to start registering their players and members for 2010 please make sure to do so on the new GAA Membership Database as this is now the Official method of registration for the GAA.Wheelchair Hurling Club proposed for Westmeath and OffalyDo You Have A Passion For Hurling? Westmeath and Offaly Sports Partnership, in conjunction with the Westmeath and Offaly 'Coaching and Games Promotion Officers', are currently recruiting members to join a Wheelchair Hurling Club in Westmeath and Offaly.Wheelchair Hurling is a relatively new and exciting competitive sport for manual wheelchair users. This is an action packed, skilful team sport targeting 8 to 18 year olds of all abilities. Offaly and Westmeath GAA Development Officers fully support the establishment of this exciting new club and are looking toward recruiting interested parties.If you wish to get involved either as a participant or spectator, please contact the Sports Partnership on or before Friday, March 5.Claire Grehan, Offaly Sports Partnership. Phone no: (057) 93 57463. Email: cgrehan@offalycoco.ieMary Duignan, Westmeath Sports partnership. Phone no: (044) 93 38921. Email: mary@westmeathsports.ieHandballThe most significant result in the GAA Handball Mens Open 40x20 Championships transpired in the Leinster championship decider on Saturday evening. Westmeath's Robbie McCarthy produced the best handball of his senior career to date in as he denied hot favourite, Eoin Kennedy (Dublin) to claim the honours in a three game thriller.Having claimed the opening game by the minimum margin, 21-20, McCarthy succumbed to Kennedy's finishing power in the second, losing 21-18.However he bounced back with an amazing 21-15 third game victory to claim his first Senior title. Congratulations and well done to Robbie.Westmeath GAADevelopment LottoThe winning numbers last week were 20, 26, 27, 30. There was no jackpot winner. There were two Match 3 winners who each received €160: Ed C/O Delvin GAA and Bs & Gs C/O St. Oliver Plunketts GAA.ResultsNHL Div 2: Carlow 5-17, Westmeath 1-10.ACFL Division 1: Maryland 1-11, Athlone 0-5; Mullingar Shamrocks 0-15, Coralstown/Kinnegad 3-3; Castledaly 4-10, Tyrrellspass 0-17; The Downs 1-7, Garrycastle 0-9; Bunbrosna 2-9, St. Loman's, Mullingar 0-7.ACFL Division 2: Tang 2-9, Caulry 0-8; Ballynacargy 1-11, Ballymore 1-11; Shandonagh 0-7, Killucan 0-6; St. Malachy's 1-13, Tubberclair 0-9; Milltownpass 2-2, Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall 0-6.ACFL Division 3: Kilbeggan Shamrocks 1-15, Ballinagore 0-6; Milltown 0-12, St. Paul's 2-4; St. Fintan's Multyfarnham 1-7, Loughnavalley 0-8; Moate All Whites 1-10, Rosemount 0-10; St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge 2-9, Tyrrellspass 0-5.Websitehttp://www.westmeathgaa.ieContactI can be contacted by phone on 044 9666476, 087 2777987 or by email on pro.westmeath@gaa.ie