Big guns to collide in senior championship 'group of death'

There is no doubt which Westmeath Senior Football Championship group looks the strongest on paper after the draw was made last week. The five clubs who have shared the last eleven senior titles - Tyrrellspass, Mullingar Shamrocks, Garrycastle, The Downs and Castledaly - are all in Division 2. It is now 12 years since a club from outside the aforementioned quintet won the senior championship. That was Athlone back in 1998 when they won their 20th senior crown. Since then, the titles have been shared out as follows - Garrycastle (4), Tyrrellspass (3), The Downs (2), Castledaly (1) and Mullingar Shamrocks (1). The remaining team in Division 2 of this year's senior championship is St Malachy's, who will face Mullingar Shamrocks in the first round of games. Reigning champions Garrycastle will get their campaign underway against Tyrrellspass. It will be a repeat of last year's semi-final which Garrycastle won in emphatic fashion. 2008 champions Castledaly will take on The Downs in their first game. Last year's defeated finalists, St Loman's, are in Division 1 and the Mullingar club will face Athlone in the opening round. St Loman's defeated Athlone in a crunch group clash last year; the victory saw Loman's advance to the knockout stages and knocked the Shannonsiders out of the championship. Newly promoted Tubberclair will face Killucan in their first game back in the senior championship, while 2008 intermediate champions Maryland will take on Coralstown/Kinnegad in their opener. The top team in each division will go directly into the semi-finals, while the second and third placed teams in each division will go into the quarter-finals. In the Westmeath Intermediate Football Championship, Division 1 will see a couple of local derbies in the opening round, with Moate All Whites facing Caulry, and Ballynacargy taking on neighbours Bunbrosna. Kilbeggan and Shandonagh are the other two teams in the group. Division 2 contains Rosemount, Ballymore, Tang and Ballinagore, along with Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall and St Mary's, Rochfortbridge. The Junior Football Championship is divided into Section A, which comprises the eight sole junior clubs, and Section B, which is made up of the second teams of eight senior clubs. In Section A, the meeting of St Joseph's and Milltown is probably the pick of the opening round games, while in Section B, Athlone and St Loman's will do battle in the opening round - just as they will in the senior championship. Meanwhile, nine clubs will battle it out for the Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship, with St Brigid's and Lough Lene Gaels meeting in the preliminary round. Reigning champions Clonkill will play the loser of that game in Round 1. The Intermediate Hurling Championship contains six teams who will play each other on a round robin basis. The top team will meet the fourth placed team in the semi-finals, while the second and third placed teams will meet in the other semi-final. Fr Dalton's of Ballymore are among the six teams in the IHC, while Southern Gaels have opted to compete in the Junior B Championship alongside the second teams of intermediate clubs. The Junior A HC comprises the second teams of seven of the senior clubs. WESTMEATH SFC DRAW Division 1 Killucan Tubberclair Athlone St Loman's Maryland Coralstown/Kinnegad First Round Games Killucan v Tubberclair Athlone v St Loman's Maryland v Coralstown/Kinnegad Division 2 Garrycastle Tyrrellspass Mullingar Shamrocks St Malachy's Castledaly The Downs First Round Games Garrycastle v Tyrrellspass Mullingar Shamrocks v St Malachy's Castledaly v The Downs Quarter-Finals (A) Div 1 2nd team v Div 2 3rd team (B) Div 1 3rd team v Div 2 2nd team Semi-Finals Division 1 winner v (B) Division 2 winner v (A) *Relegation play-off: bottom team in Division 1 to play bottom team in Division 2. WESTMEATH IFC Division 1 Caulry Moate All Whites Ballynacargy Bunbrosna Kilbeggan Shamrocks Shandonagh First Round Games Caulry v Moate All Whites Ballynacargy v Bunbrosna Kilbeggan Shamrocks v Shandonagh Division 2 Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall Ballymore St Mary's, Rochfortbridge Rosemount Tang Ballinagore First Round Games Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall v Ballymore St Mary's, Rochfortbridge v Rosemount Tang v Ballinagore Quarter-Finals (A) Div 1 2nd team v Div 2 3rd team (B) Div 1 3rd team v Div 2 2nd team Semi-Finals Division 1 winner v (B) Division 2 winner v (A) *Relegation play-off: bottom team in Division 1 to play bottom team in Division 2. WESTMEATH JFC Section A St Fintan's, Multyfarnham Loughnavalley St Paul's Delvin St Joseph's Milltown Milltownpass Ballycomoyle First Round Games St Fintan's, Multyfarnham v Loughnavalley St Paul's v Delvin St Joseph's v Milltown Milltownpass v Ballycomoyle Section B Coralstown/Kinnegad Mullingar Shamrocks The Downs Garrycastle Tyrrellspass Castledaly Athlone St Loman's First Round Games Coralstown/Kinnegad v Mullingar Shamrocks The Downs v Garrycastle Tyrrellspass v Castledaly Athlone v St Loman's Quarter-Finals (A) Section A 3rd team v Section B 2nd team (B) Section A 4th team v Section B 1st team Semi-Finals Section A winner v (B) Section A runner-up v (A) WESTMEATH SHC Preliminary Round (A) St Brigid's v Lough Lene Gaels Round 1 (1) St Oliver Plunkett's v Brownstown (2) A v Clonkill (3) Ringtown v Castletown-Geoghegan (4) Raharney v Castlepollard Winner of A (preliminary round) qualifies for Section A. Loser of A goes into Round 1 (and will play Clonkill). Four winners of first round matches go into Section A. Four losers into Section B. Top two teams in Section A qualify for semi-finals. Top team in Section B also goes into semi-finals. Third placed team in Section A to play second placed team in Section B for fourth semi-final place. Bottom two teams in Section B will be relegated to Intermediate. WESTMEATH IHC (Six teams play each other on round robin basis) Fr Dalton's Crookedwood Turin Delvin Cullion Clonkill First Round Games Fr Dalton's v Crookedwood Turin v Delvin Cullion v Clonkill Semi-Finals 1 v 4 2 v 3 JUNIOR A HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP St Brigid's Ringtown Castlepollard St Oliver Plunkett's Raharney Lough Lene Gaels Castletown-Geoghegan First Round Games St Brigid's v Ringtown Castlepollard v St Oliver Plunkett's Raharney v Lough Lene Gaels Castletown-Geoghegan - bye Semi-Finals 1 v 4 2 v 3 JUNIOR B HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP Delvin Crookedwood Cullion Southern Gaels Fr Dalton's Turin First Round Games Delvin v Crookedwood Cullion v Southern Gaels Fr Dalton's v Turin Semi-Finals 1 v 4 2 v 3.