'We were all in it together': Westmeath captain on 2004 success

Napoleon had a preference for lucky generals and perhaps one could say David O'Shaughnessy fits into that category.

In 2001, O'Shaughnessy was captain of the first Garrycastle team to lift the Flanagan Cup and, in 2004, he was the captain of the first - and thus far only - Westmeath team to win the Leinster senior football crown.

Of course, neither of those groundbreaking triumphs was down to luck. Rather, a track record of underage success and a burning desire to achieve were the key ingredients.

Having played at midfield on the All-Ireland winning Westmeath U-21 team of 1999, and captained Garrycastle to Westmeath SFC success, the leadership skills of O'Shaughnessy were quite evident. Yet considering he was based in England when Kerry football legend Páidí Ó Sé was sensationally appointed Westmeath manager in October 2003, David was possibly an unlikely choice for the captaincy role. At the time the man widely known as 'Shaugho' was working for a UK-based international company, whose managing director was former Garrycastle footballer Ciarán Ryan.

Páidí and his management team raised a few eyebrows when they brought the Westmeath panel on a training weekend to Sunderland. It was a sign of a different approach. Mick McCarthy was then Sunderland manager and the Westmeath squad visited the Stadium of Light and got an opportunity to use the club's state-of-the-art facilities.

"Everyone else flew over from Ireland but I drove up from Manchester and met the lads there. I'll never forget it. I met the lads in the hotel lobby and the excitement and buzz was great,” recalled David. “The whole thing was different and that's what Páidí brought and everyone was excited by his arrival. That weekend added more spice and anticipation to it."

Before Christmas of 2003, David was back living in Ireland. He took up a banking position in Mullingar, bringing to an end the commuting over and back from England.

“Paidi approached me one night at training and asked me if I'd be captain and it all stemmed from there,” recalled David. "I didn't think too much about it (being captain) to be honest. We had a fantastic group of players, lots of strong characters and great individuals. There was a sense that we were all in it together. Páidí and Tomás (Ó Flatharta) led us as a group of players and when you look back on it, the panel in general was full of leaders from every line on the team and even lads on the bench."

All-Ireland underage success in 1995 (minor) and 1999 (U-21) had infused Westmeath players and supporters alike with a sense of belief that a breakthrough at senior level could be achieved.

"What fuelled a lot of us was in ‘95 going over to Tullamore on summer evenings (two Leinster minor final replays against Laois) looking at Damien Gavin and all the lads, and seeing what they did. They spurred us on to achieve in ‘99. You need that momentum and people looking forward to championship games - it's like oxygen to keep the whole thing going,” said David.

"Páidí would have admitted himself that, when he was considering taking the Westmeath job, the underage success was a key factor. Because of the work that was done at underage level, there was the nucleus of a good team.

"You can't beat the habit of winning and the mentality that comes with it. There were some fantastic players who had played for Westmeath for years. We were unlucky in those years after '99, there was a really good mix of young players and seasoned players. Some of them weren't around in 2004 but they contributed as much to the success as anyone."

David felt there was “a realisation” among the players that the chance to make their mark at senior level was in danger of passing.

"Tomás and Páidí improved on the structures and the great work people had done prior to that such as Luke Dempsey. Páidí was a multiple All-Ireland winner, he came with that self-belief and drive. I suppose it was unique to us and it excited us," he said.

“We trained extremely hard in a professional manner as a group of players through the year. When we got that initial championship win (over Offaly), it got the momentum going. Páidí was crucial to that and when it came to the championship, he was an inspirational figure. He was a fantastic motivator, a sort of psychologist and manager, and well able to manage players and different individuals. He got the best out of us which is a true definition of a good manager.

“We had some fantastic bonding trips. Páidí used to love bringing us out to the coast; we went to Rosses Point a few times and Inchydoney. We had fantastic trips that bonded us and made us believe even more and the craic was really good.

"For supporters and families and the Westmeath public in general, the lift it gave to the county was fantastic. It would be fantastic for other Westmeath teams and other generations to experience what we experienced.

"I really enjoyed my time playing with Westmeath. I wouldn't change anything really, to be honest. And when I finished up, I really enjoyed the remaining years of my career back playing with the club where it all started," David continued.

Yet if there are any pangs of regret for O'Shaughnessy, they centre around the 2004 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Derry.

“When you look back in hindsight, the only disappointing thing and it took a bit of the shine of things, was not getting over the line against Derry. If we had got over Derry, we would have been playing Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final and you'd wonder 'what if'.

"We were certainly capable of producing big performances when required. We were slightly off that day against Derry, and in elite sport you can't be any way off. Unfortunately, we didn't break the quarter-final barrier in '01, '04 or '06."

O'Shaughnessy was part of a formidable Westmeath midfield partnership alongside Rory O'Connell, an All Star award winner in 2001. But when the Athlone man was sent off in the opening round win over Offaly and given a lengthy suspension, Garrycastle's Gary Dolan (though more known as a forward) was called on to fill the breach.

"There was strong competition for places and the internal matches were very competitive and people knew their roles. Rory was a massive loss to us, but Gary was brilliant against Dublin and it showed the strength in the panel," said David.

Following a famous win over Dublin, Westmeath went on to beat Wexford, before overcome defending champions Laois in the Leinster final. A replay was needed to decide the outcome, paving the way for O'Shaughnessy to raise the newly named Delaney Cup, sparking celebrations all over Westmeath.

At a time when there were far more contests for possession from kickouts than nowadays, Westmeath were blessed with strong midfield options. "It's more possession-based football now, with more intricate game plans and strategies. The size of the jerseys has diminished as well!" said David with a laugh.

"From a kickout perspective, the game has changed completely. The game evolves all the time and looking back to 20 years ago, it was evolving too but probably at a different pace. The group of players we had in '04, I think they would have been able to adapt (to different styles of football).

"We felt in our group that we had fantastic players. At the back, we had a number of players who could mark the best forwards in the country, we tried our best to break even around midfield, and we had really talented forwards. We had the self-belief that on any given day we could compete with anyone," the former Garrycastle star continued.

David is full of admiration for the Westmeath team of recent years, who followed up winning the Tailteann Cup in 2022 with two highly competitive showings in the Sam Maguire Cup. "You have to commend the current group of Westmeath players. The last few years under Jack (Cooney) and now Dessie (Dolan) and JK (John Keane), there is great work being done,” he said.

Though he grew up in Athlone, David has plenty of links with the west of Ireland. His parents are Ballyforan native Mary and Mick O'Shaughnessy, from the Caltra area of Galway. David went to secondary school in St Jarlath’s College, Tuam, when the likes of Pádraic Joyce, John Divilly and John Concannon were among the students ahead of him. Another link to the west is former Galway football star Johnny Hughes, his uncle by marriage.

David is married to Fiona from Tipperary and the couple have three children, Tiernan, Matthew and Aoife. Tiernan plays for Castledaly and he played a starring role for Kilcleagh NS in their Cumann na mBunscol final win earlier this year. No doubt, Matthew and Aoife will be prominently involved in sport as the years go on. In recent years, David has enjoyed meeting players he played with and against on what he describes as "the Go Games circuit".

Alongside David Keenan, O'Shaughnessy now runs a financial advisory company, KO Financial, based in the Kilmartin N6 Centre, Athlone.

Like so many Westmeath people, David finds it hard to believe 20 years have passed since that groundbreaking Leinster success. It can be strange the things that lodge in the memory vaults.

"When I think back on trips to Croke Park, we used to go out to the hotel in Portmarnock. We'd be on the bus and a few of us would be looking at the crops and the corn fields and with every passing week, they were getting a bit riper and you'd be thinking, will we see them being harvested?" he remarked.

Whatever about those crops in the fields, that summer of 2004 yielded a rich harvest for Westmeath football, with O'Shaughnessy an absolutely key figure in a hugely memorable success story.