Very satisfactory year for our county senior teams in 2022

The post-Covid crowds were back in 2022 and Westmeath fans will look back fondly on the 12 months now ending, with both our senior footballers and hurlers winning noteworthy silverware.

However, the underage drought continues and this is worrying with some key players (especially in the big ball game) coming to the natural end of their careers.

“We do not want to be competing in the belated first staging of the Tailteann Cup. Full stop. New paragraph.” This line from my equivalent column a year ago needs no embellishment. But, after blowing gilt-edged chances to get out of Division 3, compete we did in the new tier two competition. However, when you compete all you can do is win. And win we did, and in impressive fashion for good measure.

Jack Cooney has stepped down and arguably our greatest ever footballer, Dessie Dolan, has taken over the bainisteoir bib despite a dearth of managerial experience, albeit his authority will not be questioned. He will surely see promotion to Division 2 as a ‘must-achieve’ task, while Louth are beatable in the Leinster SFC quarter-final, and Dublin are the other side of the draw. Some mouth-watering Sam Maguire Cup games are also guaranteed. It promises to be a big year on the senior football front.

After a very stuttering start to Division 2A, Joe Fortune’s men came good to win the title and they are now deservedly up against the ‘the big boys’ again in the National League in a little over a month from now. A few points garnered in the round robin would be a huge achievement, with the relegation play-off as back-up.

More ‘big boys’ await in the Leinster SHC and a similar scenario is envisaged, despite this year’s memorable draw with Wexford having set the championship bar high. Consolidating top flight status in both competitions would represent a great six months’ work.

So here we go again, a personal stab at Westmeath Gaelic games inter-county highs and lows for 2022.

Senior Footballer of the Year: Luke Loughlin (The Downs). Very unlucky not to join six colleagues on the inaugural Tailteann Cup team of the year, Luke was in sensational form for his club as they won the Flanagan Cup after a 17-year wait and marched all the way to the Leinster final.

Senior Hurler of the Year: Killian Doyle (Raharney). A first hurling All Star nominee for the Lake County in a whopping 36 years, Killian was in sparkling form in the maroon and white colours, albeit unable to propel his club to that elusive Westmeath Examiner Cup two in-a-row.

Most Improved Senior Footballer: Sam McCartan (St Loman’s, Mullingar). A grandson of the legendary Galway centre half forward Sean Purcell, he has already nailed down a starting place in the Westmeath team. Dessie Dolan’s main predicament will be to decide where best to use Sam’s range of talents.

Most Improved Senior Hurler: Eoin Keyes (Raharney). Having established himself as a crucial attacker under Joe Fortune in 2022, Eoin was unlucky to see his club campaign end prematurely through injury. He looks set for a long spell in the Westmeath forward line.

Young Footballer of the Year: Senan Baker (Caulry). The son of Ollie, one of Clare’s ground-breaking hurling heroes in the 1990s, the big ball is Senan’s preference. Despite his tender years, he is on the verge of making the Westmeath senior team.

Young Hurler of the Year: David O’Reilly (Castletown-Geoghegan). Still a pupil at Moate Community School, David lit up the latter stages of the Westmeath senior hurling championship with ‘man of the match’ displays in both the semi-final and final.

Best Senior Football Performance: Offaly had the upper hand on Westmeath for more years than we care to remember, but this millennium has seen the pendulum swing. Former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, referred to “a hiding” received by his native county in the Tailteann Cup semi-final. And hiding it was.

Most Disappointing Senior Football Performance: Not for the first time, neighbours Longford upset the odds when they saw the Westmeath jerseys, leaving the home supporters deflated by an insipid display by Jack Cooney’s charges which put a fatal dent in the Lake County’s promotion hopes.

Best Senior Hurling Performance: Laois have tended to win any meaningful senior hurling clash against Westmeath over the past half a century, but the O’Moore County men were ruthlessly put to the sword in a must-win Leinster SHC tie in Portlaoise which guaranteed the visitors Liam MacCarthy Cup status for 2023.

Most Disappointing Senior Hurling Performance: While “all’s well that ends well” may be the mantra from the Westmeath camp, given the eventual annexing of Division 2A honours, the second round robin game in Netwatch Cullen Park was worrying at the time and is now in the ‘eminently forgettable’ category.

Best Underage Football Performance: This should really read ‘half performance’! This scribe was not the only person present in Parnell Park who felt at half-time that we had witnessed a fantastic display by Damien Gavin’s U20 charges. Unfortunately, a second half collapse saw yet another promising Westmeath underage team exit the championship prematurely.

Most Disappointing Underage Football Performance: It may have only been the Seamus Heaney Cup (Leinster minor ‘B’ championship), but a 17-point hammering from a far-from-vintage Meath team in TEG Cusack Park was a pitiful ending to our U17s’ summer.

Best Underage Hurling Performance: The minor hurlers put on a fine display in Fenagh when defeating Carlow by a six-point margin. The trip was another eye-opener for Lake County fans as they witnessed the excellent facilities available to the Barrowsiders.

Most Disappointing Underage Hurling Performance: Remarkably a rematch in the Peadar Ó Liatháin Cup (the minor ‘B’ championship) in Joristown saw the boys in green, red and yellow jerseys inflict a 26-point hammering on their hosts.

Score of the Year: Kieran Martin’s spectacular late goal sealed the aforementioned Tailteann Cup success for Westmeath, the strong and experienced Maryland man leading the Cavan rearguard a merry dance in so doing, having been sprung from the bench.

Special Merit Award: Ger Egan’s departure from the inter-county scene at the relatively young age of 31 comes after a turbulent few years injury-wise. There have been very few better or more dedicated players to wear the maroon and white colours over the years, both as a back and forward. He will be greatly missed.