Westmeath GAA to focus on expanding in Athlone

There is to be a focus on regeneration in the Athlone area as Westmeath GAA tries to make more of an impact in a large town that has a population of almost 23,000.

The three GAA clubs in the town itself - Athlone, Garrycastle and Southern Gaels - will be the main target. There are 980 players in the football clubs and 306 players in the hurling club.

“Most of our development squads at this stage are coming from the Mullingar end of the county; the traditional balance in the county would have been 60-40, but that has shifted to 80-20. Most of the Division 1 clubs at underage tend to come from the Mullingar end, so there is a need to put a huge focus on the town of Athlone,” said Westmeath GAA coaching officer Ronan Farrell at last week's county board meeting.

The urban area of the town will be the focus, not the clubs on the outskirts who are making a good impression.

Six years ago, there was an 18 per cent take-up of Gaelic games among the primary schools population, but if Tubberclare NS was taken out of that, it was down to 10 per cent. In the actual town, there is a very low take-up.

There are 1,500 players aged 6-11 years in the town according to 2022 figures and the challenge is to tap into that growing population. There were 968 boys and 963 girls enrolled in schools in the town and there is a need to focus on all the schools in order to make an impact. There are a number of schools with little or no Gaelic games activity and the challenge is to change this situation.

“We need to give GAA a footprint in these schools,” said Ronan Farrell, explaining that clubs in Athlone will benefit as a result. Paul McManus, a member of the coaching staff, will be the Athlone regeneration project lead.