Westmeath senior football team
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| Irish: | An Iarmhí | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Province: | Leinster | ||
| Nickname(s): | The Lake County | ||
| County colours: | |||
| Ground(s): | Cusack Park, Mullingar | ||
| Dominant sport: | Dual county | ||
| Competitions | |||
| NFL: | Division 3 | ||
| NHL: | Division 2A | ||
| Football Championship: | Sam Maguire Cup | ||
| Hurling Championship: | Liam MacCarthy Cup | ||
| Ladies' Gaelic football: | Brendan Martin Cup | ||
| Camogie: | Nancy Murray Cup | ||
| Standard kit | |||
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The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na hIarmhí) or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath. The county board is also responsible for the Westmeath inter-county teams.
Westmeath's GAA history is that of a minor county which only recently rose to the higher ranks of Gaelic football. Its 2004 Leinster provincial title was presaged by a 1995 All-Ireland Minor title and victory in the 1999 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship.
Another generation of Westmeath players took part in the first week-night fixture in the GAA championship: on 20 June 1935 they played Meath in Kells and lost by 2-7 to 0-9. The footballers won the 1929 junior championship, lost to Dublin by ten points in 1960 and then beat Dublin to reach the 1931 Leinster final. They beat Carlow, Laois and Offaly to go into a 1949 final against Meath, but were well beaten on both occasions. Twenty years later they reached the National Football League semi-final. Westmeath beat Dublin again in the 1967 Championship and the 1984 Centenary Cup campaign and qualified for their second League semi-final in 1994.
In 2001, the team went on an All-Ireland journey through an unprecedented nine games including an extra time win over Mayo in Roscommon. Notable players in this campaign were Ger Heavin, Dessie Dolan, Rory O'Connell, Damien Healy and David Mitchell with other players to star from time to time including Martin Flanaghan, Fergal Wilson, Paul Conway, David O'Shaughnessy and Fergal Murray. Westmeath lost out to Meath in a quarter-final replay. Disappointing 2002 and 2003 seasons followed and Westmeath parted terms with its then manager, Luke Dempsey.
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