Westmeath U16 hurlers denied after great start
Armagh 4-16, Westmeath 1-12
Celtic Challenge Corn Jerome O'Leary U16 Hurling Final
Westmeath travelled to Abbottstown last Saturday morning to take on the Armagh minor team in the Corn Jerome O'Leary Final.
Westmeath got off to a great start to take an early 1-3 to 0-0 lead but the Ulster side played their way into the game and a pair of quickfire goals put them in the ascendancy at the interval by 2-7 to 1-8.
The extra year in age started to tell after the interval as the Armagh made their physical advantage pay, and another pair of goals around the three-quarter mark put them into an unassailable lead. The Lake County stayed playing away but could not work their way back into the contest, with the Orchard County winning out by 4-16 to 1-12.
The result sees the conclusion of the Celtic Challenge and with Westmeath having faced the minor teams of Roscommon, Mayo, Down and Armagh, it will have prepared the player for the rigours of playing at a higher level in the years ahead. Well done to Armagh on their win on Saturday and also to the organisers of the Celtic Challenge who commissioned a programme for the series of finals in Abbottstown. Hard luck to the Westmeath players and mentors; the group will be back in competitive action on 4th July when they host Antrim.
Development Squads
The U15 footballers played Dublin last weekend in a pair of challenge games, kindly hosted by Caulry GAA. The games acted as preparation for each team's upcoming games this Saturday, with the Dermot Earley team hosting Louth in Hogan Park, Moate at 12:00 and the Humphrey Kelliher team travelling to Wexford to take on the Model County at 12:00, with the venue still to be confirmed at the time of writing.
All other teams trained last weekend with Rochfortbridge, Killucan and Ringtown hosting the sessions. The U16 footballers will travel to Tuam this Saturday to take on Galway in the final group game of the Ted Webb Cup whilst two U14 football teams head to Clare to play the Banner County in a pair of games.
Primary Teacher Gaelic Games Education Course
Athlone Education Centre, in conjunction with Westmeath GAA, is running a Summer Course for Primary School teachers entitled "Leading Gaelic Games in Primary Schools". The course will take a blended learning approach, with two days in person in St. Joseph's SS Rochfortbridge and three days online. The course will focus on developing physical literacy and movement skills, developing coaching programmes and integrating Gaelic Games into a PE Curriculum.
Full details on the course and the sign up link can be accessed through the following link - https://athloneeducationcentre.com/cpd-courses/summer-courses.html
Development squad Fixtures
Saturday, 13th June
U16 Football: Ted Webb Cup Round 3: Galway vs Westmeath, Claregalway, 12:00.
U15 Football: Dermot Earley Michael Glaveys Cup: Westmeath vs Louth; Hogan Park, Moate; 12:00.
U15 Football: Humphrey Kelliher Millstreet Cup: Wexford vs Westmeath, Wexford venue, 12:00.
U14 Football: Clare vs Westmeath (2 Games); Caherlohan Centre of Excellence, Ennis, 12:00.