Offaly hurling legend to be named as Westmeath boss

A former Offaly All-Star and All-Ireland winning hurler will this week be named as Westmeath's new senior hurling manager.

Tullamore native Kevin Martin - who starred for the Faithful County in their successful 1994 and 1998 All-Ireland campaigns - will replace Eamonn Gallagher in the Westmeath hot seat.

Martin is expected to be ratified as the new chief of both the senior and Under 21 Westmeath teams at a meeting of the County Board on Wednesday night (tonight).

It is understood that over forty Westmeath hurling players have been invited to the Hilamar Hotel, Kinnegad, this Saturday evening to meet with their new manager.

Martin, who recently guided Tullamore to their first Offaly senior hurling crown since 1964, is the Blues' present player-manager. A scoring forward in that final, Martin is expected to be involved as Tullamore face Westmeath champions Clonkill, in the forthcoming Leinster club senior hurling semi in Mullingar.

The new Westmeath manager is the second Offaly man to occupy the post in recent years, following in the footsteps of his former Offaly team-mate Johnny Dooley, who managed Westmeath in 2008.

His first competitive match in command of Westmeath will be against Down in the New Year's Kehoe Cup, and he will also prepare his new charges for their 2010 league and championship campaigns.

In Kinnegad on Saturday night, Martin is expected to unveil his backroom team to the players, which is drawn from expertise within the borders of Westmeath.

Sean Loughlin (Clonkill) and Nick Weir (Raharney) are expected to be named as his selectors, with Clonkill's Paddy Walsh also functioning in the management team. Physical trainer, Padraig Lynn will return to the fold.

Aidan Davitt, Vice-Chairman of Westmeath Hurling Board, said that he was delighted to see someone of Kevin Martin's calibre take the reigns in Westmeath."He is certainly very much aware of the great strides we have made at underage level in Westmeath, and we're very happy to have him on board," Aidan said.

Martin, who starred in the half-back line for Offaly during their All-Ireland winning campaigns in 1994 and 1998, was named as a hurling All-Star in both years.