# Westmeath Minotaurs

The Westmeath Minotaurs are an American football club located in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. Founded in 2011, they are a part of American Football Ireland (AFI) and play their home matches at Shay Murtagh Park, the home ground of Mullingar RFC. The Westmeath Minotaurs field both Senior and Youth teams for tackle football and the club also supports teams in the flag football division. As of 2024, the club was competing in the AFI Premier Division.

## History

The Westmeath Minotaurs were established in 2011 and commenced Senior kitted football in 2013 as part of American Football Ireland's Division 1. In 2022, they secured promotion to the Premier Division after winning the Division 1 Bowl against the University of Limerick Vikings.
The flag football team began competing in 2014 and won the inaugural Emerald Bowl, becoming the Irish flag football champions in 2015. In 2022, they claimed victory in Glas Bowl III, earning promotion back to the Flag Premier Division. The club celebrated its tenth anniversary competitive season in 2022, counting the cancelled seasons of 2020 and 2021. After being relegated once again in their return to the Premier Division in 2023, the Minotaurs won Glas Bowl V in 2024 to re-earn promotion.
In 2022, the Senior Kitted Team defeated the Philadelphia Blue Flame by a score of 15-8 in an international friendly. Then in 2023, they won their first ever game in the Premier Division, the highest level division in AFI, over the Craigavon Cowboys, 38-0.

## Season-by-season record
### Senior Kitted

Legend :
| Pct | The team's winning percentage for the season |
| $^†$ | Shamrock Bowl champions |
| $^‡$ | Division 1 champions |
| $^*$ | Division championship appearance |
| $^^$ | Playoff appearance |
| | Relegated |
Westmeath Minotaurs Senior Kitted record by season :
| Season | League | Division | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason results | Head coach | Refs |
| Season | League | Division | Finish | W | L | T | Pct | Postseason results | Head coach | Refs |
| 2013 | AFI | Division 1 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 1 | .188 | | Paddy Lally | |
| 2014 | AFI | Division 1 | 3rd | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | | Paddy Lally | |
| 2015 | AFI | Division 1 | 6th | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | | Paddy Lally | |
| 2016 | AFI | Division 1 | 4th$^^$ | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | Forfeited Semifinal (at Admirals) | Diarmaid Hyland | |
| 2017 | AFI | Division 1 | 5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | | Paddy Lally | |
| 2018 | AFI | Division 1 | 3rd$^^$ | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | Lost Wild Card (Rhinos) 13-3 | Conor Brennan | |
| 2019 | AFI | Division 1 | 2nd$^*$ | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | Won Semifinal (Eagles) 27-22 Lost IAFL-1 Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 28-27 | Conor Brennan | |
| 2020 | AFI | Division 1 | - | - | - | - | - | | Bill Dougherty | |
| 2021 | AFI | Division 1 | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | | Bill Dougherty | |
| 2022 | AFI | Division 1$^‡$ | 1st$^‡$ | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | Won Semifinal (Vipers) 41-6 Won Division 1 Bowl (vs. Vikings) 16-13 | Bill Dougherty | |
| 2023 | AFI | Premier Division | 6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | | Bill Dougherty | |
| 2024 | AFI | Premier Division | 8th | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | | Adam Corcoran | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 39 | 49 | 1 | .444 | All-time regular season record (2013–2024) | All-time regular season record (2013–2024) | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 3 | 3 | — | .500 | All-time postseason record (2013–2024) | All-time postseason record (2013–2024) | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 42 | 52 | 1 | .447 | All-time regular & postseason record (2013–2024) | All-time regular & postseason record (2013–2024) | |

### Flag

Legend :
| Pct | The team's winning percentage for the season |
| $^†$ | Emerald Bowl champions |
| $^‡$ | Glas Bowl champions |
| $^*$ | Championship appearance |
| $^^$ | Playoff appearance |
| | Relegated |
Westmeath Minotaurs Flag record by season :
| Season | League | Division | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason results | Refs |
| Season | League | Division | Finish | W | L | T | Pct | Postseason results | Refs |
| 2014-15 | AFI | Midlands$^^$ | 1st$^^$ | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | Lost Semifinal (Rebels) 25-15 | |
| 2015 | AFI$^†$ | South$^†$ | 1st$^†$ | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | Won Semifinal (at Cowboys) 37-31 Won Summer Final (at Eagles) 27-25 Won Emerald Bowl I (vs. Eagles) 19-13 | |
| 2015-16 | AFI | Midlands$^*$ | 1st$^*$ | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Won Wild Card (Elks) 39-7 Won Semifinal (Reapers) 27-19 Lost Emerald Bowl III (vs. Cowboys) 36-0 | |
| 2016-17 | AFI | West | 2nd | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | | |
| 2017 | AFI | Premier Division | 2nd$^^$ | 5 | 2 | 1 | .688 | Lost Semifinal (at Eagles) 41-26 Won 3rd Place Game (Cowboys) 39-31 | |
| 2018 | AFI | West | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | | |
| 2019 | AFI | Premier Division | 9th | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | | |
| 2020 | AFI | Premier Division | - | - | - | - | - | | [F] [G] |
| 2021 | AFI | Division 1 South | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | | |
| 2022 | AFI | Division 1 South$^‡$ | 1st$^‡$ | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | Won Divisional Final (Crusaders) 45-18 Won Glas Bowl III (vs. Knights) 46-12 | |
| 2023 | AFI | Premier Division South | 5th | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | | |
| 2024 | AFI | Division 1 Central$^‡$ | 2nd$^‡$ | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | Won Wild Card (vs Mavericks) 48-28 Won Semifinal (Giants) 53-6 Won Glas Bowl V (vs. Dunboyne Wildcats) 19-7 | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 77 | 36 | 1 | .680 | All-time regular season record (2014–2024) | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 11 | 3 | — | .786 | All-time postseason record (2014–2024) | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 88 | 39 | 1 | .691 | All-time regular & postseason record (2014–2024) | |