Gavin selected as Westmeath skipper
Defender Kieran Gavin has been confirmed as Westmeath senior football captain for the 2013 campaign.
Gavin became the first Westmeath man to captain a Sigerson Cup-winning team when he led DCU to a final win over NUI Maynooth last February.
He also had the captaincy role for Mullingar Shamrocks’ Westmeath SFC final replay victory over Garrycastle in October.
The 24-year-old was in his regular full-back position when Westmeath opened the new season last Sunday by beating Athlone IT 1-22 to 0-13 in the Bord na Mona O’Byrne Cup.
The group game saw Dessie Dolan scored 0-6 from frees in his first appearance for the Lakesiders in 18 months, while fellow forward Denis Glennon tallied up 1-6.
Westmeath manager Pat Flanagan, who has installed Garrycastle’s Doron Harte as his vice-captain, is determined to keep up that winning trend as the year progresses.
“The spirit we showed in the Kerry game (in last year’s All-Ireland qualifiers) was hugely valuable, and there’s an excellent buzz and huge commitment among the 39 lads we have,” he told the Westmeath Examiner.
“As far as I’m concerned, Westmeath are underachieving with the amount of talent available. We’ve got to get these guys in the frame of mind of winning.”
