Castledaly bid for first senior title as local rivals Garrycastle stand in their way once again

The scene is well and truly set for potentially one of the most memorable Westmeath SFC finals of recent times, as South Westmeath neighbours Castledaly and Garrycastle prepare to go head to head in Sunday"s title decider at Cusack Park, Mullingar (throw-in: 3.45pm). Castledaly are going in search of a first ever Westmeath county title while Garrycastle are seeking a fourth championship since the turn of the century. Garrycastle secured a place in the final thanks to a comfortable semi-final win over St Loman"s a couple of weeks ago and Castledaly joined them after beating reigning champions Tyrrellspass following a replay in Athlone last Saturday. A large crowd will be expected to converge on Cusack Park on Sunday with both parochial pride and a much desired county title up for grabs. Castledaly captain James Galvin - who has been operating at full-forward this year after establishing himself in defence throughout his career - says past meetings between the South Westmeath pair pale into insignificance this weekend. The sides drew with each other during the group stages of the championship while Garrycastle have also beaten Castledaly in two county finals in recent years. James Galvin said: 'We have played Garrycastle plenty of times in recent years and we remember the county finals, but there"s not too much emphasis on those meetings. There"s no point dwelling on the past; we are in an important county final on Sunday and it"s great to have reached this stage. We thought we were out in the group stage but a late Martin Flanagan goal for Tyrrellspass against Mullingar Shamrocks sent us through from the group in third place. That"s what makes it a bit ironic that we knocked Tyrrellspass out in the semi-finals. 'We beat them fairly over two matches and it"s a two-horse race on Sunday. It would be great to get over the finishing line and secure a first ever county title for Castledaly.' Garrycastle are expected to provide very stern opposition, though Doran Harte is also aware the scale of the task awaiting Martin McCabe"s men. 'I watched both games between Castledaly and Tyrrellspass and Castledaly are full of confidence at the moment,' said Harte. 'They have some brilliant players and Derek Heavin will be driving them on. They lost two finals to Garrycastle in recent years but that counts for little on Sunday. Castledaly are a very hard side to beat but we must concentrate on our own game and do our best to win the game.' James Galvin is bidding to become the first man to lift a county title for Castledaly after spending the previous three years playing for Kilanerin in Wexford. He said: 'It would be absolutely fantastic if I could lift the trophy on Sunday. It"s the sort of thing you dream of as a child and growing up in Castledaly. The likes of Ciarán Henson, Alan Fitzgerald and Russell Casey have been with Castledaly a long time and we"re still waiting to reach our goal of winning a county title. I don"t think we"ll be putting too much emphasis on past county final experiences; there is no point getting bogged down about that. There"s a final to be contested on Sunday and that"s the most important thing at the moment.' Doran Harte will be playing in a fifth county final but expects Castledaly to put a major obstacle in Garrycastle"s way. 'Castledaly are a very physical team ... they"re confident and on a roll at the moment,' said Harte. 'Castledaly and Garrycastle players know each other extremely well. We all grew up playing with or against each other. The two teams are only a few miles apart and there"s a good rivalry there. I think Castledaly are very strong around the middle of the field and that"s possibly what won the game for them against Tyrrellspass. They will be looking to cause us similar problems but Garrycastle have some very good players of their own and it should be a good game. Hopefully we can come out on top but county finals are difficult predict and Sunday"s match will be no different,' said Harte. Throw-in at Cusack Park, Mullingar is scheduled for 3.45pm and the game follows the Westmeath MFC final between Mullingar Shamrocks and Clann Bhraonain at 2pm.