Double setback for Westmeath as Flanagan and Healy retire

Long-serving Westmeath football stars Martin Flanagan and Damien Healy have retired from inter-county football, it has been confirmed by Lake County manager Pat Flanagan. Healy and Flanagan informed the Westmeath supremo that they would be retiring from the inter-county scene following Westmeath's defeat to Derry in the All-Ireland Qualifiers last July. And it is understood that neither player has had a change of heart since. In an interview with Gerry Buckley in our sister newspaper, the Westmeath Examiner, the Westmeath manager said: “Martin Flanagan and Damien Healy told me that they would be finishing after we lost to Derry in the Qualifiers. Both were tremendous servants. Damien was travelling from Galway and Martin was working night shifts.†One of the most talented players Westmeath has ever produced, Martin Flanagan missed out on the county's Leinster senior championship success in 2004. However, he returned to the Westmeath set-up under Tomás †Flatharta and he subsequently proved a key figure, particularly in the 2008 season, during which he won a Vodafone player of the month award. Even last season, despite suffering injury problems, Flanagan was one of Westmeath's leading performers, and he scored a goal in the Leinster semi-final defeat to Louth after being sprung from the bench. The talented attacker/midfielder has won three Westmeath senior football championship medals with Tyrrellspass (1999, 2006 and 2007). An accomplished defender for several seasons, Damien Healy has been one of Westmeath's most committed players over the past decade. The versatile St Mary's, Rochfortbridge clubman - who also represented Salthill/Knocknacarra of Galway - filled a number of roles for Westmeath but wing-back was regarded as his best position. He was a vital member of the Leinster championship winning side in 2004. Pat Flanagan said injury problems mean it is unlikely that Westmeath's double All-Star John Keane will be able to continue his inter-county career. He hasn't ruled out the possibility of Derek Heavin coming back but, due to the serious injury he suffered against Louth at Croke Park earlier this year, the Castledaly man is thought to be highly unlikely to return. “John Keane has serious knee problems and is finding it difficult to sleep by times with pains in his knees and he has decided to opt out also,†said Flanagan. “Derek Heavin is still recovering from the serious injury he picked up against Louth and we will have to see if it is possible for him to come back.†Meanwhile, Westmeath hurling star Brendan Murtagh has joined the county football panel, and The Downs player intends to combine both hurling and football at county level next year. Flanagan believes Murtagh will be “a major benefit†to his panel, while Killucan duo Paul Greville (who had a excellent season in 2010) and Conor Jordan also hope to line out for Westmeath in both codes next season. Other players called up the provisional Westmeath panel include Gary Quinn (Athlone), Andrew Whitney (Bunbrosna) and Simon Quinn (Mullingar Shamrocks). Francis McLoughlin - who impressed for Milltown in this year's junior championship - can't commit to the county set-up due to college commitments. The Westmeath manager has set his sights on securing promotion from Division 3 of the National Football League next season, but he is under no illusions about the difficulty of that task. “Our first game is away to Louth, who traditionally start the league very quickly. Then home to Cavan and away to Tipperary. They are certainly not easy games. While I would expect us to come out of Division Three, if we don't take the right approach, we could easily find ourselves at the bottom of that league, as there are a number of good teams there.†Flanagan - who is also the Westmeath under-21 manager - is reasonably pleased with the draw Westmeath have received in the 2011 Leinster SFC. However, he warns that other counties on the same side of the draw will also be looking at the draw as a golden opportunity. “It was quite a good draw and everyone in Westmeath will see that, but people in Offaly and Wexford will see it the very same way. They will see a route to the Leinster final and see a huge opportunity there. For now, we need to batten down the hatches and focus totally on the league and get ourselves into a situation where we win matches and bring the confidence levels back up. When we do the likes of that, we can look at the championship. It may be only six months away, but it's a lifetime away where Westmeath are at the moment, for the simple reason that we have lost 14 games in-a-row in the league. It's very difficult to build confidence in a team if you're doing that,†said the Westmeath boss.