The Power and the glory
Shay Murtagh Precast Westmeath SFC Final preview
In the build-up to the Westmeath Senior Football Championship final The Downs invited the press to a formal media event in their clubhouse.
Before manager Dermot Power sat down to talk to the representatives from the local newspaper and radio he adjusts the lights, asks his co-captains Ian Martin and Luke Loughlin if they need anything, does did a quick visual check of the setting.
When all the boxes are ticked he sits down. Such details hint at character. When all is set the interviews get underway.
“It's something that you absolutely want to achieve. If you were a player, it would be no different,” he opens the discussion, the question was about dealing with pressure, the weight of being incumbent champions and The Downs rounding out the '26 season facing into yet another final.
“These guys play at a very high level. The expectation at the start of each season, is that this is where you want to be. If your mindset is to say you “just want to take part”, that just won't cut it any more.
“There's too many good teams in Westmeath. So for us to be in a final for the third a year in a row, yes, it's an achievement in itself. But it's probably the minimum place that you want to be.”
Power is measured in his delivery. Each question is weighed before an answer is given. It makes sense in the run up to a final. There is a lot at stake next Sunday.
A subplot of the impending final was the earlier championship encounter. Level pegging after 60 minutes at 0-17 to 2-11, St Loman's having surrendering a seven-point advantage during the closing stages. That outcome underlines just how little may separate the teams.
Power dismisses the notion that the previous result gives his team any psychological edge: “Loman's would think it was one that got away, and it was probably an opportunity to put us under additional pressure, given the new set-up in the county.
“The fact that we were resilient on the day, and that we came back and ended up drawing it, you take a certain amount of heart from that, but the way we played that day won't be good enough in two weeks' time.”
This repeat of the 2024 decider, one that went Loman's way after penalties, is going to be a taut affair. A scan of the betting odds suggests the bookies are putting heir faith in The Downs to retain the Flanagan Cup. Power is reluctant to accept that favourites tag.
“We'd be very clued into what we need to do in order to be right on the day,” he says, “It doesn't matter whether people view us as favourites or not. If anything, I would say that the way Loman's played against Kinnegad, I'd have them as clear favourites.
“They shot the lights out in that second half, probably scoring 1-5, 1-6 in the last 10 minutes. They had a huge number of turnovers, brought a lot of intensity. So they're really on the boil. They've got all of their big names back. They might bring one or two in as well. Definitely we see it as an uphill battle.
“If we're not on the money on the day, then we'll come up second.”
Now in his second term as manager, Power's record is impressive. Back to back finals is no mean achievement in a county championship that bristles with talent.
He downplays his own role in the momentum of the men in black and amber: “We've got a very strong coaching team. Eoghan Carroll and Barry Conroy are hugely involved and key drivers on the pitch. It's never down to just one person.
“There's an awful lot of people in the background here within the club that we wouldn't be here unless they were involved in it as well. We take nothing for granted, and we just wait for Sunday.”
With an even split of the 22 Westmeath senior titles between the two teams and another chapter to be written in a long-running rivalry, this is a final that needs little extra selling.
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