Senior Status on the Line after 57 Unbroken Years ...

Tonight, in Kinnegad at 8.15 behind closed doors we line out against Shandonagh in the relegation semi-final of the Westmeath Senior Championship in what is the most important game played by the club since the 2018 county final.

The loser of this match will be just one match away from intermediate status for the 2021 season. Mullingar Shamrocks seek to preserve the record of having the longest unbroken sequence at senior level of the present teams competing at the highest level. It is almost 57 years to the day since the Mullingar Shamrocks club returned to senior ranks after playing six championship matches in the early 1950s.

On 1 September 1963 Mullingar Shamrocks lined out against the reigning county champions St Mary's in the first round of the senior football champion ship (yes, it was that late) almost twelve months after the junior title was won. It was a losing debut as St Mary's were comfortable 2-6 to 1-4 winners after Shamrocks held an interval lead of 1-4 to 1-3. 'The game was marked by close tackling and a lot of fouling and the standard of football was poor', the Westmeath Examiner reported.

Mullingar Shamrocks history makers on this occasion were: Tony Caulfield; Sean Mullen, Brendan McNamara, Matt Ryan (Kevin Higgins); Jimmy O'Dowd, Davy Nolan, Frankie Connaughton (0-2); Paddy Cole, Mick Lynch; Sean Magee, Jimmy Finn (0-1), Kevin Nugent (Dan O'Dowd); Tony McCormack (1-1), Christy Lennon (Feichin McCormack), Terry O'Dowd.

Guarding the net for St Mary's was Paddy O'Brien whose grandson Brian Farrell is one of the emerging stars of Mullingar Shamrocks.

The chief means of raising funds at the time was through the Silver Circle and the Westmeath Examiner carried the results of the draw for a number of weeks. Mrs Riggs from Gainstown was the winner of the first prize of £15 for week 8 of the draw. The seller of the winning ticket was D. Riggs also from Gainstown who happens to be the current President of Mullingar Shamrocks, the great Detty Cornally. And 57 years later Detty is still pulling tickets out of the handbag and promoting the club.

Let's hope our seniors pull something out of the bag tomorrow night and our senior status for another year at least is secured.

Good luck to all involved.