Bealin to face on his former colleagues as All-Ireland champions take on Westmeath

Paul Bealin's first competitive game as Westmeath Senior Football manager sees the Dublin native welcome his fellow county men to Cusack Park, Mullingar in the Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup this Sunday at 2pm.

The O'Byrne Cup was the ONE title that eluded Dublin in 2013, after an impressive 12 months which saw the Metropolitans claim All-Ireland and Leinster Championship titles along with Allianz League Division 1 silverware.

 

The Metropolitans lost last year's Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup decider to Kildare following an epic game, which saw the Lilywhites prevail by two points after extra-time at Parnell Park,Westmeath and Dublin will get to taste action for the first time in 2014 under the new black card rules, with this weekend's match a precursor to the opening round Allianz League Division 1 tie between the sides next February.

Each team is guaranteed three games in the league stages of the Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup, with Louth and D.C.U. also in Group D.

Westmeath's interest in the competition extends further, with Athlone I.T. in action in Group B, where they face last year's winners Kildare in the opening round on Sunday in Newbridge.

Westmeath Senior hurlers will begin their competitive inter-county action for 2014 with a first round Bord na Móna Walsh Cup tie against D.I.T. at Cusack Park, Mullingar on Sunday January 12^th. The prize for the winners is a quarter-final date against Kilkenny a week later.

 

Bord na Móna has once again committed sponsorship for the third year running to the Bord na Móna Leinster G.A.A. Series – the Tournaments which assist the Leinster GAA Benevolent fund, encapsulating the Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup, Bord na Móna Walsh Cup and Bord na Móna Kehoe Cup competitions.

It’s a chance for players, officials and supporters alike to shake off the post-Christmas festivities and turn their focus towards the new season, where the competitions provide emerging talent to gain the limelight for either county or college sides, while those more established players aim to cement their places on their squad.

The Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup commences on Saturday January 4^th, with Louth hosting DCU at Haggardstown, and will be run on a league basis for the second year in a row.11 counties and 5 college teams will compete for silverware, in a four group competition, which culminates following 27 games with the famed O’Byrne Cup being presented following the decider on January 26^th, which will be broadcast live on TG4.

 

The Bord na Móna Walsh Cup and Kehoe Cup hurling competitions have a similar format as last year, with the Walsh Cup starting on January 12^th and the Kehoe Cup on January 19^th.

The Bord na Móna Walsh Cup is a straight knockout competition with Antrim and Galway joining Leinster counties Kilkenny, Wexford, Offaly, Westmeath, Carlow, Laois and Dublin; and college sides U.C.D., D.I.T. and N.U.I.G.

16 teams will take part in an expanded Bord na Móna Kehoe Cup competition, which sees a Bord na Móna Kehoe Shield competition for those teams knocked out in the first round.

Leinster counties Longford, Meath, Wicklow, Kildare and Louth and Dublin side Fingal are joined by their Ulster counterparts Armagh, Down and Derry; Mayo and Roscommon from Connacht along with college sides St. Pats Drumcondra, D.C.U., Trinity College, Queens University and G.M.I.T.

All Leinster counties, bar Kilkenny, along with reigning Sigerson Cup champions D.I.T., U.C.D., D.C.U., I.T. Carlow and Athlone I.T. will set out for Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup football honours.

Wexford, Laois, Offaly and U.C.D. are paired in Group A; Carlow, Longford, Kildare and Athlone I.T.. are in Group B. D.I.T. face Meath in Group C, which also includes Wicklow and I.T. Carlow, while Dublin, Westmeath, Louth and D.C.U. are in Group D.

For the second year running the second round will comprise entirely of floodlit fixtures, with eight games taking place under lights around the province on Wednesday January 8^th.

This is the third year of Bord na Mona's sponsorship of the Leinster GAA Series. 2012 was the first time for the competitions to be sponsored, since the inception of the O'Byrne Cup in 1954.

These competitions were established to help provide funds for the Leinster GAA Benevolent fund, which helps players and other GAA members with financial assistance in times of need.