Sam McCartan’s father used to joke that with a surname like theirs, the children’s footballing ability must have come from his side of the family.Sam had a stormer on Sunday at Croke Park as Westmeath defeated Dublin to claim the county’s second Leinster SFC title. His younger brother, Danny, was among the substitutes.A day earlier, their sisters, Lara and Lucy, helped Westmeath beat Wexford and in doing so, retain the Leinster IFC title in Newbridge.As it turns out, their mother Frances probably passed on the Gaelic football gene. She is a daughter of Galway great Seán Purcell.Vicky Carr, who struck 2-1 for Westmeath on Saturday, has a similar backstory. She is a cousin of the McCartans and her mother is Frances’s sister. All of which made for an excitable Sunday afternoon among the extended McCartan family. Westmeath men’s team capped a remarkable start to 2026 with a Leinster title triumph that was very much against the head.“It was a great family outing,” said a smiling Sam McCartan. “It was unbelievable meeting up like that and getting to chat. We spent probably 45 minutes on the pitch after the game, just drinking it all in.”McCartan was back on the Croke Park pitch yesterday morning, less than 24 hours after the Lake County’s famous win. The centre forward was soloing a ball for the cameras at the announcement that Avonmore Protein Milk has extended its partnership with the GAA/GPA by five years.Westmeath footballer Sam McCartan at Croke Park on Monday for the announcement Avonmore Protein Milk has extended its partnership with the GAA and GPA by five years. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile We don’t even bother with the joke that, the morning after the night before, he might need a protein boost, or a pint of milk to settle the stomach. He looks far too fresh. But it was a memorable night all the same.They stopped the team bus to walk across the county boundary with the Delaney Cup, then strolled down the main street of Kinnegad, then headed on to the homecoming party in Mullingar. It rained hard but nobody seemed to mind.“It was crazy,” said McCartan. “It was like a scaled-up version of the Tailteann Cup celebrations when we won that in 2022. There were people hanging out of the windows of hotels and people standing in the rain for an hour before we even arrived. It meant a lot and seeing how happy people were, it really put in perspective what we did.”A video did the rounds afterwards of John Heslin making his way through the crowd and being hailed the “goat” by one young supporter. The McCartans and Heslin play for St Loman’s, just out the road. Sam was happy that his clubmate got to experience the occasion after being plucked from retirement.“John’s a fella that, if he plays for any team around the country that’s winning All-Irelands or winning provincial medals, he’s going to be a multiple All Star,” said McCartan. “Unfortunately he came through in a Leinster period when Westmeath were facing probably the best team that ever played the game.”Getting the 33-year-old back was naturally a lift.“I’d been watching John for the club and he was still playing at a speed above everyone else,” said McCartan. “You can just see his thinking is above what everyone else is doing, so I knew there would be no issue with him playing the game.”[ The Sunday Game panel weren’t giving Westmeath a hopeOpens in new window ]And yet the SOS to the former captain probably wouldn’t have gone out had Luke Loughlin not suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. It is natural to feel sorry for Loughlin, who has been outstanding for the last number of seasons, but McCartan insists it isn’t necessary.“I wouldn’t say I feel sorry for him because Luke is still a part of our team,” he explained.So much so that he showed up to see the team off before their trip to Croker, on crutches.“He was less than a day out of surgery and he saw us off from the Annebrook (Hotel) – it was probably against all orders from the doctor,” said McCartan. “It means everything to him. The medal in his pocket is the same as everyone else’s and he’s a massive part of it.”Sunday, of course, wasn’t the end. It is just the beginning for a team lining up on the front row of the All-Ireland SFC grid with high expectations. Manager Mark McHugh has talked about them being prepared to take on any team in Ireland.“We’ll be back training on Wednesday,” said McCartan, not taking the bait. “We didn’t look ahead of Longford, Meath or Kildare or Dublin. The only focus now will be on Cavan and that’s it.”