At the Westmeath SFC launch at Shay Murtagh Precast, back row, L-R: Andy Murtagh, Shay Murtagh, Sean Doyle (Caulry), David Bryan (Killucan), Brian Slevin (Tyrrellspass), Conor Coughlan (The Downs), Fergal McKiernan (Garrycastle), Gareth Carr (Shandonagh), Kieran Murtagh, Frank Mescall (Westmeath GAA chairman). Front row, L-R:, Andrew Gorman (Moate All Whites), Paddy Fagan (Mullingar Shamrocks), Adam Neary (Tang), David Whelan (St Loman’s Mullingar), Shane Allen (Athlone), Darren Giles (Coralstown/Kinnegad). Photo: Sportsfile

No respite for county players as race for club honours begins

Kieran Galvin

Published: Fri 23 Jun 2023, 8:10 PM

Last updated: Sat 24 Jun 2023, 9:58 AM

There is precious little time for Westmeath’s county players to lick their wounds after they were desperately unlucky to exit the All-Ireland senior championship with a draw against Tyrone on Sunday last.

That’s because the 2023 Westmeath club football championships start this weekend, with some players having just six days to prepare for opening round action.

Regarding the Westmeath SFC, in the south of the county much of the attention will be focused on Section B in which Athlone, Garrycastle, Moate All Whites and Tang will all compete. Last year’s intermediate champions Shandonagh and Mullingar Shamrocks are the other teams in this section.

It’s a group where each team has cause to fancy their chances of making the knockout stages, but only two of the six will do so, leaving very little margin for slip-ups.

In addition, each of the teams in this section will be keenly aware that a couple of bad results will leave them worrying about the threat of relegation.

Athlone will be buoyed by their promotion from Division 2 of the ACFL and they went on to defeat Milltownpass in the league final. They face Moate All Whites in their opening game but no doubt Moate, under new manager Liam McNeill, will be looking to improve on last year’s championship showing.

Tang, now managed by Tubber native Keith Higgins, will take encouragement from retaining their place in Division 1 of the league and they have players returning from injury at the right time.

John Benton is now in charge of Garrycastle who look set to be without the services of some key players for some or indeed all of the championship. Garrycastle, who were recently relegated from Division 1 of the ACFL along with Castledaly, will play Shandonagh in their opening round and this will be viewed as a must win game.

Section A contains defending champions The Downs, last year’s finalists St Loman’s Mullingar and Division 1 league champions Coralstown/Kinnegad. Understandably, most people will expect one of this trio of teams to lift the Flanagan Cup, with many observers expecting St Loman’s to regain their crown.

Just like the group stages of this year’s Sam Maguire Cup, the games in this group will suffer from a frustrating lack of jeopardy, with 15 games to be played to eliminate just two teams. Therefore the leading contenders are likely to be trying to hit their peak later in the campaign.

Caulry are in this section and they will face a difficult opener against newly crowned league champions Coralstown/Kinnegad, who have former Offaly star Paschal Kellaghan in charge. Tyrrellspass and Killucan are the other teams in this group.

In the Westmeath Intermediate FC, Tubberclair will be aiming to go one better than last year when they lost the county final to Shandonagh, after a replay. In their opening game, Martin McCabe’s side will face Castledaly whom they defeated in last year’s quarter-final. Castledaly are now managed by Paul Kelly, a long serving player with the club.

Having been relegated from the senior ranks last year, Rosemount will be keen to bounce straight back up, and they will meet St Mary’s Rochfortbridge in their opening test.

There will be an interesting local derby between Ballymore and Milltown - the clubs play together at underage level under the Millmore Gaels banner - in Tang on Saturday evening.

See below for this weekend’s Westmeath GAA club championship fixtures.

Saturday, June 24

Shay Murtagh Precast Senior FC

Section A (Round 1) - TEG Cusack Park: Caulry vs Coralstown/Kinnegad, 5.15, Mick Murtagh. TEG Cusack Park: St Loman's, Mullingar vs The Downs, 7:30, Alan Coyne.

Section B (Round 1) - Castledaly: Athlone vs Moate All Whites, 7.30, Declan Nugent.

Shay Murtagh Precast Intermediate FC

Section A (Round 1) - Tang: Milltown vs Ballymore, 7.30, Ken Gunning.

Section B (Round 1) - Rochfortbridge: Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall vs St Malachy's, 5.15, Barry Pierce. Rochfortbridge: Maryland vs Multyfarnham, 7.30, Jim Rock.

Sunday, June 25

Clarke’s Bar Junior 1 FC

Section B (Round 1) - Killucan: Killucan v Mullingar Shamrocks, 2pm, Paul McCaughey. The Downs: Kilbeggan Shamrocks v St Paul's, 2pm, Barry Nea. The Downs: Moate All Whites v Bunbrosna, 4pm, Michael Gordon.

Shay Murtagh Precast Intermediate FC

Section A (Round 1) - Páirc Chiaráin: Castledaly v Tubberclair, 2pm, Enda Kenny. Páirc Chiaráin: St Mary's Rochfortbridge v Rosemount, 4pm, Gary Hurley.

Section B (Round 1) - TEG Cusack Park: Milltownpass v Ballynacargy, 5.15, Sean Carroll.

Shay Murtagh Precast Senior FC

Section B (Round 1) - Moate: Mullingar Shamrocks v Tang, 2pm, Pat Fox. Moate: Garrycastle v Shandonagh, 4pm, Mick Murtagh.

Section A (Round 1) - TEG Cusack Park: Killucan v Tyrellspass, 7.30, Shane Maher.