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Westmeath Football thread

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Replying To Westmeath25: "I know the Wexford game is disappointing but we do overlook how inexperienced the team is and it's definitely part of the reason we have not been winning these tight games! Nearly 90% of the team is under 25/26 and hopefully with some more underage success like beating Louth tonight we can be very positive going forward. The season is not over and a good minor, u20 and senior championship and this year can still be seen as a massive success." 90% of the team are under 25/26??? Ages below for the players that played Sunday. I might be out by a year in some. Most lads are in their prime. I count 6 of the 20 lads used being under 25. That's 30% nowhere the 90% you have stated. Jason Daly 36 Danny Scahill 22/23 Charlie Drumm 25 Boidu Sayeh 30 Matthew Whittaker 22/23 Shane Allen 26 Sam McCartan 26 Jonathan Lynam 26 Brian Cooney 21 Kevin O'Sullivan 25/26 Ronan Wallace 30 Conor Dillon 28 Tom Molloy 28 Luke Loughlin 31 Danny McCartan 23 Tadhg Baker 21 Robbie Forde 28 Ray Connellan 32 T.J. Cox 26 Brandon Kelly 25 Temple56 (Westmeath) - Posts: 637 - 25/03/2026 16:25:50 2663144 Link
Replying To GCCABU: "U/20 match off 2nite pitch waterlogged" Interesting to know the criteria for these games; is Kinnegad and Loman's the only venues they consider. TUS, Tubberclair, Athlone and Garrycastle for example all have floodlights. Not saying they are available but do they even try these clubs. OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 261 - 25/03/2026 16:38:04 2663148 Link
Replying To OverTheHill85: "Interesting to know the criteria for these games; is Kinnegad and Loman's the only venues they consider. TUS, Tubberclair, Athlone and Garrycastle for example all have floodlights. Not saying they are available but do they even try these clubs." When a venue is nominated a backup has to be also named. In this case Kinnegad. Both were unplayable and was going to be late notice to move anywhere else. Chops (Westmeath) - Posts: 874 - 25/03/2026 16:49:09 2663152 Link
I said it a few weeks ago and will say it again, Longford won't fear us. They will have their tails up after gaining promotion and will smell the the doubt Westmeath have in themselves. Chops (Westmeath) - Posts: 874 - 25/03/2026 16:53:01 2663154 Link
Replying To Chops: "When a venue is nominated a backup has to be also named. In this case Kinnegad. Both were unplayable and was going to be late notice to move anywhere else." So could a venue outside of Kinnegad and Loman's be used? Irrespective of the short notice. OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 261 - 25/03/2026 17:30:09 2663163 Link
Replying To Temple56: "90% of the team are under 25/26??? Ages below for the players that played Sunday. I might be out by a year in some. Most lads are in their prime. I count 6 of the 20 lads used being under 25. That's 30% nowhere the 90% you have stated. Jason Daly 36 Danny Scahill 22/23 Charlie Drumm 25 Boidu Sayeh 30 Matthew Whittaker 22/23 Shane Allen 26 Sam McCartan 26 Jonathan Lynam 26 Brian Cooney 21 Kevin O'Sullivan 25/26 Ronan Wallace 30 Conor Dillon 28 Tom Molloy 28 Luke Loughlin 31 Danny McCartan 23 Tadhg Baker 21 Robbie Forde 28 Ray Connellan 32 T.J. Cox 26 Brandon Kelly 25" Team that was named to start against Fermanagh J Connaughton D Scahill C Drumm S Smith R Wallace S Allen M Whittaker R Connellan J Lynam K O'Sullivan S McCartan B Cooney D McCartan L Loughlin S Corcoran 3 players in this starting team are over 26 fair enough that's 80% not 90%. So to say the bulk of this team are in their prime isn't correct 12 of these lads have 6-9 years left of playing for Westmeath! Most of this team got their first senior championship game in the last 3 years. Westmeath25 (Westmeath) - Posts: 12 - 25/03/2026 17:40:26 2663165 Link
Replying To OverTheHill85: "Interesting to know the criteria for these games; is Kinnegad and Loman's the only venues they consider. TUS, Tubberclair, Athlone and Garrycastle for example all have floodlights. Not saying they are available but do they even try these clubs." Doubt any pitch is playable. Multyfarnham has one of the best floodlight setups in the county. Jack_Sparrow (Westmeath) - Posts: 1075 - 25/03/2026 17:58:20 2663169 Link
Replying To Jack_Sparrow: "Doubt any pitch is playable. Multyfarnham has one of the best floodlight setups in the county." Agreed, I'm just wondering does any alternative venue be requested. It seems to be those two all the time. TUS would be a good venue to host it. OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 261 - 25/03/2026 19:26:58 2663182 Link
Replying To Temple56: "90% of the team are under 25/26??? Ages below for the players that played Sunday. I might be out by a year in some. Most lads are in their prime. I count 6 of the 20 lads used being under 25. That's 30% nowhere the 90% you have stated. Jason Daly 36 Danny Scahill 22/23 Charlie Drumm 25 Boidu Sayeh 30 Matthew Whittaker 22/23 Shane Allen 26 Sam McCartan 26 Jonathan Lynam 26 Brian Cooney 21 Kevin O'Sullivan 25/26 Ronan Wallace 30 Conor Dillon 28 Tom Molloy 28 Luke Loughlin 31 Danny McCartan 23 Tadhg Baker 21 Robbie Forde 28 Ray Connellan 32 T.J. Cox 26 Brandon Kelly 25" Similar age profile to our lads Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 18921 - 25/03/2026 21:07:22 2663202 Link
Replying To Maroooned: "International studies and even GAA studies have shown that specialising in a sport from 15 years of age or younger should be discouraged. Single sport specialisation results in more injuries, increased mental exhaustion, burnout, less enjoyment and much higher drop outs etc., which also shows what is to be gained from investing in dual players. It is the workloads that need to be managed and I think Westmeath GAA are doing a good job on this at the minute from what I can see. I don't see the development squads putting fierce pressure on the 14/15 year olds as they alternate football and hurling each week and have shared gym sessions. For sure, some individual club coaches, in particular, are putting way too much pressure on kids but we should be training and informing the coaches rather that taking away the enjoyment and benefits of multi-sports activities from the kids. And if someone says they can distinguish between a future county senior footballer and a hurler at 14 then be sure to ask them for the lotto numbers as well." Yes by all means play both, at club level, you're missing my point. To develop top class inter county players from a young age it's one or the other. The demands are just too much on young kids. 2maroonjerseys (Galway) - Posts: 137 - 25/03/2026 22:22:58 2663227 Link
Replying To westmeathfan25: "How are county players treated badly? Was Westmeath's spend not 1.2M on county teams in 2025?" Out of 12 games scheduled in the All Ireland U20 Championship last night, 1 game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. It is hardly surprising to see which County could not host their game given it has the greatest lack of infrastructure of any County. The other Counties were not lucky with the weather, they simply have better facilities, better planning (a multiple venue strategy, more options to fall back on etc. ) and better relationships with Clubs (it will tell you all you need know when St Loman's League game at home tonight is played on the grass pitch). Westmeath players are not asking for much, all they want is certainty, basic organization to match their high levels of commitment like a consistent training base, pitches to train on etc. We are spending €1.2m (the cost of just competing) to run a modern Inter County set up (coaching, nutrition, analysis, travel expenses etc.) without the modern infrastructure to support it. iarmhiabu (Westmeath) - Posts: 322 - 26/03/2026 10:43:19 2663275 Link
Replying To iarmhiabu: "Out of 12 games scheduled in the All Ireland U20 Championship last night, 1 game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. It is hardly surprising to see which County could not host their game given it has the greatest lack of infrastructure of any County. The other Counties were not lucky with the weather, they simply have better facilities, better planning (a multiple venue strategy, more options to fall back on etc. ) and better relationships with Clubs (it will tell you all you need know when St Loman's League game at home tonight is played on the grass pitch). Westmeath players are not asking for much, all they want is certainty, basic organization to match their high levels of commitment like a consistent training base, pitches to train on etc. We are spending €1.2m (the cost of just competing) to run a modern Inter County set up (coaching, nutrition, analysis, travel expenses etc.) without the modern infrastructure to support it." Completely agree infrastructure is terrible there is such a quick fix to this by doing like the ladies gaa and building a set up in rochfortbridge. we dont need a mother and father of a COE for now they need set places to train and host games faithful fields is a very simple but effective setup and didnt take 1m to buy the land its crazy what their doing. Dazzler30 (Westmeath) - Posts: 80 - 26/03/2026 11:53:15 2663295 Link
Replying To iarmhiabu: "Out of 12 games scheduled in the All Ireland U20 Championship last night, 1 game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. It is hardly surprising to see which County could not host their game given it has the greatest lack of infrastructure of any County. The other Counties were not lucky with the weather, they simply have better facilities, better planning (a multiple venue strategy, more options to fall back on etc. ) and better relationships with Clubs (it will tell you all you need know when St Loman's League game at home tonight is played on the grass pitch). Westmeath players are not asking for much, all they want is certainty, basic organization to match their high levels of commitment like a consistent training base, pitches to train on etc. We are spending €1.2m (the cost of just competing) to run a modern Inter County set up (coaching, nutrition, analysis, travel expenses etc.) without the modern infrastructure to support it." All very true. I'd be amazed if the two grounds mentioned last night were truly unplayable. The clubs that would love to host a game are never considered. OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 261 - 26/03/2026 12:22:41 2663304 Link
Replying To iarmhiabu: "Out of 12 games scheduled in the All Ireland U20 Championship last night, 1 game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. It is hardly surprising to see which County could not host their game given it has the greatest lack of infrastructure of any County. The other Counties were not lucky with the weather, they simply have better facilities, better planning (a multiple venue strategy, more options to fall back on etc. ) and better relationships with Clubs (it will tell you all you need know when St Loman's League game at home tonight is played on the grass pitch). Westmeath players are not asking for much, all they want is certainty, basic organization to match their high levels of commitment like a consistent training base, pitches to train on etc. We are spending €1.2m (the cost of just competing) to run a modern Inter County set up (coaching, nutrition, analysis, travel expenses etc.) without the modern infrastructure to support it." Confused as to how the pitch last night not being playable in return means "County Players are treated so badly in this county" You said it yourself - coaching, nutrition, analysis, travel expenses - would you prefer if they did not spend that 1.2M on those things and instead put it towards the cost of building a COE? Or is your expectation that Westmeath should continue spending millions on the "badly treated players" and find another couple million somewhere to build a COE, because let's be honest, the previous fundraising that was meant to raise €1M didn't happen, so what happens next? And it can't be a continuous blame on the County Board - they can put in all the effort to get fundraising events up and running, but if people aren't willing to contribute then what happens - will you continue to solely blame them? westmeathfan25 (Westmeath) - Posts: 5 - 26/03/2026 12:28:48 2663306 Link
Replying To Dazzler30: "Completely agree infrastructure is terrible there is such a quick fix to this by doing like the ladies gaa and building a set up in rochfortbridge. we dont need a mother and father of a COE for now they need set places to train and host games faithful fields is a very simple but effective setup and didnt take 1m to buy the land its crazy what their doing." Weren't they gifted the land for the Faithful Fields? Do you have a couple acres you would like to gift Westmeath GAA to get them up and running? westmeathfan25 (Westmeath) - Posts: 5 - 26/03/2026 12:31:25 2663307 Link
Replying To Dazzler30: "Completely agree infrastructure is terrible there is such a quick fix to this by doing like the ladies gaa and building a set up in rochfortbridge. we dont need a mother and father of a COE for now they need set places to train and host games faithful fields is a very simple but effective setup and didnt take 1m to buy the land its crazy what their doing." How much will it cost them to rent the land? Of course that is hoping that integration won't mean that someone else will be responsible for the payment of that field also! ! westmeathfan25 (Westmeath) - Posts: 5 - 26/03/2026 12:33:46 2663308 Link