Veteran Dolan still making Garrycastle tick as they aim to dislodge St Vincent’s

ONCE Garrycastle had reclaimed the county title in Cusack Park last month, they were able to address an anomaly. Dessie Dolan (below) had been made joint-captain for the season so, as he joined Mark McCallion for the trophy presentation, it ensured that the greatest footballer Westmeath has ever produced finally got to lift the Flanagan Cup.

The Athlone club has enjoyed unprecedented success over the past 13 years, with seven Westmeath titles, a Leinster crown and taking Crossmaglen to the brink in an All-Ireland final, but this was still a special moment. ‘Dessie had never got to lift the cup before, so it was a nice moment,’ reflects John Gaffey, who captained the team that took Cross to a replay in 2012. ‘He has been captain of the team before, obviously but never in a year when we actually won the county title.’

When the 35-year-old Dolan brought his stellar county career to an end during the summer, it enhanced the view within Westmeath that his dominant Garrycastle side, of which he was the beating heart, was also in decline.

A couple of defeats early in the championship was proof that their hold over Westmeath football had loosened.

‘There was a sense within the county that perhaps this team had its day,’ Gaffey explains.

‘A lot of this team has been around since the club won its first county title back in 2001 – Dessie, David O’Shaughnessy, Doran Harte, those lads. And that’s a long time for lads to be playing senior football.

‘We all have young families now and other responsibilities. So there wasn’t many within Westmeath who thought we would even get out of the county this year. There were plenty of doubts our legs were gone and we were over the hill.’

They hadn’t even won a Westmeath SFC title since they went all the way to an All-Ireland final in 2012. However, Dessie Dolan Snr took over and re-invigorated the squad. Before they beat Mullingar Shamrocks in the Westmeath final, Dolan Snr took out a 20year-old picture of an under-16 team that son Dessie and O’Shaughnessy played in. Seven of that team won their seventh senior medal against Mullingar.

‘Dessie senior knows the club and he is a very passionate clubman,’ Gaffey says of his influence. ‘And he’s very passionate about his football, and enjoys winning. He likes nothing better than winning, but he does everything he can to ensure his teams do win.’

Their reward for their narrow one-point win over Longford champions Emmet Óg is a semi-final against St Vincent’s of Dublin in Parnell Park. Garrycastle will be underdogs, but the memory of their win over St Brigid’s in the 2011 Leinster final (the first time a Westmeath club ever beat Dublin opposition in the competition) is still fresh in minds.

‘The main goal for this year was to regain the county title,’ Gaffey insists.

‘The past two years were hard to take, losing in the final when going for four-in-a-row and losing to a last-minute goal in the semi-final last year. With a bit of luck, we might have been

With a bit of luck, we might have been going for six-in-a-rown-a-row

going for six-in-a-row. ix-in-a-row.

‘So we just st wanted to win the title. We are in bonus territory now and we are just going to go up to Parnell Park and give it our best shot. We have nothing to lose but Vincent’s are the reigning ng All-Irelandd champions s and they have brushed teamsams aside in Dublin ublin without hitting tting top gear. The fact that they have won two Dublin titleses in a row shows howw strong they are.’

Gaffey has as been centre-backk for Garrycastle le this season and may have ave to curb Diarmuid Connolly’s influence if f the midlanders are to have e any chance. Gaffey doesn’t esn’t have good memories of the last time he marked Connolly, when Dublin swatted atted Westmeath aside in a 2013 Leinster quarterfinal at Croke Park.

‘We were well-beaten that day. Connolly is one of the best players in the country and if I am asked to mark him, that’s what I will do. But Vincent’s have a lot of players that can do damage. If Connolly is kept quiet, there is still Mossy Quinn.’

And while Garrycastle have depended on Dolan’s class for years, this season has seen a number of new stars emerge for the club. Under-21 players Alex Gardiner and James Donoghue show that the future is bright, always a concern for a club involved in a struggle for young hearts and minds.

Even though Athlone has a population of over 20,000, there is a strong soccer and rugby tradition with Athlone Town and Buccaneers respectively while there are a number of GAA clubs within a few miles of each other in the midlands’ biggest town.

‘It was between the ages of 14 to 16 that we noticed we were losing players,’ club secretary Harry Mooney explains. ‘It wasn’t just to soccer and rugby, Athlone is a sporting town. There is swimming here, strong athletics club, hockey.’ Gaffey believes t that days like today, meeting th the current All-Ireland cham champions will increase the clu club’s attractiveness among the younger popul population. ‘It is a battle for the club. Athlone has a big popula population but there are fo four GAA club clubs in the catc catchment area – ours ourselves, Clann nanGael, St Br Brigid’s, A Athlone itself.

‘And Athlone h has never had th the tradition of b being a GAA to town. So it is a co constant fight. B But if the y youngsters c can see us p playing teams li like Vincent’s, th that all helps .’ In its short existe existence – Garrycastle only came into being in 1981 when a group of GA GAA enthusiasts got together i in Athlone – the club has s shown it doesn’t care fo for tradition. In 2011, they b became the third youngest club to win a provincial ti title. In a year when they a are captained by their gr greatest player, it would be apt if they dethroned th the All-Ireland champions w when nobody expects it.