Mark McHugh's Westmeath rebuild has county believing again

At a casual remove, you might think Westmeath reaching the Leinster final is no surprise but the end of the 2024 season, several long-time key players departed the Westmeath panel. This is a new team

Westmeath beat Kildare after extra-time to reach the Leinster SFC final. Pic: ©INPHO/James Lawlor

He’s still plugging away, a bit like the county itself.

You’ll remember Gary Connaughton, their ginger-haired goalie who won a Leinster in 2004 and an All-Star in 2008 before flipping his cap backwards and helping Tom Cribbin on the line when the county got back to a couple of Leinster finals a decade ago.