Dessie to make managerial debut next Wednesday night

Dessie Dolan will take charge of the Westmeath senior footballers for the first time in a competitive fixture when the Lake County men take on Louth next Wednesday January 4.

The O’Byrne Cup opening round match will be played in the Louth GAA Training Centre in Darver (throw-in 8pm).

Westmeath will also face Louth in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Leinster SFC. Managed by renowned former Tyrone supremo Mickey Harte, Louth defeated Westmeath in Division 3 of the 2022 Allianz Football League on their way to clinching promotion.

The O’Byrne Cup clash with Louth will be followed by a home game against Wexford (now managed by former player John Hegarty) on Saturday January 7. This game will be hosted by The Downs (throw-in 2pm).

Westmeath’s final group game in the O’Byrne Cup will be against Kildare on Wednesday, January 11 (Kinnegad, 8pm).

Although Ger Egan has decided to retire from inter-county action, Westmeath’s other experienced campaigners are back on board for another season, including 2022 team captain Kevin Maguire, Kieran Martin (scorer of the match-winning second goal in the Tailteann Cup final last July) and James Dolan (a Garrycastle clubmate and first cousin of the team manager).

Meanwhile, Duggan Park in Ballinasloe will host the Westmeath hurlers’ first competitive outing of the 2023 season against Galway on Sunday January 8 (throw-in 2pm).

This will be followed by home games for Joe Fortune’s charges against Antrim (Saturday, January 14) and Dublin (January 23), with both of those fixtures slated for TEG Cusack Park.