History and rivalry take centre stage in Westmeath final to savour

The Westmeath Senior Football Championship final at TEG Cusack Park on Sunday next (throw-in 2pm) has all the ingredients of a classic as holders The Downs face St Loman’s, Mullingar in a repeat of the 2024 decider.

That 2024 final was won by St Loman's but it took a replay and penalties to decide the issue, with The Downs very unlucky to lose out.

It promises to be a tasty treat for aficionados of Westmeath GAA as 12 senior county panellists from this year will be lining out on the day. The Downs tip the scales on this particular numbers game, and they are blending experience with some up and coming players.

It's a sporting cliché; youth and experience, matching them in the correct balance for the best outcome. Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad.

Luke Loughlin and Ian Martin, co-captains of The Downs, will assume some of the responsibility for their side. In the build-up to a county final the chats at training can be as important as the shuttle runs earlier in the season.

When queried about the advice offered to the younger players in advance of the final, talismanic forward Loughlin touches on the importance of being thorough and how that can feed into a strong mindset.

The Downs’ 2026 campaign suggests that such advice is moot. Two draws, no losses; this is a team taking things seriously.

“I suppose it's just that confidence comes from preparation. Crossing as many T's and dotting as many I's as possible and leaving as little things a chance as possible. Small things, you know, your food, your nutrition, all these things.”

The final is a pairing of two clubs with considerable history between them. Both have won the Westmeath senior title 11 times, meaning the winners will move clear at the top of the county roll of honour.

Ian Martin speaks of the intriguing background to the game. “Over the last 10, 15 years, Loman's have been the standard bearers. They're the club that we've been looking to get to. For a few years, we couldn't get past them. There were a couple of semi-final losses.

“Then eventually in 2022, we got the better of them. That was our first as a group. Back in 2024 we lost after a replay. They've been the ones we're chasing and trying to overtake. They're a really good team, and they're the ones we want to play and want to try and beat.”

Very few observers are surprised by the last two to slug it out for the Flanagan Cup this year. The quality of the two rosters will draw in the neutrals to TEG Cusack Park.

Loughlin believes the spice of Westmeath teammates going up against each other is not something either team will give much consideration to/ “It's probably more for the supporters, I'd say,” he muses. “You're not really too worried about anyone else, because if you start worrying about someone else, you're cooked. You've just got to focus on yourself. It's exciting, especially to play against who we're going to be playing against.”

His co-captain agrees with that assessment: “I think any game we've played against Loman's, they've always been good games. They've always been high-scoring encounters. There's always been maybe a little bit of drama.

“We won't be getting caught up in any kind of talk about what might happen or what could possibly go wrong. We'll focus on turning up and then delivering from there.”

The conversation returns to preparation as Loughlin emphasises the same mindset. “If you've done everything as close to perfectly as possible, you're leaving as little to chance as possible. Because you don't know, you could go out in the game, first minute you could pull your hamstring, anything could happen. You just want your head to be in a position where you're after doing everything as good and as perfectly as you can until the game.

“Josh Murtagh (who played at full-back in the semi-final) is obviously going to start his first football final. That's massive for me in a different way. I'd probably be more nervous for him than I would be for myself.

“The most important thing is to try and enjoy the build-up. I think a lot of people get caught up in big games of not actually enjoying it and having a laugh,” Luke added.