GAA Top 20: The Kilcoyne brothers or Brendan Murtagh - who is the greatest Westmeath hurler of the last 50 years?

ENVIOUS eyes were cast in Westmeath’s direction in 1986 when David Kilcoyne was chosen at right full-forward on the All Star hurling team. It was the county’s first award in either code.

If the 24-year-old old Ringtown man could force his way past so many of the game’s elite, what was to stop others doing the same in future years?

Westmeath weren’t winning major titles around the mid-1980s, but did get to a level where Kilcoyne and his colleagues could be judged against the best. In 1985/86, they finished second to Wexford in Division 2, placing them ahead of Tipperary who went on to win the Munster championship 15 months later.

Westmeath beat Tipp in that League, finishing seven points clear of a team that included Nicky English, Bobby Ryan, Ken Hogan and Noel Sheehy. Kilcoyne scored 1-8 of Westmeath’s 1-18 total.

Later in that season, Westmeath were unlucky to lose a League quarter-final to Kilkenny by two points, with Kilcoyne again showing his talents against a vaunted defence. He had proven conclusively that he had the capacity to thrive at the highest level, as recognised later in the year by the All Star selectors.

Current full-back, Tommy Doyle (fifth in ranking) is another example of a man who would prosper if he got a chance to test himself against the top-ranked full-forwards on a regular basis.

He did an excellent marking job on Seamus Callanan in an All-Ireland qualifier in 2017, but unfortunately for him he didn’t have regular opportunities to compete with the best until this year when Westmeath played in Division 1, where he did very well. That came as no surprise to anybody who has followed his career.

WESTMEATH

1. David Kilcoyne

2. Brendan Murtagh

3. Michael Kilcoyne

4. Michael Cosgrove

5. Tommy ‘Jogger’ Doyle

6. Darren McCormack

7. Seán Greville

8. Christo Murtagh

9. Paul Greville

10. Tommy Doyle Jnr

11. Olly Gallagher

12. Seán McLoughlin

13. Derek McNicholas

14. Ger Jackson

15. Mickey Fagan

16. Pat Jackson

17. Colm Connaughton

18. Andrew Mitchell

19. Willie Shanley

20. John Shaw

See Tuesday's Irish Independent and Independent.ie to find out who has made the grade for each team in Munster and have your say on each county's poll below