Westmeath venue to host Leinster Club Final

IT'S been confirmed that next Sunday week's AIB Leinster Club SFC final between Ballymun Kickhams and Portlaoise will take place at Cusack Park, Mullingar at 1.45pm. The protagonists will do battle at Westmeath GAA HQ in a bid to succeed Athlone outfit Garrycastle as provincial champions. Ballymun, managed by former Dublin star Paul Curran, recently won their first Dublin SFC since 1985, beating Kilmacud Crokes in the county decider, and are searching for a maiden provincial success. Portlaoise, on the other hand, are past masters at this stage in the competition, having previously won the Leinster crown on seven occasions, as well as the All-Ireland Club title in 1983. Kickhams knocked Westmeath champions Mullingar Shamrocks out of this year's Leinster championship - with an emphatic quarter-final victory at Cusack Park. The final is a repeat of the 1982 Leinster decider, when the clubs met in Carlow, with the Laois champions running out winners. The attractive fixture will give Lake County Gaels an ideal opportunity to see some of the province's finest talent in a showpiece encounter. The Leinster football final will be played on the same day as the hurling equivalent. The hurling semi-final between Outlar-the-Ballagh and Ballyhale Shamrocks - which was called off last weekend due to waterlogged pitch - will now take place this Saturday at Wexford Park (2pm). And because of the late postponement of the original fixture last Sunday, all patrons will be admitted free of charge on Saturday.