Over the years you witness a lot of captain’s speeches on the steps of the Hogan Stand, but very few of them stand the test of time when you try to recall them.
One that definitely bucks the trend is David O’Shaughnessy’s victory speech after lifting the Delaney Cup for Westmeath in 2004.
It was a historic moment, Westmeath’s first ever Leinster Senior Football title, and O’Shaughnessy rose to the moment in style.
He didn’t just manage to sum up what the victory meant to him and his team-mates, but to “Westmeath people all over the world”.
And just what it meant was vividly illustrated by the vista that spread out in front of O’Shaughnessy as thousands of those Westmeath people he spoke for turned the pitch a sea of maroon and white.
They were given ample reason to cheer on O’Shaughnessy as he hit all the right notes over the course of his lengthy speech, and the loudest decibels were reached when the Westmeath captain hailed the “inspiration” of the “great Páidí Ó Sé”.
The acclaim for the team manager was a vocal acknowledgement that Westmeath probably wouldn’t have experienced this day of days were it not for their Messiah from Kerry.
Westmeath had won an All-Ireland U-21 title five years earlier and didn’t lack for talent, but Páidí Ó Sé brought an X-factor that arguably transformed them from contenders to champions.
He was a born-winner and made it his business to get the Westmeath players to believe they should be winners too.
“I like to think I’m pretty handy at getting inside people’s heads,” said Ó Sé in ‘Marooned’, the excellent RTE documentary about Westmeath’s 2004 season.
“I must say that I particularly enjoy working with these bunch of lads.
“It would be more difficult with Kerry because they have tasted success very, very frequently but when you have a team like Westmeath who haven’t, they’re willing to go the extra mile for you, the extra yard for you.”
Westmeath captain, Rory O'Connell, lifts the Delaney Cup after victory over Laois in the 2004 Leinster SFC Final replay.
Ó Sé didn’t just want to convince the Westmeath players they could be winners, he wanted to prove all over again that he was one himself because his ego had been bruised when he was shown the door in 2003 after eight years as Kerry senior football team manager.
He was the right man at the right time for Westmeath football, though it did take a little time for that to become apparent.
They didn’t win any of their first six matches in Division 1 of the League, but managed to just about avoid relegation by defeating Mayo in the last match of the campaign.
Ó Sé had always been a championship animal himself, though, and the Westmeath team of 2004 would prove to be the same.
They beat Offaly by a single point 0-11 to 0-10 in the first round of the Leinster Championship and then really showed their true colours by then defeating Dublin by 0-14 to 0-12 in the Leinster quarter-final.
Wexford were dispatched by 2-15 to 1-14 in the Leinster semi-final, which set up a Provincial Final clash with reigning champions Laois.
Westmeath were the better team the first day, but Laois snatched a replay thanks to a late Chris Conway equaliser.
It looked like a glorious opportunity missed for the Lake County, but Ó Sé really came into his own in the week between the drawn game and the replay.
Westmeath manager, Páidí Ó Sé is mobbed by celebrating supporters after victory over Laois in the 2004 Leinster SFC Final replay.
As captured so memorably in ‘Marooned’, he delivered a rousing speech in training that set a perfect emotional pitch for the second showdown with Laois.
“We’re going well, lads,” said Ó Sé. “But, lads, bring the bit of devilment into your play the next day, the tigerish play. The discipline, the tightness, the rough and tumble stuff around the middle of the field.
“The f**king breaking ball. A grain of rice is going to tip the scale lads, just remember that. A grain of rice will tip the scale. But you’ll have to get steely tough upstairs and you must be willing to f**king break your gut.”
It was at this moment that Ó Sé then turned to Westmeath forward, Alan Mangan, who had failed to score in the drawn match and was twice barrelled over the sideline, much to the chagrin of his manager.
“You were f**ked over the line twice! F**ked over the line like you’d catch a f**king loaf of bread, fucked you over the line with a shoulder.
“What that does is it lifts the opposition. We don’t want to see now Westmeath man f**ked about. Is that clear now, Alan? No more! You have to be closer. Closer to f**k!
“We’ll have to f**king crash into these fellas and test out their fucking pulse. Because I’m telling ye lads, these fellas will play good football if they’re allowed.
“Give me one f**king guarantee each and every one of ye. That ye’re going to be tighter, that ye’re going to be more disciplined, that ye’re going to be more tigerish.
“And that ye’re going to take the f**king game to these fellas. That these fellas will get such a f**king shell-shock next Saturday evening that we’ll put them back on their f**king arse for ten years.
“Alright lads!”
Westmeath players David O'Shaughnessy and Dessie Dolan celebrate after victory over Laois in the 2004 Leinster SFC Final replay.
Mangan would go on to kick four points in the replay in a Man of the Match performance, and all of his team-mates would also rise to their manager’s challenge to ‘crash’ into Laois.
They dominated the physical exchanges for most of the match, especially around the middle third, and ultimately blew Laois away with a 30 minute scoring burst either side of half-time that saw them accumulate all of their 14 points.
They were guilty of some poor misses too and didn’t score in the final 26 minutes of the match, which made the closing moments unnecessarily nerve-shredding for their supporters.
Westmeath hearts must have skipped multiple beats all around the stadium when Laois defender Kevin Fitzpatrick was put clear through on goal in injury-time, but he blazed his shot wide of the far post.
When the final whistle eventually blew, it signalled delirium in the stadium as thousands of Westmeath supporters made it their business to get on the pitch by whatever means possible.
They were still there 30 minutes after O’Shaughnessy’s speech had ended, when the stadium PA asked them to move on so the groundsman could get the pitch ready for the following day’s All-Ireland Final quarter-finals.
The Westmeath supporters weren’t for moving just yet, though, and who could blame them.
They’d waited 120 years for this moment, so every minute spent in Croke Park on the day the Leinster Championship had finally been won was one to be savoured.
