All posts by Medbh Peavoy

Busy Weekend for Donore Athletes

Club News, Results, Senior

The Frank Duffy 10 Mile is one of the most competitive races on the Irish road running scene, particularly as it attracts a number of good athletes from the UK. This year’s race saw 5 UK based athletes finish in the top 10 with Andrew Douglas of the Scottish team winning in a time of 49.56.

Donore Harriers were very well represented in this year’s race with 28 men and 16 women in the field with 13 running inside the one-hour mark!

The turn-out and times again reflects the resurgence of the men’s team as only one member (Ken Nugent 54.22) broke the 60 minutes in 2012 and 7 in the 2013 race led home by Fergal Whitty in 54.49

This year the team was led home by Michael McMahon (53.57) in 19th place overall and 15th in the senior men’s category. Michael was almost 2 and-half minutes quicker that the time he set in the same race last year. He was closely followed by John Dunne (54.12) in 22nd spot and 4th in the M35 category. John was one and a-half minutes quicker than in 2013. Next home was Fergal Whitty (54.55) who was 31st overall and 7th in the M35 class. Then came Gavin Keogh (55.39) who recovered from an illness earlier in the week to record a PB and place 35th (25th senior).

Ken Norgrove was one of 3 individual winners from Donore Harriers on the day. Ken had a super run placing 38th overall and winning the M45 class in a PB time of 55.58. Second in the same age group was Phil Hennessy (57.37) who was 55th overall. The other category winners were Terry Mee (1.16.26 and 866th overall) in the M70 group – and Joseph Maguire (1.24.36 and 1580th overall) in the M75.

Anne Curley ran a solid 62.54 to lead the ladies home. This was enough to nab 2nd F40 and 12th overall in a strong women’s field  that was led home by Maria McCambridge who travelled to Donegal following the race to win the Letterkenny half marathon on Sunday. Joined by Grace Kennedy (68.12) who ran brilliantly despite battling injury, Breda Mahony 68.31 and Alma Hanevy 68.36 to have 4 ladies come in under the 70 minute mark.

Here are the other Donore Harriers results: – 44th / 3rd in M40 Ciaran McCarthy (56.40); 46th / 30th MS Conor McCauley (56.57); 51st /31st MS Andy Kinane (57.18); 56th / 6th in M40  Garvan Smith (57.41); 57th / 15th in M35 Patrick Moriarty (57.46); 73rd / 25th in M35 Chris Muldoon (58.34); 105th / 14th in M40 Des Tremble (59.45); 133rd / 43rd in M35 Shane McAuley (1.00.54); 202nd / 29th in M40 Graham Hopkins (1.03.27); 252nd / 96th MS Liam Hickey (1.05.03); 362nd / 128th MS Patrick Byrne (1.07.11) debut; 472nd /92nd in M40 Ian Redican (1.09.25); 678th / 6th in M55 Tony Griffin (1.12.53); 890th / 316th MS Eoin Daltun (1.15.42); 957th / 8th in M60 Charlie O’Neill (1.17.53); 991st / 49th in M50 Arthur Connick (1.18.26); 1305th / 118th in M45 Barry Jennings (1.23.33); 2038th / 203rd in M45 John Powell (1.34.10); 2114th / 406th in M40 Aidan Kearns (1.37.06); and 2305th / 807th MS Donal Brennan (1.45.03)

12th / 3rd F40 Ann Curley (1.02.54); Grace Kennedy 27th / 15th FS (1.08.12); Breda Mahony 29th / 7th F35 (1.08.31); Alma Hanevy 32nd / 8th F35 (1.08.36); Sinead Graham (1.12.10); Nicola Dowdall (1.15.40); Elaine Verdon (1.16.58); Mary Murphy (1.17.52); Laura Murray (1.28.42); Lisa Kiernan (1.30.22); Hilary O’Connor (1.34.46); Jo Hughes (1.36.08); Deirdre Brennan (1.38.22); Amandine Devine (1.41.18); Annemarie Conneely (1.47.10); Adrienne Seery (1.52.05)

In the Irish Triathlon Donadea 5 kilometres road race Andrew Ledwith was the winner in a time of 16.21 with junior member Oisin Fitzgibbon (16.29) second and juvenile member Ruairi Fitzgibbon 8th in 20.07.

The Harriers were also out in force in the Celbridge 5km race on Sunday. Four Donore men in the top 5 further highlights the rising stock of the men’s team and augurs well for the forthcoming cross-country season. John Travers ran out the race winner in a time of 14.43, some 13 seconds ahead of Clonliffe’s Mark Kenneally. Mark Dooley (15.27) came third, with Aogan MacDomhnaill (15.32) in 4th and Daragh Fitzgibbon (15.49) in 5th. The mens and womens teams both came first in the race with Ide Nic Dhomhnaill finishing as 2nd lady to lead the ladies home.

The full results were; John Travers 14.43, Mark Dooley 15.27, Aoghan MacDhomhnaill 15.32, Daragh Fitzgibbon 15.49 , Cathal Mccarron 16.38 then Luke Boland 17.28 Darren Hand 17.34 then second woman overall Ide Ni Dhomhnaill 18.23 Maura Kearns 19.56, Rhona Duane 20.16, ken Cronin 20.43 Karen Behan 20.58. Aisling Swaine 21.24, Ann Woodlock 27.11

In the Jog for Jockeys 5km race at Curragh racecourse Sam Allen (18.08) placed second, just 6 seconds shy of the winner. The hilly route over grass tracks proved a tough return to racing for Sam after being out of action for a few months due to injury. Rachel Burke was 13th woman in the 10k in 52.34.

In the Longford Marathon on Sunday Niall Lynch placed an excellent 4th in 2.49.22 whilst George Brady running his 90th marathon placed 8th in 2.53.56. There were 205 finishers.

We also got word today from Izmir in Turkey at the World Masters T&F that Anne Gormley was 7th in the W50 track 5k walk in difficult 39 degree heat conditions 

Good Results from Duleek 10K

Club News, Results, Senior

Jim Mc set an unofficial O75 record in the Duleek 10k yesterday with a super 4409, he is on a roll at the moment after smashing the O75 5000m record last week in the National Masters in Tullamore. Hopefully there will be more records to come in the next few months too. A solid ladies team of Barbara Murray, Sinead Graham, Caren Crowley and Mary Murphy also travelled up with him. Barbara showed that she is coming back into great shape and showed her usual flair over the 10k distance with a 40.51, Sinead Graham was next in a very strong 42.52 followed by Caren with 46.12 and Mary with a 48.23. All ran great and were third team. Gerard Morris also toed the line for Donore and finished up with a 41.32.

 

Club News, Juvenile, Results, Senior

Both Sean Lawlor and Jack Rudden Kelly performed admirably whilst representing Ireland and the Ireland Development Team respectively in the Celtic Games at Santry on Saturday. The Celtic Games is an international juvenile match for u/16 and u/18 athletes with an emphasis on experience, camaraderie and encouragement.

First into action on Saturday was Jack Rudden Kelly in the Boys u/16s 100m Hurdles. Jack (13.92) ran a solid race placing second behind national champion Daniel Ryan (13.58) and ahead of Scotland’s Taylor Roy (14.17). Jack anchored the Irish Development u/16s 4 x 100m Mixed Relay Team in the penultimate race of the day. The result of the race was: – 1. Ireland (45.42); 2. Ireland Development (46.92); 3. Wales (47.75); 4. Scotland (47.97).

Sean Lawlor had plenty to deal with in the Boys u/18s 200m. The rain came, the start was delayed due to technical issues, there was a faulty start and he got the dreaded inside lane. The race proved to be a tough assignment for Sean. Cameron Tindle (22.07) of Scotland led from gun to finish line whilst Sean (22.40) was holding second position. But the fatigue from his previous week’s efforts in the National League final took its toll over the final 10 metres and he got edged out by Craig Newell (22.32) of the Development Team. Sion Roberts (22.79) of Wales placed 4th.

Sean soon returned to action in the Boys u/18s 4 x 100m relay. He had a blistering run on the final leg gaining ground on the Wales team (42.80) only to lose narrowly (see photo). The Ireland team recorded a time of 42.89 with the Development Team 3rd on 43.64 and Scotland 4th on 44.10.

Results from the Dublin Open Graded meeting No. 8 at Tallaght (August 6th)

200m ‘C’: 2nd Sean O’Broin M45 (25.53)

200m ‘B’: 4th Ailise Keating (jnr) (28.84)

800m ‘A’: 8th David Campbell (2.04.44)

1500m ‘C’: 3rd Luke Boland (4.27.84)

 

National Masters Track & Field Championships at Tullamore (10/8/14)

A total of 8 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze for Donore Harriers athletes with Niall Allen claiming an impressive 3 victories.

200m M3 Category: 2nd Sean O’Broin (24.96)

400m M1 M1: 6th Emmet O’Briain (55.60)

800m M1: 4th Henry English (2.04.68); 5th Emmet O’Briain (2.05.24)

800m M8: 1st Terry Mee (3.00.96)

1500m M1: 4th Henry English (4.24.50)

1500m M8: 1st Terry Mee (6.04.14)

5000m M3: 5th Ian O’Leary (17.18.70)

5000m M9: 1st Jim McNamara (21.44.02)

56lb Hammer M2: 1st Niall Allen (6.78m)

56lb Hammer M8: 1st Tony Jenkins (4.91m)

Shot Putt M2: 1st Niall Allen (10.83m)

Shot Putt M8: 2nd Tony Jenkins (8.53m)

Discus M2: 1st Niall Allen (34.16m)

Javelin M8: 3rd Tony Jenkins (21.08m)

Women’s 3Km Walk M4: 1st Anne Gormley (21.11.04)

 

Other results: –

DLR Bay 10km (August 4th) at Dun Laoghaire: 6th Patrick Moriarty (35.40)

Galtee Runners 8km (August 8th) at Mitchelstown: 3rd Aogan McDomhnaill (25.41)

Streets of Athboy 5km (August 8th): 10th Cathal McCarron (16.36)

 

 

Sean Lawlor and Jack Rudden-Kelly to represent Ireland at Celtic Games

Club News, Juvenile

The Celtics Games is an annual juvenile international match for Wales, Ireland and Scotland, each country hosting in rota. This year Ireland are hosts and the event takes place this Saturday (9/8/14) at Santry starting at 11am (field events) and Noon for the track races.

Representing Ireland will be two Donore Harriers athletes: – Sean Lawlor and Jack Rudden-Kelly. Sean will compete in the u/18s 200m (start 14.35hrs) and the 4 x 100m Relay (at 15.24hrs). Jack will compete in the u/16s 100mH (at 12.20hrs) and the 4 x 100m Mixed Relay (at 15.35hrs). Here are there profiles: –

Sean Lawlor joined Donore Harriers in January 2009 when a Fun Athletics PE Teacher encouraged him to take up athletics. “I was a lot faster than anyone else in the school” remembers Sean. Sean is coached by Gerry Ronan and has personal best times of 10.88 for the 100m and 21.67 for the 200m. Sean’s best achievements to date include the All Ireland schools 100m & 200m titles; the Tailteann Games 100m, 200m & 4 x 100m titles along with the 200m record time.

A student at Kylemore College he qualified for the Irish team by winning the National u/18 200m held recently at Tullamore. Sean represented Ireland in the SIAB schools international match at Cardiff in July 2014 where he competed in the 100m, 200m & 4 x 100m relay.

 

Sean was a key member of the Donore Harriers men’s T&F team that won last weekend’s National League Division One title and promotion to the premier division when he won the 200m and anchored the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relay teams that finished 3rd and 1st respectively. His target for 2015 is to compete in the European Junior championships in his favoured 200m event.

The famous athlete that Sean most admires is French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre. Lemaitre was World Junior champion in the 200m back in 2008 and went on to win European gold medals over 100m and 200m in 2010. In the 2011 World Championships he won bronze in the 200m and silver in the 4 x 100m relay. He was the first man purely of European descent to break the 10 second barrier in an officially timed 100m event. Lameitre’s PBs are 9.92 for 100m and 19.80 for 200m, both national records.

Jack Rudden-Kelly joined Donore Harriers in March 2009 having been inspired to take up the sport by his grandfather Matt Rudden. “He was a phenomenal athlete in his day and he encouraged me to work and train hard at my sport” said Jack. The name of Matt Rudden is synonymous with the development and building of the Donore Harriers Sports Centre.

Jack, who is coached by John Geoghegan, qualified for the Irish team when he finished second in the National Juvenile T&F Championships at Tullamore. He is a multi-events athlete and has a PB time of 13.71 for the 100mH achieved at the All Ireland Juvenile championship this year.

Jack attends at Castleknock Community College and represented Ireland in the Schools International Combined event at Glasgow last December. He lists his best achievement to date as winning the team silver for Ireland at that event. His primary target for 2015 is to medal in the SIAB’s schools international.

“I would like to thank everyone who has helped me to get to where I am today; my coach John Geoghegan, my grandfather Matt Rudden, my whole family and everyone in Donore Harriers who have supported me continuously” said Jack.

Ashton Eaton, the World record holder for the Decathlon and Olympic and World Championships gold medallist, is the athlete that Jack most admires.

Sean and Jack are two very dedicated and wonderful young athletes who are great ambassadors for their families, their schools and the club. We wish them well at the Celtic Games on Saturday and in all their future athletics endeavours.

Please come along and support Sean and Jack on Saturday.

Victory and promotion in the National Track & Field Division One Final

Club News, Juvenile, Results, Senior

The Donore Harriers men’s track and field team recorded a historic win in the Division One final of the National Track & Field League at Tullamore on Sunday. Having placed third in each of the past two years it was important that the team be duly rewarded for the sheer level of commitment from the athletes and the support team.

Each team is allowed to discard four scores from the 19 events and Donore Harriers did not have a competitor in the 3000m Walk, the Pole Vault and the 400m Hurdles. This meant that there was little margin for below par performances, especially that Nenagh Olympic AC and Kilkenny City Harriers came with serious aspirations of a team win.

The early events saw Donore Harriers ease into the competition. Cathal O’Brien (22.00) got a 5th place in the 110m Hurdles, whilst Eoin Molloy (36.32m) managed a 3rd best throw in the Hammer. Eamon Fahey struggled to record a score as the persistent rain hampered his approach in the Long Jump. After two red flags he played it safe in the third round and a jump of 6.19m was good enough for second place.

The team’s sluggish start was not helped by poor baton changes in the 4 x 100m relay. However, the new and inexperienced quartet (Conor O’Ceallaigh; Eamon Fahey; Conor Fox and Sean Lawlor) were still good enough to record a 3rd placing in a time of 45.30. John Travers (3.59.93), a late replacement for the injured Eric Keogh, kick started the Donore Harriers push to the front. John won a thrilling 1500m overhauling Eoin Everard of Kilkenny on the line.

Third place finishes by team captain David Campbell (52.79) in the 400m and Niall Allen (10.88m) in the Shot Putt kept the Donore Harriers team in contention. Then as the afternoon sunshine replaced the morning rain the team’s charge to the top took full flow. Ray Hynes (9.37.12) ran out an easy winner in the 3000m Steeplechase; Sean Lawlor (22.32) recorded a fine win in the 200m; and Cathal O’Brien (1.75m) jumped to an equal first place in the High Jump. John Travers (1.52.93) returned to the action and came second in the 800m. Mark Dooley (14.51.00) was next on the track and he knocked 8 seconds of his previous best for a fine runner-up placing in the 5000m.

Meanwhile in the field events the team continued to score well as Niall Allen (36.47m) came second in the Discus and Eamon Fahey (13.56m) took the runner-up spot in the Triple Jump. An announcement of team scores had Nenagh in front on 102 points, with Donore on 92 and Kilkelly on 82.5. Obviously discard scores would be a factor, but it was important for the team to get the job done.

Man of the Match Eamon Fahey (10.95) stormed home in the 100m whilst Jaco Oostenhuven (49.64m) took the honours in the Javelin. Jaco then stepped off the track and onto the grass margins to compete in the 56 lbs Hammer event. This was his first experience at this event, but his competitive edge helped secure a 4th placing with a throw of 4.89m.

There was now just one event left and the announcement of the team scores had Donore in front on 112 with Nenagh on 105 and Kilkenny on 102. As the intensity and excitement of the 4 x 400m increased so too did the decibel level of encouragement from the ‘Donorebate Cheerleaders’ in the Stand. Eamon Fahey opened the account with a 48 seconds lap and the lead, an outstanding effort given that this was his fifth event of the day. David Campbell got passed despite a good 52 seconds leg. Donore and Nenagh were now well clear of the rest. Then up stepped Conor Fox, a junior, for the penultimate leg. Conor ran his heart out! The Nenagh athlete had increased his lead by the 200m marker, but Conor (55s split) reeled him in over the second 200 and took to the front with 30 metres left until the handover. “We needed to finish on a high” claimed team captain David Campbell afterwards. Well they don’t come much higher in performance levels than junior sprinting superstar Sean Lawlor even that he does not feel comfortable racing further than his specialist 200m event. And so it proved to be! Sean (51s split) lost the lead on the first 200 metres, but then he stepped on the gas and to the jubilant Donore supporters romped home with about 10 metres to spare. What a truly great finish! The relay team recorded a time of 3.26.00.

The final team scores: 1. Donore Harriers 115 points; 2. Nenagh Olympic 107; 3. Kilkenny City Harriers 103; 4. Tir Chonaill AC 76; 5. Dunboyne AC 71; 6. Louth County 69; 7. Youghal AC 59; and 8. City Of Derry 58.5. Enormous credit must go to Nenagh and Kilkenny for having made the final a fantastic contest!

Willie Smith, the outgoing club president, addressed the team afterwards: “This is a great way to end my 3 years in term. You did the club proud. You did yourselves proud. They were all great performances out there today and it was fabulous to be here to witness your achievement” Track and Field captain thanked all the athletes and supporters for their efforts and said: “We are a young team and we can have a fantastic future” Track and Field team manager Maurice Ahern added: “This result was 3 years in the making; we deserved our win and I am sure that we can more than hold our own in the Premier division next year”

Other results: Parkrun 5km 

Griffeen Park = 1st Darren Hand (17.35): Waterstown Park = 23rd Andrew Maguire M45 (26.42)

At the National Juvenile Combined Events Championships at Tullamore on Saturday (2/8/14) Kolade Abiodun performed brilliantly in wet and blustery conditions to win the u/15s Boys Pentathlon scoring a total of 2837 points. His efforts included: – 80mH (12.51 for 733 pts); High Jump (1.56m = 434); Shot Putt (10.65m = 545); Long Jump (5.06m = 398) and 800m (2.25.75 = 745).

 

In the same event his team-mate Max Carey was desperately unlucky missing out on the bronze medal by just 7 points to Conor McMahon of Ardee AC. Max scored a total of 2641 points to McMahon’s 2648. Max recorded the following results: – 80mH (12.50 = 734); High Jump (1.47m = 367); Shot Putt (9.02m = 427); Long Jump (5.29m = 439) and 800m (2.31.49 = 674).

In the Girls u/15s Pentathlon Lara O’Byrne came 9th with a points tally of 1868. Her results were: – 80mH (13.76 = 592); High Jump (1.44m = 555); Shot Putt (7.96m = 397); Long Jump (4.07m = 324) and 800m (DNF).

 

National Half-Marathon / Rock & Roll HM at Dublin 

M35 2nd Niall Lynch (1.15.53); M40 17th Will Morris (1.22.24); M45 4th Phil Hennessy (1.17.54); M50 35th David Wogan (1.35.21); 51st Pat Nolan (1.56.08); M55 12th Tony Griffin (1.38.21); M60 9th Charlie O’Neill (1.45.49).

M35-49 Team Result: 1. Raheny Shamrocks (3.44.18) 2. Donore Harriers (3.56.11); 3. Leevale AC (3.58.38)

The Ladies team won the National half marathon masters team title, Anne Curley was 2nd W40, Florence Curley 3rd and Breda Mahony made up the team.  Also running for Donore were Nicola Dowdall, Kim Strickland, Janette Strickland, Sinead Graham and Dave Wogan

Well done too to Rhona, Ashling and Lee in the Glenmore Ac 5k

National Juvenile Track & Field championships at Tullamore

Club News, Juvenile, Results, Senior

It was a fantastic final weekend for the Donore Harriers juvenile team at the National Juvenile Track & Field championships at Tullamore over the weekend. A final tally of four gold medals, three silver and five bronze made this the best ever return for the club at these championships as Sean Lawlor, Oran O’Brien, Kalode Abiodun and Max Carey all became national champions.

The gold trail was highlighted by Sean Lawlor as he blitzed both the semi-final and final of the Boys u/18s 200m recording times of 22.68 and 22.46 respectively.

Oran O’Brien (in picture), lay second to Emmet Stout of Celbridge, until a 4th round throw of 38.65m changed silver to gold in the Boys u/17s Discus. We had two finalists in the Boys u/15s 250m Hurdles after Kolade Abiodun came 3rd in first Semi-Final and Max Carey finished 2nd in second Semi-Final as they recorded times of 36.60 and 35.08. In the final it was Kolade who put on the burners recording a brilliant win in 33.81 with Max (35.76) a gallant 5th. Max, however, recorded a fine win in the Boys u/16s 80m Hurdles final in the time of 12.26.

Our silver medal winners were: – Eoin Molloy (45.13m) in the Boys u/19s Hammer; Jack Rudden-Kelly (13.71) in the Boys u/16s 100m Hurdles; and Lauren O’Keeffe (39.74m) in the Girls u/17s Hammer.

Bronze medals were won by Beth Kirwan (31.42m) in the Girls u/14 Hammer; Adam Maher (40.75m) in the Boys u/15s Hammer; Aibhe Healy in the Girls u/17s Pole Vault (2.56m); Rolus Olusa (23.36) in the Boys u/19s 200m (second in semi-final with a time of 23.70);  and the Girls u/15s 4 x 100m relay team of Cara Brennan, Robyn O’Keeffe, Lara O’Byrne and Suzi O’Farrell who recorded a time of 52.07.

Other club results from the championships include: –

Girls u/12s Turbo Javelin: 16th Ele NiChonbhui (11.93m)

Girls u/14s Hammer: 7th Suin Keating (25.42m)

Girls u/14s Discus: 10th Tanisha Bissett (16.94m)

Girls u/15s 100m Semi-Final: 7th Cara Brennan (14.09)

Girls u/15s 100m Semi-Final: 6th Suzi Farrell (13.49)

Girls u/15s Discus: 9th Robyn O’Keeffe (21.08m); 11th Cara Brennan NT.

Girls u/15s 80m Hurdles Final: 5th Lara O’Byrne (13.20); 5th in semi-final in 13.11.

Girls u/15s 200m Final: 7th Suzi O’Farrell (27.99), 5th in semi-final in 27.72

Girls u/15s 250m Hurdles Final: 5th Lara O’Byrne (39.72), second in semi-final in 39.40

Girls u/15s Javelin: 5th Rebecca Power (28.54m)

Girls u/16s 250m Hurdles Semi-Final: 6th Rebecca Slattery (43.48)

Girls u/16s 1500m Final: 9th Lucy McCann (5.10.07) PB

Girls u/17s 200m Semi-Final: 6th Aoife Lynch (26.98) PB

Girls u/17s 800m Final: 12th Claire O’Connor (2.40.94)

Girls u/17s Triple Jump: 8th Karen Hughes (9.43m) PB

Girls u/17s Hammer: 4th Clodagh Read (46.12m)

Boys u/12s Shot Putt: 14th Rian Carey (7.00m)

Boys u/15s Long Jump: 6th Kolade Abiudun (5.21m); 7th Max Carey (5.18m)

Boys u/16s Shot Putt: 5th Jack Rudden-Kelly (12.58m)

Boys u/17s Shot Putt: 4th Oran O’Brien (10.98m);

Boys u/18s 100m Semi-Final: 5th Conor Fox (11.98)

Boys u/18s 200m Semi-Final: 5th Conor Fox (24.45)

Boys u/18s 400m Semi-Final: 5th Zak Higgins (55.39)

Boys u/18s 3000m Final: 4th Oisin Fitzgibbon (9.00.01)

Boys u/19s 400m Semi-Final: 6th Adam Halpin (59.18)

Other Team Relay Results:

Boys u/15s 4 x 100m: 5th Donore Harriers (51.21) <squad of Kolade Abiodun, Ronan McCooey, Jack Raftery, Max Carey, Ruairi Fitzgibbon and Louis McDonagh>

Boys u/19s 4 x 100m: 4th Donore Harriers (46.40) <squad of Zak Higgins, Conor Fox, Aidan Doherty, Adam Halpin and Rolus Olusa>

Girls u/16s 4 x 100m: 7th Donore Harriers (53.29 – 52.76 in qualifying) <squad of Roisin Rynn-Cahill, Katie Comiskey, Suzi O’Farrell, Robyn O’Keeffe, Lauren O’Flaherty and Aoife Lynch>

Girls u/17s 4 x 100m: DQ Donore Harriers <squad of Clodagh Read, Karen Hughes, Claire O’Connor, Aoife Lynch, Katie Coombes and Lauren O’Flaherty>

Juvenile Team Manager Leonie Newman said: “This was a fantastic end of season result for the club and a big thanks to all our coaches who give up many hours to coach and mentor our athletes”

Donore Harriers were very much to the fore in the 3rd running of the Donadea Running Club 5km race in Donadea Forest with Lee Van Haeften (15.34) placing second, Mark Dooley (15.41) 3rd and Daragh Fitzgibbon (16.08) 4th. This race is part of the North Kildare Summer Running League Series of races and the route is contained completely in the forest on the trail paths. The race, run in warm and humid conditions, was won by Irish Olympic marathon runner Mark Kenneally of Clonliffe Harriers in a time of 15.15.

Other results include: – 15th Darren Hand (17.26); 37th Liam Hickey (19.08); 41st Stephen Dawson (19.27); 45th Joe Murphy (19.31), Michelle Dawson (26.29).

In the inaugural Mullingar 10 mile road race the star performances came from two athletes who only took up the sport within the last year. Michael McMahon (54.59) placed 4th overall, whilst Garvan Smith (57.46) placed 13th and was the winner of the M40 category. Other results include: – 5th Fergal Whitty (55.36); 11th Chris Muldoon (56.43); 16th Sean Fox (57.52); 21st Will Morris (58.54); 38th Shane McAuley (62.18), 39th Des Tremble M40 (62.44) and Tom Fagan M40 (66.59).

The final BHAA race of the season, the Dublin Fire Brigade 5km, took place at Marino on Sunday morning. The Donore contingent was led home by Graham Hopkins M40 (16.54) who placed 5th. The others included, David Wogan M50 (19.53);  Ian Redican M40 (19.56); Janette Strickland 2nd W40 21.15, Frank McNally M50 (21.40), Terry Mee M70 (22.12), and Ann Woodlock 1st W75 27.44

5km Parkrun Results (26/7/14): Marlay Park = 18th Paul Cummins (19.09); Griffeen Park = 3rd George Brady M35 (18.28)

Results from Open Graded Meeting No. 7 at Santry (23/7/14): 100m A = 1st Eamon Fahey (10.96); 100m B = 2nd Rolus Olusa (11.62); 8th David Campbell (11.92); 100m C1 = 2nd Sean O’Broin M45 (12.29); 100m C2 = 2nd Cian O’Reilly (11.91)

800m B = 5th Henry English (2.06.29); 800m C = Luke Boland (2.10.82); 800m D = Terry Mee M70 (2.53.33)

5000m A = 3rd Ray Hynes (15.05.78).

3000m = Rhona Duane 10th 11.54.14

100m B = Ailise Keating 6th 13.50

Pole Vault = Ailbhe Healy 2nd 2.4 metres

 

 

National T&F Championships and Fingal 10K

Club News, Results, Senior

 

Three places and four athletes with the qualifying time! The National 1500m final was to be the race of truth to assist the selection process. Paul Robinson (St. Coca’s AC), Ciaran O’Lionaird (Leevale AC), David McCarthy (West Waterford) and our own John Travers would do battle to impress the selectors for a place on the Irish team at the forthcoming European Athletics Championships in Zurich.

This blue-riband race proved to be one of the highlights of the National Track & Field championships held at Santry on the 19th and 20th July 2014. Defending champion Eoin Everard (Kilknny City Harriers) and Robinson took the early pace leading the field through 400m in 68 seconds and the 800m mark in 2.06. Meanwhile Travers had made a conservative start being 11th at the 300m before gaining to 3rd at 1100m (2.50).  It could be argued that he was running a fine tactical race because in the middle of the back straight he was running in second place on the shoulder of the race leader Robinson. At this stage O’Lionaird put in a big effort and pushed towards the front whilst Travers seemed to lose his focus. On the top of the bend John’s chances of being on the flight to Zurich seemed lost as both McCarthy and a rejuvenated Everard brushed past. He lay fifth coming into the home straight.

With 70 metres to go O’Lionaird (3.43.85) was holding off the final challenge from Robinson (3.44.16), but Travers found another gear to kick past Everard (5th) and then McCarthy (4th in 3.45.64) to gain that all important bronze position in a time of 3.45.00. John has subsequently being named on the Irish team to compete at the European Championships at Zurich.

Eric Keogh was also in the field of 12 finalists, having qualified as a fastest loser on the previous day with a run of 3.55.86. Eric certainly deserved his place among the elite and showed enormous progress and potential with his efforts. He ran in 10th position for most of the final running at the close behind the main bunch. He reached the bell in 2.52, but found the last lap tough going as he struggled home 11th in 3.55.02.

Eamonn Fahey also had an eventful afternoon. Having finished a frustrating 4th in his specialist event the Long Jump (6.84m) he lined up to compete in the second of five 100m Semi Finals. With only the winners guaranteed of a place in the final Eamonn had his work cut out. But he was fast out of the blocks and went on to win in a fabulous 10.85s. The field of 10 finalists was whittled down to 7 following 3 false starts that eliminated two of the big guns: David Hynes and Jonathan Browning. “We were all nervous and I just wanted to be extra careful out of the blocks” admitted Eamonn later. Despite the hesitant start Eamonn quickly got up to 3rd place (10.99) and maintained his form through the finish line to win the bronze medal behind surprise winner Jamie Davis (10.90) from Raheny Shamrocks.

The final hour of competition saw Donore Harriers win 3 bronze medals. Added to those won by Travers and Fahey add the name Jaco Oosthuysen in the Javelin. Jaco threw consistently well throughout the competition recording a best of 57.37m. The event was won by Rory Gunning of Fr. Murphy’s AC in 59.22m with Shane Aston of Trim AC second with 57.53m.

Donore’s other competitor on the second day of competition was Ray Hynes in the 3000m Steeplechase. Ray had gained from 9th to 6th between the first and third laps and seemed to be going well. He passed through the 1500m point in 4.31, but landed awkwardly into the water jump and then took the precautionary decision to withdraw from the race.

The Men’s 10.000m was the club’s main focus on the first day of competition with 4 Donore athletes in a field of 21. The first Harrier home was Lee Van Haeften (31.25.67) PB in 7th place. Lee was 10th at the halfway mark passing the 5k point in 15.27. Next came Mark Dooley (32.43.21) PB in 13th (15th at 5k in 15.48). Two places further back was Michael McMahon (32.57.16). This was a very impressive run by McMahon who only took up running last autumn. After a hesitant opening few laps he passed the half-way point in 16.28 lying in 19th place and then ran consistent laps over the second part of the race to gain to 15th. Michael improved his PB time by massive 64 seconds. John Dunne M35 (33.29.16) had a marginal PB when finishing in 16th spot. Dunne was 20th at 5000m in 16.31.

The 10.000m race incorporated a team competition based on cumulative times and Van Haeften, Dooley and McMahon won the bronze medal behind winners Clonliffe Harriers.

David Campbell competed in the 400m, but was eliminated in the first of 4 Semi-Finals when he recorded a 6th place in 52.57

The IMRA Sugar Bowl mountain race (16/7/14) was contested by Niall Lynch M40 who finished 5th in 32.28, just 3 seconds shy of second spot.

Other results: –

Parkrun Griffeen Park (19/7/14): 1st Gavin Keogh (16.44); 20th Tom Fagan M45 (20.46)

Fingal 10km (20/7/14): 11th Niall Lynch M40 (33.54) first in age category; 13th Ken Norgrove M45 (34.16) first in age category; 27th Will Morris M35 (35.24); 265th Fred English (42.06); 442nd Eoin Daltun (44.14). For the ladies we had Anne Curley 6th overall (38.34), Florence Curley 10th overall (39.35), Grace Kennedy (41.16), Nicola Dowdall (46.04), Caren Crowley (46.58) and Hilary O’Connor (54.46)

In the Raphoe 5k, congratulations to Maura Kearns who was first lady home and in the BHAA DCC 5K well done to Joe Murphy (19.32), Janette Strickland (21.30), Alma Hanevy (21.31) and Ann Woodlock (28.08)

Congratulations also to Conor McCauley who continued his recent run of from to finish 2nd in the Killarney Half Marathon (76.19)

 

Good Week on the Track and Weekend Roundup

Club News, Results, Senior

An array of Personal Bests at two North Kildare venues on Friday evening gave another indication of Donore Harriers resurgence as a force in Irish athletics. At the Irish Milers Club / La Cheile AC event to mark the official opening of the new track at Leixlip Eric Keogh (3.50.88) ran ‘a perfect race’ to knock 3 seconds of his previous best time to record a notable win in the 1500m ‘A’ race. In the process Eric truly announced that he is a member of the top table in domestic middle distance running. Darragh Rennicks (3.52.97) of Bohermeen AC came second with Jamie Rossiter (3.53.37) of Clonliffe Harriers in third. Donore’s 3000m steeplechase specialist Ray Hynes (3.56.38) finished in the middle of the field in 9th position.

John Travers took up the early pace in the One Mile race before falling back to fifth position. However, a strong finish saw John (4.02.87) get back up to fourth place. The race was won by Sam McEntee (3.58.41) of Australia, with his compatriot Jordy Williams (3.59.40) second.

At the same meeting Emmet O’Briain M35 came 3rd in the ‘D’ 800m in a time of 2.03.30 and Sean O’Broin M45 (12.21) placed 7th in the ‘C’ 100m race.

Meanwhile at the St. Coca’s 5 km road race at Kilcock  ten of the 17 Donore Harriers athletes who made the start line gained Personal Bests. The race was won by Mark Christie (14.06) of Mullingar Harriers ahead of his club colleague Martin Fagan (14.18) with Alan McCormack (15.23) of DSD in third. Soon the charge down Connacht Street to the finish at the Fair Green was a tour-de-force of black and white singlets. Michael McMahon (15.53) led the Donore Harriers ‘posse’ in 7th place narrowly holding off the challenges of Gavin Keogh (15.54) PB in 9th, Oisin Fitzgibbon (15.55) PB in 10th <1st in Junior category>, Chris Muldoon (15.56) PB in 11th and John Dunne (15.59) in 12th spot.

Ken Norgrove admitted to being over ambitious in the early stages of the course through the Courtown Wood area but he dug deep to place 21st in a PB time of 16.38. Ken placed second in the M45 category. Also among the prize-winners were Garvan Smith (16.40) and Des Tremble (16.47) who both recorded PBs. They placed 23rd and 24th respectively and in the process placed 2nd and 3rd in the M40 category.

Next Donore Harrier over the finish line was Will Morris (16.50) 26th with Darren Hand (16.52) showing a return to form just one place further back.

Sam Gallagher (16.59) put in a sprint finish to achieve a “mission accomplished” by breaking 17 minutes for the first time. Sam placed 32nd overall and placed 2nd in the Junior category behind his club colleague Oisin Fitzgibbon.

The remaining Donore Harriers athletes were: – 36th Tony Barry (17.19) PB; 42nd Andrew Ledwith (17.32); 45th Bob Blake M40 (17.33) PB; 47th Shane McAuley (17.43); 73rd Bernard Byrne (18.24) PB; and 178th Terry Mee (21.54) <3rd in M60 age group>.

For the ladies, in the midweek BHAA Trail race, Alma Hanevy ran brilliantly to finish 3rd and Maura Kearns won the 1500m in the graded meet.

Aogan MacDomhnaill (8.42.99) ran a PB when finished 4th in the 3000m ‘A’ race at an Open Graded Meeting at Cork on Friday evening. Indeed, Aogan took 7 seconds off his previous best and has now improved his time by almost half-a-minute for the season.

At the 2014 Aviva Tailteann Schools Interprovincial held in Morton Stadium, Santry (21.06.14) Sean Lawlor of Donore Harriers and representing the Kylemore College School was the standout performer in the boy’s sprint events as he stormed to victory in the 100m and 200m events. Sean, who is aged 16, recorded a time of 10.88 in the 100m and set a new Championship Best Performance in the 200m with a time of 21.67. Sean, who is coached by Gerry Ronan, has subsequently been selected to captain the Irish schools team for the upcoming Schools International at Cardiff versus England, Scotland and Wales. Well done Sean!

At the Malahide 5 kilometres Parkrun on the 21st June Daragh Fitzgibbon ran out a clear winner recording a PB time of 15.39. Shane McAuley (18.01) placed 5th in the same race.

Niall Allen recorded a win and a 3rd place in the Discus (34.28m) and Shot Putt (11.18m) respectively at the Dublin Open Graded meet No. 5  at Tallaght. At the same event David Campbell (23.77) placed 2nd in the 200m B race with Sean O’Broin M45 (24.97) 3rd in the ‘C’ grade.

Niall Lynch M35 was involved in a tussle with Raheny Shamrocks duo Ian Conroy (40.08) and Des Kennedy (40.11) in the Irish Mountain Running Association race at Trooperstown Hill. Niall (40.10) used the downhill sections to make up ground on his competitors before finally settling for the runners-up spot. 153 runners completed the course.

Full results from the Irish Runner 5 Miles road race at the Phoenix Park on Saturday are to follow.

 

Recent Results Roundup

Club News, Results, Senior

John Travers (8.12.80) easily won the Irish Milers Club 3.000m race at the Crusaders GV Ryan Meet at Irishtown track on Saturday (14.06.14) finishing about 100 metres clear of runner-up Gary Murray (8.24.61) of St. Malachy’s AC.

Ray Hynes (8.27.23) came a very fine fourth in the same race and continues to show improved form. Lee Van Haeften (8.42.52) placed 8th. It was great to see the Donore Harriers vest so much to the fore in a very competitive race!  

In the 1500m ‘A’ Race Eric Keogh (3.53.71) placed a very respectable 9th in another highly competitive field.

Earlier in the week Eric Keogh also competed in an 800m Dublin Championship race incorporated into the Dublin Open Graded Series (No. 4 on 11.06.14), also at Irishtown track. Eric recorded a time of 1.55.73 to place 3rd.

In the Dublin Championship 100 metres Eamon Fahey (11.23) came 5th with 16 years old Sean Lawlor (11.28) 7th.  

In the 800m ‘B’ race Emmet O’Briain (2.03.20) came 3rd and Luke Boland (2.09.03) 8th. Zak Higgins (55.36), another 16 years old, won the 400m ‘B’ race.     

In the Dublin Juvenile Track & Field Championships at Tallaght (8.06.14) Oisin Fitzgibbon placed 3rd in the Boys under 18s 3000m in a time of 9.35.3, whilst Sam Gallagher (10.24.0) came 4th in what was his first track race. On the previous day Oisin Fitzgibbon recorded a PB of 4.20.6 when placing 7th in a keenly contested Boys u/18s 1500m race.

The girls under 15 team took gold for the 4th year in a row with, our under 15 boys with the help of super sub Louis McDonagh finished 3rd,  under 17 girls team also took gold and the boys under 19 finished the night off with a third place finish 

Also at the weekend Terry Mee ran in the Braveheart Trail 5k Niamh O’Boyle 6th lady in the Monasterevin 10K 42.09

Dublin Juvenile Track and Field Championships and Bohermeen 5K

Club News, Juvenile, Results, Senior

This weekend  it was the turn of our young athletes to strut their stuff at the Dublin Juvenile  Track and Field Championships. This they did in style. A record 102 young athletes, many competing in numerous events flew the Donore colours as never before. Not all can win medals but they gave it everything and performed to their best, gaining  invaluable experience in the process. For many it was their first taste of Championship competition. 

We had high expectations for medals but these were exceeded by the fantastic performances of our young athletes.At the end of three days, our athletes had amassed a total medal haul of 57 medals, made up of 24 gold, 19 silver and 14 bronze.

There were lots of stars for the club, although we don’t want to pick out some over others. However when an athlete wins 5 gold and a silver as Kaladay Abidon did, then it has to be seen as special. Lara O’Byrne produced a number of fantastic performances to win 2 golds, 2 silver and 2 bronze. Add in Max Carey’s 2 golds and 3 seconds, Jack Rudden- Kelly’s 3 gold and 1 silver, Rebecca Power taking three golds in Hammer, Javelin  and Discus.

A new first in the history of the club history was achieved in the U17 Girls Pole Vault when Aibne Healy became the first Donore athlete to win a Dublin Juvenile Pole Vault Championship.

There were lots of other great performances from our medal winners. It should be remembered that several of our athletes are taking their Leaving and Junior certs at the moment, so it is great credit to them and their parents to make time compete in these championships 

An excellent spread sheet of all the results has been done by Gemma Carey, which will be available in the club house and hopefully on-line.This was a huge logistical and organisational operation by the juvenile section lead by Leonie Newman and her team of dedicated administrators, including Linda , Natalie, Judy, Michael, Gemma and others including our parents. To all congrats on a superb job done. Finally, to our brilliant coaches congratulations on your excellent results and thank you for all the work done with our young athletes over the years. The club is now reaping the rewards of your skill and dedication. We are so lucky to have coaches of your calibre.

At the Bohermeen Patrick Bell Memoiral on Saturday, our senior ladies ran brilliantly to finish as first ladies team. First home for the ladies was Nic Dhomhnaill in 5th place (19.01) Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill was 6th (19.10), Maura Kearns 17th (19.59), Sam Conroy 23rd (20.49), Grainne Nolan 31st (21.42) and Pauline Fagan 100th (27.20).

First home for the men was Des Tremble 27th (17.17), Fred Kiernan 28th (17.21), Tony Barry 30th (17.29), Tom Fagan (18.34), Joe Murphy (19.05), Terry Mee (21.45) and Jim McNamara (22.05).