Westmeath county hurling team

The Westmeath county hurling team represents Westmeath in hurling and is governed by Westmeath GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the Joe McDonagh Cup and the National Hurling League.

Westmeath's home ground is Cusack Park, Mullingar. The team's manager is Joe Fortune.

The team has never won the Leinster Senior Championship, the All-Ireland Senior Championship or the National League.

The team is nicknamed the Lake men.[1]

History

The Westmeath hurlers experienced a successful period in the mid-1930s, when they won the Leinster League twice in succession, the Junior Championship in 1936, and beat Laois to qualify for the 1937 Leinster Senior final.

Rickards town's John 'Jobber' McGrath, who played for the county in the 1950s and 1960s, is regarded as Westmeath's greatest hurler, and as one of the greatest players never to have won an All-Ireland senior hurling title.

Westmeath played in the first division of the National Hurling League in 1985–86 and were the only team to beat Galway in an 18-month period. This team included the three Kilcoyne brothers and produced an All-Star award for David, who was the team's free taker and top scorer in 1986. The first All Star award for any Westmeath player in hurling or football.

In 2005, the county won the first Christy Ring Cup and thereby gained promotion to the 2006 Liam McCarthy Championship. In 2006, they beat Dublin in the first round of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship before losing the semi-final to Kilkenny in Mullingar by 14 points. They then lost to Waterford, Galway and, disappointingly, Laois before tamely losing a relegation playoff against Dublin on a scorching July day in Tullamore. Despite progress made in 2006, the GAA condemned the county's hurlers to the Christy Ring Cup - this time without the prospect of promotion. Further rule changes and a Christy Ring win in 2010 allowed Westmeath back into the 2011 Liam McCarthy.

Further progress came on 20 April 2008 with victory in the NHL (Division 2), winning the final against Carlow. That day also saw their footballing counterparts move into Division 1 of the NFL also, with a win over Dublin.

In 2015, the Westmeath minor hurlers surprised heavy favorites Wexford by two points in the Leinster quarter-final, the win has been regarded by the manager as the 'biggest result in history of Westmeath hurling'.[2] The senior hurlers beat Carlow by two points in the Leinster Qualifier group and extended their winning run beating favorites, Antrim 1–21 to 0–7.

Westmeath achieved a famous victory over near rivals Offaly in May 2016 during the Leinster Championship. Westmeath led by some distance for the entire game before winning 2–21 to 1–10.

In September 2019, Westmeath announced Shane O'Brien as new manager after Joe Quaid's departure.[3][4]

Westmeath staged a remarkable 16-point comeback to achieve their first ever championship victory over Wexford in the 2023 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.[5]

Current panel

Team as per Westmeath vs Antrim in the Joe McDonagh Cup SHC, 2 June 2018

No. Player Position Club
1 Paddy Moloney Goalkeeper Castletown Geoghegan
2 Conor Shaw Right corner back Brownstown
3 Tommy Doyle Full back Lough Lene Gaels
4 Tommy Gallagher Left corner back Castlepollard
5 Aaron Craig Right half back Athlone
6 Paul Greville Centre back Raharney
7 Shane Power Left half back Clonkill
8 Aonghus Clarke (c) Midfield Castletown Geoghegan
9 Gary Greville Midfield Raharney
10 Cormac Boyle Right half forward Raharney
11 Niall Mitchell Centre forward Clonkill
12 Robbie Greville Left half forward Raharney
13 Killian Doyle Right corner forward Raharney
14 Niall O'Brien Full forward Castletown Geoghegan
15 Allan Devine Left corner forward Castlepollard
No. Player Position Club
16 Paddy Carroll Substitute St. Brigids Dalystown
17 Joey Boyle Substitute Raharney
18 Darragh Egerton Substitute Clonkill
19 Jack Galvin Substitute Cullion
20 Alan Cox Substitute Delvin
21 Brendan Murtagh Substitute Clonkill
22 Kieran Duncan Substitute Southern Gaels Athlone
23 Shane McGovern Substitute Crookedwood
24 Darren Giles Substitute Raharney
25 Mick Heeney Substitute Castletown Geoghegan
26 Feidhlim Burke Substitute Castletown/Finea

INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
RET Player has since retired from the county team.
WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.

Current management team
Ratified on 23 September 2021:[6]

Managerial history


Players

Notable players

Captaincy

All Stars

Westmeath has 1 All Star.

1986: David Kilcoyne[11][12]

Honours

National

Provincial

References
  1. "Team news: Lake men face daunting Cork trip". Hogan Stand. 23 May 2021.
  2. "Greville: biggest result in the history of Westmeath hurling". Hogan Stand.
  3. "Dublin, Tipp and Galway figures in new coaching team for the Westmeath hurlers". The42.ie. 19 September 2019.
  4. "Shane O'Brien set to take over as Westmeath hurling manager". RTÉ. 19 September 2019.
  5. "Westmeath's remarkable comeback sends Wexford's into relegation battle". Irish Times. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  6. "Fortune favours Westmeath". Hogan Stand. 23 September 2021.
  7. "Shane O'Brien Ratified As Westmeath Senior Hurling Manager". Westmeath GAA. 30 September 2019.
  8. "Glennon to make Westmeath switch". Irish Independent. 12 October 2020. Former Galway coach Noel Larkin, who played a big part in their All-Ireland success three years ago, has also joined a stellar backroom team which also includes former Westmeath star Brendan Murtagh. Larkin will team up with another former Galway hurler in the shape of Alan Kerins while former Westmeath footballer Alan Mangan has also been drafted in as part of the coaching team.
  9. "Joe Fortune is Westmeath's new senior hurling manager". Westmeath Examiner. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  10. "Boyle to captain Westmeath". Hogan Stand. 1 May 2021.
  11. Lone Star from a time when minnows Westmeath briefly lit up hurling Sunday Independent
  12. GAA Top 20: The Kilcoyne brothers or Brendan Murtagh - who is the greatest Westmeath hurler of the last 50 years? Irish Independent
  13. Westmeath seal top flight hurling with narrow defeat of Kerry in Division 2A decider The42.ie
  14. Westmeath beat Antrim in Kehoe Cup final shoot-out The Irish News
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