Tailteann Cup

Ronan Wallace clinches it for Westmeath with a fisted point and moments later the final whistle is blown - Westmeath are the inaugural Tailteann Cup winners ...

The hand pass it came from looked a bit suspect but the finish was magnificent. Thomas Galligan is off after coming in late in the tackle. What a goal!

Now in his fourth season as Westmeath football manager, Jack Cooney is overseeing a settled Lake County side which is in now in with a real chance of ...

So we’re taking all the measures we can to try and prevent that getting into the group. “One of the great fears at the moment is Covid, which is out there again. But they’re back on the upward curve now, and they’ll see winning the Tailteann Cup as a huge opportunity to get straight into Sam Maguire next year. There’s still a huge amount of work to do. Luke Loughlin, one of Westmeath’s key forwards this year, starred for The Downs in the Division 1 final against Cooney’s own Coralstown/Kinnegad club, which went to extra-time. And once that was behind us, we were able to get a bit of momentum going.” And I think that’s fairly obvious in the way the team plays. “In all honesty, we were probably lucky to get out of Portlaoise with a win. On that occasion, a real ding-dong battle ended with Westmeath conceding a late goal and losing 1-17 to 1-13. It’s a realistic indication of where you’re at, and it’s a realistic chance to make good, measurable progress.” “We spoke about that in the group. It puts a real pep in their step on the Tuesday [at training].

Oisín Kiernan gambled earlier in the season and it's paid off handsomely as he is set to have a key role to play on Saturday as Cavan go in search of ...

The final will be the curtain-raiser for the semi-final between Derry and Galway – two sides that the Breffni County would be confident they could compete with on a good day. "I got lucky in the end." "It was serious enough at the time. "If the year had of been over of course it would have been difficult, and it’s difficult in the days after falling short to Donegal. "It was a no-brainer really, we just made the decision to give it a lash and see where it takes us." "If I had gotten the operation it would have been 12 to 14 weeks, which would have been me coming back about now so I would have missed a large chunk of it alright," he continued.

Excitement is building as Cavan prepare to face off against Westmeath in the inaugural Tailteann Cup final this afternoon at Croke Park (throw-in, 3pm).

With a guaranteed slot in next year’s All-Ireland SFC up for grabs, the stakes are high. A sell-out is possible, with the Tailteann Cup final the opening game ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final between Galway and Derry. Meeting places and service stations across the county are abuzz with Cavan fans getting their buses with a sense of optimism.