A look back on 2009 highlights

At the end of April the All Ireland Semi-Finals of Scór took place in Killarney. We were represented in all four events. Solo Singing Ballymore (Padraic Keena) Recitation Moate All Whites (Peter Dolan) Novelty Act (Castletown-Geoghegan) and Set Dancing (The Downs). Congratulations to Peter Dolan (Moate All Whites) on winning the All-Ireland Scór Title in the Recetation/Story Telling category.The Christy Ring Cup competition started in May for the hurlers and this is one which they will probably want to forget with defeats by Kildare and Mayo which left us fighting with Wicklow for the right to compete in this competition next year. After producing a good display against a poor Wicklow side we did survive.Westmeath County Board were delighted to announce the Sponsors for the various championships for 2009; Shay Murtagh Precast (Senior Football), Greville Arms Hotel (Senior Hurling), Slevins Coaches (Intermediate and Junior Hurling), and Jasca Sports Irl (Junior Football). The Minor Hurlers recorded a magnificent victory over Offaly to set them up for a Semi-Final clash with Kilkenny, while the Minor Footballers once again lost out to Meath after a poor display.The month of June saw two very successful initiatives from Coaching and Games, the U-8 & U-10 Play and Stay and the Cluster Coaching which was for four sessions in different clubs with the aim being to give the volunteers in these clubs the tools and confidence to get involved in coaching of teams. It was also a disappointing month from a football point of view as we struggled to defeat Wicklow after extra time and suffered a second twenty seven-point defeat at the hands of Dublin in the space of 6 months.The month of July brought further disappointment on the football front when we lost out to Meath in the first round of the Qualifiers on a miserable wet Saturday evening and Tomás Ó Flaharta's four year reign as manager came to an end. The club championships started to progress with wins for Lough Lene Gaels, Raharney, Castlepollard and St. Oliver Plunketts in the first round of the senior hurling, and the successful VHI Summer Cúl Camps got under way. Once again this year we hosted the All Ireland Under 16 B hurling competition in August which had a special significance for Westmeath this year as the Cup was named after the formed Co. Board assistant secretary Adrian Murray from Crookedwood, the only negative thing about this competition was the fact that Westmeath did not compete opting instead to compete in the Arra Bawn tournament in Tipperary. The Club championship league stages were drawing to a close with no major surprises with the teams challenging at the top.September and October were two busy months with all the championship semi-finals and finals taking place, also Westmeath unveiled Brendan Hackett as the new manager for the senior footballers for the next three years amid some controversy. Turin and St. Brigid's contested the Intermediate Hurling final with St. Brigid's coming out on top and making up for last year's disappointment, Lough Lene Gaels defeated St. Oliver Plunketts in the Junior decider. In the senior hurling championship it was a rerun of 2007 with Clonkill defeating Lough Lene Gaels once again.The Senior football between Garrycastle and St. Loman's, Mullingar brought high hopes to the town of Mullingar which was decked out in blue and white from end to end as Lomans were appearing in their first final in forty years, but unfortunately it wasn't to be as Garrycastle lifted the Flanagan Cup and the title of Champions for 2009. In the Intermediate final Ballynacargy were making their second appearance in two years where they faced up to Tubberclair and once again the fell at the final hurdle with Tubberclair gaining promotion to Senior ranks for 2010. In the Junior Final Caulry took on St. Pauls who it is fair to say didn't really perform on the day and Caulry progress to Intermediate ranks for 2010.Leinster Club ChampionshipsNext weekend Clonkill will start off their Leinster Club Championship campaign when they take on the Laois champions, Clough Ballacolla in Cusack Park, Mullingar. Clonkill will be hoping for a good start and maybe be in a position to go one step bigger than 2007 and take a senior club title.In the Junior grade St. Brigid's will face up to Longwood (Meath) in Rochfortbridge and after their emphatic victory last weekend against St. Patricks from Carlow they will be hoping to progress to the next round.In the Intermediate football Tubberclair will play Dunlavin (Wicklow) at home and if they reproduce their championship final form they should progress to they next round. Please come out and support all our local teams.Something for ChristmasYet another thoroughbred from the stable of GAA books by Brendan Fullam has arrived on the bookshelves this autumn. Widely known as a top GAA historian, Fullam creates an intriguing feel for the past by recreating each decade for both hurling and Gaelic football in the form of a key game, key personalities and team of each decade. Some great personalities from the past have been profiled, such as Dr Dick Stokes, Denis Coughlan, Paddy Doherty, Paddy Cullen and Martin Furlong. In modern times, Henry Shefflin, Ken McGrath, and Maurice Fitzgerald offer their insights.As with all team selections pertaining to every era, such as the team of the Millennium, Fullam's personal choices from each decade will provoke debate. For instance, in the 1990s, Brian Corcoran was accommodated as a right corner back when arguably Stephen McDonagh had stronger claims in this position. That said, Brian Whelahan, Seanie McMahon and Anthony Daly are as deserving a half back line as one could find in that decade, and the claims of Brian Corcoran were simply too strong to ignore. Given the dominance of the Kilkenny hurlers in this decade, two selections are offered, one for Kilkenny only, and one excluding Kilkenny players.A range of games are profiled in hurling including the 1931 All-Ireland final series between Cork and Kilkenny and the All-Ireland finals of 1963, 1973 and 1987. The football games profiled include the never-to-be-forgotten game between Offaly and Kerry in 1982, Donegal's superb All-Ireland final victory in 1992 and the day Jimmy Barry Murphy won his first All-Ireland medal in 1973. Arguably the most fascinating game profiled is the tournament final between Ahane (Limerick) and Thurles Sarsfields (Tipperary) in 1947, which demonstrated the strength of club hurling at that time.Overall it's an excellent publication, laden with insightful information and bearing the signatures of the personalities profiled - a Fullam trademark.Importantly, the book is user friendly for those wishing to research from and reference it in the future.The index is top notch and a detailed content listing assists navigation greatly. An ideal stocking filler, it is a must for every GAA reader.Lest We Forget - Gems of Gaelic Games and Those Who Made Them by Brendan Fullam (€19.95) is published by The Collins Press and is now available in all bookshops and can be ordered online from www.collinspress.ieWestmeath GAA Development LottoThe numbers drawn last week were 4, 7, 23 and 26. 5. The following matched three numbers and received €64: Yvonne Smith C/O St. Oliver Plunketts GAA; Nicola Brady C/O Westmeath Ladies GAA; Martin & Steph C/O Ballinagore GAA; John Wall C/O St. Lomans Mullingar GAA and Oliver McKeon C/O Ballinagore GAAResultsACFL Division 1: Garrycastle 2-9 The Downs 1-10Fe 21 Football Championship 13 aside: Shandonagh W/O, St Pauls Scratch; Caulry 2-6 The Downs 1-11; Moate All Whites 1-11 Tubberclair 2-3; Maryland 1-10 Ballynacargy 2-8; Rosemount P, Milltownpass P; Tang 0-5 Ballymore 1-6; Coralstown/Kinnegad 0-9 Castledaly 1-3; St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge 2-10 Killucan 3-3.WebsitesSenior: http://www.westmeathgaa.ie/Minor: http://coistenanog.westmeath.gaa.ieContactI can be contacted by phone on 044 9666476, 087 2777987 or by email on pro.westmeath@gaa.ie