Westmeath maintained their 100 per cent record in the Christy Ring Cup when they easily overcame Kildare to win the second tier hurling championship for the second time in three years. While thrilled to pick up his second winners' medal, Westmeath corner back Noel Gavin is understandably disappointed that there is no longer promotion to the Liam McCarthy Cup for the Ring Cup champions. The Christy Ring Cup will spend its second winter in Westmeath in three years after the Lake County's impressive defeat of Kildare in a one-sided final at Croke Park on August 5 last. Not even the miserable weather could dampen spirits as Seamus Qualter's charges preserved their unbeaten record in the second tier hurling championship. Unlike in 2005, however, when Westmeath beat Down in a thrilling inaugural decider, they won't have the opportunity to test themselves against top-class opposition in the Liam McCarthy Cup in 2008 following a decision made at last year's Special Congress. The controversial decision to deny the Christy Ring Cup champions promotion to the top flight does little to promote hurling in the so-called weaker counties, but at least Westmeath will see action in the Leinster championship after gratefully accepting an invitation from the Leinster Council to take part. When Westmeath last participated in the provincial championship in 2006, they recorded a famous victory over Dublin before going on to give creditable performances against Kilkenny and Waterford, the latter in the All-Ireland qualifiers. They were unfortunate to be relegated after losing to a revenge-hungry Dublin in a play-off, but the emphatic manner of their latest Ring Cup success suggested that they had learned from their experience in the top flight. "The difference between this year and two years ago was that we were expected to win," explains Noel Gavin, who lined out at right corner back against Kildare. "In 2005 we weren't in a position to say we were the best team in it, and we went into the final against Down as underdogs. We had been in a bit of mess in the early part of the year with Tom Ryan resigning and what not. But in fairness to Seamus Qualter, he came in and turned the whole thing around. "But after winning the Christy Ring Cup for a second time this year, I don't think there can be any doubt about our position as the best team in the competition. We've proved that we are a step above the rest and we've earned our right to play in the Liam McCarthy Cup as far as I'm concerned." As well as competing in the Leinster championship, Westmeath will also get the chance to defend the Christy Ring Cup. Noel understands that if they were to win the second tier championship for a third time, they would automatically be promoted to the Liam McCarthy Cup, even if the current rules stay the same. "The rumours are that we will go up if we win the Ring Cup again next year. But then you'd have the problem of getting someone to come down. In theory, we could win the Leinster championship next year and not be allowed play in the All-Ireland series. "A possible solution would be to have a play-off between Westmeath, Dublin or Laois that would determine which team goes into the All-Ireland series. The three of us are all around the same level and I think that would be something worth exploring," he says. Following their narrow defeat to Laois in the National League Division 2 semi-final, the Westmeath management team of Seamus Qualter, Offaly legend Johnny Dooley, Christy Murtagh and John Donoghue had two months to refocus their players for the Christy Ring Cup campaign. Their first game was against a resurgent Meath at Pairc Tailteann on June 16. There was a keen edge to the opening 20 minutes, during which time the sides were level on four occasions. Meath led by 0-6 to 0-4 after 16 minutes but failed to score again as the visitors went on to lead by 0-10 to 0-6 at the break. The Royals rallied after the restart to trail by 0-11 to 0-10 before two points each from Barry Kennedy and Andrew Mitchell gave Westmeath some breathing space. Meath scored a contentious goal to leave the minimum in it again after 50 minutes, but Westmeath responded impressively and Derek McNicholas' goal had them 1-19 to 1-14 in front with seven minutes remaining. Meath refused to wilt, however, and hit an unanswered 1-2 in the closing stages - their two points coming from Tipperary import Eoin Brislane - to salvage a 2-16 to 1-19 draw. A week later, a Down team still smarting from their heavy defeat to Antrim in the Ulster final travelled to Cusack Park in search of an opening round success. This game proved to be every bit as competitive as the Meath fixture with Westmeath just about shading the outcome on a 2-13 to 1-15 scoreline. Two first half goals from Derek McNicholas and Daniel Carty eased the home side into an eight-point lead after 21 minutes, but a run of Down scores left them just three points adrift at the interval. Down drew level when Ciaran Courtney sent a long-range free to the net and it was tit for tat thereafter, with points from Ronan Whelan, John Shaw and Daniel Carty handing Westmeath victory by the narrowest of margins. Goals from McNicholas and Ronan Whelan helped Westmeath to a comprehensive 2-14 to 0-11 victory over Mayo in their next outing at Castlebar. The visitors inflicted most of the damage on the hosts in the opening half and were well on their way to victory when leading by 2-7 to 0-5 at the interval. Westmeath confirmed their semi-final place with a 1-14 to 1-11 victory over Kerry at Cusack Park. As the scoreline suggests, this was a hard-earned win and with 10 minutes remaining, it looked as if the Kingdom would prevail when leading by 1-10 to 1-9. However, Seamus Qualter's side finished strongly and outscored their opponents by 0-5 to 0-1 in the final 10 minutes to go through. Westmeath's ability to find the net proved the decisive factor in their 4-11 to 2-15 victory over Carlow in a dramatic semi-final at Tullamore. A brace of goals from John Shaw, accompanied by a similar effort from Derek McNicholas late in the first half, gave the Lake County a commanding 3-9 to 0-7 lead at the halfway stage. But the third quarter was all about Carlow as they came storming back, with goals from Robert Foley and Craig Doyle helping them take the lead for the first time. However, they were unable to sustain the pressure and a second major from McNicholas turned the tide back in Westmeath's favour. Westmeath were firm favourites to beat a much improved Kildare team whose ranks had been bolstered by the addition of former Tipperary All-Ireland winners David Kennedy and Paddy O'Brien. The build-up to the Croke Park decider on August 5 was overshadowed by the GAA's decision to bring the throw-in time forward by nearly two hours to 12.15pm in order to accommodate the All-Ireland quarter-final replay between Waterford and Cork as well as the All-Ireland semi-final between Kilkenny and Wexford. Seamus Qualter described the early start as a "kick in the teeth" for the weaker counties, but at least the final didn't lose its live TV slot. From a neutral's perspective, the game failed to live up to expectations with Westmeath always looking the most likely winners. Showing the greater composure in the wet conditions which prevailed, Westmeath had raced into a six-point lead before goals in quick succession from John Shaw and Andrew Mitchell had the Lake County perched on a 2-7 to 0-3 interval lead. Within a minute of the restart, Daniel Carty picked up from where he left off at the end of the first half with another fine point and they had increased their advantage to a whopping 13 points before a demoralised Kildare reduced the margin to eight, 2-15 to 0-13, at the final whistle. "We needed a big performance in the final after a few ropy displays in the earlier rounds and I think the two goals we scored before half-time killed off Kildare. Having said that, it was still important that we made a good start to the second half and thankfully we did just that. We've showed over the past couple of years that we can perform on the big occasion. The three times our games have been televised (versus Down in 2005, Dublin in 2006 and Kildare this year), we've come out on top. Also, when we played Kilkenny last year, we weren't hammered. And not many of the top flight teams can say the same!" Noel adds. Gavin has been part of the Westmeath senior set-up since 1997, with the exception of one year (2004), and has been a regular in defence for most of that time. The 28-year-old was a member of the first St. Oliver Plunkett's team to win a county Feile title, and this victory was the catalyst for the Mullingar club's All-Ireland Feile na nGael Division 3 and 2 triumphs in 1994 and '95 respectively. Noel has won three intermediate hurling championships with Plunkett's as well as a Leinster junior club title in 2002, and now has his sights firmly set on winning a senior championship. Noel's brothers Tony, Greg and Terry also play for Plunkett's, while his father Anthony was one of top referee Barry Kelly's umpires when he took charge of last year's All-Ireland hurling final between Kilkenny and Cork. His mother Josephine is a great gael also, and has given tremendous support to her three sons down the years. Noel has represented both UCD and Trinity College on the hurling field, and received the Player of the Year award after completing his masters degree in Trinity in 2003. He also won the Westmeath intermediate Hurler of the Year award in 2002. Incidentally, when St. Oliver Plunkett's last won the county intermediate title in 2004, Seamus Qualter masterminded the success. Noel is also a talented footballer, and has won championships at all grades with Mullingar Shamrocks, including a senior memento in 2000. He represented Westmeath in minor hurling and football in 1996, and made his Croke Park debut against Laois in that year's Leinster minor football championship semi-final. When he's not giving his all for club and county, Noel works as a contracts manager with Dublin-based mechanical contracting firm, Lynskey Engineering. Since its establishment in 1964, the company has concentrated on quality workmanship, allied to a first class back-up service, and as a result has prospered and expanded to the point where it is today one of the leading mechanical services engineering contractors in Ireland. Kerry man Dick McElligott is company chairman, while former Dublin football star Eamon Heery is one of the directors. Tweet

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