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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: 639 - 25/03/2026 16:25:50    2663144

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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: 262 - 25/03/2026 16:38:04    2663148

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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

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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

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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: 262 - 25/03/2026 17:30:09    2663163

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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

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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

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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: 262 - 25/03/2026 19:26:58    2663182

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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: 18934 - 25/03/2026 21:07:22    2663202

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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

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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: 324 - 26/03/2026 10:43:19    2663275

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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: 81 - 26/03/2026 11:53:15    2663295

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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: 262 - 26/03/2026 12:22:41    2663304

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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

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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

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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

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Replying To westmeathfan25:  "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?"
There is such nonsense behind the scenes, and the players and management teams aren't been treated well or fairly at all. This forum probably wouldn't post the list of things we could all spill about whats going on.

OverTheHill85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 262 - 26/03/2026 15:55:55    2663358

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Replying To westmeathfan25:  "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?"
Game between Lomans and Kinnegad is going ahead tonight on the same pitch that was deemed unplayable last night. Strange, isn't it?

In other counties, players are being brought on 4-5 day warm-weather training camps abroad in places like Spain and Portugal. This isn't just for top-tier teams even Tailteann Cup-level sides are getting these opportunities. Meanwhile, our county footballers had a one-night stay-away training camp. The contrast is hard to ignore.

County players aren't being treated poorly on purpose, but ongoing shortcomings at county board level over the years have meant they don't receive the same level of support and benefits as players in other counties.

Yes, €1.2M was spent on county teams last year, but the majority of that goes on essentials like expenses, gear, and food things the GPA has pushed to make mandatory. Without that pressure, only the bare minimum would likely be provided. You can see a similar situation with the current U20s: there's no agreement in place, some players are still out of pocket from last year, and as of now, they haven't even received gear.

A significant amount of money is also being spent on renting training facilities, largely because there's been no proper investment in a Centre of Excellence.

Another issue is how parts of the county board operate. Some members make unilateral decisions without proper consultation. Take the WINAHOMEINSPAIN fundraiser as an example, concerns were raised early on that it would struggle due to poor research into the target audience. There were also warnings that the marketing company, being paid a six-figure sum, was overcharging for what was delivered. These concerns were ignored, the fundraiser failed, and blame was then shifted onto the clubs for lack of support. But in reality, many ordinary people simply weren't willing to spend €100 on a ticket for an unfinished house in a remote area of Spain, far from any beach.

The disconnect between clubs and the county board has never been greater. This has only been worsened by the recent changes to the football championship. From what I've heard, almost no clubs-apart from one, Kilcucan, which has strong representation on the county board wanted these changes. Yet they were pushed through regardless, with officials effectively instructed on how to vote.

Why can't the board listen to the clubs? And why was most of the profit from last year's draw already spent?

When it comes to fundraising for a Centre of Excellence, there doesn't seem to have been any real progress since last year's draw. Is there even a committee in place for the next initiative? Why not introduce ongoing fundraisers like monthly or 50/50 draws to create a steady income stream? It's unrealistic to expect another major once-off fundraiser to succeed without proper planning and even more unfair to blame the clubs if it doesn't.

Temple56 (Westmeath) - Posts: 639 - 26/03/2026 18:15:03    2663383

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Replying To westmeathfan25:  "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?"
Its on a long term lease from offaly county council using their brains getting the best options paying 1m for land is a joke when they could of spent a fraction of that outside mullingar.

Dazzler30 (Westmeath) - Posts: 81 - 27/03/2026 07:59:59    2663410

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Good win for county minors last night let's hope the under 20s get the win tonight against the lenister champions louth it will be tough game

Mooo (Westmeath) - Posts: 87 - 27/03/2026 09:43:13    2663433

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