Kieran Shannon: Westmeath's new heroes bring back days Leinster thought it had lost

Five years ago, John Connellan wrote a letter saying Leinster football was "dead", choked by the dominance of Dublin. After two consecutive Leinster titles for the rest of the province, it has been resurrected 

The Westmeath squad celebrate after winning the Leinster SFC final against Dublin. Pic: Paul Phelan/Sportsfile

We’d given up on ever again seeing days like last Sunday. Even Westmeath’s finest had. At the outset of the 2021 season Ray Connellan, who you’d have last seen cradling the Delaney Cup while talking to Marty in Mullingar, declared you could “write off the Leinster championship for the next five years, maybe next 10.” 

His brother John had gone even further a few months earlier, penning a 1500-word open email to every club secretary in the country after seeing Dublin cruise to an 11th consecutive Leinster title, trouncing Meath by 21 points. “Leinster football is, to all intents and purposes, dead,” he’d write. “It’s not dying. It’s a once-great competition that can no longer be considered a viable entity due to Dublin’s dominance.”