Westmeath and Cavan can serve up proper championship fare - exactly what the Tailteann should be

While Westmeath and Cavan have been familiar foes in challenge matches and National League, they have met just once in championship football

SHARP-SHOOTER: John Heslin of Westmeath gets a shot off at the posts in the Tailteann Cup semi-final. Pic: INPHO/Evan Treacy

Although we tend to automatically think that all bordering counties share fierce GAA rivalries, it’s not strictly true – and certainly not when it comes to Cavan and Westmeath, who clash in this afternoon’s final of the hotly-debated Tailteann Cup.

The two counties meet at Finea, on the River Inny, with the entire boundary, much of which also bisects part of Lough Sheelin nearby, running to only a few kilometres. The village is most famous for an imposing monument in honour of Myles ‘The Slasher’ O’Reilly, reputed to have died defending the bridge against English forces in the 1640s.