Leading Lakesiders: the hunt for Westmeath's greatest person

It's a New Year - and, as some would say, the official start of a new decade. So as Westmeath's leading newspaper, what better time to recognise the greatest people produced by this county over the centuries?Dublin is the centre of Irish civilisation according to some; Cork has Michael Collins and Jack Lynch; Mayo has Mary Robinson, Longford's got Albert Reynolds and now Offaly is trying to lay claim to President Barack Obama.But what has Westmeath got to be proud of? Below, you will find thirty reasons why the Lake County, in an historical sense, can mix it with the best.We've produced politicians, lawyers, media and showbiz personalities, soldiers, saints, authors, nobility, sporting heroes and scientists.While many of them have only tenuous childhood links, some - like singer Joe Dolan, politician Laurence Ginnell and celebrated horse breeder George A. Boyd Rochfort - maintained strong links with their county of birth throughout their lives.Some were forced to leave thanks to poverty or circumstance, like U.S. army generals Richard H. Jackson and Patrick H. Jones, while others - born outside Westmeath - have become more native than the natives themselves, like author JP Donleavy and Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary.Some of them are internationally renowned; others nationally or regionally. But they are all equally great in their own right, and of all of them, we can be equally proud.Last year, RTÉ led the way by asking the nation the question: who is Ireland's greatest? This year, the Westmeath Examiner asks the same question of the people of this county: who is the greatest, among the pantheon of greats that Westmeath has produced?Over the coming months, we will focus on some of the county's best and brightest over the centuries, from the saints and scholars of early Christian Ireland to the agenda-setting Westmeath people of today.Later in the year, a selection committee will be put together with a view to whittling down this Lake County élite to a manageable size, before a final call is made on who exactly is Westmeath's greatest.Below is a list of thirty potential candidates (for more details, read this week's edition of the Westmeath Examiner). There are many more whom we haven't included this week, and if any of our readers can suggest any other potential greats, they are invited to contact us with their thoughts.T.P. O'Connor: Politician, media baron (1848-1929)Joe Dolan: Entertainer (1939-2007)Richard Henry Jackson: U.S. Army general (1830-1892)John ‘Jobber' McGrath: Hurling legend (1928-1980)Laurence Ginnell: Revolutionary and diplomat (1852-1923)Count John McCormack: Tenor (1884-1945)Count Laval Nugent: Irish-Austrian field marshal (1777-1862)Michael O'Leary: Businessman, Ryanair CEO (1961- )Brinsley MacNamara: Author, playwright (1890-1963)John J. Cardinal Glennon: Catholic prelate (1862-1946)John P. Hayden: Journalist and politician (1863-1954)Fr. Paul Walsh: Priest and historian (1885-1941)Bro. Larry Timmons: Franciscan missionary (1948-1997)Lt. Col. Thomas Edward Lawrence CB, DSO, aka “Lawrence of Arabia”: Soldier and writer (1888[5]–1935)Oliver Goldsmith: Writer, poet and physicist (10 November 1730 – 4 April 1774)John Broderick: Novelist (1924-1989)William Edward Wilson: Astronomer (1851-1908)Lt. Col. Kenneth Essex Edgeworth: Solder, engineer, economist and astronomer (1880-1972)Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort CVO: Horse trainer (1887-1983)George Arthur Boyd-Rochfort VC DL: Horse breeder (1880-1940)Frank Pakenham: The 7th Earl of Longford (1905-2001)Leo Daly: Writer, historian (1920-2010)Maurice Dease: Soldier (1889 –1914)Sarah Atkinson (nee Gaynor): Philanthropist and writer (1823-1893)James Leander Cathcart: Slave, sailor, diplomat (1767-1843)JP Donleavy: Writer and Artist (1926 - )Charles Kenneth Howard Bury: Mountaineer and army officer (1883-1963)St. Colmán of Lynn: (6th-7th Century)James Daly: Soldier and patriot (1900-1920)Patrick Henry Jones: American Civil War General and lawyer (1830-1900)