‘I’m very proud of the lads’: Joe Fortune on hurlers’ league success
While the Westmeath hurlers were backing the GPA-driven ban on post-match media interviews, unlike a week earlier an understandably delighted Westmeath manager Joe Fortune was more than willing to air his views after his side’s comprehensive defeat of Down in the Division 2A final in Thurles yesterday evening.
The Wexford native started by saying: “The narrative all week was how special it would be to get back to Division 1, and how it would mean a lot to the people of Westmeath to be playing there next year.
“There’s a massive sense of pride in the group and you see it there – there was no panic when we went 0-5 to 0-1 down. Maybe we panicked in Cusack Park against them, but Down are a very good team and deserved to be in the final. Credit to Ronan Sheehan, the work that he is doing with Down is phenomenal.
“I questioned myself that day, to be honest, on the way home, wondering whether I had the backing of the players and the Westmeath County Board. We needed a kick in the backside after that, but it was the players who led it.
“We had a lot of straight talking after that defeat. I’ll never forget it, it was an emotional day for me as a manager because you want to get the best out of the players. We probably saved the best performance of the league for the final, which is no harm.
“As I said from day one, I’m very proud to be Westmeath manager. I’m very proud of the lads, and they really paid me back today,” he added.
Unsurprisingly, Davy Glennon’s hat-trick was foremost in most observers’ minds after the game. In this regard, his manager opined: “He has a great influence. It’s not just even on the pitch, it’s off the pitch as well.
“He came to Westmeath last year. He’s a proud Galway man, he’d happily say that, but we spoke of how special he could be on the big days. He got the (three) goals and he could have got another one at the end, but Davy’s all about the team.”
Fortune went on to laud other players and members of his backroom team.
“We’ve Niall O’Brien only coming back to fitness as well and, please God, he’ll be ready for two weeks’ time (against Kilkenny). Look at the performance ‘Jogger’ (Tommy Doyle) put in at full back,” he said.
“Also, Robbie Greville, Darragh Egerton, Jack Galvin. Cormac Boyle popped up with a crucial goal today. He did the same against Kildare and he had been dropped for that game, and came on at half-time.
“He was captain last year and what a leader he is. There was no sulking from him. We had lads we couldn’t bring on today and they train as hard as anyone.
“Cormac’s dad (Billy) is in the background too and I’d love people to know all the work people like him and Keith Quinn do to get pitches for us to train in. Also, Paul O’Donoghue, Peter Kelly, Eddie Casey, Richie Flynn. The work those lads do is phenomenal.”
Looking ahead to a daunting schedule in the Liam MacCarthy Cup, the Malahide-based teacher concluded: “After tonight, we have to remember that we have the Cats (Kilkenny) coming up to Cusack Park. We need to aim for bigger days. We’ve won the two competitions we were in this year, the Kehoe Cup and now Division 2A.
“The task ahead is colossal, but we’ll give it everything we have in Leinster. That’s a genuine promise to the people of Westmeath.”
– Gerry Buckley