Bulfin now focusing on Joe McDonagh Cup
by Gerry Buckley
Westmeath manager Seoirse Bulfin was satisfied with the victory over Carlow and it is a timely boost ahead of the Joe McDonagh Cup campaign.
Westmeath have been short some key players in this league campaign and that has been a factor in their results.
In relation to absentees and likely returnees, Bulfin confirmed: “Niall Mitchell got hurt during the week, while Tommy Doyle is just back from concussion but he broke his thumb, and he’s out for a number of weeks. Johnny Bermingham’s groin has been at him for a number of weeks. On a positive note, Kevin Regan is back from his travels.”
Bulfin concluded on a pragmatic note: “We hit a few wides, but the wind was very tricky out there. We have loads to learn and build on, but it was very important to win that last league game. We had to shuffle the decks a bit and move lads around, but they still performed. We won’t be getting carried away with this result, but it was still very important to come down here and get a win.”
“It’s always good to get a win and it’s fantastic to finish the league with a win. We get ready now for the Joe McDonagh Cup.”
Bulfin was speaking after his troops had rounded off a generally poor National League Division 1B campaign with a very welcome – and deserved – victory against their hosts Carlow last Saturday evening.
Most of the preceding five games had been damp squibs from a Lake County perspective, and there is unanimity among maroon and white-clad Gaels that Division 2 (effectively Division 3) in 2026 is not an appealing prospect. However, the immediate issue now is the Joe McDonagh Cup and that was the winning bainisteoir’s focus during his post-match media duties.
He continued: “There’s great character in that dressing room. As I kept saying, lads were back late and we’re probably only getting going in the last few weeks. It was important to come down here and put in a performance and see where it took us. Thankfully, it got us over the line today. When our backs were to the wall in the second half and they got ahead of us, given the league we had, we could have folded.
“But, to be fair, they dug very, very deep and they ended up getting a very good result in the end. However, when Carlow come to Mullingar in six or seven weeks’ time in the Joe McDonagh, they’ll be a different kettle of fish.”
Much of the post-match talk among the surprisingly small crowd – Carlow had a slim chance of promotion prior to the throw-in depending on results in two other venues – was the whopping 1-15 garnered by Killian Doyle. His manager was in agreement, describing him as "a very special talent".
“Despite the breeze, he got some great scores and, at times, he can make it look easy. David Williams got a couple of great goals too,” he added.