Westmeath champions gearing up for Leinster run
St Loman's Mullingar will bid to atone for last year's defeat to Naas when they take on Meath champions Dunshaughlin at Páirc Tailteann, Navan on Sunday (1.30pm).
St Loman’s opponents this year won their first Meath title in over 20 years and they have some quality players in their ranks, including Meath captain Matthew Costello as well as midfielder Conor Gray.
Paddy Dowdall’s St Loman’s side claimed a second consecutive Westmeath title nearly two weeks ago now in dramatic circumstances. Representing your county in Leinster is a great privilege and St Loman's will be hoping for all the travelling support they can get on Sunday.
As always, the St Loman’s attack will be the focal point and includes the vastly experienced John Heslin who, along with David Whelan and Kelvin Reilly, picked up his eighth senior medal when they overcame The Downs in this year’s replay. Sam McCartan, Ronan O’Toole and Shane Dempsey are other key players up front, but midfield may well be the crucial area as we have seen in recent years in the Leinster club championship.
St Loman’s have been content to deploy Heslin into that sector at different times, while Jack Geoghegan, Fola Ayorinde, Kevin Regan and Enda Gaffney are others who could slot into the engine room at any stage. How Dowdall manages that may be crucial, while the Mullingar side’s defensive line looks strong, with Darragh O’Keeffe and Eoghan Hogan generally manning the central berths.
Options off the bench will be crucial and Dowdall will be keen to get the very best out of his side in this campaign. The club enjoyed a glorious run in Leinster back in 2017 and came very close to winning the title only for Moorefield to deny them with a late surge. Under the guidance of Luke Dempsey, they were five points ahead entering injury-time that day, but conceded 1-3 in the closing stages.
St Loman’s have shown remarkable endurance to bounce back and while they suffered heartache in the Westmeath final in 2022, they responded to win two-in-a-row, showing character as well as quality. With Dublin side Kilmacud Crokes out of the picture, many clubs will fancy a big run in Leinster, including the Westmeath and Meath champions.
Dubshaughlin won the Meath title by defeating Wolfe Tones, 2-7 to 1-8, on October 20. They won the Leinster championship in 2002, the last club from Meath to do so and their victory 22 years’ ago was the only Meath win in the last 40 years.
It's 13 years since Westmeath champions Garrycastle won the Leinster senior club title.
The burning question now is has St Loman's Mullingar missed its chance to emulate that achievement, or can this remarkable team produce the goods in Leinster? Certainly the years have crept up on some of the players who have been involved since the 2013 victory, one that ended a 50-year wait for a Westmeath senior title, but St Loman's have still succeeded in bringing through enough quality to keep the club at the top. It will now be interesting to see how they measure up against the Meath champions.
The St Loman’s, Mullingar that played Naas in last year’s Leinster club championship: Jason Daly; Eoghan Hogan, Darragh O’Keeffe, Oisín Hogan; Jack Geoghegan, David Whelan, Enda Gaffney; Sean Flanagan, John Heslin; Peter Foy, Sam McCartan, Kevin Regan; Danny McCartan, Ronan O’Toole, Shane Dempsey. Subs used: Kelvin Reilly for Whelan (inj., 37), TJ Cox for Flanagan (46), Fola Ayorinde for Regan (51), Tristan Graham for Foy (58), Peter Foy for Graham (e/t, 14).
The Dunshaughlin team that won this year’s Meath title: Tim O'Sullivan; Adam Kealy, Jared Rushe, Ben Duggan; Ciaran McCarrick, Daryll McKenna, Niall Byrne; Charlie O'Connor, Conor Gray; David Fildes, Ruairi Kinsella, Matthew Costello; Aaron Murphy, Conor Duke , Luke Mitchell. Subs: John McDonagh for Mitchell (h-t), Fursey Blake for McKenna (48), Fiach Hartigan for Fildes (56), Neil Byrne for Murphy (58), Fergus Toolan for Duggan (63).