“Positives for Devlin Despite Louth’s O’Byrne Cup Exit to Westmeath”

Dioralyte O’Byrne Quarter Final

From St Lomans, Mullingar

Louth 0-15 Westmeath 2-15

Tale of the Tape

Louth fell to a six-point defeat against Westmeath in the Dioralyte O’Byrne Cup Quarter-Final at St Lomans, Mullingar on Wednesday evening. However, there were plenty of positives to take from the first competitive outing of 2026, with Gavin Devlin blending experience and fresh talent throughout his squad.

Ryan Burns led the way in attack, looking sharp as he registered 0-8 — seven from placed balls — in the absence of All-Star forward Sam Mulroy. Meanwhile, both Emmett Carolan and Eoghan Callaghan made strong contributions, underlining the added depth and quality they bring to Devlin’s side.

There was further encouragement in the form of youth development, with Tiernan Markey, Padraic Tinnelly, Sean Callaghan, Pearse Grimes Murphy, Darragh Dorian and James Maguire — all members of the successful 2025 Leinster U20 team — seeing game time. In addition, Tadhg McDonnell, Shane Lennon, Cormac McKeown and Conor MacCriosta, who also played key roles at U20 level, remain part of the extended senior panel. That makes ten players from that historic squad now involved — a clear sign of Louth’s growing depth and future promise.

There were also valuable minutes for Player of the Year Conall McKeever, Peter Lynch, and 2024 All-Star Craig Lennon, although injuries picked up by Ciaran Byrne and Liam Jackson will be a concern for the management team. On a positive note, Conor Early returned to the fold after opting out of Ger Brennan’s panel in 2025, bolstering the panel further.

What Gavin Devlin had to say to LúTV

Reflecting on the performance

“O’Byrne Cup are difficult fixtures on a Wednesday night and getting guys straight up from work to be here for a certain times is difficult but tonight’s performance, the lads were brilliant, look everyone that was on the bench got minutes in the legs and yes very happy with tonight’s performance, none more so than the goalkeeper, young Tiernan Markey, he stepped in from the U20s and his kickouts were immense””

Eoghan Callaghan’s return and All-Star Nominee Ryan Burns on song

“[Asked about Eoghan Callaghan’s performance] There was a few magical performances out there today, I thought even getting Ryan Burns back on the field today, I thought there was a shine about him”

Absences and possible return date

With a whole host of players missing, namely – Sam Mulroy, Tommy Durnin, Donal McKenny, Dermot Campbell, Ciaran Keenan, Anthony Williams and Conor Grimes [among others] all missing, Devlin issued a positive update..

“Yes, look that is the whole plan [return for round 1 of national league] but we have got to be careful too – that we don’t rush them back, it’s the first game of the national league & it’s always important but at the end of the day, it’s still only the first game of the season and we need to be very careful that we don’t rush these boys back and put them out for longer, but look there coming in the right direction, we are nursing them back gently and we are looking forward as we have a good plan put in place for the next two weeks to get ready for the National League, so that is what we have been gearing towards”

Youthful look to the side

“Absolutely, from the start of the year on the training field their whole application to the way we want to do things has been fantastic, but.. the work has being done last year with Fergal Reel’s U20s aswell and they’re coming on the back of good stock, so they are looking forward to the season ahead”

Louth Team v Westmeath;

Tiernan Markey; Emmett Carolan, Peter Lynch; Padraic Tinnelly; Conall McKeever (c), Eoghan Callaghan (0-1), Craig Lennon; Conor Early, Paul Mathews; Liam Jackson, Ciaran Downey, Ciaran Byrne; Dylan McKeown (0-4, 1tpf & 1f), Conall McCaul (0-2), Ryan Burns (0-8, 2tpf, 2f & 1’45’).

Subs used: Sean Callaghan for Ciaran Byrne (15 Mins), Pearse Grimes Murphy for Liam Jackson (30 Mins), Daire McConnon for Ciaran Downey (HT), Leonard Gray for Craig Lennon (34 Mins), Darragh Dorian for Ryan Burns (43 Mins), James Maguire for Conall McCaul (53 Mins), Evan Whelan for Eoghan Callaghan (53 Mins).

Subs not used: Niall McDonnell, Tom O’Connell, Ryan Walsh, Ben McKenna.

Images thanks to Sportsfile