Opportunity knocks for Westmeath as Wicklow await next year

By Gerry Buckley

“Westmeath isn’t either a football or a hurling county.”

Before the lynch mob assembles, the above is not my line as somebody who has proudly followed the Lake County in both codes since childhood. However, I did hear it loud and clear when sitting beside the Lisdowney subs in Lakepoint Park last Saturday as the Kilkenny champions pushed Kilbeggan Shamrocks all the way in the Leinster club junior football championship.

It was no surprise when they were awarded a few ‘45’s that the subs called them ‘65’s given the vast chasm in interest in the Marble County between the two codes! Also, a young relation of a player had his beloved hurley with him at all times. Indeed, my Croke Cup book research in the mid-noughties yielded the same recollection from generations of past pupils of the famed St Kieran’s nursery: “We were supposed to bring three things with us to school – our homework, a lunch, and a hurl. The only time you got in trouble was when you forgot the hurley!”

The Cats have so little interest in Gaelic football that they no longer even participate on a token basis in the Delaney Cup. The aforementioned subs would have been oblivious to this scribe’s identity or county of origin but, in truth, my main worry as a reasonably entertaining game unfolded in the St Loman’s ground was the live 2024 senior football championship draws on RTÉ radio some 90 minutes later. And regardless of how tamely Westmeath are perceived in other counties, it certainly matters to me and many fellow-Lakers what way next summer is shaping up for Dessie Dolan’s charges.

“Can’t watch any more of this. Hope we stay well clear of Dubs in the draw tomorrow. This type of ‘match’ is like the Dubs in Leinster versus any other county.” Now this text was mine, and it was sent to an array of friends as the All Blacks were demolishing Argentina in a mismatch of a Rugby World Cup semi-final last Friday night.

I witnessed in the flesh Dessie Farrell’s troops’ unconvincing defeat of Kildare in the Leinster semi-final last year and naively thought they might be coming back to the pack, but I was also present for their hammering of Louth in the final (which clearly ‘freed’ losing manager Mickey Harte for further offers!) - and it was a hard watch.

The good news from last Saturday’s draw overseen by ‘chirpy chappy’ Des Cahill, who tried to make the Leinster and Munster draws seem exciting (in fairness, Ulster always is, and Connacht is somewhat) is that Dublin are as far away as is possible from Westmeath. And that has to be good news.

Either through merit (as at least semi-finalists the previous year) or luck (there is always one pre-ordained quarter-final given the odd number of 11 participants), it is actually as far back as 2015 that the Lake County last played a preliminary round tie. Great things followed that win over Louth, the greatest obviously being a historic victory against Meath.

So it is back to such a first round game again next April when Wicklow will lock horns with Westmeath for just the eighth time in the Leinster championship. Other than the aforementioned disinterested Kilkenny, the Garden County have been Westmeath's most infrequent opponents.

Of course, up to and including 2003, they were always bracketed with Westmeath (and Fermanagh) as having never won a provincial senior title. Thankfully, the late, great Páidí Ó Sé firmly and quickly put that awful duck egg of a stat to bed!

With the exception of the time that the legendary Mick O’Dwyer brought his unique brand of managerial magic to the county, Wicklow GAA matters have seldom been in the national limelight. Current incumbent Oisín McConville has been perhaps the most high-profile man to wear the blue and gold bainisteoir bib since the Waterville maestro, and deep down the Armagh All-Ireland medallist from 2002 will be quite chuffed at his end to draw Westmeath, having abandoned the comfort of the RTÉ studio – a la the man he will face on the sideline next April – in pursuit of managerial glory.

Having said that, it will be a major blow to Dolan – thankfully now reappointed after an inordinate delay – if the maroon and white-clad outfit fails to qualify for a quarter-final showdown with Kildare. On this side of the draw, Kildare will be fancied by most observers to make a provincial final showdown against Dublin (surely?) next summer. But those thoughts are for much further down the line.

For now, the management will need to focus on a very tough Division 3 campaign in the National League next spring. Westmeath's 2023 third tier exploits were a mixed bag and the team can have no complaints whatever about failing to gain promotion.

Given the lopsided Munster draw which guarantees a lower division side a place in the Sam Maguire Cup, a minimum of an outright win in Division 3 is needed based on league status to have a chance at playing for Sam in 2024, something Westmeath did with great distinction a few months ago.

Of course, the most direct route to Sam is to defeat Wicklow and Kildare, and whoever emerges from the Carlow/Wexford/Louth scenario. That is easier said than done, but certainly not impossible.

Westmeath v Wicklow - Leinster SFC previous meetings

1/5/1955, Newbridge, Westmeath 0-7 Wicklow 0-6

12/5/1982, Newbridge, Westmeath 1-8 Wicklow 0-11 (draw)

6/6/1982, Croke Park, Westmeath 3-7 Wicklow 2-5

25/5/1986, Aughrim, Wicklow 0-15 Westmeath 1-5

21/5/1995, Athlone, Wicklow 0-9 Westmeath 0-3

14/6/2009, Tullamore, Westmeath 0-16 Wicklow 1-10

6/6/2010, Tullamore, Westmeath 0-15 Wicklow 1-11

2024 Leinster SFC draw

Round 1

1. Westmeath v Wicklow; 2. Carlow v Wexford; 3. Longford v Meath

Quarter-finals

4. Kildare v Winners 1

5. Louth v Winners 2

6. Dublin v Winners 3

7. Offaly v Laois

Semi-finals

8. Winners 4 v Winners 5

9. Winners 6 v Winners 7