Football fever grips Westmeath as championship return awaits
The dawn of a new inter-county championship competition awaits the Westmeath senior football team this weekend as interest levels in the team escalates following the county's Leinster senior football success.
Scenes of unbridled joy have been a prominent feature amongst The Lake County supporters since team captain Ronan Wallace raised the Delaney Cup aloft in Croke Park on Sunday, May 17, but now the players' minds, and that of management, have sharpened into focus ahead of Saturday evening's All-Ireland series fixture with Cavan in TEG Cusack Park Mullingar.
Such is the interest in Westmeath's return to championship action on Saturday, tickets for the fixture sold out in minutes, the groundswell of support for the provincial winning footballers gaining traction from Baylin to Ballinagore, Rosemount to Raharney and Mount Temple to Multyfarnham.
Although over 20,000 Westmeath supporters at GAA HQ to witness provincial glory, only half that figure will be present in Mullingar on Saturday evening given the stadium's capacity restraints.
Just under 11,000 tickets went on public sale for a game which would have attracted more than double that number with many supporters now having to resort to television coverage to watch the team on their return to All-Ireland championship action.
That groundswell of support was clearly evident in TEG Cusack Park on Sunday morning when an open training session saw supporters flock in their thousands to the Mullingar venue, savouring the sun-laden scenes as players took the time to sign autographs and mingle with the supporters.
A 90-minute limit had been proposed for the session but players extended their courtesy to the future generations as they posed for photographs amid a buoyant atmosphere.
Team manager Mark McHugh addressed the masses, thanking them for their support to date and imploring The Lake County faithful to bring the colour and atmosphere to TEG Cusack Park on Saturday evening.
Turning to the All-Ireland series fixture on Saturday evening, the contest sees the return of McHugh's predecessor Dermot McCabe to Mullingar. The Cavan manager departed the Lake County role in August 2025 after one year at the helm.
Some thought that McHugh would follow McCabe north but the Donegal man stayed put and has now led Westmeath onto the Leinster senior championship winner's podium, his name to be forever etched in Westmeath GAA folklore.
McHugh will hope to further enhance his status in Westmeath this weekend with progression to Round 2A of the new All-Ireland senior football championship series format.