Charlie O’Neill is serving his 2nd term as Club President, having previously held the position between 2008 and 2011. Charlie was a very fine senior club athlete in a very competitive 80s era, and then went on to achieve more success as a master athlete. In more recent times he has been an active member of the Dublin Athletics Board and became an official Athletics Ireland race starter. In this interview Charlie talks about overcoming cancer to complete the 2019 Dublin marathon, the important functions of the Dublin Athletics Board, the rise in the participation of juvenile athletics and his rivalry with club colleague and friend Joe Rankin…
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? 26th May 1954, the old Coombe Hospital Dublin
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? I went to CBS Crumlin and College of Commerce Rathmines, studying marketing
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? I joined Donore Harriers in 1982
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? In late 1981 I did a 10-mile charity race as preparation for the Marathon. The one and only Maurice Ahern posted me a letter asking that I consider joining Donore Harriers. I eventually phoned him, and he was very persuasive. He set me up with a Donore Harriers group who would meet regularly at lunchtime and were also training for the Marathon. Lunchtime suited me as I was on the road a lot and liked to be home and stay home in the evenings. After a while, I eventually joined Eddie Hogan’s group, training every Tuesday and Thursday evening and on Saturday mornings. I met some great people and running legends. The rest is history…
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No, I was never a member of any other club. One life, one club!
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? I played street soccer as a kid and GAA in school but was absolutely hopeless… move on!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? My favourite events are the 800m and 1500m, but I absolutely love watching the steeplechase at International level. I also love watching the Euro Cross Country. Yep, even more than the World Cross Country! My daughters say that I would watch two flies running up a windowpane!
WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Club President (second term) I was also Hon, Sec at one stage and also served on the committee
WHO WAS YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATION? Muhammad Ali
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? “Milkman” by Anna Burns
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? Graham Nash in the National Concert Hall 2019
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
- The Godfather
2. Paper Moon
3. Schindler’s List
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? Canada (British Columbia) The Rockies are stunning and have fab trails to run on. Watch out for the bears though!
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Strumming the guitar (badly), but its very relaxing
IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
- A Day in The Life by The Beatles my favourite group of all time.
2. Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones.
3. Mr. Blue Sky by ELO
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS PERFORMANCES AND ACHIEVEMENTS? 5th in the Frank Duffy/Dublin Championship 10 mile in 1984 in a PB of 52.11.
My best 5-mile road time is 25.31 set in the Sportsworld Classic in 1984.
I have a marathon PB of 2.37 set in Dublin 1984 and ran 2.53 in the national marathon at Tallaght for third place in the over 45s category, which was good enough for Dublin individual gold.
I was Dublin over 40s track champion for the 5,000m in 1990 in a time of 15.20. I ran a blinder that day!
The Ballycotton “10” was the premier 10-mile road race in Ireland but now sadly gone. It was always an ambition of mine to win something in Ballycotton and I always upped my training after Christmas in preparation. So, I was happy to win the over 45s category in 59.35. Donore Harriers had great weekends in Ballycotton, but what goes on tour stays on tour!
I also won lots of cross-country team medals at Dublin, Leinster and National championships the bulk at master level. I hated cross country and much preferred the road and track.
I’m also grateful to have been able to complete the Dublin Marathon last year which I felt marked full recovery from my bowel cancer operation in 2016. I’m technically still in remission but I just know that I have it beat
DO YOU REMEMBER HOW MANY TIMES YOU COMPETED FOR THE WATERHOUSE, BYRNE, BAIRD SHIELD? AND WHAT WAS YOUR BEST RESULT IN THE EVENT? I did the WBB Shield race every year since 1983 until relatively recently. The last time I competed was 2017. Allowing for time out with injury, I must have done this race at least thirty times.
In all honesty I cannot remember the exact year, but I did just over 58 minutes one year which earned my highest place, third. A former Donore Harriers President, Joe Rankin, has won it twice. We were, and still are, great buddies. Our rivalry in races was intense, however. Man, we had some great races together, and, more often than not, he brought out the best performance in me on any racing day. But he won the Shield, not once but, twice! You can see that I’m still envious after all this time.
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE?Coach Eddie Hogan would confiscate our watches and we would do a ” blind” Fartlek. After a two-mile warm up, he would blow his whistle and we would speed up. After, what seemed like an eternity, he would blow his whistle again and we would recover with a jog. It would continue like this, fast and slow, to the shrill of his whistle for about an hour. With no watch on my wrist or markings on the course to mark specific distances, I had no point of reference. It exhausted me in mind and body, but I learned pacing and how to surge in races when the legs can hardly hold you up. A killer!
WHAT IS/WAS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Fartlek, the traditional type and not Eddie’s version, I stress.
DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? Some years ago, one Saturday, a well-known official was missing for the 10,000 metres National T&F Championship. His usual role of lap counter was given to someone else. He arrived on Sunday and enquired how things progressed with the final. He was told “ah sure yer man made a bags of it by ringing the bell with two laps to go. As a result, everyone finished a lap short. It’s ok though as we added a minute to everyone’s time to make the result look right in the papers“. Our friend was furious and wanted me to write to the Governing Body and insist that the race be run again a.s.a.p. at some future date. To this day he still believes that this is what happened in his absence.
WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? I just wish that members would support our teams more readily. Too often our captains have to chase and beg members to become part of a team. We have often lost championship titles not because we were the worst club but simply because we couldn’t put out our strongest team. Please support your club!
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME (all sports)?
- Sonia O Sullivan
2. Eamonn Coghlan
3. John Tracey.
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
YOU WERE COACHED BACK IN THE DAY BY THE LEGENDARY EDDIE HOGAN, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE?What I learned from the great Eddie Hogan was the importance of teamwork. “Usually there is only one race winner, but the last person to score on a team is equally as important as the first person, and very often, is more important. So always run to your best and run THRUUGH the finish line, not TO the finish line ”
That advice got me lots of team medals.
YOU ARE ON YOUR SECOND TERM AS CLUB PRESIDENT, WHAT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN THE LAST FEW YEARS? Improvements in the club is the coaching structure which is in place now. We try and cater for everyone and the commitment of our coaches in time, effort and innovation simply amazes me.
YOU ARE VICE-CHAIR OF THE DUBLIN ATHLETICS BOARD AND A LONG-STANDING MEMBER OF THAT COMMITTEE, TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNTY BOARD?The main function of the Dublin Board is to provide competition for registered Club athletes of every ability. We organise competition on road, cross-country and track (indoors and outdoors) for juveniles right up to masters. It’s a huge workload!
It’s important that athletes understand that we provide competition for ALL abilities. For example, we organise an annual Graded track and field competition with races catering for, not only, the fastest but also the slowest club runner. The rival track competition is organised by The Milers Club. These races are really geared for the fastest club runners to improve more, and races are led by a pacemaker.
We, on the other hand, give every club runner, regardless of ability, a chance to experience the thrill of racing on a track with athletes of a similar level to themselves. Real racing if you like. I guess there is room for both ideals.
Secondly, we act as a conduit for Dublin Clubs to address the AAI on matters of competition and propose new rules or changes to existing ones.
And thirdly, we can act as mediators with inter Club disputes.
THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN JUVENILE ATHLETICS PARTICIPATION IN RECENT YEARS, WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE PRIMARY FACTOR FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT? Dublin Board cater for an enormous number of juvenile athletes. Our indoor competition alone could have three thousand athletes competing and the numbers are growing year on year. This presents logistical challenges on a grand scale and Dublin Board do their best with the few regular volunteers we have.
I think the reason for the big jump in juvenile competition is that the parents of today come from a culture of exercise. They were active in sport before becoming parents and are well informed. Therefore, they understand the importance of sport in physical and mental fitness as well as fighting obesity in the young. When you think of it, running is a foundation stone of all field games
YOU RECENTLY BECAME AN OFFICIAL RACE STARTER, I MEAN YOU ARE THE MAN WITH THE GUN, HOW IS THAT EXPERIENCE?For years I have been a race official at both Dublin and National events, but I particularly enjoy being part of the starts team. Beginning my apprenticeship with Tom Mc Cormac (Liffey Valley) and later Cyril J Smyth. I find it immensely satisfying
My job is to be in full control of the start to ensure a fair and safe start for everyone. I just cannot be distracted and am totally in the zone.
It has thought me patience, acute awareness and it has improved my concentration levels. It’s also given me confidence and the ability to control my nerves under pressure. Yes, it can be a long tiring day, but I have a “front seat” watching the sport I love. What’s not to like?
WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN IRISH ATHLETICS?I would love if people in the National organisation with influence abroad can effectively tackle the global issue of drug cheats. Maybe start a campaign to outlaw the agents involved and impose stiff fines for the athletes as well as a ban. Clean athletes have been robbed by cheats and it’s now got to the stage where every top-class performance is under suspicion, which is not good
THE COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS HAS BEEN A DIFFICULT TIME FOR EVERYBODY, DO YOU HAVE A FINAL MESSAGE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP? My advice to our young athletes during Covid 19 would be to cross train. Add fun to your fitness routine but stay active. Also it’s not a weakness to feel anxiety and no one will think any less of you if you discuss any issues you have in life with a parent, guardian, coach or trusted friend, It’s good to talk. I guarantee you will feel all the better for sharing. Sharing your feelings with someone you trust, when feeling down or anxious, is the weapon of the strong, not the weak
