Longford Slashers are benefiting from their participation in the Westmeath underage hurling leagues, according to club stalwart Sean Stakelum. As one of only three hurling clubs in Longford, Longford Slashers have had to travel beyond the county's boundaries for competitive games at underage level. And since joining the Westmeath leagues, not only have Slashers staved off the threat of going out of existence but there has also been a marked improvement in their playing standards. "I don't know where we'd be if we weren't playing in Westmeath," Longford Slashers hurling club chairman Sean Stakelum admits. "I'd nearly go as far as to say that hurling would be dead in Longford town only for it. We have found that playing in Westmeath has been of great benefit to us. We may have to travel 30 or 40 miles in some cases, but at least the young lads are getting hurling and that's the most important thing. "We wouldn't be able for the top five or six teams like Clonkill, Raharney, Lough Lene Gaels or Castletown-Geoghegan, but we'd be the equal of any team outside of that. It's difficult to keep hurling going in a county where there's such a strong football tradition, but we're still going and playing in Westmeath has been a big help in that regard." Whereas last year Slashers only competed in the Westmeath under 12 league, this year they will compete in the under 12 and 14 leagues. The decision to enter an under 14 team follows the achievement of last year's under 12 side in reaching the Division 2 final against Crookedwood. "We were delighted with the under 12s last year. We're especially strong at under 11 and 12 level at the moment and would hope to do well in the Westmeath under 12 league again this year," says Sean, who coached both teams along with Niall Ward, whose father TJ is a former chairman of the Longford county board. "Last year, our under 11s won the Longford league by beating Wolfe Tones and the under 12s won both the league and championship. If we can keep these lads together, we could have more success to look forward to in the older age groups in the next few years." Slashers also compete in the under 10 Westmeath ground hurling league, and actually hosted the second round of last year's competition in September. Their under 13 team also competed last year in the Leinster mini Feile which took place in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow. The two biggest sources of disappointment for Slashers last year was their failure to field an under 16 team and the minor team's shock defeat to Wolfe Tones in the county final. "We had high hopes for our minors, but we went into the final understrength and paid a heavy price for that. If we had everyone available, I'm certain we would have won that game," Sean ruefully reflects. "When last year's minor team played at under 14 level in Westmeath, they won 14 out of 16 games, so that gives you an idea of their ability. Equally disappointing was the fact that we weren't able to field an under 16 team. This can be attributed to us neglecting our underage for a couple of years." While admitting that hurling is very much a minority sport in Longford, the Tipperary native points out that this wasn't always the case. "Twenty years ago, there were 11 hurling clubs in Longford and now we only have three (Slashers, Wolfe Tones and Clonguish). It has been sad to see hurling die in places such as Ballymahon, Newtowncashel, Kenagh and Rathcline. "It's going to take a big effort to revive it at this stage. Years ago, we had a lot of people coming into Longford from hurling counties and they would drive the thing, but that's not happening anymore for whatever reason," he laments. Tweet

Most Read Stories