McCartan clan's golden summer: Westmeath's family affair at the heart of GAA glory

In a whirlwind 24 hours this past May, the McCartan family of Westmeath lived out a GAA fairytale that spanned both codes and generations. Lara McCartan, along with her sister Lucy, helped the Lake County ladies to a Leinster intermediate title, while their brothers Sam and Danny were part of the Westmeath men's side that ended a 22-year wait for provincial glory. It was a weekend that seemed almost too perfect to be true.

“You couldn't have written it,” McCartan recalled, her voice still carrying the wonder of that extraordinary stretch. “It was outrageous that two weeks on from our semi-final, you just happened to have the two Leinster finals on the same weekend and Westmeath on both sides. It was huge for the county.”

The ladies' final on 16 May at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge saw Westmeath overpower Wexford, 4-20 to 4-08. The very next day, at Croke Park, the men's team dug deep to defeat Dublin in extra time, with Sam McCartan starting at centre half-forward and scoring two crucial points. Danny McCartan was part of the match-day panel, making it a full family affair.

Adding a layer of intrigue, Dublin's top scorer from play that day was Ciarán Kilkenny, a cousin of the McCartans on their mother's side. The connection runs deep, as Kilkenny's father John was a first cousin of the late, legendary Galway footballer Seán Purcell, the McCartans' grandfather.

“I've never seen so much support this year as well on both sides, the ladies and the men. It really was brilliant. I was beside my family (at the Leinster men's final). It was unbelievable. The cheers from the crowd. Somebody said that we outnumbered Dublin four to one. Croker really was maroon and white that day,” McCartan said, her pride palpable.

“I think Sam and Danny found it crazy to be playing against Ciarán Kilkenny. He's such a star in Dublin. He was obviously on the six-in-a-row team and was a pillar in their transitional period as well. There's a picture in our house somewhere of Sam and Ciarán going up for a high ball. So the connection there is crazy as well.”

A family tree rooted in GAA legend

The McCartans are part of a remarkable GAA lineage. Their grandfather, Seán Purcell, won the Sam Maguire Cup with Galway in 1956. Purcell's daughter Frances is the mother of Lara and her siblings, while another daughter, Mary, is married to former Dublin footballer Tom Carr. Their daughter Vicky is a current Westmeath team-mate of both Lara and Lucy, and was part of the All-Ireland intermediate winning side in 2021.

Lara, though not yet in the senior set-up then, remembers that triumph vividly. “I remember the day of the All-Ireland final, I was actually helping my Dad. He was kit man that day, so I got to walk the pitch after their win. I used to go down to their training sessions the whole time,” she said.

“Dad would just get down beside me saying 'oh now watch out for Fiona Coyle, watch out for her this session. Watch out for Fiona Claffey this session.' They've always been a bit of a drive watching all my siblings and Vicky playing for Westmeath. It's such an honour to play with them now as well, club and county.”

Club ambitions with St Loman's

McCartan, a student at ATU Sligo studying home economics and biology teaching, has also tasted success at club level. In October 2024, she was part of the St Loman's side that won the Westmeath senior club championship, their first in seven years, with her sister Lucy and cousin Vicky Carr also in the team.

“It was unbelievable really,” she said. “I think I was 17 at the time and I was playing with girls that you just looked up to the whole time. Lucy, my sister, obviously just came back from an ACL coming up to that year. It was unbelievable. I think it was only my second or third season of senior club, so it was absolutely an honour. Hopefully we can do it again this year.”

St Loman's are on a mission to reclaim the title they lost to Milltown in last year's final. They have already beaten Milltown in the 2026 group stages, topping their group and securing automatic qualification for the semi-finals. But McCartan is keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

“The mindset that our manager has been instilling in us is that we haven't earned anything. We're underdogs really coming into this season, even though we've topped the group,” she said.

“We haven't earned anyone's respect just yet. We haven't earned the right to win, we haven't earned the right to do anything other than what is right in front of us. We've topped our group now, so next thing to do is just win our semi hopefully.”

With a family legacy that spans counties, codes, and generations, Lara McCartan is writing her own chapter in a story that seems destined for more memorable days.