"How'd the operation go Rory. . . I had mine this morning as well. Here, the same as you. Isn't that gas?" How quickly it had all fallen apart.

O'Connell had started out back in '94 when there was nothing to fall apart. It was one darkening evening in Mullingar that the county were shipping another heavy defeat when a voice rang out from the depths of the crowd.

"C'mon to be f**ked Westmeath, only for the Shannon nobody would have heard of yis." Then came Paidi. "You look back through the years and realise it's all about going that extra yard, " says O'Connell. "Paidi had been there, he'd done it as a player and as a manager realised what had to happen for a side to succeed. We had all seen him on the television and saw him as a bit of a legend. Then to have him sitting in front of you, telling you what to do, well you're going to listen aren't you? Westmeath has a lot to thank him for."

O'Connell has a little extra to thank him for. He would never have been there when the county captured their sole provincial title two years ago without his manager's motivation in training and presence in the High Court.

The show of the summer had a spin off, you see. During the opening game of the championship with Offaly, O'Connell was dismissed, allegedly for stamping on Pascal Kellaghan. The ban that followed could easily have ended O'Connell's season. It didn't.

"I pleaded my innocence from the moment I got sent off but I wasn't sure what to do. Three months suspended.

But I was very good friends with Ciaran McManus, I went to school with him, and he was on to me. I eventually rang Pascal and asked could he do anything, write a letter maybe saying I had done nothing. That was awkward because I never met the guy before, I never spoke to him.

He said he'd think about it, it was hard on him because they were still involved in the championship. But he eventually did and I've a lot to thank him for too.

"We went to the appeal meeting and produced the letter and it wasn't used at all, it was ignored and the suspension was left at three months. Walking out that day I was totally gobsmacked.

Even Paddy Collins, who was with me that day and is well up in the GAA, couldn't believe it either. I thought at least they'd bring Pascal Kellaghan and have a chat with him but that never happened.

"After that there was the option of court. I was really reluctant. You don't want your name to be appearing for the wrong reasons, it's not nice for anyone you know.

Family, girlfriend, anyone. I didn't want to be talk of the town, or talk of the country maybe but at the end of the day I sat down with those closest to me and they all told me that if I was innocent, I had to do something about it. Otherwise I'm taking a step back and saying I am guilty.

"By that stage I stayed away from newspapers and I never went near the court.

I'd never been near one before and I made it clear I wouldn't go. I'm not that person. So Paidi went up with Tomas O Flatherta. I was in work myself and I never did a tap, I was just worrying about the entire thing. The verdict was meant to be at 10, and it got pushed back. Finally at 10 to five I got the phone call saying that I had to get my boots ready, that I was back for Sunday."

O Se had kept him training hard through those barren weeks and all the work that at times looked pointless paid off. In the Leinster final he was sprung from the bench early as Laois stretched and tugged at Westmeath's flaws.

He earned his side a replay and eventually earned himself a Leinster medal. A victory in the High Court? He won't accept that, especially now his chance to win another title is gone.

"Last year was a big fall. It's gas the little things that can change a season though. The previous year Mayo came here and we had to beat them to stay up and we did. You know how close league is to championship, well there was a bit of a buzz around the place. It left us running hard, a force to be stopped. But then last season we'd a bad league. We lost a lot of games and got relegated and we were struggling with the mental side of it all.

"Kildare took us by surprise but it started really going wrong down in Tipperary. Declan Browne missed with the last kick of the game to level it up but that day was a disaster. Paul Conway broke his leg, Dessie [Dolan] did his ligaments in his knee and I did my ankle.

We were all carried off the pitch and when something like that happens you feel this isn't going to be our year. The lads didn't make it back for the Clare game and I was struggling big time. It was frantic with the physio and I still only came on with 15 minutes to go."

For all the bad days he'd had when Westmeath crept below the radar, this was the lowest. It turned out to be the last too. "I called it a day after that game, fairly quickly. I'd given 11 years and won the All Star [Westmeath's first], a couple of league medals [both Division Two], a couple of Railway Cup medals. What we won in Westmeath, I was part of. But during the winter you're sitting there getting itchy feet, wondering what to do in the evenings. Will I go back? I got chatting to Tomas O Flatherta. . ."

Today's game was a big chunk of that decision to give it one more shot. Offaly in the first round brought back memories of hard hits and frenetic football. Local stuff.

He had to be there. He won't be though. All that time chasing and hounding in centrefield had taken its toll on O'Connell's back. He went for an MRI which showed he had two bulging discs in his lower back. Rest should have helped and he thought it had until he was training early this year. "We were just doing sprints this one Thursday.

We were there in a line and I was getting ready to go. I just went and straight away I felt something go. I was crippled with pain the following week.

It was a little better over time but even driving, I'd be sore for a half hour after I got out of the car.

"So I went for the MRI again and it showed there was a disk out crushing the nerve. I was told by the neurosurgeon in the Mater to think long and hard about going back. I've to go back in four weeks and I'll chat more to him then, but I might have to look at the bigger picture and give it all up. I definitely won't kick a football again with Westmeath. I probably won't even kick one with the club again. I'm thinking about it."

He's thinking about going today as well. He probably shouldn't do that either, what with the driving and Croke Park seats. Chances are he will though. What's one more knock for the lads?