Gaelic Games: The first silverware of 2005 will take its place on a crowded mantelpiece, as Mick O'Dywer picked up one of the few intercounty prizes to have eluded his grasp.

Although the great man's less than whole-hearted enthusiasm for anything handed out before the summer is well known, he was pleased with his young Laois team's zippy performance against the county which had relieved them of the Leinster title last July.

As O'Dwyer reminded people afterwards, he hadn't even won a match in the O'Byrne Cup with Laois up until this year, but given the need to blood newcomers ahead of the league in the absence of the Portlaoise players, who are preparing for next month's All-Ireland club semi-final against Crossmaglen, he has found the secondary competition quite useful.

"They say you can't build a team from nothing," he said, "but you had six backs there today who didn't start in last year's championship. All the young players in Laois know that they're going to get a fair crack of the whip and they've responded very well. It was a good match for this time of the year with some great scores. Everything is good today."

Captain Noel Garvan paused before answering a tricky question about what winning the O'Byrne Cup meant to the team before finding a path to diplomacy.

"It wouldn't be overly significant, but at least we're winning. Last year we lost by 20 points to Longford, so this is a big improvement. I think the mindset is different this year."

Westmeath haven't won the competition for 17 years but in recent times they have made a great success of the O'Byrne Cup franchise. Despite yesterday's second successive final defeat at their home venue, they once again attracted a huge crowd. If it wasn't close to the record 14,612 that turned up 12 months ago, over 10,000 is a big turnout for this time of the year.

Manager Páidí Ó Sé, much given to piseogs, might have been glad to start the year in similar fashion to the way he began what was a historic 2004. Certainly he wasn't looking crestfallen.

"The hungrier team won on the day. They were beaten in the Leinster championship last year and this was a chance to come to our town and our pitch, and I half anticipated, with Micko, that they'd come with all guns blazing."

Might it be that indispensable prompt to all champions - the wake-up call?

"It is, and my hopes are that the team will respond to that call. Next week we don't have a match so we'll be able to work for two weeks before heading to Tullamore. At this time of the year you can often learn more from games you lose. You take the lessons on board more quickly. You don't like changing a winning team, but when you lose you can address all problems, and we shall address them."

The league starts in a fortnight. Ó Sé responded to a question about whether he was taking his team anywhere before the season gets under way: "No. Apart from taking them to the training pitch."