Clash of Raharney and Castletown Geoghegan proves club draw highlight

The draws for this year's senior football and hurling championships took place on Thursday evening and the reigning senior football champions, St Loman's, Mullingar are to meet Athlone in the first round.

Meanwhile, Coralstown/Kinnegad, finalists last year, will meet Tang in the opening round, while Caulry, fresh from their run to the last four, will face Tyrrellspass in a fascinating first round encounter.

In Section B, The Downs meet Moate All Whites in the opening round, while Mullingar Shamrocks take on Shandonagh in another spicy first round encounter. St Malachy's, last year's intermediate winners, will meet Killucan.

Elsewhere, Garrycastle, seeking to make an instant return to top flight football, will begin their intermediate football championship campaign against Milltownpass who were runners-up last year. Rosemount and Castledaly meet in an intriguing local derby.

In section 'B', which surprisingly produced the two finalists last year, Multyfarnham meet Ballymore, St Mary's Rochfortbridge face Maryland and last year's junior champions Kilbeggan Shamrocks take on Ballynacargy.

Elsewhere, the junior football championship draw produced an interesting first round tie involving St Joseph's and Ballycomoyle, while St Paul's meet Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall and Bunbrosna meet Moate All Whites.

Junior 2 (section A) sees Loughnavalley meet Mullingar Shamrocks, while Ballinagore take on Rosemount and Delvin have a bye. In section B, it's Killucan vs Caulry, while Garrycastle meet Multyfarnham and The Downs have the bye.

In hurling, defending champions Raharney will face old rivals Castletown Geoghegan in the first round of the senior hurling championship in what is arguably the highlight of Thursday's draw. Raharney are chasing back-to-back senior titles for the first time, but the Black and Ambers are serious contenders.

Last year's defeated finalists Lough Lene Gaels will meet newly promoted St Oliver Plunkett's, while Clonkill take on Castlepollard.

In the senior 'B' championship, an interesting first round tie sees Crookedwood face Fr Dalton's, while Ringtown meet Castletown Geoghegan's second team. Delvin take on Cullion in the other tie, a big game for both these aspiring clubs.

The intermediate hurling championship sees Brownstown face St Brigid's, while Turin meet Clonkill's second team and Southern Gaels take on Raharney's second side.

Championship action will not begin until July at the earliest, depending largely on how Westmeath senior footballers fare in the championship (either Sam Maguire or Tailteann Cup).

County Committee Chairman Frank Mescall committed to a longer break between Westmeath’s final game and the start of the championship. Speaking at the draws last Thursday, Mr Mescall said last year’s one-week break for county players was unfair and they will have more time to “bed in” with their clubs this season.

Reacting to the senior football draw, the chairman said the fact that The Downs are in Section B, the weaker of the two, is going to pile the pressure on the other five teams. Just two of the six will emerge from this section and The Downs face Moate All Whites in round 1.

Mullingar Shamrocks will see this as their opportunity to progress to a quarter final and Tang, who showed good promise last year, will also be eyeing up a decent run. Mr Mescall said their league position to date suggests they have not yet found the form of 2023: “Maybe they are saving themselves for the championship,” he remarked.

Looking at the other grades, the chairman noted how the intermediate grade has become “a minefield” as all teams seem to be very evenly matched, with the two finalists in 2023 coming from the supposed weaker section B. He feels the teams in the top group will be more alert to their threat after last year.

The chairman said he has a special grá for the junior football championship having managed Ballynacargy to glory back in 1995. He said the clash with Kilbeggan Shamrocks in round one of this year’s intermediate championship will reignite some memories of the two clubs’ battles in the junior grade, with Kilbeggan denying Bal’ in the junior decider of 2018.

Turning to the hurling championships, the chairman feels that St Oliver Plunkett’s who won last year’s senior B championship, will have to be more consistent than previous winners if they are to make an impact. He praised the Mullingar club for their work with the youth of Mullingar over the decades, recalling the contribution of the late Tony Donoghue in that regard.

He said men like Eddie Casey are now committed to building on that legacy and it’s great for Westmeath hurling to see progress in the town.

“Raharney and the other established clubs will always be strong because there is a great tradition of hurling in those areas,” he remarked.

Delvin, he feels are something of an enigma, but well capable of finding their form in senior B, as are Cullion and Crookedwood. Fr Dalton’s cannot be discounted. He noted how Brownstown, the former kingpins, have now dropped to intermediate, but they will be keen to bounce back which makes it interesting.

“We had really good championships in Westmeath last year and St Loman’s, Mullingar and Raharney were worthy winners. Raharney have a huge incentive to win the senior hurling title again and St Loman’s will take a lot of stopping. They are the ‘Dublin’ of Westmeath and I hope they won’t mind me saying. They will be very difficult to stop again,” he said.

Sponsors’ important role

The various sponsors spoke on the evening and all said they are proud to be associated with the different football and hurling championships.

Martin Slevin represented Slevin’s Coaches, who have been sponsoring the hurling championships for some years now. He is looking forward to another good season.

“We are big Clonkill people in particular, but we wish all teams the very best in the various championships,” he said.

Ciaran Murtagh (Shay Murtagh Precast) said: “We are delighted to be involved with the senior football championship. I don’t get to as many games as I would like, but it’s great to see all the young players coming through each year.”

He recalled his late uncle, Ber, as being a great Killucan man and great Westmeath supporter. “He was well known for the craic, whether it be dogs or football,” he said.

Kieran Clarke of Clarke’s Bar said the business has been involved with Westmeath football for the past 10 years, sponsoring the junior championships in the county. “It’s great to see young players developing from junior right through intermediate and into senior. It’s lovely to be able to support Westmeath GAA and we have received great support from the GAA community in our 22 years in business,” he said.

Keith Quinn, fixtures secretary, said the championships in Westmeath have proven very popular over the years and five rounds of football and hurling is great for the players. He praised the structure and thanked his fellow CCC (Competitions Control Committee) members for their work. The commitment of the clubs in playing their league games without county players in the early months of the season was noted.

“We have lost a couple of rounds due to poor weather but we hope to get them back now that the long evenings are with us,” he said, acknowledging the support of chairman Frank Mescall and head of operations Patrick Doherty.