Michael Cornyn was a member of Donore Harriers from the winter of 1988 to the winter of 1995. Presently he is the Chair of Meath Athletics, having been both Secretary and Chairman of Dunboyne AC.
Michael’s journey in athletics has been remarkable! It went from a budding juvenile/schoolboy/junior athlete in his birth county of Leitrim… to a promising senior athlete with Rathfarnham Ajax and Donore Harriers… to a retirement from the sport aged 35… to a comeback 12 years later with the Dunboyne AC Fit-4-Life group… to winning World and European medals in the Masters grade.
This interview is a wonderful collection of stories and achievements. The young lad who was enthralled watching the Olympic exploits of Walker, Juantoreno and Coghlan on his neighbour’s TV set in 1976 wanted to seek out his own unique journey in athletics. Many of you will relate to career/business, family commitments, lack of proper coaching, injuries, etc putting a dampener on sporting ambitions. However, Michael got his day in the sun in South Korea. Let’s just say that it’s a long way from Ballinaglera to Daegu!
PLACE & YEAR OF BIRTH? Born in Co. Leitrim 1961
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? Slievenakilla NS, Drumkeerin Vocational School, Sligo IT
WHAT WAS YOU MAIN CAREER PATH? Management. I started in Dunnes Stores North Earl Street as a Trainee Manager in September 1981, moved to Tesco Ireland after 3 years, When Tesco pulled out of Ireland the store, I was working in was taken over by Quinnsworth. After only a few months I applied for a job as General Manager of a Wholesale Company in John F Kennedy Industrial estate and started work there in March 1987. After almost 10 years there I left and during the Atlanta Olympics set up my own Wholesale business and named it Olympic Wholesale Ltd. From then until 2014 I grew it into a substantial Stationery Wholesale Company with 12 Employees. Like many companies during the recession, I ran into some difficulties and closed the business in January 2014. After 7 months I decided to set up a new business Glera Ltd trading as Olympic Distribution and in 2018 one of my biggest competitors was bought over by a company owned by Independent News & media and when the approached me about joining the new business. I decided the time was right so moved my customers and business across to this new business and become an employee again, back out on the road selling stationery to people I have known for many years.
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE? I joined Donore with the demise of AJAX (Rathfarnham Ajax) around 1988/89.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I was always destined to choose Donore Harriers at some stage. As an 18-year-old I qualified to represent Leitrim/Connaught in an All-Ireland Inter-Counties Track & Field meet which was held at the Morton Stadium in summer. I had spent the day before building 100 rucks of hay with my dad and got word from P.J. Leddy that the event was on the next day in Dublin. I had also qualified that year for the U17 All Ireland 800m which was been held in Cork, but the club told me they would only take me to one event. As it turned out, I was brought to neither but have no regrets as it meant someone giving up their day to take me there and I did manage to get to Santry.
On the next morning I got a lift to Carrick on Shannon and then a train to Dublin Connolly station. Having no idea how to get to Santry I was standing at a bus stop near North Earl Street when an old lady came up to me and said: “son this is only a set down area, where are you going?”. I mentioned Santry, and she brought me to the number 16 bus stop on O’Connell street where I made my way to Santry. This was my first experience of Dublin!
I finished 2nd in the Junior 1,500m that day and 3rd in the 800m as well as helping Galway to win the 4 x 400m as they were a runner short.
A few weeks after this event I was at Mass in my local church when a guy who worked as a prison officer – I think his name was Tom Frank Gilroy – approached me after the service was finished and said he had a message from Donore Harriers in Dublin who wanted me to join the club. As I was still in school that was not an option, but I walked around on cloud nine for a few weeks telling the locals that one of the biggest and bests clubs in Ireland wanted me to join them. I never found out who the connection was, and the eagle-eyed recruiter must have watched me in Santry that day.
When I came to Dublin first, I joined DCH and after a few years returned home for a short time and re-joined my home club North Leitrim AC. On my return to Dublin, I ended up out in Bray where Pat & Bernie Dunne had newsagents beside where I worked. Even though I was doing very little training Pat & Bernie persuaded me to join this new club Ajax AC where I ended up spending most of my senior years, but I always had this thing in the back of my head about joining Donore Harriers. Thus, when Ajax folded, I headed for Chapelizod and the Donore Harriers clubhouse.
ARE YOU OR ANY FAMILY MEMBERS PRESENTLY ATTACHED TO ANOTHER CLUB? Yes, my son Niall & myself are members of Dunboyne AC and just last year my wife Maureen joined the couch to 5k group. Niall’s main sport is Triathlon/Duathlon where he has represented Ireland at U23 level and finished 4th in a World Cup event last year in China in his first senior International race. This year with no events on he ran in the National 10k Championship in Santry running 31.34 and a time trial over 5k in 14.27.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? I played Gaelic football for my school and the local club and representing Leitrim once at U16 against Mayo. However, I decided that athletics was my future after that. When my local parish set up a new Club in the 1980’s I went back playing Gaelic football and played a fair bit during the 88/89 season winning 2 County Junior ‘C’ championship playing in the centre-field position. I was also the long-range free taker kicking a number of 50s in vital games.
I did a bit of boxing as a teenager, but after getting a hiding from Peter Forde (that year he won the All-Ireland Youth Heavy weight title and went on to have a distinguished career with Mayo senior football team) I decided that boxing and football were not for me and at 17 put all my energies into a sport that I love and found fascinating – running!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETIC EVENT? Without doubt the 800m, with its combination of speed, stamina, and tactical awareness. I always loved the excitement of running 4 x 400m relays and for a track runner enjoyed running through the mud in XC during the winter months.
WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN ROLE AT THE CLUB? Athlete only.
WHO WERE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? Having read the book the Golden Mile which I found in my school library Herb Elliott was my inspiration and the training sessions he did on the sand dunes at Portsea. My next-door neighbour got a television in 1976 and I spent every day there during the Montreal Olympics and was enthralled with Eamonn Coghlan and John Walker, Juantorena – and, of course, Lasse Viren of Finland. From then on, my dream was to be a top athlete and hopefully a scholarship to the States, so I dropped all other sports to concentrate on my running.
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I have about 10 books still to read that I bought over the last few months. At the moment I’m between a few books.
- How Champions Think In Sport & Life by Dr Bob Rotello (should have read it 40 years ago!)
- No Bugles, No Drums by Garth Gilmour and Peter Snell, which I recently got from New Zealand signed both by Peter and the author.
- 14 minutes – Alberta Salazar (could be controversial but it’s an interesting read)
- Endure by Alex Hutchinson. Mind, Body & Elastic Limits of Human Performance.
- I just got a signed copy of Ralph Doubell’s book from Australia to add to my reading list.
WHAT WAS LAST CONCERT ATTENDED? Elton John in the 3-Arena – a great concert!
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
3. Mrs. Doubtfire and Tootsie, with Dustin Hoffman
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? I have visited a lot over the last 10 years all over Europe, but I rank Australia as the best, totally unique animals/bird life and they have such a great outdoor life. I have travelled a lot to Scotland over the years and love its wilderness and its beauty.
I have competed in Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Finland and Italy in recent years.
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM SPORT? That’s a hard one as I love almost all sports especially skiing and have an open water qualification for Diving. I love travelling to new places, cities and especially anything historic as I love History. My wife Maureen is very musical, and we go to shows in Dublin, London’s West End if I’m competing in UK masters, and we took in a few shows on Broadway. I love nature and anywhere we travel we usually end up visiting Zoos and wildlife parks. I loved working on our small farm on the top of the Slieve an Iarann mountain – and I still have a love of animals.
IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU PLAY 3 SONGS WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
1. Days Like This by Van Morrison
2. Lovely Leitrim
3. Go Lassie Go – a great Scottish song.
WHO WERE YOUR COACHES AT DONORE HARRIERS? Noel Redican & Willie Smith
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENT? I won some good races underage at Junior level and the 2 All-Ireland Senior medals won with Donore Harriers are very special. But I think my best achievement was in 2017 at the World Masters Championships in Daegu South Korea when Ireland won the World M55 Cross-Country team title on the first day of the championships. I have said since if an athlete had a dream week then I had it that week in Korea. I was in the best shape of my life, running 6 races in 6 days and winning 3 World medals – including team Gold in the 8km XC with Tom O’Connor of Liffey Valley AC and Pat O’Grady from Drogheda AC: qualifying from the heats of the 800m and then finishing 5th in the final. Three of the guys ahead of me had won World or European 800m titles. <<NOTE: Here is a link to the M55 800m at Daegu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_KAG5VmIXo Note that Michael starts on the inside lane and holds 4th position after Lap 1>>.
I also qualified for the final of the 400m, but instead I opted to run the M45 half-marathon – dropping down a 10-year age gap – as I was needed for the team. The team, which included Tom O’Connor and Ian Egan, won bronze! My time was 1h.33m. Later that evening I ran in the 4 x 200m relay as anchor and we won silver. Thus, I ended up winning gold, silver, and bronze medals. Like many athletes I had dreamed of a day standing on a podium and hearing the National Anthem and thought it had long passed me! It just took a long time in my case and it came when Ireland was crowned World M55 Cross Country team champions that day in South Korea.
When we arrived back to Dublin airport the DAA had banners and pictures up in the airport and a reception with Frank Greally. That was really special for all the Master athletes arriving home. The few months afterwards we got a special award from Athletics Ireland and Meath County Council gave myself and Tom O’Connor a civic reception. The year was crowned with a Special Achievement Award at the Leitrim Sports Awards in December.
A really special memory was winning my first World Masters Medal in Lyon France in over 30 degrees of heat with Mick Traynor of Raheny Shamrocks & Tom O’Connor of Liffey Valley AC. With one of the biggest fields ever assembled for a World Masters XC race with 10 teams competing. We beat Russia by just a few seconds for team bronze medals. One of the best running memories of my life!
Also up there is winning my first Master All Ireland Indoor 800m by a few hundreds of a second – running the last 200m in 31 seconds at age 58 yrs.
Some other memories! Looking back, I ran against Eamonn Coghlan in 1986 over 800m in the AIB league. Coghlan won in 1.54 with me finishing down the field in 1.57, but it’s a great good memory to have!
I won the Dublin B 400m championship at Belfield in 51.9 seconds. I had done no speedwork beforehand only a few 6 x 800m intervals. I won the heat in 53 seconds and the favourite would have been an athlete from DCH. As an 800m runner I went out hard and won easily. My time would actually have made the top 3 in the ‘A’ Race.
I ran a number of times against Noel Carroll. He would have been in his 40’s and was still running well. The first time I raced him he kicked at 200m and I failed to catch him. So, I decided a few weeks later if he was in the race, I would kick at the 300m mark and see could he catch me! I ended up running 1.57 and Noel made a good bid to catch me in the finishing straight, but I held on for the win.
Other performances at senior were winning Leinster senior bronze medals in the 800m one year and another year bronze in the 3,000m steeplechase and of course winning the Dublin Intermediate Silver medal with the Donore Harriers team.
I ran the Oman Cup race a number of times with a best time of 11 minutes.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Hill session on the Magazine Fort and 10 x 200m on track.
WHAT WAS A TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN IN YOUR HEYDAY?
Sunday – 6 miles
Monday – 5 miles
Tuesday – 10 x 200m in 28/29sec, with 30 seconds recovery
Wednesday – 4 miles easy
Thursday – rest
Friday – 6 miles easy
Saturday – 8 x 400m 65/67 seconds, with 2 minutes recovery
DO YOU HAVE ANY FUNNY STORIES RELATED TO ATHLETICS/ DONORE HARRIERS? A few!
On my first week working in Dublin in Dunnes North Earl Street I heard a commotion downstairs. I then heard the security guard shouting my name as two lads went scampering out the door. He shouted at me: “catch them, thieves!” They had stolen an old lady’s purse. So, I ran out after them and down O’Connell Street with the security guard trying to keep up. I caught them round the the back of Cleary’s. The security guard got the purse back and gave them a few good wallops with a leg of a stool. That was my introduction to work in Dublin.
Then back in the mid 80’s I was working in Tesco in Newbridge when I spotted a teenager shoplifting. He made a run for the door and me after him. He headed across a field with me right behind him. I decided I would just run behind him to see how long he would last, and it was not long before he lay down on the ground completely out of breath. He looked up at me and said: “Jaysus! your fast!”. I laughed and said to him: “This was not your lucky day. You picked the wrong man to run away from”.
In the early 90’s Leitrim Athletics put on a county 10km. As the race unfolded PJ Leddy, Danny Hannon & myself broke away and coming to around 6k we came to a junction. I thought we should be turning left for home but Danny and PJ who were just in front of me went straight on. We ran on for a while but with no turn in sight we all stopped realising we had gone wrong. In actual fact we had ended up in County Longford. Brian Moyston from Carrick AC was first to arrive at the finish line – and with that my wife and race officials began wondering as to where the 3 leaders had gone. The front-page headlines in the Leitrim Observer that week wrote about the 3 runners who entered a Bermuda triangle. I think that was the only time a road race made the front page of the Observer. Eventually the organisers sent a bus out to rescue us. The organisers decided to award Danny Hannon the win, with PJ (Leddy) 2nd and myself joint 3rd with Brian Moyston.
With Donore Harriers I have 2 great memories running in relay races against a greyhound in Shelbourne Park. It was a club fundraiser and a great event every year.
The first year the greyhound won. If memory serves me well the greyhound was released when the 3rd runner had the baton. And in the 2nd year I ran the final leg and managed to just pip the greyhound.
My dad used to tell us stories of him running on the mountain and outrunning a hare, so I told a few people down home I went one better and outran a greyhound. I did actually catch sheep on the mountain for some of my neighbours in my young days.
In the mid 80’s I was asked by a company to run for them in BHAA Trinity Races in the 800m. I arrived a bit late and after a short warmup someone from the team told me to go to the start as the first heat of the 800m was getting ready to start – and I was in the 1st heat. I lined up with all the rest and off we went, and I won the heat easily. Pleased with myself but only for a few seconds as one of the officials came over and told me I was disqualified from the results as I was down to run 2nd heat. The 2nd heat was starting to line up so I decided to run the second heat. I struggled a bit but managed to finish 4th or 5th and qualify for the final for the team. The final was about an hour later so I had recovered, and I can still remember the team cheering me on as I took the lead with 80m to go and went on for the win. I never remember who that team was, but I got so many words of congratulations and handshakes that day after the race.
Another good memory is when I was about 18 years old, I would run 4 miles to Ballinaglera village pub/shop and 4 miles back home. Most if it was downhill or flat so I would try and run between 5- and 6-minute a-mile pace. One day after 1 ½ miles an older man we knew as Michael James Flynn came out of his house and was getting on his bicycle. After about half a mile he passed me. 2 miles further on there was a slight uphill and I caught up to him and passed him out. I upped the pace as there was only a mile to go to the pub and he failed to pass me. I heard after that he went straight into the pub and told all and sundry that he couldn’t catch the lad running and he on the bicycle.
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU DID? 3 x 2,400m or 5 x 1,200m. I hate the long interval sessions!
Another tough one is 14 x 200m hills rep, then hops on one leg, bounding and finished off with 4 x 80m at a 90 per-cent effort. I’ve only done this session as a Master athlete.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)? 100m – 11.5; 200m – 23 seconds; 400m – 51 seconds (50s in relay); 800m – 1.54; 1,500m 4.05 (as a junior); Mile – 4.20 (4.10 in road relays), 3,000m 8.47; 3,000m Steeplechase 10.16: 5,000m – 16.15 (as a junior); 10km Road – 32.20; Half-Marathon – 1h.14m; Marathon – 3h.17m in Dublin 1983.
In 2017 and at 57 years old I ran 2.19 Indoor for the 800m to place 5th in the World Masters at Daegu, South Korea – and that July in Aarhus Denmark I ran 2.17 in the European 800m final for 8th place. If 2.17 is converted to a senior time it’s around 1.48
DID YOU COMPETE AS A JUVENILE OR JUNIOR ATHLETE? I started running at local sports around 14 years old, and thankfully Leitrim Vocational schools decided to have a county championship around then. I won every event at the local schools’ trials and then headed for the county championships with a warning that one of the best 800m runners in the county would be competing for Ballinamore PP school. I remember tracking this guy until about 300m from the finish when I took off and running in fear that I would be passed at any moment I glanced back about 10 metres from the line and this guy was just entering the finishing straight. I then went to the county championships to compete but was told that I could not enter as I was not a member of a club. So, I promptly asked to join North Leitrim AC as I knew a few lads there.
From 17 years on I started winning at Leitrim and Connaught level. In 1978 I won the Leitrim ‘Young Athlete of the Year’ award for winning the senior 800m in 2.04 on a grass track. I also won the county ‘Male Athlete of the Year’ award for Vocational Schools after winning every event from 100m up to 1500m. Self-coached as I lived 20 miles away from the club, I continued to improve throughout 1979/80. As we didn’t have any transport at home, I mostly thumbed or got a lift to join the North Leitrim AC at Manorhamilton.
In 1979 I won the Connaught and All Ireland Junior Inter-Counties 800m. I finished 3rd in the Connaught Novice Cross-Country.
In 1980 I won the Connaught 400m in 52.9 seconds and also won the 3,000m in the O’Duffy Cup race, which was a Connaught selections v Ulster. I had finished 2nd in the trials to Enda Coll but won the event on the day. I also finished 2nd in the 800m to Paul Donovan of Galway by 1 second.
I also won the Tubbacurry 10k Senior road race and the first Senior Inter-Counties road race in Carrick-on-Shannon between Sligo, Roscommon, Longford & Cavan. Noel Farrell RIP came 2nd and Hugo Cafferty of Donore Harriers and Cavan was 3rd.
I finished 6th in All Ireland Junior 800m final in 1.59. The race was won by Brain McDonald of Clonliffe Harriers.
In 1980 I won both the Leitrim Senior 800m & 1500m on the same day. In the 800m I beat Peter Rynn who had finished 5th in the All-Ireland senior schools 800m in 1.57 the previous day. In December 1980 I won my first Leitrim Senior XC title.
Between 1978 and 1989 North Leitrim AC had a great Junior cross-country team which won a lot of Connaught medals. We probably ranked 2nd behind Pearse AC of Galway who had a number of International athletes, including Jimmy Fallon, Conrad Conneely and Paul Donovan in their ranks. We finished 5th club in the Junior race at Ballyfin in All-Ireland Inter clubs in 1978. I finished 35th when aged 17 years-old, and in the following season got my best national XC result with 28th position at the Inter-Counties at Fermoy. The winner was Andy Ronan, with Marcus O’Sullivan coming to the fore in Irish athletics in 2nd place. I had some strong runner behind me that day, including Kieran Stack 29th, Pat O’Grady 33rd, Richard Mulligan 34 and my present coach Robert Denmead 44th.
I ran in a number of Connaught Schools XC races. My highest placing was was in 1979 when I came 6th in the Senior Boys and 35th in the All-Ireland Schools.
I was the only athlete from my school (Drumkeerin VS) competing at these events so had to get a lift from Marymount College in Carrick – 20 miles away – or St. Claire Manorhamilton which was the same distance away. A Iocal man named Sean O’Rourke had a Honda 50 and he gave me many lifts to these places. On many a weekend over a number of years, until my older brother got a car, Sean would help me as he had a genuine interest in sport.
WHERE DID YOUR INTEREST IN ATHLETICS COME FROM? I grew up in a small 2 roomed thatched cottage on the top of a mountain in Leitrim with no electricity or running water until I was 10 or 11 years old. We used the old tilly oil lamp for light at night. We had an open fire, and my mother baked every day and churned butter. We were basically self- sufficient with the exception of buying tea, sugar and bags of flower to make bread. So, I am not sure why we all became so interested in sport and why I developed ambitions to become a good athlete. My younger brother Padraig was a very good sprinter and jumped 5.66m in a Connaught Long Jump competition, but he concentrated on Gaelic Football representing Leitrim at U16, Minor, U21 and Senior level.
My older brother Anthony played a lot of club football and represented Leitrim at U16 level. He also did a good bit of running. He won the Leitrim Community Games 100m and went to Mosney. He started winning a good few medals, and I thought I should try it. If you can imagine what some of the people thought back in the 70s living on the top of a mountain – we lived 2nd last house on the top of the mountain – seeing this guy out running on the roads in a vest and shorts! At that time there were few televisions or telephones in the area and very few people owned a car or even a tractor. The nearest telephone was over a mile away or else a walk of 4 miles to the Post Office.
My father was supposed to have been a good footballer in his day, but he never showed any interest in sport when we were young and there was always this feeling of ‘don’t go too far or you will be beaten, so don’t be too ambitious’. It was probably part and parcel of most of rural Ireland at that time.
YOU WERE A MEMBER OF DONORE HARRIERS DURING THEIR TRANSITION ERA BETWEEN HOSPITAL LANE TO CHAPELIZOD ROAD. WHAT DO YOU RECOLLECT ABOUT THAT PERIOD? I joined just after the moved to Chapelizod so never got to Hospital lane. The club had moved but the official opening was I think about a year later. My time in Donore Harriers was special and my memory was that I was welcomed with open arms by Maurice (Ahern) in an exciting period for the club. Huge work had been done to build the new clubhouse by the members, and a whole new exciting chapter was about to begin with a state-of-the-art clubhouse and a track to follow. These were all great men who had the vision and the foresight to see the importance of building a base for the future of the club and what a great job they done.
For me the welcome was like I had been part of Donore Harriers for years. It was the first time I had a clubhouse to visit in Dublin with great facilities, hot showers etc. With the friendliness of Maurice Ahern, Jim McNamara, Willie Smith and Noel Redican it was like home away from home and I have so many fond memories of my years there. I was always made feel special and I still love going back there every year for the Jingle Bells and renewing old acquaintances.
Not only that I was told when I started back competing as a Masters athlete, then for Dunboyne AC, I was always welcome back if I needed to train in the Park or on the track. I was delighted to be part of the club and be there at the official opening by President Mary Robinson. It was such a momentous and historic day for the club. I also kept in contact with some of the athletes I competed with and trained with and still keep in contact, friends like Donal Iremonger, Tom Hickey, Charlie O Neill & Iain Morrison.
A great trip to the Isle of Man with Donore Harriers was my only ever trip away at senior level. It was a great weekend of competition and some socialising as well. I competed in the 1500m, triple Jump and 4 x 400m relay on the Saturday in very wet conditions. On the Sunday morning I lined up for the Ramsey 10km and finished 2nd despite a good few drinks the night before. A really enjoyable trip with a great group of people.
It always felt very special pulling on the Donore Harriers vest when I thought of the great tradition and athletes who have worn these colours down the years, Tom O’Riordan, The Dunne Brothers, Jim McNamara, Jimmy Reardon, Frank Greally, Eamonn Coughlan to name a few! And of course, the many great cross-country teams who wore the vest.
WHO WERE THE BIG CHARACTERS AT THAT TIME? The big names then were Noel Richardson, Senan O’Reilly, Ciaran O’Flaherty, Albert Prendiville, David Ivers, Humphrey Toomey, and of course Herbie McClelland.
Of course, Jim Mac & Willie Dunne were legends around the club at that time and I remember meeting Jimmy Reardon a few times. And there was also the great Gerry Curtis, who was a phenomenal athlete!
YOU WERE ON THE DONORE TEAM THAT WON THE NATIONAL 3 x 800m TWICE. PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THAT EVENT AND WHO WERE YOUR TEAM COLLEAGUES? A great event that seems to be no longer run by athletics Ireland. In May of 1993 the All-Ireland relays were held in Tullamore. The team was Austin Lynch, David Ivers and myself winning team bronze medals that day. In February 1995 it was the All-Ireland Indoor relays in Nenagh. The team was Iain Morrison, Donal O’Sullivan and myself again picking up bronze medals.
I also competed in the Outdoor 3 x 800m relay in 94 & 95, but we finished outside the medals.
I also picked up a Dublin Championship team silver medal in the Intermediate XC in October 1994 and ran the Eastern Region Novice at Moate. The team won silver, but as 5th scorer I didn’t count.
DID YOU EVER COMPETE IN THE WATERHOUSE BYRNE BAIRD SHIELD? Yes in 1994 and 1995. It was the only time I ever ran a 10-mile XC race. It’s a bit long for a 400m/800m runner! It was a privileged to compete in the oldest race in the country. I would usually not have trained much due to work commitments from October to January but in 94 I had managed to keep training during November and December, and I ran the course in 61 minutes. I think I finished in 5th overall that day. In 95 my time was 64 minutes and 11th place finish.
In 1993 I was 5th in the Faugh–A– Ballagh Cup race in 35.19. Th race was won by Herbie McClelland.
I came 6th in the Stratan–Cahill-McNamara Cup in 31.39 of a 2.40 handicap.
In September 1994 I came 2nd in Slater Cup in 21.20.
I ran Leinster and All Ireland Intermediate XC with Donore Harriers also.
In 1994 I won the Dublin standard 1500m in the black and white of Donore Harriers. I also competed in Liffey Valley relays for Donore Harriers. I think it was All Ireland XC relays in March 1992 running a 1-mile leg.
YOU ARE A REGULAR AT THE JINGLE BELLS 5km. WHAT IS YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES OF THE RACE? I go back for 3 reasons! 1. To support the club; 2. To meet up with so many of the club members that I can and chat over the cup of tea and re-live some of the memories; and 3. The race itself! It’s always a great atmosphere and the last downhill kilometre is a great way to finish a race.
My son Niall ran it a few times and I was still managing to stay ahead of him. I few years ago I gave him the same advice: “Don’t go off too hard on the first kilometre”. As I was passing the Pope’s Cross, I could barely see him in the distance ahead. I thought to myself I’ll catch him in the last 3kms. I got to the Ordinance Survey Road I could see a friend of mine – Jim Gaughan of Liffey Valley AC – chatting to him and then I could see them starting to move away with Jim finding out who he was and giving him encouragement and they were soon out of sight. That was the last I saw of him until the finish. He got the Junior award that day, so the tables had truly turned. Two years ago, he ran just over 15 minutes to finish in the top 10 overall.
DO YOU HAVE SPORTING REGRETS? Like most athletes there is always regrets.
Both my brothers made it to the All-Ireland Community games in Mosney, both in the 100m, I never got there. Back in the late 70s there were so much quality athletes and I never made it out of Connaught to the All-Ireland Schools with several national level and international athletes in my age group. My best years were not until I was 18 and 19 years old.
I dreamed about getting a scholarship to the States, but that never happened. In 1980 the only guys that beat me on the track were Paul Donovan and Conrad Conneely, Paul going to Arkansas and Conrad to Providence.
I never had a coach until I joined Donore Harriers. Well respected coach Robert Denmead gave me detailed programmes and plans as preparation for the World Master Championships in South Korea in 2017 and I reaped the benefits.
This gave me an insight into how valuable a coach is and how important a role they play. At senior level I was doing so little training – 25 to 30 miles a week. I saw no point even though I was approached a few times by coaches. I usually did no training between October to January because of work commitments and I never did intervals and hill sessions in the winter until I joined Donore Harriers – and saw how top athletes train during the winter.
I mostly ran races to try and win and never ran for times. Looking back, I wish I had tried a few more races in the mid-80s when I good form. I had run 51 seconds for 400m and 8.47 for the 3,000m when winning a Dublin Graded in early 1987. Unfortunately, in June of 1987 I got anaemia and ended up struggling to even walk or work so that was my season ended when I had been in my best ever shape as a senior.
The previous year in 1986 I had planned to do more training and improve all my PBs. In January I met the lads from Ajax (Rathfarnham) for a run in the Dublin Mountains and after telling them all how easily it would be to run on the mountain, I ran 20 metres and looking at my watch to set the time went over on my ankle and badly sprained it. I recovered after a month or so and got back training. In March, I met with the lads for another run in the mountains. Half-way through the run we came to a river and I jumped halfway across to a stone. I fell a jarring in my back but managed to finish the run. Bernie Dunne gave me a lift to Dublin City Centre, but I was barely able to get out of the car. So, another month was lost with physio and rehab. Still by June after missing 3 month of training I was back running 51 seconds for 400m & 1.57 for the 800m.
My best training by far has been done as a Master and I’m now doing sessions double or treble what I done at senior level. Probably in 2017 I was in the best shape of my life making 2 World Masters final in the 400m & 800m and European Masters 800m final in the M55 category.
I now tell young people including my son how important a role coaching plays in the development and fitness of an athlete.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A MASTERS ATHLETE? My best years have definitely been as a master starting when I reached 47 years old. I retired from running at 35 thinking I would never run again! Three stone overweight and barely able to run a mile I started back with the Fit-4-Life group in Dunboyne AC. I progressed to run the National Master M45 400m, but in my first try I finished last and tore my hamstring in the finishing straight. In the following year I came back to finish 2nd in the 400m in 58 seconds. I have won a national medal almost every year since, I think with the exception of one.
A number of years after starting back I was in the Phoenix Park doing a hill session. As I finished who did I meet only Jim Mac heading to start a training session with the Donore Harriers ladies. As usual when we met, we stopped briefly for a chat. Jim asked as to how I was getting on with the Masters. I said: “Jim, ‘I’m fine over the 400m, but I’m struggling with the 800m and not able to medal”. I can still see him stopping and turning around and looking me in the eye. He said: “Michael you have done it before so you can do it again”. Of course, he was right! I have retold this story on many occasions particularly to athletes who may be questioning the ability to return to good shape.
In total I have won the following medals –
AT MASTERS LEVEL
Meath Championship – 54
Leinster Championship – 34
All Ireland Championship – 34
Northern Ireland Championship – 12
Scottish Indoor Championships – 3
Dublin Championships – 3
Munster Championships – 2
World Championship – 4
European Championship – 3
I also won a Master 800m in Long Island, USA track meet and got a US track medal a few years ago.
In 2017 in All Ireland master I won gold in the 400m, silver in 200m & bronze in 800m.
AT SENIOR LEVEL
Several Leitrim Senior Championships on track over 400m, 800m 1500m & 3k and Senior XC gold – 1, silver – 2
Connaught senior 1500m gold
Connaught Novice individual bronze and team gold
Senior All Ireland 2 x 800m relay with Donore Harriers
Senior Dublin Championship – 3
Senior Leinster Championships – 3
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR INVOLVMENT WITH DUNBOYNE ATHLETICS CLUB?
After I started as a master athlete I have got involved in administration in Dunboyne AC, another club with a great history and tradition. I was Secretary for a number of years, then assistant Chairperson before taking over as Chairman in 2012. With the old cinder track very wet during the winter and the surface causing a lot of damage & dirt to clothes and with the track regularly closed due to frost damage we formed a sub-committee to oversee a new tartan track. The track development committee set to work and put together a plan and a financial plan to develop a state-of-the-art tartan track. We brought this presentation to an EGM of the club and it was passed even though some eyebrows were raised with our plan of raising €500,000 in the middle of a recession. We were fully confident with the plan and to have no borrowing when the track was complete. At the end of my 3-year term as chairman we had raised 250.000 and all the first phase of groundworks etc was done with another €100k in the bank. Teresa Smyth, the next chairperson, took over and did a great job to see the track completed in 2018 at a cost of what we had estimated of €500k. We completed the track to schedule and funded it and had some spare money in our bank account when all was paid.
I am also a director of the Cow Park – which is in a Sports Trust – where recent Leinster & All Ireland XC has been held. This is a 39-acre site between Dunboyne & Clonee which is in a Sports Trust to be developed and used for sport at some future date.
At the Meath Athletics County Board AGM in December 2019, I was appointed Chairman of Meath Athletics starting in January 2020. What an unusual and difficult year with Covid-19 for officials and athletes alike!