Caulry's Tiarnán O'Donovan in action against Garrycastle's Matthew Guiheen during their recent Westmeath SFC game. Caulry need to beat Moate All Whites tomorrow (Sunday) to have any chance of staying in the championship. Photo: John McCauley,

Caulry’s clash with Moate among highlights in final round

Kieran Galvin

Ronan Fagan

Published: Sat 20 Sep 2025, 2:02 PM

Last updated: Sat 20 Sep 2025, 2:08 PM

There are permutations aplenty in the final round of Westmeath Senior Football Championship group phase fixtures this weekend.

From a South Westmeath perspective, the most intriguing game is probably the local derby clash between Moate All Whites and Caulry at TEG Cusack Park (Sunday, 5.15pm).

Based on their form this year, Moate are expected join Garrycastle in the quarter-finals of this year's championship. Unfortunate to lose out to Garrycastle in their opening encounter, the All Whites have since built momentum and having claimed three successive wins, Val Daly's men are hoping to take the second quarter-final spot from Section B.

However, their presence in the quarter-finals is not yet secure and they may need a draw against Caulry to ensure progression. Caulry need to beat Moate to have any chance of qualifying, but even that may not be enough for Pat Flanagan’s charges.

If Caulry defeat Moate and Killucan overcome St Malachy’s, three teams would be tied on six points. Should this happen, a ‘mini table’ would be produced based on the results between those teams and it would see all three level on two points, and it would then go to scoring difference. In that scenario, only the results and scoring difference from the games involving those teams count, rather than overall scoring difference.

As Killucan have played both Moate (lost by 6 points) and Caulry (won by 2), their scoring difference is stuck on – 4 in this hypothetical table. For their part, Moate have a current scoring difference of +6 and Caulry are on - 2. There appears to be no possible result between Moate and Caulry that would allow Killucan attain a better scoring difference to go through.

If Killucan fail to beat St Malachy’s, any sort of win for Caulry over Moate would be enough for the Mount Temple/Baylin side to progress at the expense of their neighbours. Yet if Killucan beat Malachy’s, Caulry would need to win by a margin sufficient to overcome Moate’s scoring difference (+6), and that seems a very tall order based on their inconsistent form so far.

Tang, meanwhile, are hanging by a thread in senior football. Having lost their opening four games, they now face table-toppers Garrycastle, knowing that only a win gives them any chance of avoiding relegation. They also need St Malachy's to lose to Killucan in order to secure a play off with the Castletown/Dysart outfit.

Garrycastle, who defeated Caulry by ten points in their last outing, are already through, having won all four of their gamers. In addition, they are set to play in Section A of the 2026 championship.

St Malachy’s need at least a draw in case Tang claim a surprise win over already qualified Garrycastle. If Tang and Malachy’s finish level on two points, they would have to meet again in a relegation play-off. If the bottom two teams finish level on points, the head-to-head rule is not used to decide on relegation. Instead, a play-off would take place as happened last year between Moate and Shandonagh.

In Section A, The Downs are the only team guaranteed a place in the knockout phase after four rounds of fixtures. The Downs’ win over Athlone last Sunday week assured the 2024 beaten finalists of a place in the semi-finals.

As a result of their defeats to Tyrrellspass and The Downs, Athlone (on three points) now have a fight on their hands to secure a knockout place. They will have to beat Coralstown-Kinnegad in Moate this evening (Saturday, 5.30) to sustain a presence in this year's competition.

A win for the Shannonsiders in their final Section A game guarantees a place in the knockout stages. If they draw their final group game, they would be depending on results elsewhere and head-to-head records. The Kinnegad men, despite only having two points on the board, can also qualify if they win.

There is also the possibility of Flanagan Cup holders St Loman’s, Mullingar being knocked out as they prepare to face Tyrrellspass (currently on four points) in Castletown Geoghegan. St Loman’s have contested the last ten finals, winning seven of them, so it would be remarkable if the champions failed to reach the knockout stages.

But the Mullingar team have so often been the bogey team for Tyrrellspass, whom they defeated in three of those aforementioned finals, also getting the better of the Tidy Town men in the 2013 decider.

Mullingar Shamrocks (on four points) will be looking to build on their win over St Loman’s when they face another local rival, The Downs, on Saturday evening. And perhaps Shamrocks can take advantage from the fact that The Downs have already secured a place in the last four and therefore have nothing tangible to play for - see below for all round 5 fixtures.

Westmeath GAA fixtures

Saturday, September 20

Shay Murtagh Precast Intermediate Football Championship Section A

Moate, 3.45, Multyfarnham v Rosemount, Brendan Keena

Castletown Geoghegan, 3.45, Milltown v St Mary's Rochfortbridge, Michael Murtagh

TEG Cusack Park, 3.45, Shandonagh v Tubberclair, Enda Kenny (Iarmhí TV)

Shay Murtagh Precast Senior Football Championship Section A

Moate, 5.30, Coralstown/Kinnegad v Athlone, Gary Hurley

Castletown Geoghegan, 5.30, St Loman’s Mullingar v Tyrrellspass, Barry Pierce

TEG Cusack Park, 5.30, The Downs v Mullingar Shamrocks, Niall Ward (Iarmhí TV).

Sunday, September 21

Clarke's Bar Junior One Football Championship Section B