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Westmeath are at the centre of the Ireland and at the heart of the GAA. Not every county has a trophy cabinet bursting at the seams, but Westmeath are a distinguished county, with many different strands of GAA flourishing. We tested the theory of Six Degrees of separation with the Lake County to see just how much everything is connected to everything else in the GAA.
John Heslin is one of the main men for Westmeath, who plays for the St Loman’s Club in Mullingar. As Michael Caine might say, not many people know this but Heslin’s club were formerly known as ‘Mental Hospital’, winning a Westmeath SHC title as 'Mental Hospital' in 1924 before landing a maiden Westmeath SFC title in 1948, beating Athlone by 0-4 to 0-1 in the final. The unusual name is derived from the fact that St Loman's has a long association with St Loman's Hospital, a large psychiatric hospital in the town with a history dating back to the Victorian era. The clubhouse and its superb, modern facilities are located beside the hospital, which operates on the Delvin Road. The club has won a number of recent Westmeath championships, powered by star forward Heslin who also plays for UCD.
Yes Heslin was the star man last February when UCD annexed the Sigerson for the first time in 20 years up at Jordanstown. St Loman’s man Heslin fired over six points as UCD defeated city rivals DCU 0-10 to 2-2. Goals win games, but not on this occasion. It was an emotional win for the Belfield lads coming after the passing of UCD great Dave Billings. Whilst not a county associated with Sigerson success, the county can claim a first of sorts with Athlone who were the first of the old Regional Training Colleges to compete in the Sigerson Cup.
In 1990 following the abandonment of the multi game weekend format, the Sigerson was a bit of a damp squid, as it was missing much of the camaraderie and high kinks that had been such a flavour of previous weekend competitions, sometimes unnecessarily so. One of the highlights of the 1991 tournament was the involvement of Athlone RTC, the first of the Regional colleges to participate. In their first qualifying game, the midlanders caused a shock, defeating a much-fancied UCC team. Athlone featured players such as Jarlath Gilroy of Kildare, whilst Brendan Penny’s late goal sealed the win. From there Athlone took out UCD in the quarter final on a scoreline of 2-15 to 3-9 with Brian Fitzpatrick scoring 2-3. The Athlone men eventually lost to Jordanstown in Scotstown on a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-6. It was a remarkable run, that all started with the defeat of UCC managed by none other than future Westmeath manager Paidí Ó Sé…
Ah yes Páidí. After his departure from his beloved Kerry the late great Páidí Ó Sé pitched up as manager of Westmeath in a move that raised more than a few eyebrows. Bringing passion, self-belief and a bullish sense of derring-do he achieved success beyond most Westmeath GAA people’s wildest dreams. Many outside observers thought it strange that Ó Séwould be able to uproot from the Kerry GAA environment where he had lived, played, managed and thrived for three decades. But Páidí being Páidí he was to prove them all wrong with a stunning success in the 2004 Leinster championship. Sadly of course the legend left us five years ago this week, but it is fitting that the brilliant documentary ‘Marooned’ remains, showing the direct impact of the charismatic Ó Sé on this group of Westmeath players and their Leinster winning success. Which brings us on to other Westmeath successes and the likelihood of something happening in the small ball game?
One of the highlights (for Westmeath) in 2016 was their under 21 defeat of Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship. Granted Kilkenny’s record isn’t brilliant but ‘The Biggest Result in the History of Westmeath Hurling’ as the newspapers heralded it, shows the progress that is being made in the midlands in hurling. Michael Walsh the former Cats ‘keeper was the man presiding over the u21 success and allied to progress in the Leinster qualifying rounds in which they beat Offaly, Kerry and Carlow, before losing out to Galway in the quarter final, there are signs that Westmeath have leapfrogged some of their rivals and are moving in the right direction. The u21s ultimately succumbed to Dublin in the semi final. Which leads us on neatly to one of the most impressive feelgood stories of this week. . .
Yes, on Monday 12 December, Westmeath Hurlers served up 100 dinners to the homeless on Grafton St Dublin. The senior and under 21 panels are giving up a post match meal to help the homeless. It is a great gesture by the players who are hoping that with that with the help of the media some of the other counties might do the same. Under-21 captain Liam Varley told Midlands 103: “Let's spread the word about homelessness. It's a huge issue and while this is only a small gesture, it's something our players feel they can help with in this Christmas Season.” Fair play to Westmeath, a superb gesture. That brings us full circle in our six degrees. Just shows, anything is possible in the GAA.The New Westmeath GAA Jersey is now available in-store and online.