Sports review of the year – January 2022

The New Year began with the news that Dessie Dolan had joined Jack Cooney’s Westmeath senior football backroom team. The Garrycastle man, a legend as a player, now hoped to bring his experience to bear on the coaching side. The O’Byrne Cup began – and ended – with Westmeath comfortably defeated by Kildare, but two weeks later they recovered from an eight-point deficit to beat Wicklow in miserable conditions at TEG Cusack Park in their NFL opener.

The senior hurlers, under Joe Fortune, began their Kehoe Cup campaign with a comfortable win over Meath. Newcomer Jack Gillen hit 1-6 for the Lake County, but Fortune insisted that the win was not a benchmark, and he expected bigger and better things as the year progressed. Later in the month however, Niall Mitchell began a tremendous year by firing a hat-trick as Westmeath racked up six goals in a hammering of Kildare, putting the Maroons through to the Kehoe Cup final, which they duly won against Carlow – Gillen again impressing with 1-5.

The month of January, however, belonged to the camógs of Raharney, who finally got to contest the 2020 All-Ireland club junior ‘A’ camogie final, beating Clanmaurice of Kerry. Hannah Core shot 1-2 as the Westmeath and Leinster champions claimed the Holy Grail. Some weeks later, they hammered Muinebheag of Carlow 2-15 to 0-1 to begin the defence of their Leinster title in style. There was also success for Moate Community School’s senior ladies, who beat Loreto, Navan in their Leinster ‘A’ football final, with Shannon Mulvihill scoring 3-5. However, St Brigid’s conceded five goals to lose their Leinster club junior ‘B’ camogie final to Wicklow’s Knockananna.

In athletics, Mullingar Harriers staged it’s annual ‘Ekiden’ multi-stage relay race; Colin D Smith set a personal best in the 1,500m in the National Indoor League; Harriers’ women excelled at the Leinster Cross Country with individual and team medals; and Harriers duo Caoimhe Kilmurray and Conor Sherwin made their international cross country debuts in Belfast.

In soccer, Mullingar Town resumed their CCFL Senior Division campaign with a 4-3 defeat to Clara Town, while Inny FC bowed out of the Paddy Cotter Cup after conceding a late goal to Melville FC. Late in the month though, Town recovered to record a 4-0 Combined Counties Cup derby win over Mullingar Celtic. In the south of the county, Athlone native Alan Sheehan was appointed as a first team coach with English Football League side Luton Town, while young prospect Andrew Stuart Trainor signed for Bohemians. However, the big story of Mullingar’s soccer month was Aidan Keena’s transfer from Falkirk to Sligo Rovers in the January window, while Brentford eyed up a move for former Manchester United winger and Mullingar resident Deji Sotona.

Meanwhile, a narrow defeat to Cill Dara saw Mullingar Rugby Club’s first XV in danger of a relegation scrap in Division 1B of the Leinster League; Mullingar Community College claimed an U19 Mid-Leinster basketball title; Lakeside Wheelers’ Dylan Franzoni took part in a junior cyclocross contest; Mullingar athlete Claire Fagan set a new personal best in a 3,000m race in the United States; the chronic shortage of hurling and football referees was highlighted at a meeting of Westmeath GAA’s county board; and Mullingar’s Katie Heffernan was among Ireland’s silver medal-winning squad in the final of the Spanish stage of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.