Indo GAA
Westmeath shake up Leinster | Jim Gavin’s third tier idea | Down fly to Kerry for a challenge match?
21 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This week on the Indo Daily. Leo Varadkar may have climbed down and apologised after pitting urban and rural Ireland against each other, but he certainly sparked a spirited debate. For more than a decade, Kynan has appeared beyond the reach of Angarda Síochána, operating internationally while linked to murders, large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering.
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Hey there, we are Indosport. With me, Joe Malloy, we cover sport and we have things like this.
Chapter 2: What impact did Westmeath's victory have on the Leinster Championship?
If you ask Arsenal's defenders, Gabriel and Saliba, to play in that PSG team or that Bayern team, they would be exposed as much as those centre-backs were last night. Because effectively, the attackers were on top. Then you ask the question, how many defenders were actually on the pitch last night? Because none of the full-backs have no interest in defending. They're like wingers.
And I've seen Saliba and Gabriel in an open game in that League Cup semi-final doubleheader against Newcastle last season get torn apart by Izak. I won't have anyone convince me that they can defend in that space. This is an Irish Independent Podcast.
I'm Michael Verney and welcome to the IndoGA Podcast sponsored by AIB. AIB are proud sponsors of the All-Ireland Club Championships for men's football, hurling, ladies' football and camogie. AIB celebrate the joy, dedication and support that lies at the heart of Gaelic games in every community and every player. Check out the AIB GA social channels for more. Hello and welcome to the IndoGA pod.
Delighted to be joined, as ever, by the two lads, Pats Balan and Dick Clerken.
Chapter 3: How does Ger Brennan's ban affect Dublin's backroom team?
Men, how we doing?
Great weekend, Mike. I'm in great form.
Good man. We'll get to the Farnie Army later, Dick. The big result, Pat, it would have to be said, and it was gas. I was listening to one of the Westmead players been interviewed after, and he said, Pat Spillane referred to us as an underperforming team. And in fairness to him, he said he was probably right, but Westmead got a big result, Pat.
There's always a provincial upset or two along the way. And this was the one. Mead were being flagged as maybe potential Leinster champions after last year and all the big games and big names that they took down along the way this a big result for Westmead and it really opens up the next championship
And fair play to him. I think it was Matthew Whittaker actually who was worse than that. And actually, Jesus, he scored a brilliant goal. And do you know the old saying about goals win matches? Never was it truer than that match against Meade because Wes Meade scored four goals and there were four brilliant goals. And there were four, at times, there were gambling, there were half chances.
Matthew Whittaker's was only a half chance. But that's the great players.
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Chapter 4: What was Monaghan's 'eureka moment' in their recent performance?
The David Clifford's and the Paul Ganey's and the Conor Callan's of this world. If they're going to have a chance of a goal, they're going for a goal. And that's what Wes Meek did last week. And fair play to him. He was being honest because we get this outshite every week. We prove the critics wrong. We prove the critics wrong.
Hey, I called it. We'll come back to that in a minute. We're not talking about that at all, Dick. Go back into your box. Go back into your box. Don't be dragging me into your bad knowledge.
You've lost a room, Dick.
Bosco isn't it let's go back into the box did we like disproving the critics critics call something as they see it based on the evidence right so what was the evidence based on Westmeath's farm from this year what was the evidence the evidence was themselves and down were racing certainties and should have been to get out of division three And Westmead didn't get out of Division 3.
They were beaten by Leash by nine points in a Division 3 game. They were beaten by Wexford in the last round. With all due respects, they should have been promoted. So when I called them underperforming, was I telling the truth?
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Chapter 5: Why did Down fly to Kerry for a challenge match?
Of course I was. But in fairness, I think they had a look at themselves. Mark McHugh, I admire, is a very sharp coach, a very shrewd player. They had a look at themselves in the mirror. They obviously took on board their failings and they delivered the performance last Sunday, which was absolutely brilliant. Their forward play, unbelievable. Their shooting efficiency, absolutely brilliant.
The scoring, some of the scores were absolutely magnificent. And the unsung heroes, we talk about the modern game and the new rules and how much of an advantage it is for the forwards with three on three and all the space. But the other thing the new rules meant is that you needed to have, with the 3-3 and a lot of space, you need to have the return of the man-marking defender.
And some of the defensive players from Westmeath last week, they were the unsung heroes because their man-to-man marking was brilliant. And if they didn't get primary possession, they were brilliant at just getting the hand in and denying possession. Fair play to Westmeath.
And like, it has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons because I was, okay, I'd rushed into judging them perhaps too quickly and I'd thrown them into the Talton Cup. They might still be in the Talton Cup if they don't beat Kildare, but they do have a great chance of Kildare. But of course, the gas flat about it, given the results maybe this weekend, if Westmeath beat Kildare,
and down get beaten by Donegal guess who will be in the Talton Cup down and they will definitely deserve the label of underperforming so well done to Westmeath I've watched them for years talented team capable of playing great on their day lacking consistency we know in the qualifiers the last couple of years they were very unlucky this year A lot of their players are gone.
It's a brand new team. But at the end of the day, Luke Loughlin, one of the best forwards in the game, Ronan Wallace, attacking wing-back, Ray Connellan, absolutely superb.
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Chapter 6: What are Jim Gavin's views on a third tier for Gaelic football?
So well done, Westmead.
Just on that, Dick, Mark McHugh said it after, you know, if Mead had won, everyone would have been tipping Mead to win Leinster. He said, why not Westmead? And the big thing is now, is that this is now one swallow doesn't make a summer job. Like they have to go and back it up the next. They have to.
Yeah, well, if you remember a couple of weeks ago, I talked about a pathway. And this is what some middle-ranked counties and some of the lower ones, when they're looking at the championship season, they're all sitting in their own meeting rooms and their own discussions. Where can this season possibly go?
And Westmeath would have looked at this and sort of said, listen, we have a big game against a Meath here that we can beat. We have to... We have to bring a performance which is over and above what they've delivered before. And Pat was right.
And we talked about that they had underperformed, but they would have been annoyed with themselves that they were sort of sitting looking up at a louse and looking up at a mead and been almost discounted because they would have known they weren't that far away. And I would have thought that as well. But they had to bring a performance first to bring them up a level.
And I didn't call that Westmead were going to beat them, but I did put a serious red flag on where mead are at and where they could potentially sort of fall back. And that came to pass as well. Like Meath didn't, I wouldn't say they didn't turn up, but that, cause that would be unfortunate.
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Chapter 7: How do the new rules impact the modern game of Gaelic football?
That would be unfair on West Meath, but they did deliver on the expectation or the level that they've been put at. Like I'll give you a wee thing. I done a bit of a rough power rankings here, just for pig iron last week before the games, I had it, Kerry, Donegal, Galway, Armagh, you can argue the toss on one and two and three and four. Mayo, Dublin, Meath, Roscommon, Tyrone, Cork.
based on all the discussions, championship form, league and all the rest. Now you could argue a few of those. And me, they've been pushed up there. They're a division two team, hadn't won a Leinster championship, but everyone was popping up there. So they were going into that game on a heightened enough.
And a group of players that hadn't the experience of dealing with the favorites tag with a team coming at them from that weren't actually that far away from them in terms of ability, which it was born out on the day. And it was unfortunate for me because that's a tough dressing room. Like what does that mean dressing room like this week? after all the highs they've had over the last 12 months.
Leinster Championship gone, they're not winning in all Ireland. Yeah, we can go and get to maybe another quarterfinal or semi-final. So they can't scale the heights from last year. That's a tough spot and that's difficult for that mid-group of players. It reminds me of Monaghan in 2008. Remember in 2007, Pat, we had a great year.
Chapter 8: What challenges do Kildare face in their upcoming matches?
We pushed. Eight minutes before Manon. Eight minutes before Manon were mentioned. Yeah, just then before Kerry gets our message. But I suppose I always try to relate to stuff that I can relate to that Meath dressing room.
that you had a big year and then you had to follow it up and it's tough you haven't maybe you haven't deserved you haven't done enough to deserve the the praise that people are giving at you and you're you're not you're not too far away from what we went and played for manna the following year in 2008 and then was picking us up to win ulster championship very similar to me this year
And we went down and we laid an egg in Brewster Park and Fermanagh caught us. And it was just so destroying. So I can empathise where those Meath players are. It's a tough place to be. But now, going back to West Meath, they have a pathway. They've got a semi-final that they can win. And they'll have looked at Dublin, who still aren't guaranteed or loud. It's really loud.
Dublin would probably still be marginal favourites, but don't deserve it at this stage. At West Meath, now we're sitting here looking... They've only won one Leinster Championship. Can you imagine that now? With all the talk about Dublin, Meath and Louth, now Westmeath are sitting looking at a realistic pathway to a Leinster Championship.
Like what is the excitement building around the clubs in Westmeath now on the back of that run result? And that's just brilliant. But like what a turn up from the books, you know?
I was just thinking, because we were talking about it last week, and, you know, we were about Joe Murphy's comments about local management group, you know. But if there ever is a county that has shown the benefit of going outside, and I was just thinking of my late great-grandfather, Paddy O'Shea,
Sunday evening, because Paddy obviously was manager when Westmead won the title a couple of years ago. And Paddy, you remember in that infamous speech he gave to the lads, he talked about the grain of rice can tip the scale. And a grain of rice can tip the scale. And like I said, but Westmead, they came into this game, like I said, they had lost three games, three games in Division 3.
They were playing the Division 2 champions. Favourites in many eyes for the Leinster Championship. But you know, there was something about it in the lead up. And I was thinking about it. I was reading and listening to a lot of interviews from players and the build up to the game. And I was saying, Jesus, they're getting a lot of media exposure.
And that can be good, but it can also have a negative effect. And particularly the players who are not used to the big time and delivering and the tag of hot favourites. And mentally, it can get you. And I just thought, I just thought mentally, they were flat last Sunday. Physically, they were flat. They didn't wake up until the final quarter.
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