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The Westmeath County Board of the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
(GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na hIarmhí) or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32
county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...
s of the GAA in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, and is responsible for
Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling ...
in County Westmeath. The county board is also responsible for the Westmeath county teams. The county football team won the Leinster Senior Football Championship in 2004. The county hurling team contests the Liam MacCarthy Cup via the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.


Football


Clubs

Clubs contest the
Westmeath Senior Football Championship The Westmeath Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Westmeath GAA between the top Gaelic football clubs in County Westmeath. The winner of the Westmeath Championship qualifies to repres ...
. Westmeath clubs have won the following: the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship (1): Garrycastle, 2011; and the Leinster Junior Club Football Championship (3): Ballinagore, 2005; Moate All Whites, 2014; Multyfarnham, 2017.


County team

The county team has never won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC). Under the management of
Páidí Ó Sé Páidí Ó Sé (, ; 16 May 1955 – 15 December 2012) was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player, whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen seasons from 1974 to 1988. Ó Sé is wide ...
, the county team won the
2004 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final The 2004 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final was the final football match of the 2004 Leinster Senior Football Championship (SFC), contested by Laois and Westmeath over two games in Croke Park, Dublin. The first game finished level so ...
. That campaign is covered in the documentary film ''
Marooned Marooned may refer to: * Marooning, the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area Film and television * ''Marooned'' (1933 film), a British drama film * ''Marooned'' (1969 film), an American science-fiction film * ''Marooned ...
''. In 2022, Westmeath won the inaugural Tailteann Cup, defeating Cavan in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
at Croke Park.


Hurling


Clubs

Clubs contest the
Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship The Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Slevin Coaches Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Westmeath SHC) is an annual hurling competition organized by the Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic ...
.


County team

The Westmeath hurlers experienced a successful period in the mid 1930s, when they won the Leinster League twice in succession, the Junior Championship in 1936, and beat
Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
to qualify for the 1937 Leinster Senior final. Rickardstown's John 'Jobber' McGrath, who played for the county in the 1950s and 1960s, is regarded as Westmeath's greatest hurler, and as one of the greatest players never to have won an All-Ireland senior hurling title. Westmeath played in the first division of the
National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the league system. ...
in 1985–86, and were the only team to beat
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
in an 18-month period. This team included the three Kilcoyne brothers and produced an All Star award for David, who was the team's free taker and top scorer in 1986. The first All Star award for any Westmeath player in hurling or football. In 2005, the county won the first
Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Eac ...
and thereby gained promotion to the 2006 Liam MacCarthy Championship. In 2006, they beat
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
in the first round of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship before losing the semi final to
Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...
in Mullingar by 14 points. They then lost to
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
,
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
and, disappointingly,
Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
before tamely losing a relegation playoff against
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
on a scorching July day in
Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...
. Despite progress made in 2006, the GAA condemned the county's hurlers to the
Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Eac ...
- this time without the prospect of promotion. Further rule changes and a Christy Ring win in 2010 allowed Westmeath back into the 2011 Liam MacCarthy. Further progress came on 20 April 2008 with victory in the NHL (Division 2), winning the final against Carlow. That day also saw their footballing counterparts move into Division 1 of the NFL also, with a win over Dublin. In 2015, the Westmeath minor hurlers surprised heavy favourites Wexford by two points in the Leinster quarter-final, the win has been regarded by the manager as the 'biggest result in history of Westmeath hurling'. The senior hurlers beat
Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic boundar ...
by two points in the Leinster Qualifier group and extended their winning run beating favourites, Antrim 1–21 to 0–7. A famous victory over near rivals
Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, i ...
was achieved in May 2016 in the Leinster Championship. Westmeath led by some distance for the entire game before winning 2–21 to 1–10.


Camogie

Westmeath won the Máire Ní Chinnéide Cup in 2006. They were defeated in the final of the fourth division of the National Camogie League in 2009 and
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. Mary Henry won the camogie All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship in 2006, the first Westmeath woman to win it. Tubberclair in 1987 and Cullion in 1992 won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield at Féile na nGael in 1987.
Aileen Lawlor Aileen Lawlor (Eibhlín Uí Leathlóbhair) née Redmond is the 29th president of the Camogie Association. A former camogie player, referee and official, Lawlor assumed office in March 2012 after defeating Catherine O'Hara of Antrim for the posit ...
refereed the All Ireland senior finals of 2002 and became president elect of the Camogie Association in 2011. Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015.National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page o
camogie.ie
pdf download (778k) fro
Camogie.ie download site
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Ladies' football

* All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship: 1995, 2011


References


External links


Westmeath GAA site

Westmeath on Hoganstand.com

National and provincial titles won by Westmeath teams

A look back on the first 125 years of the GAA in Westmeath

South Westmeath GAA Community Employment Scheme
{{GAA bodies Gaelic games governing bodies in Leinster Leinster GAA Sport in County Westmeath