Without question, 2004 was the greatest year in the history of Westmeath football. No longer can the county be grouped amongst the sides that have failed to win a provincial title. None of us will ever forget the summer of 2004, the summer when a long-held dream finally became a reality for Westmeath football fans. We rejoiced when Luke Dempsey guided talented underage teams to All-Ireland minor and under 21 titles in 1995 and '99, but nothing compared to the celebrations which followed the county's first Leinster senior championship success last July. For days and even weeks after that fateful day of July 24, the celebrations raged. From Athlone to Kinnegad, Finea to Kilbeggan, the maroon hordes basked in the glory of a long-awaited and historic breakthrough. And who could blame them after 120 years of championship deprivation? In capturing their first Leinster championship, Westmeath had to do things the hard way. A first championship win over Offaly in 55 years was followed by a first over Dublin since 1967. That was followed by a semi-final win over an improving Wexford team before nirvana was reached when Laois were defeated after a replay in the provincial final. And while the celebrations came to an unexpected halt against Derry three weeks later, the Westmeath players could still hold their heads high after a remarkable summer of achievement. For Westmeath, the success took the best part of a decade to fashion. It all began with the appointment of Summerhill man Mattie Kerrigan as senior manager in 1993. Kerrigan brought a level of professionalism which hadn't been seen before in the county and it wasn't long before results started to improve. But the first real breakthrough came in 1995 when Luke Dempsey oversaw an historic All-Ireland minor triumph. When Dempsey repeated the feat at under 21 level four years later, supporters sensed that senior success wasn't far away. In 2001, Westmeath reached the All-Ireland quarter-final after a wonderful run in the qualifiers. But it took the arrival of Kerry legend Paidi O Se and his able assistant Tomas O Flatharta to provide the final subtle touches which were required to deliver that elusive provincial senior success. O Se was first unveiled to the Westmeath public on October 17, 2003 amid a blaze of publicity and hype. But after a disappointing National League campaign which saw Westmeath barely retain their Division 1 status, he was a man under pressure in the weeks leading up to the championship. Few gave Westmeath much chance of ending the Offaly bogey, especially as the Faithful County had tuned up for the game by winning the National League Division 2 title at Croke Park a few weeks earlier. But the low-key build-up seemed to suit Westmeath who came out with all guns blazing to lead by 0-7 to 0-3 at half-time. And despite having All-Star midfielder Rory O'Connell sent off just after the restart, they showed tremendous resilience to hold on for a 0-11 to 0-10 victory, the winning point coming from wing back Michael Ennis after Ciaran McManus had brought Offaly onto level terms. Westmeath's first championship win over their neighbours since 1949 was overshadowed to a large degree by Offaly claims that a Brian Morley point, scored after 20 minutes, was actually wide. But despite their protestations, the Offaly county board decided not to pursue the matter and accepted their team's fate. Next up for Paidi O Se's charges were Dublin, the traditional giants of Leinster football. Westmeath got off to a shaky start and seemed to have no answer to the pace of Alan Brogan and Jason Sherlock as Dublin eased into an early 0-6 to 0-2 lead. But the switch of Damien Healy to full back and the introduction of David Mitchell at centre forward had the desired effect as Westmeath reduced the gap to three points at the interval. On the restart, the midlanders regained parity thanks to unanswered points from Dessie Dolan, Mitchell and Denis Glennon before Alan Mangan gave them the lead. Colin Moran levelled for Dublin and as the game ticked into injury-time, it looked as though a replay would be needed. But Westmeath had the scent of victory in their nostrils and two late points from super-sub Joe Fallon and Paul Conway saw them prevail by 0-14 to 0-12. That set the scene for a semi-final joust with fellow-minnows Wexford, again at Croke Park. The midlanders were quickly in their stride and had established a commanding 0-9 to 0-1 advantage after just 25 minutes. However, Wexford battened down the hatches in the lead-up to half-time and had cut the deficit to a more manageable five points, 0-4 to 0-9, at the break. The Slaneysiders continued their fight back after the change of ends and had reduced the gap to just two points by the midway stage of the half. But goals from Shane Colleary and Dessie Dolan put Westmeath back in the driving seat and, despite conceding a late goal to Jason Lawlor, the Lake County emerged victorious on a 2-15 to 1-14 scoreline. In the week before their first Leinster final appearance in 55 years, Westmeath received a major boost when Rory O'Connell won a High Court injunction against the three-month ban he had been handed after his dismissal against Offaly. Despite the Athlone man's availability, though, Westmeath entered the final against reigning champions Laois as rank outsiders. In what proved to be a terrific, free-flowing encounter, Westmeath recovered from a nervous start to be on level terms, 0-6 each, at the interval. It was tit for tat in the second half with the lead changing hands on a couple of occasions. But after man of the match Denis Glennon landed his fifth point to give Westmeath a 0-13 to 0-12 lead, it looked as though history was about to be made. However, with two minutes of injury-time elapsed, Laois captain Chris Conway latched onto a breaking ball before calmly slotting over the equalizing point. The popular opinion afterwards was that Westmeath had left the Delaney Cup behind them, but they proved this wasn't the case by winning the replay 0-12 to 0-10. The replay was similar to the drawn encounter in that it took the men in maroon a long time to settle. They had to wait all of 23 minutes for Alan Mangan to open their account but once that went over, Westmeath took off. Further points from Denis Glennon, Mangan, Dessie Dolan and Michael Ennis in a devastating spell propelled them into a 0-7 to 0-5 interval lead. The Westmeath scoring blitz continued after the break with Fergal Wilson, Dolan, Brian Morley and Mangan all finding the target to stretch their lead to 0-12 to 0-5. However, the scores dried up for Westmeath in the final 20 minutes or so, during which Laois reduced the deficit to three points. Then, with the game in injury-time, every Westmeath heart in the 38,500 attendance skipped a beat when Kevin Fitzpatrick's piledriver flashed across Gary Connaughton's goal. Ross Munnelly pulled back a late point from a free, but it wasn't enough to deny Westmeath a victory the county had waited over a century to see. With the Leinster championship won, Paidi O Se immediately switched his focus to the All-Ireland series and, at the homecoming in Mullingar, pleaded with the fans to give the players the necessary space. That the players were back training on the Monday night after the Leinster final replay suggested they weren't about to rest on their laurels. Beating Derry, who had revived their season in the qualifiers after slumping to a heavy defeat to Tyrone in the Ulster championship, appeared very achievable. But on a balmy afternoon in Croke Park, the All-Ireland dream died as Derry chalked up a surprise 2-9 to 0-13 victory. The mantle of favourites seemed to weigh heavily on Westmeath shoulders and they were facing an uphill battle after goals from Paddy Bradley and Enda Muldoon gave the Ulster side a 2-5 to 0-7 lead at the break. But the Leinster champions dug deep following the resumption, gradually chipping away at Derry's lead. With 10 minutes remaining, Alan Mangan restored parity and then Dessie Dolan raised the roof when he kicked Westmeath in front. It was expected that Westmeath would push on from there, but a Derry stoppage (one of many which infuriated the Lake County following) broke their momentum and on the restart, substitute Eamon Burke fired over the equalizing point for the Oak Leafers. Two Enda Muldoon points in the 28th and 31st minutes left Westmeath playing catch-up again and try as they might, they were unable to muster the scores which would have saved them from defeat. Throughout the autumn and winter months, the Delaney Cup toured the county as Westmeath reflected on their most successful year in history. But when Paidi O Se reassembled his troops for the new season, a number of familiar faces were missing, including Brian Morley, Paul Conway and Fergal Wilson, who made up last year's entire half forward line. On the plus side, however, Martin Flanagan was welcomed back to the squad after missing practically all of last season. 2005 began with an emphatic victory over Luke Dempsey's Longford team in the O'Byrne Cup. Playing with a swagger that usually comes with being Leinster champions, Westmeath coasted to a 2-19 to 0-10 win. The performance augured well for the remainder of the year, but unfortunately it hasn't quite turned out that way and, after a dismal showing in Division 1A of the National League which culminated in relegation to Division 2, it is patently obvious that a dramatic improvement is required if Westmeath are to successfully defend their provincial title in the weeks ahead. Since their opening day demolition of Longford, Westmeath have struggled to reproduce the form of last summer. A far from impressive victory over Louth earned them a place in the O'Byrne Cup final for the second year in-a-row, but once again defeat was their lot as they succumbed rather tamely to a virtual second string Laois team in front of another full house at Cusack Park. The tone for a most disappointing league campaign was set when Westmeath lost their opening game to Offaly at Tullamore. Two goals from Rhode youngster Niall McNamee either side of half-time left Westmeath a massive eight points in arrears, but despite having Dessie Dolan sent off in the early stages for a yellow-card offence, Alan Mangan and Denis Glennon led a tremendous comeback which saw the visitors gain parity with less than 10 minutes remaining. But, crucially, Westmeath were unable to get their noses in front and, having also lost Joe Fallon, Rory O'Connell and Colin Galligan to yellow cards, they faded in the closing stages as Offaly pulled clear for a 2-11 to 0-14 victory. One week later at Cusack Park, Westmeath secured their first point of the campaign courtesy of a late cameo from the returning Martin Flanagan. A second defeat seemed likely after Brendan Jer O'Sullivan scored a spectacular goal to give Cork a four-point lead. But just minutes after his introduction, Flanagan fisted home a Dessie Dolan centre to leave the minimum between the sides. Then, in injury-time, Dolan slotted over a free to earn the home side a 1-9 to 2-6 draw. Westmeath's survival hopes were significantly boosted when they edged out Donegal by 1-12 to 1-11 in the third round at Cusack Park. The visitors missed a penalty after just five minutes, but made amends a short time later when Colm McFadden beat Gary Connaughton from close range. But a Dessie Dolan goal in the 31st minute had Westmeath on level terms at half-time, 1-6 apiece. In a tense second half, Michael Hegarty put Donegal 1-10 to 1-8 ahead after 50 minutes, but Westmeath composed themselves and with substitute Joe Fallon swinging over two fine points and Paddy Mulvihill adding another, they did just enough to secure both league points. That was as good as it got, however, as four successive defeats to Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone and Mayo consigned Westmeath to Division 2 for 2006. Despite playing poorly for much of the Dublin game, a 10-minute purple patch midway through the second half saw Westmeath edge in front. But, in a tight finish, the Dubs hit three unanswered points - two from Tomas Quinn - to snatch a 0-11 to 0-9 victory. Paidi O Se's return to his native Kerry proved to be something of a nightmare as the All-Ireland champions dished out a 10-point hammering. In the first half, Westmeath failed to register a score as the Kingdom eased into a 0-6 to 0-0 lead. With a strong wind behind them, Westmeath restarted with a quick point from Martin Flanagan, but Kerry's response was devastating. First, Tomas O Se - who should have been sent off in the first half for a reckless challenge on Damien Healy - waltzed through the visitors' defence before firing an unstoppable shot to the roof of the net. Seconds later, Gary Connaughton was beaten again when Colm Cooper set up Liam Hassett for another clinically executed goal. Westmeath rallied in the final quarter, but never looked like making up the deficit as the Kingdom coasted to a 2-11 to 0-7 win. The Lake County's confidence took another battering when Tyrone came to Cusack Park on March 27 and inflicted another 10-point defeat on the home side. Without the likes of Damien Healy, Rory O'Connell and Alan Mangan, Westmeath had simply no answer to Tyrone's power and pace with midfielder Sean Cavanagh and centre forward Stephen O'Neill both producing masterful displays. The Red Hands were quickly into their stride and had victory all but wrapped up at half-time when leading by 1-12 to 0-3. The Leinster champions threw caution to the wind in the second half and had, amazingly, halved the deficit inside four minutes thanks to goals from Flanagan and Dolan. But Tyrone refused to be rattled and had regained the initiative before Flanagan scored his second goal in the 59th minute. But four late points saw Tyrone power to a 1-24 to 3-8 victory. Entering the final round of games, Westmeath needed to beat Mayo by a huge margin, while hoping that Dublin would defeat Offaly, to have any chance of avoiding the drop. A final day win over the Westerners had saved Westmeath's Division 1 bacon in 2004, but hopes of another Houdini act were well and truly dashed by half-time when Mayo held a 2-10 to 1-3 lead. The full-time score of 1-8 to 3-16 made even poorer reading for Westmeath and prompted Paidi O Se to say that things can't get much worse. "There is only one direction we can go in now after that performance, and that's up," the manager admitted. Let's hope he's right . . . For the record, the 32 players who delivered a first Leinster senior football championship to Westmeath were: Gary Connaughton, James Davitt, Donal O'Donoghue, John Keane, Michael Ennis, Damien Healy, Derek Heavin, Rory O'Connell, David O'Shaughnessy (captain), Brian Morley, Paul Conway, Fergal Wilson, Alan Mangan, Denis Glennon, Des Dolan, Aidan Lennon, David Kilmartin, David Mitchell, Joe Fallon, Colin Galligan, Paul Martin, Damien Gavin, Shane Colleary, Fergal Murray, Gary Dolan, JP Casey, Aidan Canning, Tom Stuart-Trainor, Russell Casey, James Conroy, Justin McAteer and Colin Whyte. Tweet

Most Read Stories