All posts by Peter Nugent

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 3rd July 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Jack Raftery celebrated his selection to the Irish World Championship team by winning the 400m in the MORTON GAMES. Zion Osawe (High Jump) and Emily Bolton (800m) won gold on Day 1 of the NATIONAL JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS with the latter running a club record 2.13.93. Reuben McCormick 6th in final of Under 15 Boys 800m. Master athlete Didier Da Costa 2nd overall and 1st M40 in the CLONTARF HALF-MARATHON. We also had Anne Gormley compete in the WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS in Finland, Sinead O’Reilly in the DATEV INTERNATIONAL IRONMAN in Germany, and Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan and Kevin O’Boyle in the WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS in Denmark.

REPORT: <report/results by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley> Jack Raftery came around the final bend vying for the lead with 5 other athletes. It was then that Raftery came into his own as he sprinted ahead of his rivals to record a fine victory in the MORTON GAMES 400m race. His winning time of 47.04 on a wet track and easing down close to the finish line suggests that the big man had more in the tank. Marcus Lawlor (47.48) of Clonliffe Harriers came 2nd and Maarten Heylen (47.93) of Belgium 3rd.
Earlier in the week Raftery had his selection confirmed by Athletics Ireland to compete on the Irish team in the Mixed 4 x 400m Relay in the upcoming WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS to be held at Eugene, USA between the 15th and 24th of July. The 21 years old DCU student, who joined Donore Harriers aged 12, is one of Ireland’s most exciting up and coming talents.
Zak Higgins answered a late call to compete in the same 400m race in the Morton Games. Higgins made a strong start and was among the leaders thru the opening 250 metres, but he was unable to sustain the effort and he came home 7th in 50.24.

Emily Bolton (2.13.93) set a new club record when winning the Under 15 Girls 800m final on the first day of the NATIONAL JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore on Sunday. Bolton gave respect to her opponents as she sat just off the front throughout the opening 600 metres. She then sped away to win by 15-20 metres with Emma Bonar (2.16.32) of Letterkenny AC in 2nd place and Emer McKee (2.16.39) of Willowfield Harriers in the bronze position.
Zion Osawe was locked in battle with Hazel Fahy of Loughrea AC for the gold medal in the Under 14 Girls High Jump. Both girls made a first effort clearance of 1.50m before the bar was raised to 1.53m. And both girls failed their first two attempts at the new height before Osawe got her technique right to record a successful clearance and take the gold medal. Osawe, who is coached by Ray O’Keeffe, Alex Conway, and Daniel Hernon, equalled her personal best with that 1.53m mark.
Zion’s training partner Melody Omozee (1.30m) came 17th in the same competition.
Zion Osawe and Melody Omozee also contested the Under 14 Girls 75m Hurdles with Melody qualifying to the final from Heat No. 1 in 3rd place in a time of 12.78. Zion (12.98) came 6th in Heat 2 and was eliminated. Melody was unable to make an impression in the final and came 8th in 13.08. She later admitted that she was “spooked” by the earlier false start.
Ruby Blake (11.27), who had a busy weekend, narrowly missed out on making the final in the Under 13 Girls 60m Hurdles as she came 5th in Heat 3. Elliot Whelan (14.66) came 7th in Heat 1 of the Under 14 Boys 75m Hurdles – and Romeo Omozee (17.39) placed 7th in the final of the Under 17 Boys 100m Hurdles.
The club’s youngest competitor on the day was Dylan O’Connor who came 14th in the Under 13 Boys Javelin with a first throw personal best of 20.78m.
Oisin Cummins-Weiss (5.26m) jumped very close to his best when placing 8th in the Under 17 Boys Long Jump category, with Romeo Omozee leaping to a season’s best of 5.00m for 10th place in the same contest.
First season athlete Reuben McCormick (2.10.59) qualified to the final of the Under 15 Boys 800m when he won the Heat 2 qualifier in 2.10.59. The final proved a tricky affair for the club newcomer as the first lap was very slow, but when the pace became lightning quick with 300 metres to go. McCormick was unable to react to the speedsters – but battled on bravely for 6th spot in 2.13.53. Coach Joe Kelly said afterwards: “Only 4 months running properly and to make another national final is amazing”. Note that Reuben also made the All-Ireland Schools final. Coach Graham Hopkins added: “Top six nationally with just a few months experience under his belt speaks of his ability. One for the future!”
Arlen Szep-Szabo failed to progress from Heat 1 of the Under 15 Boys 800m. He came 9th in 2.18.04 – a season’s best. Kelly explained: “Arlen was disappointed with his run. He never really got going and that performance today does not do justice to the athlete Arlen is. Once he converts his training form to racing, he will be fine”.
Thomas Bolton (2.10.58) came 6th in Heat 2 of the Under 17 Boys 800m and failed to make the final.
On the previous day the NATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES & U12 & U13 CHAMPIONSHIPS took place with Tullamore the venue. Both Anabella Omozee and Ruby Blake competed in two field events each. Anabella came 7th in the Under 12 Girls Shot Putt with a best of 7.76m and was 14th in the High Jump with a best effort of 1.20m. Ruby was 12th in both the Under 13 Girls Long Jump (4.07m) and Shot Putt (7.83m).
Anabella Omozee also competed in the Under 12 Girls 60m sprint and came 7th in the final.
Also, on the track Alan Maddox (9.71) came 7th in Heat 1 of the Combined 60m with his sprint partner Caoimhin Cummins-Weiss (10.48) placing 8th in Heat 2 in 10.48m. Alan and Daniel Maddox competed in the Combined U11 Boys Long Jump. No result is available.

Didier Da Costa (1.20.58) came 2nd overall and 1st in the M40 category in the JOE DUFFY BMW CLONTARF HALF-MARATHON on Saturday. Da Costa, who ran just outside the hour mark in the Clontarf 10-mile road race back in February, set a time of 1.20.58. The race was won by Jesus Calle Arroyo (1.15.52) of Raheny Shamrocks AC.
Kevin Odgers (1.26.10) came 31st and 11th in the M40 category with Wayne Waldron the next club finisher in 36th overall in 1.27.37 and 21st in the senior men’s category. Patrick Moriarty posting a time of 1.28.57 for 66th spot and 26th in the M40s.
Next to finish for Donore Harriers was Louise Murray (1.37.10) who came 162nd overall and 8th in the senior women’s class.
Des Gill (1.46.24) came 350th overall out of 1,469 finishers and 19th in the M50 category.

In Friday evening’s LEIXLIP 5KM ROAD RACE new member Adam Foy (19.44) failed to match his time set in the St. Coca’s 5km a week earlier. Foy came 44th of 199 finishers. The race was won by Peter Somba (14.36) of Dunboyne AC.

Sinead O’Reilly competed in the DATEV INTERNATIONAL IRONMAN CHALLENGE in Roth, Germany on Sunday. Having completed the swimming element (3.8km) in 1.29.47 and the cycling route (180km) in 6.37.44 Sinead completed the marathon running distance in 3.44.59 – the 29th best running time on the day. She came 140th overall and 35th in the W40 category with an overall time of 12.18.47.
Anne Gormley came 8th in the 10,000m Walk at the WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tampere, Finland on Sunday.

In the WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Federicia in Denmark on Tuesday Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan came a very fine 18th of 36 starters in Sprint Qualification Group B. His time of 13.44 was just 1.16 behind winner Yannich Micheils of Belgium. His Donore Harriers colleague Kevin O’Boyle came 26th of 35 in Group C in 14.08.

The DONORE HARRIERS SPORTS DAY for young club members last Friday evening was a huge success. There were races from the Under 9 age group up to the Under 17s with a mixed relay that included adults. There were also field events, including the Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Putt and Turbo Javelin. The event was expertly organised by Juvenile Coach and athlete Suzie Henley-Willis. Here is some of the feedback – Florence: “It was a great evening and so good to see the club coming together, massive kudos Suzie for making it happen”; Pearl: “Well done Suzie – amazing event, great organising, and super fun. The kids had a ball and were delighted with all the medals”; Sinead: “Well done Suzie – what a brilliant evening for everyone”; Iain: “Great fun!”; Leonie: “Brilliant night, well done everyone, great job Suzie. What a finish to the night with that relay – great fun!”; Orla Waters: “Thanks so much for a great evening! Everyone really enjoyed it. Well Done to all the organisers  ”; and Charlie: “Well done Suzi and many helpers. Great craic! Let’s say we threw out the rulebook with the mixed relay…” NOTE: more photos from the evening can be found in the DH Juvenile Team facebook page.

Best club result in PARKRUNs this week was juvenile member Dylan McKenna (19.16) first home at WATERSTOWN.
More results below.

Results in brief:
LEIXLIP 5KM ROAD RACE at Leixlip (01.07.2022)
44th Adam Foy MS (17.44)
199 finishers
MORTON GAMES at Santry (02.07.2022)
MEN’S 400m: 1st Jack Raftery (47.04), 7th Zak Higgins (50.24)
NATIONAL CHILDREN’S GAMES & U12 & U13 CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore (02.07.2022)
U12 GIRLS 60m SPRINT FINAL: 7th Anabella Omozee (awaiting official result)
U12 GIRLS 2KG SHOT PUTT: 7th Anabella Omozee (7.76m PB)
U12 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 14th Anabella Omozee (1.20m)
U13 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 12th Ruby Blake (4.07m PB)
U13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 12th Ruby Blake (7.83m PB)
U11 BOYS COMBINED 60m SPRINT HEAT 1: 7th Alan Maddox (9.71) and HEAT 2: 8th Caoimhin Cummins-Weiss (10.48)
U11 BOYS COMBINED LONG JUMP: Alan Maddox and Daniel Maddox (awaiting official result)
NATIONAL JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 at Tullamore (03.07.2022)
U13 GIRLS 60m HURDLES HEAT 3: 5th Ruby Blake (11.27)
U14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES HEAT 1: 3rd Melody Omozee (12.78) Q.
U14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES HEAT 2: 6th Zion Osawe (12.98)
U14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES FINAL: 8th Melody Omozee (13.08)
U14 BOYS 75m HURDLES HEAT 1: 7th Elliot Whelan (14.66)
U17 BOYS 100m HURDLES FINAL: 7th Romeo Omozee (17.39)
U15 GIRLS 800m FINAL: 1st Emily Bolton (2.13.93 PB & club record) GOLD
U15 BOYS 800m HEAT 1: 9th Arlen Szep-Szabo (2.18.04)
U15 BOYS 800m HEAT 2: 1st Reuben McCormick (2.10.59) Q.
U15 BOYS 800m FINAL: 6th Reuben McCormick (2.13.53)
U17 BOYS 800m HEAT 2: 6th Thomas Bolton (2.10.58)
U13 BOYS JAVELIN: 14th Dylan O’Connor (20.78m PB)
U14 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 1st Zion Osawe (1.53m) GOLD, 17th Melody Omozee (1.30m)
U17 BOYS LONG JUMP: 8th Oisin Cummins-Weiss (5.26m), 10th Romeo Omozee (5.00m SB)
WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tampere, Finland (03.07.2022)
W55 10,000m WALK: 8th Ann Gormley
DATEV CHALLENGE ROTH TRIATHLON at Roth, Germany (03.07.2022)
140th Sinead O’Reilly W40 (Overall time 12.18.47 – 1.29.47 3.8km swim, 10.53 trans 1, 6.37.44 180km bike, 15.26 trans 2, and 3.44.59 marathon)
JOE DUFFY BMW CLONTARF HALF-MARATHON (02.07.2022)
2nd & 1st M40 Didier Da Costa (1.20.58)
31st & 11th M40 Kevin Odgers (1.26.10)
36th & 21st MS Wayne Waldron (1.27.37)
66th & 26th M40 Patrick Moriarty (1.28.57)
162nd & 8th WS Louise Murray (1.37.10)
350th & 19th M50 Des Gill (1.46.24)
1,469 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (25.06.2022)
BUSHY: 129th Thomas Halton M65 (33.17)
CORKAGH: 6th Eoin Mooney M11-14 (20.15 PB), 45th Joan McTernan W60 (25.20), 108th Terry Mee M75 (31.09)
MALAHIDE: 113rd Charlie O’Neill M65 (26.35)
WATERSTOWN: 1st Dylan McKenna M15-17 (19.16), 12th & 2nd woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (24.19)

01. Jack Raftery 41. DH SPORTS DAY

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 26th June 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Sorcha & Ide NicDhomhnaill won silver and bronze in the NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS 5,000m. Caoimhe Mackey 5th in the final and again lowered her 400m Hurdles club record. Louis O’Loughlin 6th in the 1,500m. Oliver Hopkins won TAILTEANN INTERPROVINCIAL GAMES 1,500m and gained selection to the Ireland SIABs team. Robert Murphy 1st M40, Des Tremble 2nd M50 and several PBs in the ST. COCA’S 5KM ROAD RACE. Laura Nunan 2nd Ireland finisher in the UNDER 18 INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS in Italy. We remember the Late TOM O’RIORDAN, among one of Donore Harriers and Ireland’s finish ever athletes

REPORT: <report/results by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley>

Sorcha and Ide NicDhomhnaill were the club’s star performers in the 150th NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS held at a wet and windy Santry over the weekend. The sisters act took silver and bronze medals behind the irrepressible Fionnuala McCormack of Kilcoole AC in the women’s 5,000m final on Saturday afternoon.
McCormack (16.07.75) set out her stall early and took to the front as early as the first lap. The NicDhomhnaill sisters kept composed and ran at the front of the chasing pack. At the half-way stage Sorcha was in a clear 2nd place, but Ide slipped behind Sinead O’Connor of Leevale and Nakita Burke of Letterkenny AC. However, Ide rallied over the final 2km and not only caught up with Sorcha but went into the silver medal position. It all came down to the final 150 metres when Sorcha (16.19.71) narrowly edged out Ide (16.20.51) for the runner-up spot. It was history made as this was the first time that sisters took podium places for a distance event in these championships.
Lara O’Byrne didn’t get out of the blocks in the final of the Women’s 100m Hurdles. As the athletes composed themselves on the blocks ready for the starters’ gun both O’Byrne in Lane 8 and the athlete in Lane 9 twitched as they faced into a strong headwind. O’Byrne stalled, expecting the race to be re-called, but all she could do was watch as athletes went over the first hurdle and onwards to the finish line. Lara said afterwards: “I moved in the blocks, and I was expecting to be made stand up. I just stayed there, and they pressed the gun to go… the strong winds was a factor for what happened”.
Claudia Sofia Andre qualified to the final of the women’s 200m when she came 2nd in Heat No. 3 in a time of 25.77. She came 8th in the final in 26.45.
Caoimhe Mackey (1.05.58) automatically qualified to the final of the Women’s 400m Hurdles when she came 3rd in Heat 2. Daragh McAuley (58.75) narrowly failed to progress to the final in the Men’s 400m Hurdles. He was pipped to the line for 3rd place by Eoin Sharkey of Tir Chonaill AC with just 3-hundredths of a second separating the two.
In the 200m heats David Campbell (25.96) came 7th in Heat 5 and Conor Fox (25.06) 5th in Heat 6 – both failed to progress. Zak Higgins (50.54) also failed to make the final when 4th in Heat 5 of the 400m.
Also, on Saturday Louis O’Loughlin (3.58.42) went from 5th to 3rd in the closing 50 metres of Heat 3 of the 1,500m and booked his place in Sunday’s final.
In the field rising young star Chinonye Okwara (10.01m) came 9th in the Women’s Shot Putt.
Sunday’s DAY 2 of the championships started on a positive note. Lara O’Byrne put behind her disappointment from the previous day to jump 5.29m in the 3rd round of the Long Jump, thus qualifying to take 3 more efforts as a top 8 contestant. O’Byrne pulled out a super 5.47m in her 6th and final jump. The new mark would have been a personal best and a club record but the wind reading of 4.7m/s was over the limit and disallowed the mark. She placed 8th overall behind winner Ruby Millet of St. Abban’s AC.
Lara O’Byrne later threw 30.15m in the 3rd round of the Javelin and placed 9th.
The wet and windy conditions were not conducive to fast times and made it difficult for sprinters to keep warm, etc. Paul McDermott ran 11.60 into a strong wind to finish 3rd in Heat 3 of the 100m and qualified to the semi-finals. McDermott, who missed a large block of training due to injury, could only manage 6th place in the 1st semi-final in a time of 11.43 and thus failed to reach the final.
Eva McPartlan came 5th in heat 3 of the women’s 100m in a time of 13.19.
Caoimhe Mackey just keeps chipping away at her times – and arguably ran her best race yet in the final of the 400m Hurdles. She was never going to be in contention for a medal given the level of the opposition, but she rose 6th over the final hurdle and ran strongly to the line to gain to 5th in a new personal best and club record time of 1.02.79.
Louis O’Loughlin was the slowest of the 15 athletes on paper going into the final of the 1,500m having recently stepped up from the 800m event. The race proved to be a tactical affair with a slow pace thru the first 900 metres. When the pace did eventually pick up O’Loughlin was slow to react and found himself towards the back of the field. He was 12th. However, he rallied over the final 120 metres to finish a very creditable 6th. The race was won by Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers in 3.59.36 as O’Loughlin ran 4.01.95.
Kane Collins ran in the ‘B’ final of the 5,000m. The Cork native put in a solid performance to place 6th in 15.04.42.

The 5th DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEETING took place at the Tallaght Track last Wednesday on what was a balmy mid-summer evening. Four club athletes competed. In the Men’s 800m A race Jack Byrne (1.58.76) came 7th, and he was followed home by Sean Kinsella in 8th. Kinsella, an Under 19 athlete, finally broke the 2 minutes barrier with a 1.59.89 personal best.
Emmet O’Briain M40 is clearly making improvement after an injury layoff with a time of 2.07.83 and 5th place in the 800m B grade race.
Daragh Keegan narrowly failed to get a personal best when 6th in the Men’s 5,000m race. His time of 16.07.47 was just one-second short of his time set in the National League last month. Keegan came 6th from 9 competitors.

In the TAILTEANN SCHOOLS INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore on Friday afternoon Oliver Hopkins (St. Declan’s College) had a fine win in the Boys 1,500m recording a time of 4.03.79 in blustery conditions. Hopkins took an early lead but came under pressure mid-race from Frank Buchanan of St. Michael’s School (4.06.48) in Enniskillen. However, a big last lap saw Hopkins win comfortably and book his place on the Irish team for the School’s track & field international (SIABs) at Santry on the 16th of July.

The ST COCA’S 5KM ROAD RACE continues to grow in popularity and 13 club athletes were on Friday evening’s start line. The race started at the local athletics track at Bawnogues, then took a country roads route thru Courtown, Gragadder and Branganstown before finishing in the Fair Green via Connaught Street.
Robert Murphy (15.06) came home in 6th place and won the M40 category with 26 seconds to spare over Paul Smith of Drogheda & District AC. Next club finisher was Des Tremble (17.02) in 78th position and 2nd in the M50 category. Just on his shoulder was Gavin Keogh (17.02) in 79th and 28th in the M40s.
New club member Adam Foy (17.15) came 89th closely followed by Simon O’Toole (17.16) in 92nd.
Alan Keogh M40 (17.25) placed 107th, Maura Kearns (18.06) 139th and 7th woman, and Peter Gaffney (18.05) 142nd and 8th in the M50 category.
An improving Audrey Gahan W40 (19.47) ran within 10 seconds of her 2017 personal best time when finishing in 238th position. One place behind was JP O’Hanlon who ran a new persona best time of 19.53.
The next 3 club finishers all set PBs. Pamela White (20.43) retained her running composure after suffering a rib injury in the scramble across the starting mat went on to place 280th overall and 27th senior woman in a new PB time. A delighted Suzie Henley-Willis (21.34) smashed her previous best time and now has her sight set on a sub-20-minute time. She came 337th. Katernine Marsh (22.01) came 351st of the 471 finishers.

The DOCKLANDS 5KM ROAD RACE organized by Crusaders AC was held last Thursday evening with an out and back route that started on Lime Street, crossed the Liffey at Matt Talbot Bridge, then reached and returned from the 3 Arena, and finally finished at the Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.
Didier Da Costa M45 completed the route in a PB time of 17.55 to place 37th overall. Next came Ray Armstrong 77th in a new PB time of 18.57. Also among the 1,039 finishers was Julia Hackett W50 who came 292nd in 22.03.

On the same evening David McGrath came 24th in the CLONEE 10KM ROAD RACE running a PB time of 40.10. There were 229 finishers

Aisling Kirby (45.23) came 89th overall and 10th woman in the COURTMACSHERRY 10KM ROAD RACE (24.06.2022). Aisling was 3rd in the senior women’s category. The West Cork race was held on a damp Friday evening and had 246 finishers

Cliodhna Carthy came 3rd woman in the SPORTIVAMENTE 10KM RACE at Bois De La Cambre near Brussels on Saturday.

Laura Nunan competed for the Republic of Ireland team in the 15th edition of the INTERNATIONAL UNDER 18 MOUNTAIN RUNNING CUP at Saluzzo, Italy on Sunday morning. The race was held over an uphill/downhill course on two loops composed of a short 550m circuit followed by a second loop of 3800m. The 4350m race had a total ascent descent of +/- 155m with a mixed terrain that included cobblestone, grass, and a small section of asphalt. The race passed close to historical monuments such as the ancient residence of the Marquises and the Civic Tower.
Laura (23.45) was the 2nd scorer on the Irish team that finished 12 of 12 competing nations. The team event was won by England.

Donore Harriers had 4 members compete in the THOROUGHBRED RUN KILDARE HALF-MARATHON on Sunday 19th of June. Oliver O’Hara M45 (1.37.36) came 32nd of the 286 finishers. Next home was Jo Hughes W50 who ran 1.44.53 for 75th place. Neil Maddox M40 came 132nd in 1.54.20 and Deirdre Healy W50 was 181st in 2.01.32.

Terry Mee, an M75 runner, recorded a season’s best of 30.59 in the CORKAGH PARKRUN. At the WATERSTOWN PARKRUN Dylan McKenna U17 came 1st overall in 19.58 and Katie Delaney U16 was 5th overall & 1st woman.
In the ERRIS HEAD PARKRUN in Co. Mayo James Bolton U19 won in 15.56 to take one-second of the previous course record set by Gary Thornton (Galway City Harriers) in 2017. His brother Thomas U17 came 2nd.
More results below.

We remember the Late TOM O’RIORDAN R.I.P. 12 July 1937 to 20 June 2022.
Tom O’Riordan (Donore Harriers), from the little village of Ardfert in North Kerry, was one of Ireland’s greatest athletes. He achieved the highest honour when he represented Ireland in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics 1964. He went on to become a noted sports journalist with the Irish Independent.
In 1957, Tom O’Riordan was offered an athletic scholarship to Idaho State University U.S.A. where he went on to become a world-class athlete, winning both the National Inter-Collegiate cross-country championship and the 3,000m steeplechase title. He dominated many events in the white-hot competition of America, winning nine Conference championships in the mile and two-mile distances.
He returned to Ireland in 1962 and joined Donore Harriers where he came under the coaching influence of the legendary Eddie Hogan. In all he set 14 national records – 4 in the 3,000 metres, 4 in the 2 miles distance, 4 over 3 miles, and 2 in the 5,000m – including 1st Irish athlete to break 14 minutes.
Tom won 18 national individual senior titles – 11 were national track titles & 7 in national cross-country titles plus multiple club team titles with his beloved Donore Harriers. He was on the club’s national senior cross-country winning teams in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1975.
He was capped 21 times for Ireland, including the Olympic Games 5,000m in Tokyo 1964, the European track championships 5,000m in Budapest 1966, 11 times on the International cross-country team, and 8 other international track & field including Europa Cup teams.
He also narrowly failed to win the British A.A.A. title as he was just beaten by the great Bruce Tulloh.
Tom O’Riordan ranks with Ronnie Delaney, Eamon Coghlann, John Treacy, Sonia O’Sullivan, and others, as one of Ireland’s all-time greats.
Here is Tom O’Riordan being interviewed by Radio Kerry in 1999 – with thanks to his former Donore Harriers clubmate John Phelan for the link.

Results in brief:
DUBLIN OPEN GRADED TRACK & FIELD MEET NO. 5 at Tallaght (22.06.2022)
MEN’S 800m A GRADE RACE: 7th Jack Byrne (1.58.76), 8th Sean Kinsella (1.59.89 PB)
MEN’S 800m B GRADE RACE: 5th Emmet O’Briain (2.07.83)
MEN’S 5,000m A GRADE RACE: 6th Daragh Keegan (16.07.47)
DOCKLANDS 5KM ROAD RACE at Georges Quay, Dublin (23.06.2022)
37th Didier Da Costa M45 (17.55 PB)
77th Ray Armstrong M40 (18.57 PB)
292nd Julia Hackett W50 (22.03)
1,039 finishers
CLONEE 10KM ROAD RACE (23.06.2022)
24th David McGrath (40.10 PB)
229 finishers
TAILTEANN SCHOOLS INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry (24.04.2022)
BOY’S 1,500m: 1st Oliver Hopkins (4.03.79)
ST. COCA’S 5KM ROAD RACE at Kilcock (24.06.2022)
6th & 1st M40 Robert Murphy (15.06)
78th & 2nd M50 Des Tremble (17.02)
79th & 28th M40 Gavin Keogh (17.02)
89th & 45th SNR Adam Foy (17.15) club debut
92nd & 46th SNR Simon O’Toole (17.16)
107th & 41st M40 Alan Keogh (17.25)
139th & 7th SNR Maura Kearns (18.06)
142nd & 8th M50 Peter Gaffney (18.05)
238th & 20th W40 Audrey Gahan (19.47)
239th & 76th SNR JP O’Hanlon (19.53 PB)
280th & 27th SNR Pamela White (20.43 PB)
337th & 40th W40 Suzie Henley-Willis (21.34 PB)
351st & 40th SNR Katherine Marsh (22.01 PB)
471 finishers
COURTMACSHERRY 10KM ROAD RACE in County Cork (24.06.2022)
89th, 10th woman & 3rd senior Aisling Kirby (45.23)
246 finishers
SPORTIVAMENTE 10KM RACE at Bois De La Cambre, Brussels (25.06.2022)
3rd woman Cliodhna Carthy
NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 at Santry (25.06.2022)
WOMEN’S 200m HEAT 3: 2nd Claudia Sofia Andre (25.77) Q.
WOMEN’S 200m FINAL: 8th Claudia Sofia Andre (26.45)
WOMEN’S 100m HURDLES FINAL: DNS Lara O’Byrne
MEN’S 200m HEAT 5: 7th David Campbell (25.96)
MEN’S 200m HEAT 6: 5th Conor Fox (25.06)
MEN’S 400m HEAT 5: 4th Zak Higgins (50.54)
WOMEN’S 400m HURDLES HEAT 2: 3rd Caoimhe Mackey (1.05.58) Q.
MEN’S 400m HURDLES HEAT 2: 4th Daragh McAuley (58.75)
MEN’S 1,500m HEAT 3: 3rd Louis O’Loughlin (3.58.42) Q.
WOMEN’S 5,000m FINAL: 2nd Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (16.19.71) SILVER, 3rd Ide NicDhomhnaill (16.20.51) BRONZE
WOMEN’S SHOT PUTT FINAL: 9th Chinonye Okwara (10.01m)
NATIONAL SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 2 at Santry (26.06.2022)
WOMEN’S 100m HEAT 3: 5th Eva McPartlan (13.19)
MEN’S 100m HEAT 3: 3rd Paul McDermott (11.60) Q.
MEN’S 100m SEMI FINAL 1: 6th Paul McDermott (11.43)
WOMEN’S 400m HURDLES FINAL: 5th Caoimhe Mackey (1.02.79 PB and club record)
MEN’S 1,500m FINAL: 6th Louis O’Loughlin (4.01.95)
MEN’S 5,000m ‘B’ FINAL: 6th Kane Collins (15.04.42)
WOMEN’S LONG JUMP FINAL: 8th Lara O’Byrne (5.47m) wind 4.3m/s
WOMEN’S JAVELIN FINAL: 9th Lara O’Byrne (30.15m)
INTERNATIONAL UNDER 18 MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIP at Saluzzo, Italy (26.06.2022)
4.35KM COURSE: 43rd Laura Nunan (23.45)
THOROUGHBRED RUN KILDARE HALF-MARATHON at Kildare Town (19.06.2022)
32nd Oliver O’Hara M45 (1.37.36)
75th Jo Hughes W50 (1.44.53)
132nd Neil Maddox M40 (1.54.20)
181st Deirdre Healy W50 (2.01.32)
286 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (25.06.2022)
CASTLETOWN: 38th Joan McTernan W60 (26.40)
BUSHY: 167th Thomas Halton M65 (31.54)
CORKAGH: 73rd Terry Mee M75 (30.59), 137th Nicola Dowdall W45 (51.23)
ERRIS HEAD: 1st James Bolton U19 (15.56), 2nd Thomas Bolton U17 (17.03)
NEW ROSS: 27th Liz McCurtain W55 (29.13), 28th Eugene McCurtain M55 (29.13)
WATERSTOWN: 1st Dylan McKenna M15-17 (19.58), 5th & 1st woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (25.44)

04. Caoimhe Mackey & Lara O'Byrne

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 19th June 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Caoimhe Mackey set a new 400m Hurdles club record in the NI & ULSTER T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS at Belfast. James Bolton, Thomas Bolton & Liam Morris finished in the top 5 in the CASTLEKNOCK 5KM ROAD RACE. Eva Crowe 2nd junior woman, Tony Kynes 1st M60. David McConn 8th & 3rd M40 in TALLAGHT 5 MILE ROAD RACE. Chris Muldoon 2nd M45 & Ariana Ball 3rd W35. Robert Murphy 3rd M40, Aislinn NicDhomhnaill 2nd W40 & Florence Curley 3rd W45 in the MICHAEL MANNING MEMORIAL DUNSHAUGHLIN 10KM ROAD RACE. In the concluding part of the DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS the Boys U16 relay team won silver and the Boys U14 team took bronze. Sorcha & Ide NicDhomhnaill confirmed 1st and 2nd in DUBLIN 10KM ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS in both the senior and W35 categories. Florence Curley 3rd in the W45 class.

REPORT: In the NORTHERN IRELAND & ULSTER SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Mary Peter’s Track Belfast on Saturday Caoimhe Mackey lowered her own club record mark when placing 5th in the Senior Women’s 400m Hurdles final in a time of 1.03.91. Lara O’Byrne came 4th in the 100m Hurdles race in 14.65.

The MICHAEL MANNING MEMORIAL DUNSHAUGHLIN 10KM ROAD RACE has been one of the favoured road races for Donore Harriers members for several years now. The race also attracts some of the top athletes in Ireland – and this year the race winners Efrem Gidey of Clonliffe Harriers and Fionnoula McCormick of Kilcoole AC set course records of 28.14 and 32.08 respectively.
On a sunny, balmy Saturday evening the assembly of athletes gathered around the local Community Centre ready to take to the local roads. Robert Murphy, who posted a 2.22.08 in the Seville Marathon in February, was the first Donore Harriers athlete home in a fine 31.04 claiming 3rd prize in the M40 category.
He was followed by Sean Fox (34.20) who was 68th overall and 8th M45.
Next home was Ryan Aikins (34.49) in 81st place, with Danny O’Sullivan (34.50) a few strides behind in 83rd & 25th M40.
Aislinn NicDhomhnaill struggled over the final mile, but gamely dug deep to place 91st overall. She was the 4th woman finisher and took 2nd place in the over 40’s category in a personal best time of 35.07.
The next 3 club athletes to finish all achieved new personal best times. Harry Vaughan (35.20) came 103rd, then Craig Scott (35.28) in 109th and Liam Keane (36.10) in 130th. M40 athlete Andrew Kinane (36.08) came 135th, closely followed by Simon O’Toole – with a PB of 36.13 – in 137th.
Newcomer Noel Solorm Adabbah (36.54) came 158th followed by Ray Armstrong in 229th with a PB time of 38.58.
Florence Curley (39.53) placed 271st of 740 finishers and came 3rd in the W45 category. She was happy to have improved on the 40.33 she ran in the Women’s Mini-Marathon a couple of weeks ago.

Several club athletes competed in the TALLAGHT 5-MILE ROAD RACE on Sunday morning led home by an in-form David McConn. McConn placed 8th overall and came 3rd in the M40 category. He posted a time of 27.44.
The race, run in bright and breezy conditions, started, and finished next to Tallaght Stadium and took a route along Whitestown Way, Firhouse Road, the Old Bawn Road, down the N81 and returned to the stadium area via Killenarden Heights and back down Whitestown Way.
Second home for Donore Harriers was Ken Nugent (28.51) in 19th spot and 5th in the M35 age-group. Chris Muldoon and Neil Hand finished in close order. Muldoon came 40th and 2nd M45 in 30.49, with Hand closing in 42nd and 11th in the M35 category. John Paul O’Hanlon (33.40) placed 122nd male finisher and 38th M35.
Ariana Ball (33.53) was the 10th woman to complete the race and she came 3rd in the women’s over 35 category. Just over one-minute behind was Tony Griffin (34.57) who was 161st male and 5th M60. Mark Devine (36.07) came 211th of the 820 male finishers and was 25th in the M45 class. The race winners were Hugh Armstrong (24.14) of Ballina AC and Ciara Hickey (27.33) of Brothers Pearse AC.

The 8th edition of the CASTLEKNOCK 5KM ROAD RACE also took place on Sunday morning with a strong contingent of young and older Donore Harriers athletes. The race started and finished at Castleknock College and took a route that included a section of the Phoenix Park.
The overall winner was Ireland Under 20 international Scott Fagan (15.12) of Metro St. Brigid AC. First home for Donore Harriers was James Bolton, an Under 19 athlete, who came 2nd in a time of 15.51. Thomas Bolton (Under 17) came 4th in 16.19 and Liam Morris U15 made it 3 in the top 5 for our young club athletes with a time of 17.01.
Cillian McCooey U14 came 28th in 19.02 and he was followed by Eva Crowe U16 who was 36th overall and both 2nd female finisher and 2nd junior in a time of 19.34.
The next 3 home were in the top 3 in their respective categories. Bobby Colgan (19.44) and Mark Nunan (20.06) came 43rd and 54th and came 2nd and 3rd in the Under 13 Boys, whilst Tony Kynes (20.15) was 59th overall and 1st in the M60 age-group.
Dean Fullston came 66th overall and 8th in the M50 class posting a personal best time of 20.31. He was followed by James O’Hanlon U13 in 79th with a time of 21.16. Next home for Donore Harriers was Paul Nunan M40 who posted a time of 22.01 for 110th place.
Jedd Fanning U13 (24.37) came 215th, followed by Abigail Tolan U15 (25.35) in 263rd, and then Dianne Nunan W40 (25.38) in 266th.
The next 4 Donore Harriers finishers were all Under 13 competitors led by Ciara O’Neill (25.59) in 282nd, then Lauren Tolan (26.19) in 299th, Daniel Lynch (27.06) in 338th, and Anna Garry (28.41) in 417th.
Sharon O’Malley (30.04), a W50 runner, came 486th.
Michael Dillon U13 (31.28) closed in 550th spot, and he was followed by Danny Colgan U14 (33.37) in 618th.
Ali Woods U13 (34.06) came 633rd out of the 890 finishers.

The DUBLIN PRIDE 5KM ROAD RACE at Phoenix Park on Friday evening took a route that was 2 laps of the football pitches triangle starting and finishing adjacent to the Pope’s Cross. The club’s lone competitor was Dean Fullston (20.52) who came 43rd of 759 finishers.

Des Gill (39.58) came 19th of 79 finishers in the DUBLIN BAY RUNNING CLUB CHAELA GONDA 5 MILE TRAIL RACE at Howth Head on Sunday morning.

DAY 5 of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS took place on Wednesday (15.06.2022) at Lucan Track with the even-ages relays.
A warm, sunny evening provided the athletes and spectators the good mood factor as sporting fours were prepared to take to the track with the intention of getting the baton around without any mishaps. And of course, there was the matter of reaching finals and winning medals.
Donore Harriers added a silver and bronze to their medal haul for the championships. The Under 16 Boys didn’t have the bother of heats but went direct to a final and despite some late changes to the team came away with silver medals. The quartet of James Dunne, Paddy Nolan, Alex Leonard, and Ciaran O’Farrell completed the 4 x 100m relay in 48.20.
The bronze medal was won by the Under 14 Boys 4 x 100m relay team. The four of Eliott Whelan, Luis Blanco, Luuk Jackson and Conor Garvey qualified 2nd from heat 2 in 54.61 and then ran 54.80 to place 3rd in the final.
Donore Harriers fielded two teams in both the Under 12 Girls and Under 14 Girls 4 x 100m relays. The Under 12 Girls B team (1.16.09) of Tess O’Donohoe, Sadhbh Hussey, Robyn McCluskey and Hannah Kelly came 8th in heat 2, with the A team (1.03.02) of Anabella Omozee, Florence Zakrezewska, Anna Whelan, and Lucie Boyle 4th in heat No. 4. Neither team progressed to contest the final.
The Under 14 Girls B team of Petra Cunningham, Anna Peake, Ruby Blake, Melody Omozee and Zion Osawe qualified as a fastest loser when 4th in heat 1 in a time of 55.26. They also came 4th in the final in 56.02. The A team of Zoe Conroy, Rachel Dowling-Barnes, Lily Clarke-Hanrahan, and Sophie Boyle came 8th in heat 2 in 1.04.28 and were eliminated.
The Under 16 Girls team (53.69) comprising Roisin Kirby, Isabella Jackson, Leah Nunan and Eva Crowe qualified to the final as a fastest loser when 5th in heat 2. However, they were unable to make in impact in the final placing 8th in 54.48.
The four of Mark Nunan, Max Henley-Willis, James O’Loughlin, and Cian Hussey came 2nd in heat 1 of the Under 12 Boys 4 x 100m in 1.03.91 and gained automatic passage to the final. In a frantic final they placed 8th in 1.04.37.
The B team (1.06.99) of Daire Walsh, Jedd Fanning, Mark Keegan, and Cillian O’Farrell came 6th in heat 3 and did not progress.

The club was out of the medals on the final day (DAY 6) of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Lucan on Friday evening when the uneven ages’ relays took place.
The Under 17 Boys 4 x 100m team of Romeo Omozee, Ciaran O’Farrell, James Dunne, and Paddy Nolan came 4th in their final with a time of 49.49.
Donore Harriers had 3 teams in the Under 13 Boys 4 x 100 relay contest. The B team of Daniel Lynch, Michael Dillon, Dylan O’Connor, and Oisin O’Gorman came 6th in heat 1 in 1.03.89. Next up was the A team of Tom Nolan, Jack Mansfield, Sam Inverarity, and Sean Culhane who qualified 2nd in heat 2 in 1.01.54. The C team of James O’Hanlon, Philippe Gaudin, Mark Nunan, and Max Henley-Willis came 8th in heat 3 in 1.07.42. In the Under 13 final the Donore Harriers A quartet of Nolan, Mansfield, Inverarity and Culhane came 8th in 1.05.37.
Kate Phelan, Emma Jane Keegan, Ruby Blake, and Anabella Omozee were very unlucky not to qualify for the final of the Under 13 Girls 4 x 100m relay. They placed 2nd in heat 3 in a time of 1.01.08 and narrowly failed to progress on time.
The Under 15 Girls team of Zion Osawe, Melody Omozee, Aoife Devine, and Aoife Jackson qualified to their final when placing 3rd in heat 1 in a time of 55.95. They came 8th in the final in 56.33.

Please note that there are some updated results from last weekend’s DUBLIN JUVENILE CHAMPIONSHIPS listed below. Note that Roisin Kirby, who had a superb championship, came 3rd in the Under 16 Girls Shot Putt with a best effort of 6.78m. The new PB set by Oisin Cummins-Weiss when winning the Under 17 Boys Shot Putt was 11.36m.
The full list of medal winners – subject to any corrections – for the DUBLIN JUVENILE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022 are –
GOLD – Anabella Omozee Under 12 Girls 60m; Ruby Blake Under 13 Girls Shot Putt; Ruby Blake Under 13 Girls Long Jump, Melody Omozee Under 14 Girls 75mH; Zion Osawe Under 14 Girls High Jump; Emily Bolton Under 15 Girls 800m; Emily Bolton Under 15 Girls 1,500m; Liam Morris Under 15 Boys 800m; Mario Omozee Under 15 Boys 250m Hurdles; Mario Omozee Under 15 Boys Long Jump; Mario Omozee Under 15 Boys Shot Putt; Roisin Kirby Under 16 Girls Discus; Alex Leonard Under 16 Boys 200m; Oisin Cummins-Weiss Under 17 Boys Shot Putt; Eimear Finn Under 18 Girls High Jump; James Bolton Under 19 Boys 3,000m; Sophie O’Farrell Under 19 Girls Long Jump; Chinonye Okwara Under 19 Girls Shot Putt; Bobby Amadi Under 19 Boys Long Jump = 19
SILVER – Anabella Omozee Under 12 Girls High Jump; Anabella Omozee Under 12 Girls Shot Putt; Zion Owase Under 14 Girls 75mH; Eliott Whelan Under 14 Boys 75mH; Mario Omozee Under 15 Boys 100m; Reuben McCormick Under 15 Boys 800m, Liam Morris Under 15 Boys 1,500m; Eva Crowe Under 16 Girls 800m, Julie Cleary Under 16 Girls 3,000m, Donore Harriers U/16 Boys 4 x 100m relay; Romeo Omozee Under 17 Boys 300m Hurdles; Thomas Bolton Under 17 Boys 3,000m; Luke Hanly Under 17 Boys High Jump; Oisin Cummins-Weiss Under 17 Boys Long Jump; James Bolton Under 19 Boys 1,500m = 15
BRONZE – Dylan O’Connor Under 13 Boys Javelin; Donore Harrers Under 14 Boys 4 x 100m relay: Reuben McCormick Under 15 Boys 1,500m; Mario Omozee Under 15 Boys Javelin; Roisin Kirby Under 16 Girls 200m; Roisin Kirby Under 16 Girls Long Jump; Roisin Kirby Under 16 Girls Shot Putt; Alex Leonard Under 16 Boys 100m; Isabella Kelly Under 17 Girls 100m; Romeo Omozee Undeer 17 Boys Long Jump; Romeo Omozee Under 17 Boys Shot Putt; Sophie O’Farrell Under 19 Girls 100m; Sophie O’Farrell Under 19 Girls 200m = 13

In the recent DUBLIN WOMEN’S 10KM ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS incorporated into the MINI MARATHON sisters Sorcha and Ide NicDhomhnaill who came 2nd and 3rd overall in the race behind Aoife Kilgannon of Sligo AC took gold and silver medals in both the Dublin senior women’s and W35 categories. Florence Curley who was 41st overall in the race took bronze in the Dublin W45 category.

In the OPW/BHAA 5KM TRAIL RACE at the Phoenix Park on Tuesday evening (14.06.2022) the club had 4 competitors among the 140 finishers. Tom Fagan (21.40) came 42nd and 4th in the M50 category, with training partner Peter Nugent (21.48) 43rd and the 5th M50 athlete. Mary McDermott (24.38) was 3rd in the W50 category when placing 83rd overall. M75 runner Terry Mee won his age group placing 136th overall in 33.50.

One missing result from a couple of weeks ago was that of Michael Ryan who placed 46th in the CORK CITY HALF-MARATHON in a time of 1.20.37.

Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan and Kevin O’Boyle were congratulated by their training group colleagues on Saturday morning ahead of their participation in the WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS that takes place in the 3 cities of Kolding, Fredericia and Vejle in Denmark between the 26th and 30th of June.

On Saturday 11th June a Donore Harriers team took part in the HELL & BACK event at Kilruddery Estate, Bray to raise funds for Brain Tumour Ireland <report by David Campbell>. The event was organised by Emily Geoghegan and the athletes took part in memory of our late coach John Geoghegan.
They battled the elements over the 8km course and were delighted to see everyone complete the course successfully. The team had to navigate themselves up hills, over walls, through tyres, into ice baths… the list goes on!!!
It was an amazing day out with athletes across multiple disciplines represented on the day. To top it off the team raised over €3,000 for Brain Tumour Ireland which was a fantastic achievement. We’re already looking forward to doing it all again next year!

PARKRUN highlights this week were Matthew Proffit and Michael Ryan placing 1st and 3rd at Toyen in Norway, Fergal Whitty 2nd at Hartstown, and Jean Murphy 1st woman at Waterstown. Juvenile members Dylan McKenna and Katie Delaney came 3rd and 11th overall at Waterstown.
More results below.

Results in brief:
OPW/BHAA 5KM TRAIL RACE at the Phoenix Park (14.06.2022)
42nd & 4th M50 Tom Fagan (21.40)
43rd & 5th M50 Peter Nugent (21.48)
83rd & 3rd W50 Mary McDermott (24.38)
136th & 1st M75 Terry Mee (33.50)
140 finishers
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 5 at Lucan Track (15.06.2022)
U/12 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 1: 2nd Donore Harriers < Mark Nunan, Max Henley-Willis, James O’Loughlin, Cian Hussey > (1.03.91) Q.
U/12 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 3: 6th Donore Harriers B <Daire Walsh, Jedd Fanning, Mark Keegan, Cillian O’Farrell> (1.06.99)
U/12 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY FINAL: 8th Donore Harriers <Nunan, Henley-Willis, O’Loughlin, Hussey> (1.04.37)
U/14 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 2: 2nd Donore Harriers <Eliott Whelan, Luis Blanco, Luuk Jackson, Conor Garvey> (54.61) Q.
U/14 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY FINAL: 3rd Donore Harriers <Whelan, Blanco, Jackson, Garvey> (54.80) BRONZE
U/16 BOYS 4 x 100m FINAL: 2nd Donore Harriers <James Dunne, Alex Leonard, Paddy Nolan, Ciaran O’Farrell> (48.20) SILVER
U/12 GIRLS 4 x 100m HEAT 2: 8th Donore Harriers B <Tess O’Donohoe, Sadhbh Hussey, Robyn McCluskey, Hannah Kelly> (1.16.09)
U/12 GIRLS 4 x 100m HEAT 4: 4th Donore Harriers < Anabella Omozee, Florence Zakrezewska, Anna Whelan, Lucie Boyle> (1.03.02)
U/14 GIRLS 4 x 100m HEAT 1: 4th Donore Harriers B <Anna Peake, Ruby Blake, Melody Omozee, Zion Osawe> (55.26) q.
U/14 GIRLS 4 x 100m HEAT 2: 8th Donore Harriers <Zoe Conroy, Rachel Dowling-Barnes, Lily Clarke-Hanrahan, Sophie Boyle> (1.04.28)
U/14 GIRLS 4 x 100m FINAL: 4th Donore Harriers B <Peake, Blake, Omozee, Osawe> (56.02)
U/16 GIRLS 4 x 100m HEAT 2: 5th Donore Harriers <Roisin Kirby, Isabella Jackson, Leah Nunan, Eva Crowe> (53.69) q.
U/16 GIRLS 4 x 100m FINAL: 8th Donore Harriers <Kirby, Jackson, Nunan & Crowe> (54.48)
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 6 at Lucan Track (17.06.2022)
U/13 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 1: 6th Donore Harriers B <Daniel Lynch, Michael Dillon, Dylan O’Connor, Oisin O’Gorman> (1.03.89)
U/13 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 2: 2nd Donore Harriers A <Tom Nolan, Jack Mansfield, Sam Inverarity, Sean Culhane> (1.01.54) Q.
U/13 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 3: 8th Donore Harriers C <James O’Hanlon, Philippe Gaudin, Mark Nunan, Max Henley-Willis> (1.07.42)
U/13 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY FINAL: 8th Donore Harriers A <Nolan, Mansfield, Inverarity, Culhane> (1.05.37)
U/17 BOYS 4 x 100m RELAY FINAL: 4th Donore Harriers <Romeo Omozee, Ciaran O’Farrell, James Dunne, Paddy Nolan> (49.49)
U/13 GIRLS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 3: 2nd Donore Harriers <Kate Phelan, Emma Jane Keegan, Ruby Blake, Anabella Omozee> (1.01.08)
U/15 GIRLS 4 x 100m RELAY HEAT 1: 3rd Donore Harriers <Zion Osawe, Melody Omozee, Aoife Devine, Aoife Jackson> (55.95) Q.
U/15 GIRLS 4 x 100m RELAY FINAL: 8th Donore Harriers <Osawe, Omozee, Devine, A. Jackson> (56.33)
DUBLIN WOMEN’S 10KM ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS incorporated into the MINI-MARATHON (05.06.2022) – UPDATED RESULTS
SENIOR CATEGORY: 1st Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (33.06), 2nd Ide NicDhomhnaill (33.26)
W35 CATEGORY: 1st Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (33.06), 2nd Ide NicDhomhnaill (33.26)
W45 CATEGORY: 3rd Florence Curley (40.33)
Team results to follow
NORTHERN IRELAND & ULSTER SENIOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Mary Peter’s Track Belfast (18.06.2022)
WOMEN’S 100m HURDLES: 4th Lara O’Byrne (14.65)
WOMEN’S 400m HURLDES: 5th Caoimhe Mackey (1.03.91 PB & club record)
MEN’S 1,500m: Oliver Hopkins – awaiting result
DUBLIN PRIDE 5KM ROAD RACE at Phoenix Park (17.06.2022)
43rd Dean Fullston (20.52)
759 finishers
MICHAEL MANNING MEMORIAL DUNSHAUGHLIN 10KM ROAD RACE (18.06.2022)
18th & 3rd M40 Robert Murphy (31.04)
68th & 8th M45 Sean Fox (34.20)
81st Ryan Aikins MS (34.49)
83rd & 25th M40 Danny O’Sullivan (34.50)
91st, 4th woman & 2nd W40 Aislinn NicDhomhnaill (35.07 PB)
103rd & MS Harry Vaughan (35.20 PB)
109th & 34th M40 Craig Scott (35.28 PB)
130th & 42nd M40 Liam Keane (36.01 PB)
135th & 43rd M40 Andrew Kinane (36.08)
137th Simon O’Toole MS (36.13 PB)
158th Noel Solorm Adabbah MS (36.54)
229th & 72nd M40 Ray Armstrong (38.58 PB)
271st & 3rd W45 Florence Curley (39.53)
740 finishers
TALLAGHT 5-MILE ROAD RACE (19.06.2022)
8th & 3rd M40 David McConn (27.44)
19th & 5th M35 Ken Nugent (28.51)
40th & 2nd M45 Chris Muldoon (30.49)
42nd & 11th M35 Neil Hand (30.45)
122nd & 38th M35 JP O’Hanlon (33.40)
10th woman & 3rd W35 Ariana Ball (33.53)
161st & 5th M60 Tony Griffin (34.57)
211th & 25th M45 Mark Devine (36.07)
820 men & 500 women finished
CASTLEKNOCK 5KM ROAD RACE (19.06.2022)
2nd James Bolton U19 & 2nd JNR (15.51)
4th Thomas Bolton U17 (& 4th JNR 16.19)
5th Liam Morris U15 & 5th JNR (17.01)
28th Cillian McCooey U14 (19.02)
36th Eva Crowe U16, 5th woman & 2nd JNR (19.34)
43rd Bobby Colgan U13 (19.44)
54th Mark Nunan U13 (20.06)
59th & 1st M60 Tony Kynes (20.15)
66th & M50 Dean Fullston (20.31 PB)
79th James O’Hanlon U13 (21.16)
110th Paul Nunan M40 (22.01)
215th Jedd Fanning U13 (24.37)
263rd Abigail Tolan U15 (25.35)
266th Dianne Nunan W40 (25.38)
282nd Ciara O’Neill U13 (25.59)
299th Lauren Tolan U13 (26.19)
338th Daniel Lynch U13 (27.06)
417th Anna Garry U13 (28.41)
486th Sharon O’Malley W50 (30.04)
550th Michael Dillon U13 (31.28)
618th Danny Colgan U14 (33.37)
633rd Ali Woods U13 (34.06)
890 finishers
DUBLIN BAY RUNNING CLUB CHAELA GONDA 5 MILE TRAIL RACE at Howth Head (19.06.2022)
19th Des Gill (39.58)
79 finishers
Earlier Result – CORK CITY HALF MARATHON (05.06.2022)
46th Michael Ryan (1.20.37)
3,197 finishers
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 3 & 4 (11 & 12.06.2022) – UPDATED & CORRECTED RESULTS
U/13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 1st Ruby Blake (7.63m)
U/14 GIRLS DISCUS: 4th Melody Omozee (14.44m)
U/16 GIRLS DISCUS: 1st Roisin Kirby (16.74m)
U/16 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 3rd Roisin Kirby (6.78m) add BRONZE
U/17 BOYS SHOT PUTT: 1st Oisin Cummins-Weiss (11.36m PB), 3rd Romeo Omozee (8.27m)
U/18 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 1st Eimear Finn (1.30m)
U/18 BOYS HIGH JUMP: 2nd Luke Hanly (1.55m)
PARKRUNS 5km (18.06.2022)
CORKAGH: 70th Terry Mee M75 (31.11), 137th Nicola Dowdall W45 (51.23)
HARTSTOWN: 2nd Fergal Whitty M45 (18.35)
WATERSTOWN: 3rd Dylan McKenna M15-17 (20.20), 5th & 1st woman Jean Murphy W35 (21.19), 11th & 2nd woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (24.06)
TOYEN, NORWAY: 1st Matthieu Proffit MS (17.57), 3rd Michael Ryan MS (18.38)

51. Hell and Back 22 22. Relay medals

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 12th June 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Gold for Caoimhe Mackey, Zak Higgins & Michael McCarthy Snr in DUBLIN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS/GRADED MEET. Bronze and PB for Oliver Hopkins. Des Tremble M50 gold in IRISH RUNNER/NATIONAL 5-MILE ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP. Silver for Grace Kennedy in W35 and Tony Kynes in M65. DH senior men’s team 3rd and W35 team 2nd.
Anabella Omozee, Ruby Blake (2), Melody Omozee, Emily Bolton, Roisin Kirby, Alex Leonard, Oisin Cummins-Weiss, Eimear Finn and Chinonye Okwara all won gold in the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS – the latter threw a club record in the Shot Putt

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley>

The 4th DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEET at the Morton Stadium in Santry last Wednesday (08.06.2022) incorporated the Dublin Open Championships. It proved a good evening for Donore Harriers athletes as Caoimhe Mackey (59.13) and Zak Higgins (49.88) were winners in the 400m categories. Michael McCarthy Snr won the High Jump competition with a best effort of 1.55m.
An improving Oliver Hopkins (3.59.15) broke the 4-minutes barrier when placing 2nd in his 1,500m Grade A race. Despite very blustery conditions Hopkins beat his personal best by 3-seconds. Gavin O’Rourke (3.58.91) of Leevale AC won the race. In the Dublin Open Championship Hopkins came 3rd as David Scanlon (3.58.20) of Rathfarnham AC took top spot having won the additional A race in a faster time.
Daragh McAuley (51.52) won the 400m B grade race with David Campbell 2nd in a time of 54.15.
Colm Dunne (12.64) and Michael McCarthy Snr (13.29) came 5th and 7th respectively in the Men’s 100m C grade race. Emmet O’Briain came 12th in the 1,500m B race in a time of 4.19.33.

The IRISH RUNNER 5-MILE ROAD RACE at the Phoenix Park on Sunday morning incorporated the NATIONAL 5-MILE ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS. A shower of rain cleared as the race began and more than 700 runners followed a big lap along Chesterfield Avenue, Ordnance Survey Road, Upper Glen Road, Acres Road, and a small lap that repeated Chesterfield Avenue and Ordnance Survey Road before the long run in to the finish line on Furze Road.
Ben Guiden of Clonliffe Harriers took an early lead and romped to victory in 23.44. The battle to be the first Donore Harriers athlete home became a private duel between David McConn and Ian Fitzgerald. McConn (27.15) finished stronger to place 25th and 6th in the M40 category as Fitzgerald (27.29) felt the previous week’s Cork City marathon in his legs and had to settle for 29th position.
Des Tremble (27.53) was happy to get home in under 28 minutes. He placed 32nd overall and won the competitive M50 category with 16 seconds to spare over runner-up Arnaud Benjacar of Lucan Harriers. Next home was Alan Keogh (29.05) in 57th place and 10th in the M40 age-group. Peter Gaffney returned to competition by posting a time of 30.24 to finish 87th and 12th M50. Regular marathon runner Grace Kennedy (31.13) came 103rd overall and won an individual silver medal in the W35 age group. In the process she led the Donore Harriers W35 team to silver medals. Peter Nugent (32.39) came 139th and 17th in the M50 class, narrowly finishing ahead of Tony Kynes (32.57) who came 146th and 2nd in the M65 category. John Curran posted a personal best of 33.22 to cross the line in 152nd spot and 13th in the M45 category. Ray Armstrong (33.16), who used the race as a training effort, came 161st, Tom Fagan (34.22) was 165th, then Claire Mulligan (34.57) in 180th, followed by Mark Devine (36.24) in 230th, Margaret O’Brien (36.27) in 232nd and Angela Eustace (38.12) in 276th. There were 763 finishers.
The W35 team (1.44.35) of Grace Kennedy, Claire Mulligan and Angela Eustace came 2nd behind Brothers Pearse AC (1.39.27) in the National Championship.
The men’s senior team (1.51.45) of David McConn, Ian Fitzgerald, Des Tremble and Alan Keogh took bronze behind winners Raheny Shamrocks AC (1.47.04) and Liffey Valley AC (1.50.33). The M35 team came 8th of 11 teams.

It was a busy weekend of juvenile track athletics with 3 days of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry. It all kicked off on Friday evening (DAY 2) with the focus on younger-ages middle-distance events. Donore Harriers had 7 members in action. In the Under 10 Girls 500m Sally McGowan (2.07.54) came 8th in Heat 1 and Maude Hickey (2.01.09) was also 8th in Heat 3. We had 3 boys compete in the Under 10s over the same distance. Michael McCarthy Jnr (1.58.77) came 10th in Heat 1, followed by Hugo Budura (2.06.17) 9th in Heat 2, and Bobby Farrell (1.56.28) 5th in Heat 3. Emani NiMeaghair (2.37.64) came 10th in Heat 2 of the Under 11 Girls 600m – and Lola Blake (2.32.12) came 8th in Heat 3 in the same category. There was plenty to cheer in Saturday’s DAY 3 OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS. Chinonye Okwara threw a club record of 10.78m to take the gold medal in the Under 19 Girls Shot Putt. Okwara, coached by Gerry Ronan and a student at King’s Hospital College, is an exciting talent and a great addition to the team. Another athlete who is continuing to impress is Alex Leonard. The Lucan CBS student took gold in the Under 16 Boys 200m in a time of 24.61 having won his heat in 24.48. Ciaran O’Farrell came 6th in the same final in 26.57 having qualified 3rd in his heat in 27.17. Melody Omozee and Zion Osawe, both coached by Ray O’Keeffe and Alex Conway, dominated the Under 14 Girls 75m Hurdles competition and came away with the gold and silver medals. Omozee won the final in 12.91 with Osawe next in 13.05. Both girls qualified as heat winners – with Omozee (13.36) 1st in heat 2 and Osawe (13.07) 1st in heat 1. There was a strait final in the Under 14 Boys 75m Hurdles and a fine run by Eliott Whelan (14.51) saw him take the silver medal position. Roisin Kirby and Isabella Jackson both qualified for the final of the Under 16 Girls 200m. Kirby won heat 1 in 28.28 and Jackson was 3rd in heat 3 in 28.91. Kirby, a student at Mount Sackville College, won a bronze medal in the final with a time of 27.86 whilst Jackson came 7th in 29.56. Sophie O’Farrell also picked up a bronze medal in the Under 19 Girls 200m. Her time was 28.36. New member Luis Blinco just missed out on a medal in the Under 14 Boys 200m. He qualified 1st from heat 1 in 28.78, but an improved time of 27.84 saw him narrowly miss a podium place in 4th. His teammate Luuk Jackson won heat 3 in 28.77 and came 5th in the final in 29.45. Romeo Omozee came 5th in the final of the Under 17 Boys 400m in 55.60, and 4th in the final of the 100m Hurdles in 20.14. Another to just miss out on a medal was Ruby Blake, who qualified 3rd from heat 3 in the Under 13 Girls 60m Hurdles in 11.33 and then came 4th in the final with an identical time. The club had 3 competitors in the Under 14 Girls 200m. Zion Osawe (26.63) won heat 2 to make the final, but both Melody Omozee (30.05) and Rachel Dowling-Barnes (30.68) narrowly missed out on fastest loser spots as they placed 3rd in heats 4 and 5 respectively. Osawe came 8th in the final in 31.52. In the Under 15 Girls 200m Aoife Jackson (31.19) came 5th in heat 2 and Aoife Devine (30.16) was 3rd in heat 4 – neither progressed to the final. Oisin Cummins-Weiss (26.39) qualified as a fastest loser when finishing 5th in heat 1 of the Under 17 Boys 200m. Romeo Omozee (26.52) came 4th in heat 2 narrowly failing to progress. Cummins-Weiss did not contest the final to concentrate on the Shot Putt. Oisin Cummins-Weiss duly won the Under 17 Boys Shot Putt with a personal best throw. Romeo Omozee came 3rd in the same event. Also, out in the field Eimear Finn won the Under 18 Girls High Jump and Roisin Kirby was victorious in the Under 16 Girls Discus. Luke Hanly came 2nd in the Under 17 Boys High Jump. A busy Ruby Blake jumped 3.97m to win gold in the Under 13 Girls Long Jump, with Saoirse Jackson competing in the same event. Melody Omozee was just out of the medals with 4th place in the Under 14 Girls Discus.

The weekend weather remained unpredictable with ‘4 seasons in a day’ as the DUBLIN JUVENILE CHAMPIONSHIPS continued (DAY 4) at Santry on Sunday. The day’s competition began with the short sprints. Anabella Omozee won heat 6 of the Under 12 Girls 60m in 9.43 and later ran 9.15 to win the gold medal in a keenly contested final.
Olyver Whelan (9.80) narrowly failed to make the final of the Under 12 Boys 60m despite placing 2nd in heat 2. Max Henley-Willis (11.04) came 8th in heat 4 and also failed to progress. Donore Harriers had 5 competitors in the Under 13 Girls 60m heats. Emma Jane Keegan (13.55) came 6th in heat 2, Ruby Blake (12.39) was 2nd in heat 3, Petra Cunningham 7th in heat 4, Saoirse Jackson (12.98) 6th in heat 5, and Anna Peake (12.73) 2nd in heat 6. There were also 4 boys in the Under 13s sprints. Conor Garvey (12.44) came 3rd in heat 1, Hugh Cunningham (12.84) 3rd in heat 2, Sam Inverarity (13.03) 6th in heat 4, and Oisin O’Gorman (13.10) 6th in heat 5. None of the above qualified for the finals, but all will have benefitted from the experience of competing in a championship. In the Under 14 Girls 80m final Zion Osawe came 4th in 11.32. She qualified as a fastest loser when finishing 3rd in heat 3 in 11.76. Melody Omozee (11.99) came 4th in heat 4 and was eliminated.
Luis Blinco and Luuk Jackson having narrowly failed to make the podium in the 200m on the previous day were back in action in the Under 14 Boys 80m sprint. Luis (10.89) automatically qualified 3rd from Heat 2 and Luuk (11.40) got a fastest loser spot when 4th in heat 1. However, Luis Blinco was again left with the heartbreak of 4th place in the final with a time of 11.06, whilst Luuk came 9th in 11.59. In the Under 15 grade, Mario Omozee sprinted to 2nd place in the 100m final (strait) in 12.56 to claim the silver medal. Aoife Devine (14.58) came 9th in heat 2 of the girl’s competition and Leah Nunan (14.47) came 6th in heat 3. Both failed to make it to the final.
Roisin Kirby had a busy championship and was looking to add to her Discus gold. She lined up in the Under 16 Girls 100m heat 1 winning in 13.53 before placing 5th in the final in 13.58. Isabella Jackson qualified as a fastest loser (13.92) when placing 5th in heat 2 and came 8th in the final in 14.03.
Two boys reached the final of the Under 16s 100m as James Dunne (14.05) was eliminated after placing 5th in heat 1. Alex Leonard (12.61) and Ciaran O’Farrell (12.93) came 3rd and 4th in heat 2 to qualify automatically. In the final Leonard (12.12) lost out in a photo-finish for runner-up spot and took home the bronze medal. Ciaran O’Farrell ran well to come 5th in 12.93.
Isabella Kelly also won bronze in the Under 17 Girls 100m final. Her time was 13.86. In the Under 17 Boys 100m both Oisin Cummins-Weiss (12.57) 4th in heat 1 and Romeo Omozee (12.41) 3rd in heat 2 qualified for the final. Omozee came 5th in the final in 12.51 and Cummins-Weiss 8th in 12.71.
Sophie O’Farrell added the 100m bronze to the bronze gong she won in the Under 19s 200m. Her time was 13.64.
The afternoon’s 1,500m finals kicked off with Lily Clarke-Hanrahan (5.27.31) placing 4th in the Under 14 Girls and qualified to compete at the Nationals. Clarke-Hanrahan, who recently moved up to the LTAD juvenile squad, is a young athlete with fine potential.
In the Under 14 Boys 1,500m Cillian McCooey (4.56.14) came 5th. Next in action was Emily Bolton (4.46.31) who had almost 20 seconds to spare when winning the Under 15 Girls 1,500m. Abigail Tolan (5.36.58) came 7th in the same race.
Donore Harriers athletes were very much to the fore in the Under 15 Boys 1,500m. Liam Morris (4.27.35) lost out on the gold medal to Jacob Ciomek of Lucan Harriers by just 5-hundredths of a second. Next came Reuben McCormick claiming the bronze medal with a 4.35.86 time. Daire McCormick is also making noteworthy improvement as indicated with 5th place in 4.40.83. All 3 DH athletes ran personal best times.
Eva Crowe, who is a brave and wholehearted athlete, came 4th in the Under 16 Girls 1,500m and Lucas Collender (4.53.51) and Adam Mulhall (5.00.68) came 7th and 10th in the Under 16 Boys race.
James Bolton (4.18.50) came 2nd in the Under 19 Boys 1,500m behind Finn Boyle (4.13.98) of Crusaders AC.
Ruby Blake followed up her fine performances in the Dublin Juvenile League by winning the gold medal in the Under 13 Girls Shot Putt competition.
In the Under 14 Girls Long Jump Zion Osawe came 5th and Melody Omozee 7th. Emma Jane Keegan placed 8th in the Under 13 Girls Shot Putt and Max Henley-Willis was 7th in the Under 12 Boys Turbo Javelin.
FIELD EVENTS
List of medal winners: GOLD – Anabella Omozee Under 12 Girls 60m; Ruby Blake Under 13 Girls Shot Putt; Ruby Blake U 13 Girls Long Jump, Melody Omozee Under 14 Girls 75mH; Emily Bolton Under 15 Girls 1,500m; Roisin Kirby Under 16 Girls Discus; Alex Leonard Under 16 Boys 200m; Oisin Cummins-Weiss Under 17 Boys Shot Putt; Eimear Finn Under 18 Girls High Jump; Chinonye Okwara Under 19 Girls Shot Putt
SILVER – Zion Owase Under 14 Girls 75mH; Eliott Whelan Under 14 Boys 75mH
Mario Omozee Under 15 Boys 100m; Liam Morris Under 15 Boys 1,500m; Luke Hanly Under 17 Boys High Jump, James Bolton Under 19 Boys 1,500m
BRONZE – Reuben McCormick Under 15 Boys 1,500m; Roisin Kirby Under 16 Girls 200m; Alex Leonard Under 16 Boys 100m; Isabella Kelly Under 17 Girls 100m; Romeo Omozee Under 17 Boys Shot Putt; Sophie O’Farrell Under 19 Girls 100m; Sophie O’Farrell Under 19 Girls 200m

Two club athletes competed in the BRAVEHEART 5KM TRAIL RACE at the Porchfields, Trim on Friday evening. The annual trail race, which was first introduced in 2010, was run along grass and trail paths near to the Boyne River. Didier DaCosta (19.02) came 16th overall and 4th in the M45 category – and Thomas Halton (34.11) came 366th and 16th in the M60s. There were 401 finishers.

Cliodhna Carthy (1.13.03) was delighted to return to competition when she took part in the LE FOULEES ESTIVALES 13.3KM TRAIL RACE in the Forêt de Soignes on Wednesday last (08.06.2022). This friendly race follows a course inside the Sonian Forest at Watermael-Boitsfort, a suburb of Brussels.
Carthy placed 55th of 124 finishers and was 5th in the women’s category.

Last Wednesday evening (08.06.2022) the club presented a cheque to Abdel Laadjel in support of his continued athletics scholarship at Providence College in the USA. The fund was in partnership with ALLIANZ TECHNOLOGY IRELAND, who are supporting grassroots athletics at Donore Harriers through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. The cheque was presented by Peter Nugent on behalf of both Donore Harriers and Allianz Technology Ireland. Abdel, who hails from Lucan, had a very successful ‘freshman’ season at Providence, setting two Irish under 20 records over 5,000m indoors (14.12.73) and 10,000m outdoors (29.23.92). Also among his season highlights was his 6th place finish in the European Under 20 cross-country championships at Abbotstown last December, where he led the Irish team to silver medals.

Club athletes took part in the ‘TO HELL AND BACK’ event at the Kilruddery Estate, Bray on Saturday in memory of Late coach John Geoghegan. More details to follow.

Juvenile members were again to the fore in this week’s PARKRUN races. At Waterstown Dylan McKenna was 2nd overall with Katie Delaney 5th and 1st woman. Under 12 category athlete Mark Nunan placed 2nd at the Sports Campus – and Fergal Whitty M45 was first again at Hartstown.
More results below.

Results in brief:
DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEET NO. 4 incorporating the DUBLIN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry (08.06.2022)
MEN’S 100m C GRADE RACE: 5th Colm Dunne (12.64), 7th Michael McCarthy Snr (13.29)
WOMEN’S 400m A GRADE RACE: 1st Caoimhe Mackey (59.13) GOLD
MEN’S 400m A GRADE RACE: 1st Zak Higgins (49.88) GOLD
MEN’S 400m B GRADE RACE: 1st Daragh McAuley (51.52), 2nd David Campbell (54.15)
MEN’S 1,500m A GRADE RACE: 2nd Oliver Hopkins (3.59.15 PB) BRONZE
MEN’S 1,500m B GRADE RACE: 12th Emmet O’Briain (4.19.33)
MEN’S HIGH JUMP: 1st Michael McCarthy Snr (1.55m) GOLD
BRAVEHEART 5KM TRAIL RACE at Porchfields, Trim (10.06.2022)
16th & 4th M45 Didier DaCosta (19.02)
366th & 16th M60 Thomas Halton (34.11)
401 finishers
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 2 at Santry (10.06.2022)
U/10 GIRLS 500m Heat 1: 8th Sally McGowan (2.07.54)
U/10 GIRLS 500m Heat 3: 8th Maude Hickey (2.01.09)
U/10 BOYS 500m Heat 1: 10th Michael McCarthy Jnr (1.58.77)
U/10 BOYS 500m Heat 2: 9th Hugo Budura (2.06.17)
U/10 BOYS 500m Heat 3: 5th Bobby Farrell (1.56.28)
U/11 GIRLS 600m Heat 2: 10th Emani NiMeaghair (2.37.64)
U/11 GIRLS 600m Heat 3: 8th Lola Blake (2.32.12)
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 3 at Santry (11.06.2022) – note that we are still awaiting on some results…
U/17 BOYS 400m FINAL: 5th Romeo Omozee (55.60)
U/13 GIRLS 60m HURDLES HEAT 3: 3rd Ruby Blake (11.33) q.
U/13 GIRLS 60m HURDLES FINAL: 4th Ruby Blake (11.33)
U/14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES HEAT 1: 1st Zion Osawe (13.07) Q.
U/14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES HEAT 2: 1st Melody Omozee (13.36) Q.
U/14 GIRLS 75m HURDLES FINAL: 1st Melody Omozee (12.91) GOLD, 2nd Zion Osawe (13.05) SILVER
U/14 BOYS 75m HURDLES FINAL: 2nd Eliott Whelan (14.51) SILVER
U/17 BOYS 100m HURDLES FINAL: 4th Romeo Omozee (20.14)
U/14 GIRLS 200m HEAT 2: 1st Zion Osawe (29.63) Q.
U/14 GIRLS 200m HEAT 4: 3rd Melody Omozee (30.05)
U/14 GIRLS 200m HEAT 5: 3rd Rachel Dowling-Barnes (30.68)
U/14 GIRLS 200m FINAL: 8th Zion Osawe (31.52)
U/14 BOYS 200m HEAT 1: 1st Luis Blinco (28.78)
U/14 BOYS 200m HEAT 3: 1st Luuk Jackson (28.77)
U/14 BOYS 200m FINAL: 4th Luis Blinco (27.84), 5th Luuk Jackson (29.45)
U/15 GIRLS 200m HEAT 2: 5th Aoife Jackson (31.19)
U/15 GIRLS 200m HEAT 4: 3rd Aoife Devine (30.16)
U/16 GIRLS 200m HEAT 1: 1st Roisin Kirby (28.28) Q.
U/16 GIRLS 200m HEAT 3: 3rd Isabella Jackson (28.91) q.
U/16 GIRLS 200m FINAL: 3rd Roisin Kirby (27.86) BRONZE, 7th Isabella Jackson (29.56)
U/16 BOYS 200m HEAT 1: 1st Alex Leonard (24.78) Q.
U/16 BOYS 200m HEAT 2: 3rd Ciaran O’Farrell (27.17) q.
U/16 BOYS 200m FINAL: 1st Alex Leonard (24.61) GOLD, 6th Ciaran O’Farrell (26.57)
U/17 BOYS 200m HEAT 1: 5th Oisin Cummins-Weiss (26.39) q.
U/17 BOYS 200m HEAT 2: 4th Romeo Omozee (26.52)
U/17 BOYS 200m FINAL: DNS Oisin Cummins-Weiss
U/19 GIRLS 200m FINAL: 3rd Sophie O’Farrell (28.36) BRONZE
U/15 BOYS HIGH JUMP: Mario Omozee
U/17 BOYS HIGH JUMP: 2nd Luke Hanly SILVER
U/18 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 1st Eimear Finn GOLD
U/18 BOYS HIGH JUMP: Romeo Omozee
U/12 GIRLS LONG JUMP: Anabella Omozee
U/12 GIRLS LONG JUMP: Grace Bakanaba
U/12 BOYS LONG JUMP: Olyver Whelan
U/12 BOYS LONG JUMP: Max Henley-Willis
U/13 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 1st Ruby Blake (3.97m) GOLD, 6th Saoirse Jackson
U/13 BOYS LONG JUMP: Dylan O’Connor
U/16 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: Roisin Kirby
U/17 BOYS SHOT PUTT: 1st Oisin Cummins-Weiss GOLD, 3rd Romeo Omozee BRONZE
U/19 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 1st Chinonye Okwara (10.78m club record) GOLD
U/14 GIRLS DISCUS: 4th Melody Omozee
U/15 BOYS DISCUS: Mario Omozee
U/16 GIRLS DISCUS: 1st Roisin Kirby GOLD
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 4 at Santry (12.06.2022) – note that we are still awaiting on some results…
U/12 GIRLS 60m HEAT 6: 1st Anabella Omozee (9.43) Q.
U/12 GIRLS 60m FINAL: 1st Anabella Omozee (9.15) GOLD
U/12 BOYS 60m HEAT 3: 2nd Olyver Whelan (9.80)
U/12 BOYS 60m HEAT 4: 8th Max Henley-Willis (11.04)
U/13 GIRLS 80m HEAT 2: 6th Emma Jane Keegan (13.55)
U/13 GIRLS 80m HEAT 3: 2nd Ruby Blake (12.39)
U/13 GIRLS 80m HEAT 4: 7th Petra Cunningham (12.46)
U/13 GIRLS 80m HEAT 5: 6th Saoirse Jackson (12.98)
U/13 GIRLS 80m HEAT 6: 2nd Anna Peake (12.73)
U/13 BOYS 80m HEAT 1: 3rd Conor Garvey (12.44)
U/13 BOYS 80m HEAT 2: 3rd Hugh Cunningham (12.84)
U/13 BOYS 80m HEAT 4: 6th Sam Inverarity (13.03)
U/13 BOYS 80m HEAT 5: 6th Oisin O’Gorman (13.10)
U/14 GIRLS 80m HEAT 3: 3rd Zion Osawe (11.76) q.
U/14 GIRLS 80m HEAT 4: 4th Melody Omozee (11.99)
U/14 GIRLS 80m FINAL: 4th Zion Osawe (11.32)
U/14 BOYS 80m HEAT 1: 4th Luuk Jackson (11.40) q.
U/14 BOYS 80m HEAT 2: 3rd Luis Blinco (10.89) Q.
U/14 BOYS 80m FINAL: 4th Luis Blinco (11.06), 9th Luuk Jackson (11.59)
U/15 GIRLS 100m HEAT 2: 9th Aoife Devine (14.58)
U/15 GIRLS 100m HEAT 3: 6th Leah Nunan (14.47)
U/15 BOYS 100m FINAL: 2nd Mario Omozee (12.56) SILVER
U/16 GIRLS 100m HEAT 1: 1st Roisin Kirby (13.53) Q.
U/16 GIRLS 100m HEAT 2: 5th Isabella Jackson (13.92) q.
U/16 GIRLS 100m FINAL: 5th Roisin Kirby (13.58), 8th Isabella Jackson (14.03)
U/16 BOYS 100m HEAT 1: 5th James Dunne (14.05)
U/16 BOYS 100m HEAT 2: 3rd Alex Leonard (12.61) Q, 4th Ciaran O’Farrell (12.93) Q.
U/16 BOYS 100m FINAL: 3rd Alex Leonard (12.12) BRONZE, 5th Ciaran O’Farrell (12.47)
U/17 GIRLS 100m FINAL: 3rd Isabella Kelly (13.86) BRONZE
U/17 BOYS 100m HEAT 1: 4th Oisin Cummins-Weiss (12.57) q.
U/17 BOYS 100m HEAT 2: 3rd Romeo Omozee (12.41) Q.
U/17 BOYS 100m FINAL: 5th Romeo Omozee (12.51), 8th Oisin Cummins-Weiss (12.71)
U/19 GIRLS 100m FINAL: 3rd Sophie O’Farrell (13.64) BRONZE
U/14 GIRLS 1,500m: 4th Lily Clarke-Hanrahan (5.27.31)
U/14 BOYS 1,500m: 5th Cillian McCooey (4.56.14)
U/15 GIRLS 1,500m: 1st Emily Bolton (4.46.31) GOLD, 7th Abigail Tolan (5.36.58)
U/15 BOYS 1,500m: 2nd Liam Morris (4.27.35 PB) SILVER, 3rd Reuben McCormick (4.35.86 PB) BRONZE, 5th Daire McCarthy (4.40.83 PB)
U/16 GIRLS 1,500m: 4th Eva Crowe (5.02.67)
U/16 BOYS 1,500m: 7th Lucas Collender (4.53.51), 10th Adam Mulhall (5.00.68)
U/19 BOYS 1,500m: 2nd James Bolton (4.18.50) SILVER
U/15 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: Aoife Jackson
U/15 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: Leah Nunan
U/14 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 5th Zion Osawe, 7th Melody Omozee
U/15 BOYS TRIPLE JUMP: Mario Omozee
U/18 BOYS TRIPLE JUMP: Romeo Omozee
U/13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 1st Ruby Blake (7.60m) GOLD
U/13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: Saoirse Jackson
U/13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 8th Emma Jane Keegan
U/12 GIRLS TURBO JAVELIN: Anabella Omozee
U/12 BOYS TURBO JAVELIN: 7th Max Henley-Willis
IRISH RUNNER 5 MILE ROAD RACE incorporating the NATIONAL 5 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS at Phoenix Park (12.06.2022)
25th & 6th M40 David McConn (27.15)
29th & 11th MS Ian Fitzgerald (27.29)
32nd & 1st M50 Des Tremble (27.53)
57th & 10th M40 Alan Keogh (29.05)
87th & 12th M50 Peter Gaffney (30.24)
103rd & 2nd W35 Grace Kennedy (31.13)
139th & 17th M50 Peter Nugent (32.39)
146th & 2nd M65 Tony Kynes (32.57)
152nd & 13th M45 John Curran (33.22 PB)
161st & 22nd M40 Ray Armstrong (33.16)
165th & 19th M50 Tom Fagan (34.22)
180th & W45 Claire Mulligan (34.57)
230th & 18th M45 Mark Devine (36.24)
232nd & 20th WS Margaret O’Brien (36.27)
276th & 13th W50 Angela Eustace (38.12)
763 finishers
MEN’S TEAM: 1. Raheny Shamrocks AC (1.47.04), 2. Liffey Valley AC (1.50.33), 3. Donore Harriers <McConn, Fitzgerald, Tremble, Keogh> (1.51.45).
6 teams closed
M35 TEAM: 1. Raheny Shamrocks AC (1.22.49), 8. Donore Harriers <McConn, Nugent, Curran> (1.33.27).
11 teams closed
W35 TEAM: 1. Brothers Pearse AC (1.39.27), 2. Donore Harriers <Kennedy, Mulligan, Eustace> (1.44.35), 3. Raheny Shamrocks AC (1.47.04).
7 teams closed
LE FOULEES ESTIVALES 13.3KM TRAIL RACE in the Forêt de Soignes at Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium (08.06.2022)
55th & 5th woman Cliodhna Carthy (1.13.03)
124 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (11.06.2022)
BUSHY: 106th Thomas Halton M65 (35.30)
CASTLETOWN: 41st & 9th woman Joan McTernan W60 (26.14)
CORKAGH: 19th & 2nd woman Nicola Dowdall W45 (24.51)
GRIFFEEN: 51st Charlie O’Neill M65 (26.38)
HARTSTOWN: 1st Fergal Whitty M45 (18.50)
POPPINTREE: 89th Eilish Joyce W40 (33.22)
SPORTS CAMPUS, ABBOTSTOWN: 2nd Mark Nunan M11-14 (21.26 PB)
WATERSTOWN: 2nd Dylan McKenna M15-17 (20.30), 7th & 1st woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (24.49)

 

01. Chinonye Okwara 84. Ruby Blake

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 5th June 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Sorcha & Ide NicDhomhnaill 2nd & 3rd in WOMEN’S MINI-MARATHON and led Donore Harriers to Dublin team victory. Sorcha Loughnane 2nd woman & 1st W45 in CORK CITY MARATHON, Anne Curley was 2nd in W50 category. Louise Kelly, Suzie Henley-Willis & Katherine Marsh all completed their maiden 26.2 miles in the STOCKHOLM MARATHON. Emily Bolton & Oliver Hopkins took 1,500m gold in the ALL-IRELAND SCHOOLS T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS. Newcomer Chinonye Okwara won silver & bronze in the Discus & Shot Putt claiming two club U/20 records in the process.

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley>
It was all to play for at the 5km marker! Only 5-seconds separated a group of 6 leading athletes. Both Sorcha and Ide NicDhomhnall were in the mix! The outcome of 2022 VHI WOMEN’S 10km MINI-MARATHON was about to be decided. First to go off the back was 2019 winner Aoibhe Richardson, followed by Leevale AC athlete Sinead O’Connor. With 3 kilometres remaining Nakita Burke of Letterkenny AC failed to keep pace and slipped back to eventually finish 4th. Going into the final 2km and the relentless pace of Sorcha NicDhomhnaill and Aoife Richardson of Sligo AC saw Ide lose touch with the front two. The race was going to the wire! The two leaders were side by side going down Baggot Street towards the finish line. With just 100 metres to go Richardson used her superior middle distance pace to gain a couple of metres lead, but Sorcha (NicDhomhnaill) chased her all the way to the line without being able to close the narrow margin. Both women were timed at 33.06, with Ide (NicDhomhnaill) 3rd in 33.26.
Next home for the Donore Harriers team was Niamh Clifford (37.20) in 23rd position – and she was followed by Florence Curley (40.33) in 41st place and 7th in the W45 category. Florence competed in her first Mini-Marathon in 2002 and said: “I was very happy with how it went today. It was a great day for the Donore Harriers team”.
Not too far behind Curley was Pam White, who placed 47th overall with a new personal best time of 41.17. White said: “I’m delighted! I broke my PB by over 2 minutes set at Dunboyne in March. As I approached the finish, I thought the race clock must be wrong”. Junior member Claudia Redmond (50.35) came 315th in 50.35. Diorela Escalera-Claros had a bad day at the office! Despite being entered for the Dublin 10km Championship she was placed in a starting wave of joggers and walkers. Thus, she had to manoeuvre her way through walls of people and finished with a race time outside 58 minutes. She placed 937th overall. Her net (chip) time for the race was 45.05. NOTE: If this race is to continue as the Dublin 10km Championship then the organisers must ensure that all club athletes start in the same wave.
With the Dublin team championship still unconfirmed it is expected that the Donore Harriers quartet of S. NicDhomhnall, I. NicDhomhnaill, Clifford and Curley won the team gold. Update next week.

Donore Harriers athletes again excelled in the ALL-IRELAND SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore last Saturday.
Emily Bolton was one of the stars in an action-packed day of athletics. Bolton made her intentions known early in the Junior Girls 1,500m by taking an early lead. The Mount Sackville College student (4.36.53) continued to open a gap on her pursuers and crossed the line with 10-seconds to spare over runner-up Cora Scullion of Loreta Omagh.
It was an equally impressive win for Oliver Hopkins in the Intermediate Boys 1,500m. Hopkins took the race out early – and seemingly came under pressure from Arturo Sanchez of Colaiste Chillian Athlone on the penultimate lap. However, the St. Declan’s student rallied with a strong last lap to win comfortably in a time of 4.05.24 – more than 5-seconds clear of 2nd placed Eoghan O’Connor of Rochestown College.
Eva Crowe, Edmund Rice College, picked up a bronze medal in the Junior Girls 800m. Crowe (2.17.01) took the lead at the 200m mark and stayed at the front of the field until the closing 100 metres when she was passed by Emma Bonar (2.16.24) of Loreto Letterkenny and Maria Zakharenko of Avondale CC. It was a very brave effort by Crowe!
Club newcomer Chinonye Okware (The King’s Hospital) has already made her mark as a very fine thrower. She came 2nd in the Senior Girls Discus with a best throw of 35.05m and 3rd in the Shot Putt with 10.46m. Both marks are club under 20 records. One to watch!
Another athlete to show great potential was Reuben McCormick. McCormick (2.06.84) came 4th in the Junior Boys 800m. He’s fairly new to competitive running, but he showed great maturity in pressing into 3rd place with 300m to go. However, a massive last lap by eventual winner Sean Corry of St. Michael’s Enniskillen who came thru from 5th place relegated McCormick to place a creditable 4th. He PBed by 4 seconds.
Julie Cleary (Loreta Stephen’s Green) just missed out on a PB when placing 8th in the Intermediate Girls 3,000m. Cleary missed a large part of her winter training with injury and one of her coaches Joe Kelly said afterwards: “Julie was a bit disappointed after the race but when the dust settles, she’ll realise that 3rd in Leinster and 8th nationally is a great place to be when you think that most of the runners in the field were older and Julie is eligible for the inter grade next year”.
Mount Sackville College, with 3 Donore Harriers members in their quartet, won a surprize bronze medal in the Junior Girls 4 x 100m relay. Isabella Jackson got the team off to a strong start on the opening leg, a non-club member ran leg 2 – and she handed the baton to Emily Bolton – with Roisin Kirby completing the anchor leg. The team did not have their regular 4th member present at the venue and were destined to go home without making the start line. But middle-distance star Emily Bolton came to the rescue and her fine sprint on the 3rd leg kept the team in medal contention. Kirby did the rest!

In Saturday’s STOCKHOLM MARATHON three club members took to the endurance distance. Louise Kelly (3.46.44) was the 343rd woman finisher and came 63rd in the W40 age category knocking a whole hour off her previous time from before joining the club. Not too far behind was Suzie Henley-Willis (3.53.13) also a Pb who was 432nd woman and 72nd in the W40 class. Katherine Marsh (4.00.55) came 589th out of 2,236 female finishers. All three, who are coached by Willie Smith, will benefit from the experience, and have established good benchmarks to improve upon in future marathon races.

Our star multi-distance athlete Sorcha Loughnane pressed 2016 Olympian Lizzie Lee for top stop in the CORK CITY MARATHON on Sunday morning. The Leevale AC athlete admitted afterwards that it was a hotly contested race between herself and Sorcha: “I only won by 30 to 40 seconds. The last mile was hell…”. Loughnane (2.45.12) took several minutes of her personal best and placed 18th overall and 1st in the W45 category. Lee’s winning time was 2.44.54, so the margin was just 18 seconds.
Anne Curley (3.12.05) came 2nd in the over 50s category. Curley had a lot of disruption to her training routine prior to the event and was forced to make a stop of over 2-minutes along the way, so a time closer to 3.10 would seem more realistic for a true club stalwart. She came 152nd overall and was the 5th woman home.
Ian Fitzgerald (2.38.52) also had a fine run to place 12th overall. The former Waterstown Warrior can realistically target a sub 2.30 time going forward. There were 1,734 finishers on a damp and overcast morning.

Ryan Aikins (26.42) came 7th in the BUSINESS HOUSES ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION DUNBOYNE 5-MILE ROAD RACE on Tuesday (31.05.2022). He was followed home by Sean Fox (27.32) who came 11th overall and 2nd in the M45 class. Club road and cross-country captain Craig Scott (28.06) crossed the line in 14th position. M40 athlete Liam Keane (28.45) took 29th spot. Maura Kearns was the first woman finisher placing 46th overall in a time of 30.22. Next came Grace Kennedy-Clarke (31.46) in 60th position and 1st in the W35 category. Kenneth McKeown (33.16) came 78th and Terry Mee (53.38) placed 244th and 1st in the M70 age-class.

In the TRIATHYATHLON at Athy on Sunday Sinead O’Reilly came 3rd in the women’s sprint in an overall time of 1.15.46. O’Reilly completed the 0.75km swim in 14.25 (7th), the 20km cycle in 53.42 (2nd) and the 5km run in 19.35 (1st). She came 18th overall from 504 competitors.

Club athletes were to the fore in PARKRUN events last Saturday. Simon O’Toole was 1st home at Brickfields, likewise Fergal Whitty was first finisher at Hartstown. Junior athlete Ruby Kelly was first woman home at Castletown, and master member Mary McDermott was 2nd woman at Naas. Juvenile member Daire McCarthy was first overall at Gorey, with other juveniles Lucas Collender 3rd overall at Waterstown and Katie Delaney 10th overall and 1st woman home at the same venue.
More results below.

Results in brief:
BHAA DUNBOYNE 5 MILE ROAD RACE (31.05.2022)
7th Ryan Aikins (26.42)
11th & 2nd M45 Sean Fox (27.32)
14th Craig Scott M40 (28.06)
29th Liam Keane M40 (28.45)
46th & 1st woman Maura Kearns (30.22)
60th & 1st W35 Grace Kennedy-Clarke (31.46)
78th Kenneth McKeown (33.16)
244th & 1st M70 Terry Mee (53.38)
247 finishers
ALL IRELAND SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tullamore (04.06.2022)
JUNIOR GIRLS 800m FINAL: 3rd Eva Crowe (Edmund Rice School) 2.17.01 BRONZE
JUNIOR GIRLS 1,500m FINAL: 1st Emily Bolton (Mount Sackville) 4.36.53 GOLD
JUNIOR GIRLS 4 x 100m RELAY: 3rd Mount Sackville (Leg 1 Isabella Jackson, Leg 3 Emily Bolton, Leg 4 Roisin Kirby) BRONZE
JUNIOR BOYS 800m FINAL: 4th Reuben McCormick (St. Patrick’s GS) 2.06.84 PB
INTERMEDIATE GIRLS 3,000m FINAL: 8th Julie Cleary (Loreta Stephen’s Green) 10.41.04
INTERMEDIATE BOYS 1,500m FINAL: 1st Oliver Hopkins (St. Declan’s College) 4.05.24 GOLD
SENIOR GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 3rd Chinonye Okwara (The King’s Hospital) 10.46m BRONZE
SENIOR GIRLS DISCUS: 2nd Chinonye Okwara (The King’s Hospital) 35.05m SILVER
STOCKHOLM MARATHON (04.06.2022)
343rd & 63rd W40 Louise Kelly (3.46.44) PB
432nd & 72nd W40 Suzie Henley-Willis (3.53.13) PB
589th woman Katherine Marsh (4.00.55)
2,236 women finishers
CORK CITY MARATHON (05.06.2022)
12th Ian Fitzgerald (2.38.52)
18th, 2nd woman & 1st W45 Sorcha Loughnane (2.45.12 PB)
152nd, 5th woman & 2nd W50 Anne Curley (3.12.05)
1,734 finishers
VHI WOMEN’S MINI MARATHON 10KM at Dublin Merrion Square (05.06.2022)
2nd Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (33.06)
3rd Ide NicDhomhnaill (33.26)
23rd Niamh Clifford (37.20)
41st & 7th W45 Florence Curley (40.33)
47th Pam White (41.17 PB)
315th Claudia Redmond (50.35)
937th Diorela Escalera-Claros (45.05)
12,264 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (04.06.2022)
ARDGILLAN: 38th Joe Murphy M40 (26.44)
BRICKFIELDS: 1st Simon O’Toole MS (18.57)
CASTLETOWN: 19th & 1st woman Ruby Kelly W18-19 (22.17) 59th Joan McTernan W60 (25.53)
CORKAGH: 24th & 5th woman Nicola Dowdall W45 (24.39)
GOREY: 1st Daire McCarthy M11-14 (18.45 PB)
GRIFFEEN: 48th Charlie O’Neill M65 (26.15), 75th Terry Mee M75 (32.36)
HARTSTOWN: 1st Fergal Whitty M45 (18.26)
MARLAY: 8th Patrick Moriarty M45 (18.36)
NAAS: 24th & 2nd woman Mary McDermott W50 (24.20)
NEW ROSS: 12th Eugene McCurtain M55 (23.49), 37th Liz McCurtain W55 (29.20)
OLDBRIDGE: 6th Kenneth McKeown M35 (20.49)
SPORTS CAMPUS, ABBOTSTOWN: 7th Paul Nunan M45 (23.27)
WATERSTOWN: 3rd Lucas Collender M11-14 (20.08 PB), 6th Dylan McKenna M15-17 (21.10), 10th & 1st woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (24.10)

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 29th May 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Jack Raftery won his 400m race in a club record time as Donore Harriers invade the OORDEGEM IFAM MEET in Belgium. NicDhomhnaill sisters Sorcha and Ide were on fire with 1st and 2nd in the 5,000m at the BELFAST INTERNATIONAL MEET. Mario Omozee, Emily Bolton, Liam Morris, Sophie O’Farrell, Bobby Amandi, Zion Osawe & James Bolton were among the gold medallists in the opening day of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS. Anna Whelan topped her grade in the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE after 4 events.

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley w/ thanks to others>
This week’s main action took place in the village of Oordegem in Belgium. The 12th INTERNATIONAL FLANDERS ATHLETICS MEETING (IFAM) has been gaining in popularity since it was first held in 2010. It’s a popular destination for Irish athletes trying to gain major championship qualifying standards or simply to run in a competitive event in the hope of gaining a personal best. Make no mistake this a major development competition for aspiring athletes hoping to reach to the next level.
In the 2022 edition on Saturday Donore Harriers had 12 athletes among almost two-thousand competitors in an event that started at 10am and finished the next morning close to 1.30am.
The outstanding performance of the day came from Jack Raftery in the first of 3 elite 400m races. Jack was running in Lane 6 and at the halfway mark was in 3rd position behind Frederic Mendy of Senegal and Ben Higgins of GB, before he pushed on to win in a PB time of 46.17. He said later: “At 180 to go I didn’t think I could catch them, but then at 120 to go the gap had closed so I told myself to keep driving for the line”. Mendy came 2nd in 46.22 and Higgins 3rd in 46.68. Raftery was ranked 5th 400m athlete overall from 87 at the event. “Big Jack’s” new best time maintains him as the top ranked Irish 400m athlete for 2022. He also lowered his own club record set a couple of weeks ago.
The first club athlete into action on the day was Eva McPartlan in the 100m Prelim race No. 3. She placed 7th in 12.83, which was a fine effort given that she is just returning from an injury lay-off.
In the Men’s 100m Prelim races Zak Higgins came 6th in Heat 8 in a time of 11.56 and Sean Chan (12.39) came 6th in Heat 11. This was the first time that 400m athlete Higgins competed in the short sprints distance.
Higgins was soon back in action in his favoured 400m, and he showed good form by placing 5th in Heat No. 8 in a time of 50.00 – less than half-a-second shy of his personal best.
Team captain David Campbell came 6th in Heat 9 in 53.36.
Running from the inside lane Eva McPartlan led over the first 100m in Heat 7 of the 200m Prelim Races. However, she got caught before the line – but was happy enough with 3rd place in 26.47 considering her recent injury.
First into action in the evening’s main programme was Caoimhe Mackey in Heat 6 of the women’s 400m Hurdles. This was her first competitive race outside of Ireland, so she was disappointed to run a little below par as she came 7th in 1.05.08. Her cause was not helped by being in the less-favourable Lane 8.
Daragh McAuley (58.22) came 4th in Heat 7 of the Men’s 400m Hurdles. He also got the outside lane – and he may well have got a personal best had his stride pattern to the hurdles being better going down the back strait. A very fine effort nevertheless!
In the first of 4 elite 800m races Louis O’Loughlin found himself trailing the field after the opening 300 metres. He started to make gains as the bell was approached, but it proved a rough ride with a fair degree of barging. He still managed to close out in 5th place in a time of 1.50.64. He missed out on 3rd place by just 14-hundrenths of a second. The race was won by T. Vandelanoote of the Netherlands in 1.50.01.
Abdel Laadjel had ambitions of breaking Daragh McIlhenny’s national junior record (13.54) for 5,000m. However, his race did not go to plan! As Abdel settled early-race in mid-pack, the front of the group did not keep up with the pacemaker – instead they lagged behind allowing any chance of a fast race to be lost. After the opening 2km Laadjel was about 12 seconds down on target pace – and any hope of getting the record was gone. He ran strongly in the 2nd half of the race to finish in 20th position in 14.04.77 – only 2 seconds off his personal best time. He said post race: “It was a difficult race with a lot of pushing and shoving. At one stage I had to go around a fallen runner… It is what it is! It’s been a long season, so now I just want to get some rest and then focus towards the cross-country races”.
His race was won by Michael Ward of Great Britain in 13.53.86.
16 years-old Oliver Hopkins lined up for the last 1,500m race of the event. It was past mid-night. There was a chill in the air, most of the crowds had gone home, and the floodlights lit the action. Hopkins went for broke and led the race thru the opening 800 metres. However, he began to tire and was passed by most of the field over the final 300 metres. He crossed the line in 10th place (of 12) in 4.09.66. The team leader Gerry Naughton said: “Oliver is a young athlete, and he will gain experience and motivation from this trip. He had to wait a long time for his race and lost energy trying to keep warm. He’s a very fine athlete and a great prospect”
Donore Harriers had two athletes on the start line in the final race of the event – the elite men’s 5,000m Race No. 4. The race started at 1am. Daragh Fitzgibbon kept pace with the front group for the opening 2.5km, before retiring from the race at the 3.6km mark. Kane Collins made a steady start near to the back of the field, maintained a good tempo throughout, and steadily gained places as the race progressed. He crossed the finish line in 13th place in a new personal best time of 14.54.20 and narrowly missed out on 11th spot in the sprint to the line. Collins said: “I’m delighted with that. I couldn’t have asked for anything more really than a big PB on the track. I’ve been trying so hard to break 15 minutes recently – almost too hard, so it’s great to come to Oordegem and get the time here”.
His race was won by Mojolepa Kloprogge of the Netherlands in 14.28.65.

In the BELFAST INTERNATIONAL TRACK & FIELD MEET at the Mary Peter’s Track on Saturday (28.05.2022) Sorcha & Ide NicDhomhnaill ran super races to finish 1st and 2nd respectively in the 5.000m A Race in personal best times of 15.58.52 and 16.03.44. Sorcha’s time is an improvement of almost half-a-minute on her 16.24.43 at the same track on the 23rd of April this year. Ide raced a 17-second improvement on her personal best also set at the April meet. In a good qualify field Grace Carson of Mid-Ulster AC came 3rd in 16.12.81. The NicDhomhnaill sisters are now ranked 4th and 5th on the Irish lists for 2022. FACT: The club record for 5,000m was set by Valerie McGovern (13.45.72) at a track meet at North Carolina in 1990.

Jack Raftery ran Leg 2 for the Irish 4 x 400m team at the LOUGHBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL MEET in England on the 14th of May 2022. The Irish team with Chris O’Donnell on the opening leg, then Raftery, then Marcus Lawlor and closed by Thomas Barr came 2nd in 3.06.55 behind a very good Loughborough Select team (3.06.44) and ahead of England (3.09.58). Raftery said afterwards: “I didn’t run my best in the relay, but I am more than pleased to get my 1st Irish senior cap”. The Irish team is now ranked 14th in the World with the top 16 countries going to the World Championships. However, some of the stronger countries have still to post a time for 2022.

In the 3rd DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEET (21.05.2022) of the season at Tallaght Track there was a double victory in the Triple Jump for Donore Harriers athletes. Andie Maguire won the women’s event with a best effort of 10.84m and Michael McCarthy jumped a PB of 11.80m to win the men’s competition.
On the track Under 17 athlete Thomas Bolton came 2nd in the B grade 800m in a time of 2.07.55. The 800m races incorporated some of the Dublin Juvenile 800m championships and Thomas came 4th in the Under 17 grade.

Emmet O’Briain competed in his first 5,000m track race at the LEINSTER JUNIOR, SENIOR & MASTERS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Carlow on Sunday. The organisers combined the age categories, thus a big field with a lot of traffic to be negotiated. O’Briain placed a fine 16.37.43 for 5th place. He said afterwards: “I was probably 15 to 20 seconds short of what I was expecting but happy enough given the wind and general training…”
Michael McCarthy Snr was meant to compete in the Master’s Triple Jump, but a change of timetable ruled him out.

A good contingent of young club athletes competed in the DUBLIN JUVENILE TEAM COMPETITION & RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR U/9s-U11s at Tallaght Track on Saturday (28.05.2022). The highlights including Alan & Daniel Maddox winning bronze in the Under 11 Boys combined Long Jump and the bronze medal that was won when Alan Maddox teamed up with Caoimhin Cummins-Weiss in the Under 11 Boys 60m sprint.
There were outstanding performances from Rachel McCarthy who had the best Under 11 Girls Long Jump with 2.54m and came 5th in the 60m sprint, but she wasn’t partnered up in order to compete for a podium place.
In the Under 9 Boys Eli Henley-Willis and Seamus McCluskey came 4th in the Turbo Javelin and 6th and 7th in the 300m heats. Another highlight came from Cadel Senyk and Michael McCarthy Jnr who combined to place 4th in the Under 11 Boys Long Jump.   More competitors are listed in the results section below.

Day 1 of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS took place at the Tallaght Track on Sunday with Donore Harriers athletes very much to the fore. Mario Omozee claimed 3 gold medals and a bronze in the Under 15 Boys grade. He won the 250m Hurdles, Long Jump and Shot Putt – and came 3rd in the Javelin. Zion Osawe took gold with a personal best jump of 1.53m in the Under 14 Girls High Jump. There was double field gold in the Under 19 age category as Sophie O’Farrell and Bobby Amandi both won their respective Long Jump events. Emily Bolton added to her championship medal haul by romping home to gold in the Girls Under 15s 800m final. Donore Harriers were the dominant force in the Under 15 Boys 800m final. Liam Morris took gold with victory in 2.07. Reuben McCormick took the silver in 2.10, with Arlen Szabo and Daire McCarthy placing 5th and 6th. In the 3,000m races Thomas Bolton came 2nd in the Under 17s and older brother James took gold with a fine victory in the Under 19s. Anabella Omozee claimed double silver in the Under 12 Girls High Jump and Shot Putt. Romeo Omozee (U/17s) came 2nd in the 300m Hurdles race and came 3rd in the Long Jump. The Under 17s Long Jump silver medal went to his team-mate Oisin Cummins-Weiss. In the Under 13 Boys Javelin Dylan O’Connor took the bronze medal, as did Roisin Kirby in the Under 16 Girls Long Jump. Other results are listed below. Please forward any incorrect or missing results.

 

The final tallies in the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE saw Anna Whelan top the Under 11 Girls category with 31 points over the 4 fixtures. Whelan was consistent throughout the league and won the 600m on Day 2 and added two runner-up points in the 400m and Long Jump in the final round to secure overall victory.
Anabella Omozee had an outstanding last day in the Under 12s category in the league securing 19 points with wins in 80m and 500m and placing 2nd in the Turbo Javelin. She moved up from 8th place to finish 2nd overall.
Ruby Blake also came 2nd overall in the Under 13 Girls with a total of 31 points. Blake picked up 21 points by winning the Shot Putt event twice and the Javelin.
Zion Osawe came 3rd in the Under 14 Girls league and impressed with victory in the 75m Hurdles and High Jump. She amassed a total of 32 points.
Liam Morris came 3rd overall in the Under 15 Boys category on 28 points having won a middle-distance race at each of the 4 events. See more results below.

In road race action this week we had Julia Hackett finish 99th overall and 2nd W50 in the STAR OF THE SEA MICHELLE MCKIERNAN 5KM ROAD RACE on the 24.05.2022.

On the same day Michael Ryan came 5th in the GALWAY 5km SERIES at Athenry in a time of 17.01.

On Sunday M50 athlete Peter Nugent came 45th of 837 finishers in the RUNATICA 1X CARRERA CRUZ ROJA 5KM ROAD RACE at Valencia in Spain. The race was in support of the Red Cross organisation.

Two juvenile members competed in the IMRA HOWTH SUMMER RACE on the 25th of May. Laura Nunan completed the 11km route with a total elevation of 386 metres in 1.12.57 to place 71st overall and 15th woman. Honor Lynch (1.22.30) came 101st and 22nd woman. There were 139 finishers.

Top results in PARKRUNs this week were David McConn (17.17) 1st home at Porterstown and Jean Murphy W35 and Katie Delaney Juvenile 2nd and 4th women home at Waterstown.
More results below.

Results in brief:
STAR OF THE SEA MICHELLE MCKIERNAN 5KM ROAD RACE (24.05.2022)
99th & 2nd W50 Julia Hackett (22.56)
313 finishers
GALWAY 5KM SERIES NO. 5 at Athenry (24.05.2022)
5th Michael Ryan (17.01)
516 finishers
DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEET NO. 3 at TALLAGHT TRACK (25.05.2022)
MEN’S 800m B GRADE RACE: 2nd & 4th in Dublin Juvenile U/17 Championship Thomas Bolton (2.07.55)
WOMEN’S TRIPLE JUMP: 1st Michael McCarthy Snr M35 (11.80m)
MEN’S TRIPLE JUMP: 1st Andie Maguire (10.84m)
CUMANN NA MBUNSCOL TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry (26.05.2022)
GIRLS 200m FINAL: 3rd Lily Clarke-Hanrahan (Loreta Stephen’s Green)
DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F LEAGUE FIXTURE FINAL LEAGUE POSITION AFTER 4 EVENTS
U/10 BOYS: 8th Cadel Senyk (8 points)
U/11 GIRLS: 1st Anna Whelan (31 points)
U/12 GIRLS: 2nd Anabella Omozee (28 points)
U/13 GIRLS: 2nd Ruby Blake (31 points)
U/13 BOYS: 20th Jack Mansfield (3 points)
U/14 GIRLS: 3rd Zion Osawe (32 points), 8th Melody Omozee (13 points)
U/14 BOYS: 16th Elliot Whelan (5 points), 20th Luuk Jackson (4 points)
U/15 BOYS: 3rd Liam Morris (28 points), 12th Reuben McCormick (10 points), 14th Daire McCarthy (6 points)
U/16 GIRLS: 26th Roisin Kirby (3 points)
U/16 BOYS: 11th Paddy Nolan (7 points), 15th Adam Mulhall (4 points)
INTERNATIONAL FLANDERS ATHLETICS MEET at Oordegem, Belgium (28.05.2022)
WOMEN’S 100m PRELIM RACE 3: 7th Eva McPartlan (12.83) – 48/69
MEN’S 100m PRELIM RACE 8: 6th Zak Higgins (11.56) – 77/95
MEN’S 100m PRELIM RACE 11: 6th Sean Chan (12.39) – 93/95
MEN’S 200m PRELIM RACE 7: 3rd Eva McPartlan (26.47) – 50/61
MEN’S 400m MAIN RACE 1: 1st Jack Raftery (46.17 PB) – 5/87
MEN’S 400m PRELIM RACE 8: 5th Zak Higgins (50.00) – 69/87
MEN’S 400m PRELIM RACE 9: 6th David Campbell (53.36) – 84/87
WOMEN’S 400m HURDLES MAIN RACE 6: 7th Caoimhe Mackey (1.05.08) – 40/42
MEN’S 400m HURDLES MAIN RACE 7: 4th Daragh McAuley (58.22) – 44/48
MEN’S 800m MAIN RACE 1: 5th Louis O’Loughlin (1.50.64) – 50/229
MEN’S 1,500m MAIN RACE 8: 10th Oliver Hopkins U18 (4.09.66) – 153/174
MEN’S 5,000m MAIN RACE 2: 20th Abdel Laadjel JNR (14.04.77) – 45/128
MEN’S 5,000m MAIN RACE 4: 13th Kane Collins (14.54.20 PB) – 113/128,
DNF Daragh Fitzgibbon
BELFAST INTERNATIONAL TRACK & FIELD MEETING (28.05.2022)
WOMEN’S 5,000m A RACE: 1st Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (15.58.52 PB), 2nd Ide NicDhomhnaill (16.03.44 PB)
LOUGHBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL T&F MEET (14.05.2022)
MEN’S 4 X 400m RELAY: 2nd Ireland <O’Donnell, RAFTERY, Lawlor, Barr> 3.06.55
7 teams.
LEINSTER JUNIOR, SENIOR & MASTERS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Carlow (28.05.2022)
SENIOR MEN’S 5,000m: 5th Emmet O’Briain M35 (16.37.43)
DUBLIN JUVENILE TEAM COMPETITION & RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR U/9s-U11s at Tallaght Track (28.05.2022)
U/11 BOYS COMBINED LONG JUMP: 3rd Donore Harriers <Alan Maddox & Daniel Maddox> BRONZE
U/11 BOYS COMBINED 60m SPRINT: 3rd Donore Harriers <Alan Maddox & Caoimhin Cummins-Weiss> BRONZE
U/9 GIRLS: Rachel McCarthy
U/9 BOYS: Eli Henley-Willis & Seamus McCluskey
U/19 GIRLS: Sally McGowan
U/10 BOYS: Michael McCarthy jnr., Cadel Senyk, Bobby Farrell, Hugo Badura, Brody Keogh, Culainn Kennedy
U/11 GIRLS: Robyn McCluskey, Lola Nagle-Mulally, Cliodhna McMahon, Anna Whelan, Lola Blake, Ciara Jackson, Faye Taylor
U/11 BOYS: Alan Maddox, Daniel Maddox, Caoimhín Cummins-Weiss
U/10 BOYS RELAY: Did not place – Eli Henley-Willis, Seamus McCluskey, Brody Keogh & Culainn Kennedy
U/11 GIRLS RELAY: Did not place – Sally McGowan, Lola Nagle-Mullaly, Robyn McCluskey & Cliodhna McMahon
DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 at Tallaght Track (29.05.2022)
U/12 GIRLS 600m FINAL: DNF Anabella Omozee (fell)
U/12 GIRLS 600m HEATS: Tess O’Donohue did not qualify
U/12 BOYS 600m FINAL: 4th Mark Nunan
U/12 BOYS 600m HEATS: Jack Kennedy (dnq)
U/12 BOYS 600m HEATS: Leo Garry, Max Henley-Willis, Jack Kennedy dnq
U/13 GIRLS 600m HEATS: Petra Cunningham dnq
U/13 BOYS 600m HEATS: Sam Inverarity dnq
U/14 GIRLS FINAL: 6th Lily Clarke-Hanrahan
U/14 BOYS 800m FINAL: 6th Cillian McCooey (2.24)
U/15 GIRLS 800m FINAL: 1st Emily Bolton GOLD
U/15 BOYS 800m FINAL: 1st Liam Morris (2.07) GOLD, 2nd Reuben McCormick (2.11) SILVER, 5th Arlen Szabo (2.20), 6th Daire McCarthy (2.21)
U/16 GIRLS 800m FINAL: 2nd Eva Crowe SILVER
U/16 GIRLS 3,000m FINAL: 2nd Julie Cleary SILVER
U/17 BOYS 3,000m FINAL: 2nd Thomas Bolton SILVER
U/19 BOYS 3,000m FINAL: 1st James Bolton GOLD
U/12 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 2nd Anabella Omozee SILVER
U/12 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 2nd Anabella Omozee SILVER
U/12 BOYS HIGH JUMP: 5th Jack Kennedy
U/12 BOYS SHOT PUTT: Jack Kennedy
U/13 GIRLS JAVELIN: Top 8 Ruby Blake
U/13 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 4th Ruby Blake
U/13 BOYS JAVELIN: 3rd Dylan O’Connor BRONZE, 6th Jack Mansfield
U/13 BOYS HIGH JUMP: 7th Jack Mansfield
U/14 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 1st Zion Osawe (1.53m PB) GOLD, 4th Melody Omozee
U/15 GIRLS 250m HURDLES: 5th Aoife Jackson
U/15 BOYS 250m HURDLES: 1st Mario Omozee GOLD
U/15 BOYS LONG JUMP: 1st Mario Omozee GOLD
U/15 BOYS SHOT PUTT: 1st Mario Omozee GOLD
U/15 BOYS JAVELIN: 3rd Mario Omozee BRONZE
U/16 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 3rd Roisin Kirby BRONZE
U/17 BOYS 300m HURDLES: 2nd Romeo Omozee SILVER
U/17 BOYS LONG JUMP: 2nd Oisin Cummins-Weiss SILVER, 3rd Romeo Omozee BRONZE
U/18 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 4th Eimear Finn
U/19 GIRLS LONG JUMP: 1st Sophie O’Farrell GOLD
U/19 BOYS LONG JUMP: 1st Bobby Amandi GOLD
RUNATICA 1X CARRERA CRUZ ROJA 5KM ROAD RACE at Valencia, Spain (29.05.2022)
45th Peter Nugent M50 (20.43)
837 finishers
IMRA HOWTH (11km) SUMMER RACE (25.05.2022)
71st & 15th woman Laura Nunan (1.12.57)
101st & 22nd woman Honor Lynch (1.22.30)
139 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (28.05.2022)
CASTLETOWN: 59th Joan McTernan W60 (25.53)
GRIFFEEN: 81st Charlie O’Neill M65 (26.43), 128th Terry Mee M75 (32.55)
MALAHIDE: 140th Angela O’Dea W40 (30.02)
MARLAY 5th Ciaran Ryan M40 (18.06), 7th Patrick Moriarty M45 (18.29)
NEW ROSS: 26th Eugene McCurtain M55 (24.28), 50th Liz McCurtain W55 (28.21)
PORTERSTOWN: 1st David McConn M40 (17.17)
TOLKA VALLEY: 12th Owen Robinson M35 (25.14)
WATERSTOWN: 5th & 2nd woman Jean Murphy W35 (20.39), 9th & 4th woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (23.05)

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 22th May 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE returned. The Men’s team came 3rd the Women’s team 4th. Star performers were Lara O’Byrne with 3 wins and Louis O’Loughlin with 2. In the LEINSTER SCHOOLS T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS gold medals were won by Eva Crowe (who set an 800m club record), Emily Bolton, Alex Leonard & Oliver Hopkins, silver by Amber Lynch, and bronze by Julie Cleary & Reuben McCormack. DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F LEAGUE concluded with Anna Whelan, Anabella Omozee, Ruby Blake, Zion Osawe and Liam Morris challenging for podium medals. Laura Nunan selected to Irish team for the WORLD UNDER 18 MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS. Niamh Clifford won the AN RIOCHT KINGDOM COME 10-MILE. Grace Kennedy-Clarke won the WHEELWORX FASTLANE 10km. Robert Murphy 2nd M40 and Ann Woodlock 2nd W70 in the BOB HEFFERNAN & MARY HANLEY 5KM ROAD RACE.

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton, Leonie Newman & Florence Curley>
The NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE returned (proper) after a 3-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. Donore Harriers had two teams competing in the first qualifying round at Templemore on Sunday – both contesting in the premier divisions. The women’s team, captained by Leonie Newman, made a positive start with multi-eventer Lara O’Byrne taking the maximum 9-points with victory in the 100m Hurdles in a time of 14.55. The evergreen Anne Gormley (10.49.63) then came 4th in the 1,500m Walk to add 5 more points. A best effort of 1.50m by Eva McPartlan got her 3rd place and 6 points in the High Jump. Thus, after 3 events Donore Harriers were 2nd on 20 points behind Galway County on 23.
Sean Chan (20.60) opened for the men’s team with 3rd place and 6 points in the 110m Hurdles. The next to mark-up scores were Bobby Amandi 4th with a 3rd effort jump of 5.42m in the Long Jump for 5 points and Daragh McAuley (58.50) claiming 9 points with a fine victory in the 400m Hurdles.
After 3 events the men’s team were 4th on 15 with Raheny Shamrocks AC leading on 25.
Lara O’Byrne (9.90m) took another 9 points when winning the Shot Putt. On the track Caoimhe Mackey (1.06.12) gained 7 points as runner-up in the 400m Hurdles before the 4 x 100m relay team of Eva McPartlan, Sophie O’Farrell, Andie Maguire and Lauren Flaherty (50.94) added another 7 points. Donore were well in contention for top spot after 6 events.
The men’s team had a tough start! In the throws Alex Conway (12.61m) came 5th in the Hammer and Oran O’Brien (11.26m) 3rd in the Shot Putt. The quartet of Sean Chan, Simon Ayres, Conor Fox and Liam Tobin came 4th in the 4 x 100m relay in a time of 45.48. Note that Ayres and Tobin were competing for the club for the first time.
Anne Gormley is a club stalwart! She stepped up and threw the Hammer 9.99m to place 3rd and gain 6 more points for the team. Andie Maguire came 4th in the Triple Jump, but it was a very close contest was less than 40cm separating 1st from 4th. Audrey Gahan (5.30.33) also came 4th in the 1,500m with a solid run. Caoimhe Mackey took another 7 points in the 400m sprint in a time of 1.02.65. Ailbhe Healy continues her return to competitive athletics and sealed 2nd place in the Pole Vault with a best of 2.40m. Sophie O’Farrell might have been unfamiliar with the technique of Javelin throwing, but she took 2nd spot with a best of 14.16m.
The men’s middle-order began well with Louis O’Loughlin (3.57.44) winning the 1,500m for 9 points. Zak Higgins (51.64) followed with a runners-up place in the 400m. In the field Daniel Hernon jumped 1.70m for 3rd place in the High Jump and Niall Allen (31.10m) came 3rd in the Discus.
Matt Fabbro (11.27.86), a late call-up to the 3,000m Steeplechase, acquitted himself well to place runner-up and take 7 more points for the team. He was followed by debutant Simon Ayres (24.18) who came 6th in the 200m. Donore Harriers were holding 3rd place in both the men’s and women’s divisions with 7 events left in each.
Deirdre NicCanna (11.19.65) and Lauren Flaherty (29.03) respectively came 4th in the 3,000m and 200m. Andie Maguire (10.90m) came 3rd in the Discus, whilst Lara O’Byrne secured her 3rd win of the day with a best Long Jump effort of 5.32m.
Margaret O’Brien (2.58.10), unfamiliar with the race distance, overcame her pre-race nerves to place 3rd in the 800m. Sophie O’Farrell followed with 4th place in the 100m in 13.73. The team closed out with 4th in the 4 x 400m relay in 4.38.29. The runner order was Lauren Flaherty, Ailbhe Healy, Audrey Gahan and Caoimhe Mackey.
Discarding 4 scores the final women’s team tally was 100 points. Tipperary County came out on top with 122, then Galway County on 114, Raheny Shamrocks AC on 103 with Donore Harriers in 4th.
The men’s event continued with Michael McCarthy (11.59m) gaining 6 points with 3rd place in the Triple Jump. Louis O’Loughlin then recorded his 2nd maximum points of the day by winning the 800m in 1.55.99. Daragh Keegan was another to answer a late call-up when the replacement 5,000m runner became unavailable due to illness. Keegan (16.06.78) ran a blinder, knocking almost half-a-minute of his PB time to take 3rd place and 6 points.
Back to the field events where Daniel Hernon (22.11m) and Niall Allen (6.33m) both took 3rd positions in the Javelin and 56lb Weight-For-Distance events. Newcomer Liam Tobin (11.73) came 5th in the 100m sprint before the day ended with a dramatic 4 x 400m relay. Conor Fox got the team off to a solid start, but the baton was dropped in the 2nd and 3rd leg changeover between Simon Ayers and Zak Higgins. Anchor runner Louis O’Loughlin in his 3rd race of the day took the baton in 5th place and ran a 51 second circuit to bring the team home in 2nd to the loud cheer of his team-mates. The men’s team came 3rd on 110 points behind Nenagh Olympic on 128 and Leevale AC on 115. Raheny Shamrocks came 4th on 84.
Women’s captain Leonie Newman said afterwards: “I am proud of my team. They all did magnificently! Everyone was brilliant! Lara did a great job for the team, then there was Anne Gormley stepping up to do the Hammer and Andie Maguire in the Discus and Eva McPartlan in the High Jump, and Sophie O’Farrell getting last minute instructions to do the Javelin. They were all great”
Dr. Iain Morrison deputising for David Campbell as men’s captain said: “That was a great day with lots of new athletes stepping up. Super performance by Louis with two wins and then all the drama of the 4 x 400m relay. It all made for a great day of athletics”.
The 2nd qualifying round will take place on the 31st of July.

The BOB HEFFERNAN & MARY HANLEY 5KM ROAD RACE hosted by the Na Fianna AC at Johnstownbridge last Tuesday is run in the memory of two of the club’s former stalwarts – the latter only passed away last autumn. The rain ceased and the evening sun began to shine as the athletes assembled on the start line. Robert Murphy (14.57) was the first club athlete home in 12th place, securing 2nd prize in the M40 category. There was then a gap before Simon O’Toole (17.27) crossed the line in 132nd position having recorded a new personal best time. Ciaran O’Flaherty, one of Ireland’s leading distance athletes back in the early 90s, placed 169th and 5th in the M55 class with an excellent time of 17.54. David McGrath (18.56) ran a PB to place 244th, and he was followed home by Mary McDermott (24.03) in 570th and 18th W50. Tommy Halton (32.04) was 729th overall and 16th in the M60 age-group.
Ann Woodlock only decided to compete as the sun began to shine. “Mary Hanley was a great friend and she died so young. I wanted to do the race in her memory” she explained. Now in her 80s the popular Donore Harriers athlete came 2nd in the W70 category when placing 758th in 35.30.

It was a busy week with Juvenile athletics. On Day 1 of the LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry last Wednesday there were 3 gold medals for our club athletes. Eva Crowe (St. Edmund Rice School), coached by Declan Bolton, ran a club outdoor record for the 800m when winning the Junior Girls race in a time of 2.16.34. Her training partner Emily Bolton (Mount Sackville) had a convincing win in the Junior Girls 1,500m in 4.38.24.
Alex Leonard (CBS Lucan) continues his steady progression as a sprinter of note and will be encouraged by his fine win in the Under 16 Boys 200m in a time of 24.35.
Silver medals were won by Amber Lynch (Loreta Stephen’s Green) in the Minor Girls Javelin with a PB effort of 22.58m – and by Isabella Jackson and Roisin Kirby who were on the Mount Sackville 4 x 100m relay team that came 2nd in the Junior Girls category.
Reuben McCormack won bronze for St. Patrick’s Cathedral GS in the Junior Boys 800m with a time of 2.10.56.
Liam Morris (4.37.72) and Daire McCarthy (4.59.63) were in a highly competitive Junior Boys 1,500m. Morris (Colaiste Chillian) was in the thick of the action until the race heated up but having struggled the week before with a hamstring injury he was unable to keep pace and finished in 5th spot. McCarthy (Belvedere College) came a creditable 10th.
Other club athletes who competed were Arlen Szabo (3.23.84) 4th in the Minor Boys 1,100m, Rory O’Farrell (20.94) 8th in the Junior Boys 80m Hurdles, and Roisin Kirby (4.60m) 5th in the Junior Girls Long Jump.

The outstanding performance on Day 2 of the LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry on Saturday came from Oliver Hopkins in the Intermediate Boys 1,500m. Hopkins, representing St. Declan’s College, led the race from the start and opened a sizeable gap on his nearest opponents over the closing lap to win in 4.04.25. Thomas Bolton (Belvedere College) came 8th in the same race in a time of 4.24.35.
Julie Cleary was the other club medal winner on the day when she came 3rd in the Intermediate Girls 3,000m in a personal best time of 10.35.23. Cleary was representing Loreta Stephen’s Green and is a young athlete with great prospects. Laura Nunan (Mount Sackville) came 9th in the same race in 11.38.11.
James Bolton was unlucky not to pick up a medal of any colour in the Senior Boys 5,000m. He was in a leading group of 4 athletes but made his big move too early and was narrowly edged out of the bronze medal by a Mullingar athlete. Bolton’s time of 15.22.69 compares well with that of the winner Jonas Stafford (ETS) who ran 15.20.50.
Thomas Bolton ran 2.07.88 for the 4th place in the 800m before doubling up to compete in the 1,500m.
Oisin Cummins-Weiss came 8th in the Intermediate Boys 5kg Shot Putt with a best throw of 10.37m. He was representing the St. Killian’s German School.

Some of our younger members were contesting for medals in the 4th and final fixture of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE at the Irishtown track on Saturday. Very much in the thick of the action was talented Anna Whelan, who hopes to make top stop when the points are concluded. She won her U/11 Girls 400m race, came 2nd in the Long Jump, and 5th in the 60m sprint. Another super young contender is Anabella Omozee (U/12) who won the 60m, 500m and Long Jump. Ruby Blake also chalked up more points with 1st place in the U/13 Shot Putt and 3rd in the 60m Hurdles. Zion Osawe has been moving up the table in the Under 14 Girls and a win in the 80m Hurdles and 5th place in the 80m adds another 9 points to her tally. Melody Omozee came 2nd in the U/14 80m Hurdles and 5th in the 80m sprint.
Liam Morris (3.30 h-t) chalked up his 4th middle-distance win in the Under 15 Boys in the 1,200m, with his clubmate Arlen Szabo making steady progress after injury in 4th place in 3.42 (hand-timed). Adam Mulhall had a strong run with 4th in the Under 16 Boys over 1,200m.
Final league results to follow.

Laura Nunan has been selected to represent Ireland in the WORLD UNDER 18 MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS in Italy in July. This is a fantastic achievement, and we wish Laura all the best in her preparation for the event.

Niamh Clifford (1.03.21) returned to her native Co. Kerry to win the AN RIOCHT AC KINGDOM COME 10 MILE ROAD RACE at Castleisland on Sunday morning. Clifford, a former member of the Star of the Laune club, who is now coached by Lee Van Haeften within the Senior & Academy group came 10th overall and won the women’s category with 5 minutes to spare over runner-up Mary O’Shea of Gneevguilla AC. There were 95 finishers.

The club had 3 members compete in the WHEELWORX FASTLANE HALF-MARATHON & 10km ROAD RACES at Clondalkin on Sunday morning. The races were held on flat straight-line routes along the Grand Canal and in the vicinity of the Grange Castle Business Park. Grace Kennedy-Clarke (40.03) came 15th overall and 1st woman in the 10km race, with Blathnaid Hughes (59.05) placing 196th of the 308 finishers in a time of 59.05. Dean Fullston contested the half-marathon and came 5th in the M50 category. He placed 63rd overall of 350 finishers in a new PB time of 1.36.40.

Alan Keogh completed the 7 SISTERS SKYLINE CHALLENGE in the Derryveagh Mountain in Co. Donegal. It’s a 30km race over 7 mountains with boggy and uneven terrain. The weather conditions was cold and drizzly. The race is part of a series of races in the World Mountain Running Cup. Keogh timed 5.46.49 and was the 62nd male finisher. An injury in the early part of the course caused a lot of discomfort and he has to walk some of the route.

We have a result missing from a couple of weeks ago. Matthew Fabbro competed the PRAGUE MARATHON on the 8th of May in a time of 2.48.32. He placed 78th of the 4,611 finishers. He came 30th in the senior men’s category.

We had 3 second-placed finishers in the PARKRUN series this week. Juvenile member Lucas Collender was runner-up at Waterstown, master athlete Fergal Whitty 2nd at Hartstown and M35 master Owen Robinson was 2nd at Tolka Valley. Also, at Waterstown juvenile athlete Katie Delany came 8th and 1st woman and Jean Murphy 12th and 2nd woman. A result missing from last week is Sinead Lambe 6th overall and 1st woman home at the Inch Beach Parkrun. See results below.

Results in brief:
BOB HEFFERNAN & MARY HANLEY 5KM at Johnstownbridge, Co. Meath (17.05.2022)
12th & 2nd M40 Robert Murphy (14.57)
132nd Simon O’Toole (17.27 PB)
169th & 5th M55 Ciaran O’Flaherty (17.54)
244th David McGrath (18.56 PB)
570th & 18th W50 Mary McDermott (24.03)
729th & 16th M60 Tommy Halton (32.04)
758th & 2nd W70 Ann Woodlock (35.30)
782 finishers
LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 at Santry (18.05.2022)
MINOR GIRLS JAVELIN: 2nd Amber Lynch (Loreta Stephen’s Green) 22.58m PB
MINOR BOYS 1,100m: 4th Arlen Szabo (MCS) 3.23.84
U/16 BOYS 200m: 1st Alex Leonard (CBS Lucan) 24.35
JUNIOR BOYS 80m Hurdles: 8th Rory O’Farrell (Belvedere College) 20.94
JUNIOR GIRLS 800m: 1st Eva Crowe (St. Edmund Rice) 2.16.34 new club outdoor record
JUNIOR BOYS 800m: 3rd Reuben McCormack (St. Patrick’s Cathedral GS) 2.10.56
JUNIOR GIRLS 1,500m: 1st Emily Bolton (Mount Sackville) 4.38.24
JUNIOR BOYS 1,500m: 5th Liam Morris (Colaiste Chillian) 4.37.72, 10th Daire McCarthy (Belvedere College) 4.59.63
JUNIOR GIRLS LONG JUMP: 5th Roisin Kirby (Mount Sackville) 4.60m
JUNIOR GIRLS 4 x 100m RELAY: 2nd Mount Sackville w/ Isabella Jackson & Roisin Kirby (52.74)
LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 2 at Santry (21.05.2022)
MINOR
INTERMEDIATE BOYS 800m: 4th Thomas Bolton (Belvedere College) 2.07.88
INTERMEDIATE GIRLS 3,000m: 3rd Julie Cleary (Loreta Stephen’s Green) 10.35.23 PB, 9th Laura Nunan (Mount Sackville) 11.38.11
INTERMEDIATE BOYS 5KG SHOT PUTT: 8th Oisin Cummins-Weiss (St. Killian’s German School) 10.37m
INTERMEDIATE BOYS 1,500m: 1st Oliver Hopkins (St. Declan’s College) 4.04.55, 8th Thomas Bolton (Belvedere College) 4.24.35
SENIOR BOYS 5,000m: 4th James Bolton (Belvedere College) 15.22.69
DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F LEAGUE FIXTURE 4 at Irishtown (21.05.2022)
U/11 GIRLS 60m: 5th Anna Whelan
U/11 GIRLS 400m: 1st Anna Whelan
U/11 GIRLS Long Jump: 2nd Anna Whelan
U/11 GIRLS: Cliodhna McMahon no result available
U/12 GIRLS 60m: 1st Anabella Omozee
U/12 GIRLS 500m: 1st Anabella Omozee
U/12 GIRLS Long Jump: 1st Anabella Omozee (result to be confirmed)
U/13 GIRLS 60m Hurdles: 3rd Ruby Blake
U/13 GIRLS SHOT PUTT: 1st Ruby Blake (7.84m)
U/14 GIRLS 80m: 5th Zion Osawe
U/14 GIRLS 80m Hurdles: 1st Zion Osawe
U/14 GIRLS 80m: 5th Melody Omozee
U/14 GIRLS 80m Hurdles: 2nd Melody Omozee
U/14 GIRLS 80m: semi-final Lola Blake
U/14 GIRLS Long Jump: Lola Blake no result available
U/14 GIRLS 400m: Lola Blake no result available
U/15 BOYS 1,200m: 1st Liam Morris (3.30 h-t), 4th Arlen Szabo (3.42 h-t)
U/16 BOYS 1,200m: 4th Adam Mulhall
Some results may be missing.
The events held at Irishtown were – 60/80/100m, 60m/75m/80m/100mH, 300m/400m/500m, 1,200m, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Putt, Discus & Javelin.
NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE 1st QUALIFYING ROUND at Templemore (22.05.2022)
WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION:
100m HURDLES: 1st Lara O’Byrne (14.55) 9 points
1,500m WALK: 4th Anne Gormley (10.49.63) 5 points
HIGH JUMP: 3rd Eva McPartlan (1.50m) 6 points
SHOT PUTT: 1st Lara O’Byrne (9.90m) 9 points
400m HURDLES: 2nd Caoimhe Mackey (1.06.12) 7 points
4 x 100m RELAY: 2nd <Eva McPartlan, Sophie O’Farrell, Andie Maguire, Lauren Flaherty> (50.94) 7 points
HAMMER: 3rd Anne Gormley (9.99m) 6 points
TRIPLE JUMP: 4th Andie Maguire (10.45m) 5 points
1,500m: 4th Audrey Gahan (5.30.33) 5 points
400m: 2nd Caoimhe Mackey (1.02.65) 7 points
POLE VAULT: 2nd Ailbhe Healy (2.40m) 7 points
JAVELIN: 2nd Sophie O’Farrell (14.16m) 7 points
3,000m: 4th Deirdre NicCanna (11.19.65) 5 points
200m: 4th Lauren Flaherty (29.03) 5 points
DISCUS: 3rd Andie Maguire (10.90m) 6 points
LONG JUMP: 1st Lara O’Byrne (5.32m) 9 points
3,000m STEEPLECHASE: no competitor (0)
800m: 3rd Margaret O’Brien (2.58.10) 6 points
28LB WEIGHT-4-DISTANCE: no competitor (0)
100m: 4th Sophie O’Farrell (13.73) 5 points
4 x 400m RELAY: 4th <Lauren Flaherty, Ailbhe Healy, Audrey Gahan, Caoimhe Mackey> (4.38.29
TOTAL TEAM POINTS (best 15 scores): 1. Tipperary County (122), 2. Galway County (114), 3. Raheny Shamrocks AC (103), 4. Donore Harriers (100), 5th St. Abban’s AC (4)
MEN’S PREMIER DIVISION:
110m HURDLES: 3rd Sean Chan (20.60) 6 points
3,000m WALK: no competitor (0)
HAMMER: 5th Alex Conway (12.61m) 4 points
POLE VAULT: no competitor (0)
400m HURDLES: 1st Daragh McAuley (58.50) 9 points
4 x 100m RELAY: 4th <Sean Chan, Simon Ayres, Conor Fox, Liam Tobin> (45.48) 5 points
LONG JUMP: 4th Bobby Amandi (5.42m) 5 points
SHOT PUTT: 3rd Oran O’Brien (11.26m) 6 points
1,500m: 1st Louis O’Loughlin (3.57.44) 9 points
400m: 2nd Zak Higgins (51.64) 7 points
HIGH JUMP: 3rd Daniel Hernon (1,70m) 6 points
DISCUS: 3rd Niall Allen (31.10m) 6 points
3,000m STEEPLECHASE: 2nd Matt Fabbro (11.27.86) 7 points
200m: 6th Simon Ayres (24.18 club debut) 3 points
TRIPLE JUMP: 3rd Michael McCarthy (11.59m) 6 points
800m: 1st Louis O’Loughlin (1.55.99) 9 points
5,000m: 3rd Daragh Keegan (16.06.78 PB) 6 points
JAVELIN: 3rd Daniel Hernon (22.11m) 6 points
56LB WEIGHT-4-DISTANCE: 3rd Niall Allen (6.33m) 6 points
100m: 5th Liam Tobin (11.73 club debut) 4 points
4 x 400m RELAY: 2nd <Conor Fox, Simon Ayres, Zak Higgins, Louis O’Loughlin> (
TOTAL TEAM POINTS (best 17 scores): 1. Nenagh Olympic (128), 2. Leevale AC (115), 3. Donore Harriers (110), 4. Raheny Shamrocks AC (84), 5. St. Abban’s AC (21)
FASTLANE HALF-MARATHON at Clondalkin (22.05.2022)
63rd & 5th M50 Dean Fullston (1.36.40 PB)
350 finishers
FASTLANE 10KM ROAD RACE at Clondalkin (22.05.2022)
15th & 1st woman Grace Kennedy-Clarke (40.03)
196th & 37th woman Blathnaid Hughes (59.05)
308 finishers
AN RIOCHT AC KINGDOM COME 10 MILE ROAD RACE at Castleisland (22.05.2022)
10th & 1st woman Niamh Clifford (1.03.21)
95 finishers
7 SISTERS SKYLINE CHALLENGE in Derryveagh Mountains, Co. Donegal (22.05.2022)
MEN’S RACE: 62nd Alan Keogh (5.46.49)

EARLIER RESULT:
PRAGUE MARATHON (08.05.2022)
78th & 30th Senior male Matthew Fabbro (2.48.32)
4,611 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (21.05.2022)
INCH BEACH (14.05.2021) 6th & 1st woman Sinead Lambe W35 (19.59)
HARTSTOWN: 2nd Fergal Whitty M45 (17.53)
NEW ROSS: 23rd Eugene McCurtain M55 (23.50), 50th Liz McCurtain W55 (28.56)
POPPINTREE: 85th Eilish Joyce W40 (33.13)
TOLKA VALLEY: 2nd Owen Robinson M35 (20.29)
WATERSTOWN: 2nd Lucas Collender M11-14 (20.21 PB), 8th & 1st woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (23.32), 12th & 2nd woman Jean Murphy W35 (25.55)

 

02. Tipperary Tent 03. Deirdre Margaret Audrey 08. Ann Woodlock & co. 10. Alex Leonard 13. Juvenile League

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 15th May 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Jack Raftery (46.44) blitzed the 400m in the IRISH MILERS CLUB MEET in Belfast to top the Irish rankings and set a new club record. Sorcha & Ide NicDhomhnaill go 1st & 4th on the Irish ranking after running PBs in the NIGHT OF THE 10,000m PB’s event in London. W35 team gold, M35 team silver and individual medals won by Maura Kearns, Audrey Gahan & Tony Kynes in the IRISH RUNNERS/NATIONAL 5km. Laurence O’Neill 5th in the LIFFORD-STRABANE HALF-MARATHON. John Travers won the recent BALLYSHANNON 5km. Junior members Oliver Hopkins, James Bolton & Thomas Bolton all ran PBs in the DUBLIN GRADED NO. 2 over 1,500m.

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton & Florence Curley>
Jack Raftery has jumped to No. 1 in the Irish 400m rankings for 2022 after his stunning victory in the IRISH MILERS CLUB MEET NO. 2 at the Mary Peter’s Track in Belfast on Saturday. His new time of 46.44 lowers his own club record time of 47.02 set at the AAI Games last summer. Coming off the blocks in Lane 6 the 6’ 7” Raftery quickly got into his stride and dominated the race all the way to the finish line. He had two top-class athletes in his wake as Marcus Lawler (47.53) of Clonliffe Harriers placed 2nd and Eanna Madden (47.69) of Carrick-On-Shannon AC came 3rd. Raftery, who is now coached by Jeremy Lyons and Ger O’Donnell at the Dublin Sprints Club training group, can expect selection to the Irish senior relay team this summer. Louis O’Loughlin (1.51.33) struggled to come to terms with the pace of the A grade 800m race. He got detached from the lead group early on – and passing the 400m mark in just under 55 seconds he failed to close the gap on the leaders over the second circuit. The race was won by John Fitzsimons (1.46.41) of Kildare AC with Archie Davis of Brighton AC 2nd in 1.47.77 and O’Loughlin in 8th.

Also reaching the top of the Irish 2022 rankings was Sorcha NicDhomhnaill following her excellent race in the NIGHT OF THE 10,000m PB’s event at the Parliament Hill track in London on Saturday evening. Sorcha finished 14th from 35 starters in the Women’s A race that incorporated the UKA national 10,000m championships. She passed the half-way point in 16.28 and gained several positions in the latter half of the race to finish in a time of 33.18.93. Her new time puts her a little over half-a-minute short of the club record time of 32.43.77 set by Jolene Byrne in 2005. Ide NicDhomhnaill came 20th in the same race in a time of 33.54.51 and moved herself to 4th in the 2022 Irish rankings. The race was won by GB international Jessica Judd in 31.22.24. Kane Collins retired from the Men’s C grade race after 7,200m.
The Night of the 10,000m PB’s event was established in 2013 by Highgate Harriers for the purpose to promote distance running in the UK. It has been growing in status and popularity ever since. The NicDhomhnaill sisters described the setting as: “a great experience, brilliant atmosphere and really enjoyable”. The Men’s 10,000m B grade race was won by Dean Casey of Ennis Track AC. Casey ran a time of 28.57.32 to claim a new national Under 20 record. Frank Greally held the record for almost 52 years before another Donore Harriers man Abdel Laadjel claimed the record with a 29.23.92 run at the Raleigh Relays event Stateside on the 26th of March. Laadjel, thus, held the record for just 7 weeks! Full credit and heartiest congratulations to Dean Casey on his magnificent race and time.

The 2nd DUBLIN OPEN GRADED T&F MEETING was held at Santry last Wednesday (11.05.2022). Donore Harriers had 3 junior athletes contest the 1,500m B grade race. Oliver Hopkins used her superior finishing kick to win in a personal best time of 4.02.49. James Bolton put in a sold run to finish 3rd in a PB time of 4.03.11, with his younger brother Thomas also recording a personal best time of 4.10.85 to place 7th. Master athlete Emmet O’Briain (4.16.96) came 11th in the 1,500m A grade race. Caoimhe Mackey (26.82) came 2nd in the Women’s B grade 200m – and Kane Collins claimed 4th place in the Men’s 5,000m in a time of 15.16.14.

The club was well represented in the IRISH RUNNER 5KM ROAD RACE, incorporating the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS at the Phoenix Park on Sunday morning. The field of 775 athletes had very pleasant weather conditions and an interesting, testing course that went thru the Furry Glen area. The first three club athletes’ home were David McConn (16.16) in 19th place, Daragh Keegan (16.43) in 30th and Alan Keogh (18.06) in 80th. The trio combined to win silver medals in the M35 team category with a score of 122, just 9 points behind winners Rathfarnham AC and 10 points ahead of 3rd placed Sli Cualann AC. McConn ran an 11-seconds personal best and just missed out on an individual medal with 4th place in the M40 category. The next club athlete to finish was Maura Kearns (18.56) who won the W35 class with almost a minute to spare ahead of runner-up Elaine Howard (19.54) of Portmarnock AC. Kearns, 103rd overall and 10th woman, took double-gold as she led the W35 team to victory supported by Audrey Gahan (19.57 – 22nd woman) in 149th position and Claire Mulligan (20.59 – 36th woman) in 206th. The team had a final score of 68 to finish 7 points ahead of 2nd placed Raheny Shamrocks. Gahan also claimed an individual medal with 3rd place in the W40 category. The club’s other individual medal went to Tony Kynes (19.47) who placed 136th overall and 3rd in the M65 age-group. Ray Armstrong M40 came 108th in a new personal 18.55. 16 years old Eoghan Crowther (19.57) was the 4th junior male when placing 151st overall. This was Crowther’s first ever race and after making a conservative start, he worked his way up thru the field to finish narrowly inside his target time of 20 minutes. Ken McKeown (20.08) was the next clubman home in 159th position, closely followed by John Curran in 170th with a personal best time of 20.18. M50 runner Tom Fagan (20.26) came 173rd and John Paul O’Hanlon M35 (20.24) was 175th to cross the finish line. Claire Mulligan placed 206th – and she was followed by club debutante Diorela Escalera-Claros (21.21) in 219th spot and 13th senior woman. This was a fine performance from the Bolivian native who had a target time of 23 minutes. Margaret O’Brien (21.59) placed 236th and 16th senior woman with gutsy effort over the final kilometre. She was followed over the line by Mark Devine M45 (22.11) in 244th place, then Ian Fitzgerald (21.07) in 258th and Angela Eustace W50 (23.22) in 297th. The senior men’s team of Armstrong, Kynes, Crowther and McKeown placed 6th – and the senior women’s team comprising Escalera-Claros, O’Brien and Eustace came 5th.

First season athlete Laurence O’Neill was the club’s sole competitor in the LIFFORD STRABANE HALF-MARATHON in Co. Tyrone on Sunday. O’Neill is proving to be a fine prospect and will be encouraged by recording a PB time of 1.16.15 to secure 5th place in a field of more than 800 runners. The race was held almost entirely within the vicinity of the town of Strabane, with the middle part of the route reaching to and from the townland of Clady via roads alongside the Finn River.

John Travers (14.26) entered the recent BALLYSHANNON 5km ROAD RACE as a training workout, but his pedigree saw him win the race comfortably ahead of Sligo AC pair Shane Hayes (15.45) and Martin Brennan (16.14). Travers said: “I’ve missed a bucket load of training with a foot injury, so I was delighted to win with a decent time”.

In the IMRA Under 18 TRIAL RACE at Glendalough on Sunday morning Laura Nunan (26.18) came 11th overall and 3rd female for the 4.5km course that had a total climb of 300 metres. The race was a selection trial for the WMRA championships due to take place at Saluzzo in Italy on the 26th of June.

M50 competitor Ben Conroy came 37th (54.33) and junior member Honor Lynch (1.00.23) 50th in the IMRA CARRICK MOUNTAIN RACE on Wednesday last (11.05.2022). The race which started and finished near the village of Glenealy was 7.5km in distance with 420 metres of climbing.

In the DUBLIN JUVENILE T& F LEAGUE after 3 rounds Ruby Blake is leading the way with 20 points in the Under 13 Girls. Anna Whelan holds 2nd place – also with 20 points – in the Under 11 Girls and Zion Osawe (also 20 points) is in 3rd position in the Under 14 Girls. Liam Morris (21 points) holds 3rd place in the Under 15 Boys with 3 wins over middle-distance. Full list of our points scorers so far in the league are listed below.
The 4th and final round of the league takes place on Saturday (21.05.2022) at the Irishtown track.

Niamh Clifford (19.30) was 2nd finisher and 1st woman home in the Brickfields PARKRUN. Other notable Parkrun results include Jean Murphy (21.35) and juvenile member Katie Delaney (23.29) being the 1st and 3rd female finishers at Waterstown; and Paul Nunan (22.53) gaining a PB to place 4th overall at the Sports Campus Parkrun in Abbotstown. Other results below.

Results in brief:
BALLYSHANNON 5KM ROAD RACE (07.05.2022)
1st John Travers (14.26)
94 finishers
DUBLIN OPEN GRADED MEET NO. 2 at Santry (11.05.2022)
WOMEN’S 200m B GRADE RACE: 2nd Caoimhe Mackey (26.82)
MEN’S 1,500m A GRADE RACE: 11th Emmet O’Briain M40 (4.16.96)
MEN’S 1,500m B GRADE RACE: 1st Oliver Hopkins U/19 (4.02.49 PB), 3rd James Bolton U/19 (4.03.11 PB), 7th Thomas Bolton U/17 (4.10.85 PB)
MEN’S 5,000m A GRADE RACE: 4th Kane Collins (15.16.14)
IRISH MILERS CLUB MEET 2 at Mary Peters Track Belfast (14.05.2022)
MEN’S 400m A GRADE RACE: 1st Jack Raftery (46.44 PB and club record)
MEN’S 800m A GRADE RACE: 8th Louis O’Loughlin (1.51.33)
NIGHT OF THE 10,000m PB’s at Parliament Hill Track London (14.05.2022)
WOMEN’S 10,000m A GRADE RACE: 14th Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (33.18.93 PB), 20th Ide NicDhomhnaill (33.54.51 PB)
MEN’S 10,000m C GRADE RACE: DNF Kane Collins
IRISH RUNNER 5KM ROAD RACE, incorporating NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS at Phoenix Park (15.05.2022)
19th & 4th M40 David McConn (16.16 PB)
30th & 5th M35 Daragh Keegan (16.43)
80th & 13th M40 Alan Keogh (18.06)
103rd & 1st W35 Maura Kearns (18.56)
108th & 19th M40 Ray Armstrong (18.55 PB)
136th & 3rd M65 Tony Kynes (19.47)
149th & 3rd W40 Audrey Gahan (19.57)
151st & 4th MJ Eoghan Crowther (19.57 debut)
159th & 15th M35 Ken McKeown (20.08)
170th & 14th M45 John Curran (20.18 PB)
173rd & 18th M50 Tom Fagan (20.26)
175th & 16th M35 John Paul O’Hanlon (20.24)
206th & 7th W45 Claire Mulligan (20.59)
219th & 13th WS Diorela Escalera-Claros (21.21 debut)
236th & 16th WS Margaret O’Brien (21.59)
244th & 18th M45 Mark Devine (22.11)
258th & 22nd MS Ian Fitzgerald (21.07)
297th & 10th W50 Angela Eustace (23.22)
DNF Barry Potts M70 due to injury
775 finishers
SENIOR MEN’S TEAM: 1. Clonliffe Harriers 40, 6. Donore Harriers <Armstrong, Kynes, Crowther, McKeown> 477. 8 teams closed
M35 MEN’S TEAM: 1. Rathfarnham AC 113, 2. Donore Harriers <McConn, Keegan, Keogh> 122, 3. Sli Cualann AC 132. 10 teams closed
SENIOR WOMEN’S TEAM: 1. Brothers Pearse AC 32, 5. Donore Harriers <Escalera-Claros, O’Brien, Eustace> 159. 7 teams closed
W35 WOMEN’S TEAM: 1. Donore Harriers <Kearns, Gahan, Mulligan> 68, 2. Raheny Shamrocks AC 75, 3. Mullingar Harriers AC 132. 7 teams closed
STRABANE LIFFORD HALF-MARATHON at Strabane, Co. Tyrone (15.05.2022)
5th Laurence O’Neill (1.16.15 PB)
865 finishers
IMRA CARRICK MOUNTAIN RACE at Glenealy, Co. Wicklow (11.05.2022)
37th Ben Conroy M50 (54.33)
50th Honor Lynch WJ (1.00.23)
95 finishers
IMRA U/18 TRIAL CUP RACE at Glendalough (15.05.2022)
11th & 3rd female Laura Nunan (26.18)
12 finishers
DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F LEAGUE FIXTURE 3 POINT SCORERS (Tallaght 08.05.2022)
U/10 BOYS: Cadel Senyk (0 points, total 8 – 9th overall)
U/11 GIRLS: Anna Whelan 6th 200m (1 point, total 20 – 2nd overall)
U/12 GIRLS: Anabella Omozee 1st 200m (7 points, total 9 – 8th overall)
U/13 GIRLS: Ruby Blake 4th in Long Jump, 4th in High Jump (6 points, total 20 – 1st overall)
U/13 BOYS: Jack Mansfield 6th High Jump (1 point, total 3 – =17th overall)
U/14 GIRLS: Zion Osawe 5th in 200m, 4th in Discus (5 points, total 20 – 3rd overall), Melody Omozee 3rd in Discus (4 points, total 6 – 12th overall)
U/14 BOYS: Elliot Whelan (0 points, total 5 – 13th overall), Luuk Jackson 3rd in 200m (4 points, total 4 – 15th overall)
U/15 BOYS: Liam Morris 1st in 1,000m (7 points, total 21 – 3rd overall), Reuben McCormick 2nd in 1,000m (5 points, total 10 – 7th overall), Daire McCarthy (0 points, total 6 – 10th overall)
U/16 GIRLS: Roisin Kirby 4th in 200m (3 points, total 3 – 23rd overall)
U/16 BOYS: Paddy Nolan 1st in 200m (7 points, total 7 – 10th overall), Adam Mulhall 6th in 1,000m (1 point, total 1 – 25th overall)
PARKRUNS 5km (14.05.2022)
ARDGILLAN: 16th Joe Murphy M40 (26.22)
BRICKFIELDS: 2nd & 1st woman Niamh Clifford (19.30)
CORKAGH: 23rd & 4th woman Nicola Dowdall W45 (24.58)
NEW ROSS: 18th Eugene McCurtain M55 (24.19)
POPPINTREE: 76th Eilish Joyce W40 (31.08)
SPORTS CAMPUS ABBOTSTOWN: 4th Paul Nunan M45 (22.53 PB)
WATERSTOWN: 3rd & 1st woman Jean Murphy W35 (21.35), 8th & 3rd woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (23.29)

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 8th May 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Eric Keogh 2nd in CHARLOTTE INVITATIONAL 5,000m. Michael Ryan 2nd in GALWAY 5KM SERIES. Our juveniles were back in action in the EAST LEINSTER SCHOOLS (DAY 2), DUBLIN JUVENILE LEAGUE (NO.3) and at the WATERSTOWN PARKRUN. Sinead O’Reilly scored a good result in the MALLORCA IRONMAN. Four members competed in the IMRA PRINCE WILLIAM’S SEAT race.

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton, Leonie Newman & Florence Curley>
Eric Keogh (14.22.15), representing Queen’s University North Carolina, showed good form when placing 2nd of 19 finishers in the 5,000m race in the CHARLOTEE INVITATIONAL TRACK & FIELD MEETING at Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday 30th April 2022. This was an encouraging performance by the Donore Harriers athlete whose progress has been hampered by a foot injury in recent months. The race was won by Paul Arredondo (13.50.84) of Charlotte University, with Michael Durkin – another Charlotte Uni athlete – 3rd in 14.29.43.

Michael Ryan (17.12) took 2nd place in the 2nd race of the GALWAY 5KM SERIES at Loughrea on Tuesday evening (03.05.22). The race was won by Stephen Casserley of Castlegar AC in 16.49. Ryan placed 3rd in Race No. 1.

In the 2nd day of the EAST LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Santry on Tuesday (03.05.22) Julie Cleary and Honor Lynch contested the Intermediate Girls 1,500m but did not make the podium in a keenly contested race. Coach Joe Kelly said afterwards: “Good solid runs by Julie and Honor today. They were in a stacked race with some of the best runners in Leinster in the field. Great practice for Julie ahead of her Leinster Schools 3,000m in 2 weeks’ time”. LTAD Lead Coach Graham Hopkins said: “Two smashing athletes who are both on the upward curve”.

The 3rd of 4 rounds of the DUBLIN JUVENILE TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE took place in Tallaght on Sunday. The Donore Harriers highlights included wins by Luuk Jackson (U/14) and Paddy Nolan (U/16) in the 200m, and the one, two by Liam Morris (2.45) and Reuben McCormick (2.53) in the Under 15 Boys 1,000m. More results to follow. Points scorers after the first two rounds are listed in the results section below.

The club had four members compete in the IMRA PRINCE WILLIAM’S SEAT RACE near Glencullen on the border of counties Dublin and Wicklow last Tuesday (03.05.22) The race over a picturesque and popular mountain trail was 9.37km in distance with a total elevation of 405m. Alasdair Brown came 4th in 43.12 with Niall Lynch (45.29) in 10th spot. Ben Conroy came 72nd in 58.04 with Ken McKeown (58.55) close behind in 78th. There were 165 finishers.

Sinead O’Reilly competed well in a high-profile triathlon event in Mallorca. The popular ZAFIRO IRONMAN 70.3 had a start list of 2,628 competitors. Sinead came 1,176th overall and placed 19th of 67 competitors in the W40 age category. She was 51st in her class after the 1.9km swim in the Bay of D’Alucia, which she completed in 41 minutes flat. She was 30th fastest in the one-lap 90km cycling route that passed through many of the local Mallorca towns. Sinead then greatly improved her overall position by being the fastest W40 woman to complete the half-marathon run route in a time of 1.31.29.

Several club members participated in the Waterstown PARKRUN on Saturday morning with Alan Farrell (19.07) and Niamh Clifford (19.27) the first two finishers. They were closely followed by 3 juvenile athletes with Dylan McKenna 4th home, Lucas Collender 7th, and Katie Delaney 15th and 3rd woman. Elsewhere in PARKRUNs Will Morris was 1st home at Griffeen, Simon O’Toole came 2nd at Brickfields, new member Laurence O’Neill was 2nd at Southwark (London), and Paul Nunan was 3rd at Sports Campus Abbotstown. Other Parkrun results are listed below.

Results in brief:
CHARLOTTE INVITATIONAL TRACK & FIELD MEET at Charlotte, North Carolina (29&30.04.2022)
MEN’S 5,000m: 2nd Eric Keogh (Queen’s University, NC) 14.22.15
19 finishers
EAST LEINSTER SCHOOLS T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 2 at Santry (03.05.2022)
INTERMEDIATE GIRLS 1,500m: Julie Cleary & Honor Lynch (Loreta Stephen’s Green)
GALWAY 5KM SERIES NO. 2 at Loughrea (03.05.2022)
2nd Michael Ryan (17.12)
576 finishers
DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F LEAGUE FIXTURE 3 at Tallaght (08.05.2022)
U/14 Boys 200m: 1st Luuk Jackson
U/16 Boys 200m: 1st Paddy Nolan
U/15 Boys 1,000m: 1st Liam Morris (2.47 h-t), 2nd Reuben McCormick (2.53 h-t), 4th Arlen Szabo (2.59 h-t), 8th Daire McCarthy (3.03 h-t).
U/16 Boys 1,000m: 5th Adam Mulhall
The following club athletes also competed – U/10 Girls = Rachel McCarthy, U/10 Boys = Michael McCarthy Jnr, Bobby Farrell, Cadel Senyk, Eli Henley-Willis & Joseph Spollen; U/11 Girls = Lola Blake, Cliodhna McMahon, U/11 Boys = Daniel Maddox, Alan Maddox, Cillian O’Farrell; U/12 Girls = Anabella Omozee, Anna Spollen, Ali Woods, Simone Lavignotte, Lucie Boyle, U/12 Boys = Max Henley-Willis; U/13 Boys Sean Culhane, Jack Mansfield, U/13 Girls = Ruby Blake, U/14 Girls = Zion Osawe, Melody Omozee, Lily Clarke-Hanrahan
The events held were – 200m/1,000m, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Putt, Discus & Javelin.
DUBLIN JUVENILE T&F LEAGUE FIXTURE 2 POINT SCORERS (Santry 23.04.2022)
U/10 BOYS: Cadel Senyk 4th in 60m, 2nd in Long Jump (8 points, total 8)
U/11 GIRLS: Anna Whelan 1st in 600m, 3rd in 60m (11 points, total 19)
U/12 GIRLS: Anabella Omozee (0 points, total 2)
U/13 GIRLS: Ruby Blake 1st in Shot Putt (7 points, total 14)
U/13 BOYS: Jack Mansfield 5th in 80m (2 points, total 2)
U/14 GIRLS: Zion Osawe 3rd in 100m, 1st in High Jump 11 points, total 15), Melody Omozee (0 points, total 2)
U/14 BOYS: Elliot Whelan (0 points, total 5)
U/15 BOYS: Liam Morris 1st in 800m (7 points, total 14), Daire McCarthy 3rd in 800m (4 points, total 6), Reuben McCormick 2nd in 800m (5 points, total 5)
IMRA PRINCE WILLIAM’S SEAT 9.37km RACE at Glencullen, Co. Wicklow
4th Alasdair Brown M35 (43.12)
10th Niall Lynch M50 (45.29)
72nd Ben Conroy M50 (58.04)
78th Ken McKeown M35 (58.55)
165 finishers
ZAFIRO IRONMAN 70.3 MALLORCA at Park D’Alcudia (07.05.2022)
1,176th overall, 108th of 428 women, 19th of 67 in W40 class Sinead O’Reilly (5.55.08)
2,628 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (07.05.2022)
BRICKFIELDS: 2nd Simon O’Toole SNR (19.03)
BUSHY: 97th Thomas Halton M65 (31.39)
CASTLETOWN: 51st Joan McTernan W60 (26.39), 99th Anna McMahon W35 (35.38)
GRIFFEEN: 1st Will Morris M45 (17.47)
MALAHIDE: 120th Angela O’Dea W40 (27.34)
NEW ROSS: 18th Eugene McCurtain M55 (24.03), 36th & 9th woman Liz McCurtain W55 (28.07)
POPPINTREE: 81st Eilish Joyce W40 (34.54)
PORTERSTOWN: 66th Michele Murphy W55 (52.07)
SPORTS CAMPUS ABBOTSTOWN: 3rd Paul Nunan M45 (23.39)
WATERSTOWN: 1st Alan Farrell M50 (19.07), 2nd & 1st woman Niamh Clifford (19.29), 4th Dylan McKenna M15-17 (20.05), 7th Lucas Collender M11-14 (20.53), 8th John Curran M45 (21.05), 13th & 2nd woman Jean Murphy W35 (22.46), 15th & 3rd woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (23.08), 29th Charlie O’Neill M65 (27.33)
SOUTHWARK, LONDON: 2nd Laurence O’Neill (17.02)

02. Sinead O'Reilly 05. Paddy & Luuk at Tallaght

Donore Harriers Athletics Report – w/e 2nd May 2022

HIGHLIGHTS: Amber Lynch and newcomer Reuben McCormick took gold in the EAST LEINSTER SCHOOLS T&F with Julie Cleary, Emma Stacey & Oisin Cummins-Weiss in bronze. Louis O’Loughlin 4th in 800m, Daragh Fitzgibbon & Kane Collins 8th and 15th in the 5,000m at IMC T&F NO. 1. M50 team, Angela Eustace, Tony Kynes and Barry Potts all took silver at the LEINSTER NOVICE & MASTERS ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS. Liam Keane narrowly failed to break 3-hours in the LIMERICK MARATHON. Lara O’Byrne 3rd in 100m and Jack Byrne 3rd in 800m at DUBLIN GRADED MEET NO. 1. Ciaran Ryan 3rd in ARC 10km. Abdel Laadjel ECHO NEWSPAPER sports star for March 2022.

REPORT: <by Gerry Naughton, Leonie Newman & Florence Curley>
The first to two IRISH MILERS CLUB TRACK & FIELD MEETINGS was held at the Morton Stadium on Saturday. Donore Harriers had Louis O’Loughlin, Daragh Fitzgibbon and Kane Collins compete in A grade races. O’Loughlin came 4th in the 800m in a time of 1.52.82 having passed the halfway mark in 7th place in 55 seconds. The race was won by Jake Bagge of Ferrybank AC in 1.51.00. Daragh Fitzgibbon (14.50.59) came 9th in a high quality 5,000m race won by Efrem Gidey of Clonliffe Harriers. Also in the field of 26 finishers was Kane Collins who placed 15th with a new personal best track time of 15.08.72. Oliver Hopkins, an Under 18s athlete this year, was hoping to break the 4.05 mark for the 1,500m. However, an over ambitious start that saw him pass the 400m in just outside 60 seconds told in the later stages of the race as he faded to 15th position in a personal best time of 4.07.68. David Campbell came 4th in the 400m B grade race in a time of 53.96 and Emmet O’Briain (4.26.89) 7th in the 1,500m C grade race. Promising juvenile athlete Oisin Cummins-Weiss came 4th in the Shot Putt.

The LEINSTER NOVICE & MASTERS ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS took place at Gowran, Co. Kilkenny on Saturday with Donore Harriers competing teams in the master grade races. In the women’s 3km race Audrey Gahan (12.20) came 17th and 9th in the W40 age category. Next home was Claire Mulligan (12.41) who placed 20th overall and 4th in the W45 class. The team was closed out by W50 athlete Angela Eustace (13.40) who came 27th and 4th in her age group. The team came 5th of 8 teams behind winners Sportsworld AC. Angela Eustace picked up a silver medal as she was the 2nd scorer on the Dublin team that were narrowly beaten by Westmeath in the inter-county W50 championship.
In the master men’s race over 6km the Donore Harriers team was led home by Des Tremble in 22nd position. Tremble came 3rd in the M50 category and posted a time of 20.54. He was followed home by Alan Farrell, another M50 athlete, who came 38th in 21.51. Tony Kynes (24.30) closed out the scoring 3 athletes in the over 50s category by placing 67th overall and in the process took individual silver in the M65 category. The Donore Harriers team (127) of Tremble, Farrell and Kynes came 2nd behind United Striders AC (80), with Sli Cualann AC 3rd on 153. Also in the race was Barry Potts (27.32), who came 80th overall and 2nd in the M70 category.

The first of 8 summer series events organised by the Dublin Athletics Board took place at Tallaght Track on Wednesday evening. There were just 3 Donore Harriers athletes competing in the opening DUBLIN OPEN GRADED TRACK & FIELD MEET. Lara O’Byrne (12.72) ran a fine 12.72 to place 3rd in the Women’s A Grade 100m sprint. Jack Byrne (2.00.82) also got 3rd in the Men’s 800m A grade race, with M55 athlete Dean Fullston (2.54.81) coming 9th in the ‘D’ 800m.

Liam Keane was on course to run a time around the 2.45/2.50 mark in the REGERON GREAT LIMERICK MARATHON on Sunday morning when holding a position inside the top 30 for the first half of the route. However, he found the task increasingly difficult after the 30km mark and he struggled home in 3.01.36 for 62nd position. There were 875 finishers.

In the simultaneous REGERON GREAT LIMERICK HALF-MARATHON race M45 athlete Sean Fox came 17th in a time of 1.17.37. Patrick Moriarty, now in the M50 class, ran 1.31.16 for 121st place from a field of more than 18-hundred starters.

Ciaran Ryan (38.53) came 3rd of 17 finishers in the ARC 10km ROAD RACE at the Phoenix Park on the bank holiday Monday morning. The race consisted of 4 2.5km laps in the Acres Road and Magazine Fort area. ARC is a charity that promotes psychological and emotional well-being.

Day 1 of the EAST LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS were held at Santry on Thursday. With most of the Donore Harriers juveniles in the West Leinster catchment area, there were just a handful of club athletes looking to book their places to the “Leinsters” next month. Amber Lynch (21.65m) representing Loreta Stephen’s Green convincingly won the Minor Girls Javelin. There was victory also for newcomer Reuben McCormick as he blitzed the Junior Boys 800m race in a time of 2.12. Oisin Cummins-Weiss continues to make steady progress in the Shot Putt event and will be buoyed by 3rd place in the Intermediate Boys in the colours of St. Killian’s German School with a PB throw of 10.90m. Julie Cleary and Emma Stacey are two young athletes with great prospects for the future. Cleary (Loreta Stephen’s Green) came 3rd in competitive Intermediate Girls 3,000m race in 10.39 and Stacey, representing Muckross College, was likewise 3rd in the Senior Girls 800m race in a time of 2.22. Luke Hanly (Mount Temple Comprehensive) came 6th on countback in the Senior Boys High Jump with a 1.60m clearance.

Michael Ryan competed in the GALWAY 5km ROAD RACE SERIES on Tuesday evening. He got himself into a lead group of 5 athletes, eventually settling for 4th position in a time of 16.52. The race, with almost 600 finishers, was won by Greg Lundon (16.41) of South Galway AC.

In the latest edition of IRISH MOUNTAIN RUNNING ASSOCIATION series of races – THE ‘SCALP’ M50 runner Niall Lynch came 3rd over the 6.35km route in a time of 29.10. His daughter Honor (u/18) came 67th overall and 8th woman in a time of 39.31. The race took in two different loops of the Carrickgolligan Forest and Hills with a moderate terrain and a total elevation of 217 metres.

Abdel Laadjel was awarded the ECHO NEWSPAPER Sports Star of the Month for March 2022 in recognition of his recent 10,000m national Under 20s record. His parents Mohammed and Houria received the award from the ECHO sports editor Stephen Leonard and Thos McDermott of the South Dublin Sports Partnership at the South Dublin County Offices last Tuesday morning.

In pick of the bunch in this week’s PARKRUN results was juvenile member Katie Delaney’s (23.43) 9th place overall and 2nd woman at Waterstown. Other results below.

Results in brief:
GALWAY 5km ROAD RACE SERIES at Galway (26.04.2022)
4th Michael Ryan (16.52)
594 finishers
DUBLIN OPEN GRADED T&F MEET NO. 1 at Tallaght Track (27.04.2022)
WOMEN’S 100m A GRADE: 3rd Lara O’Byrne (12.72)
MEN’S 800m A GRADE: 3rd Jack Byrne (2.00.82)
MEN’S 800m D GRADE: 9th Dean Fullston M55 (2.54.81)
EAST LEINSTER SCHOOLS T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 at Santry (28.04.2022)
MINOR GIRLS JAVELIN: 1st Amber Lynch (Loreta Stephen’s Green) 21.65m
INTERMEDIATE BOYS SHOT PUTT: 3rd Oisin Cummins-Weiss (St. Killian’s German School) 10.90m PB
JUNIOR BOYS 800m: 1st Reuben McCormick (2.12 h-t)
INTERMEDIATE GIRLS 3,000m: 3rd Julie Cleary (Loreta Stephen’s Green) 10.39 h-t
SENIOR GIRLS 800m: 3rd Emma Stacey (Muckross College) 2.22 h-t
SENIOR BOYS HIGH JUMP: 6th Luke Hanly (Mount Temple Comprehensive) 1.60m
IRISH MILERS CLUB MEET NO. 1 at Santry (30.04.2022)
MEN’S 400m B GRADE: 4th David Campbell (53.96)
MEN’S 800m A GRADE: 4th Louis O’Loughlin (1.52.82)
MEN’S 1,500m B GRADE: 15th Oliver Hopkins U/17 (4.07.68 PB)
MEN’S 1,500m C GRADE: 7th Emmet O’Briain M40 (4.26.89)
MEN’S 5,000m A GRADE: 9th Daragh Fitzgibbon (14.50.59), 15th Kane Collins (15.08.72 PB)
SHOT PUTT: 4th Oisin Cummins-Weiss JUV (No mark available)
LEINSTER NOVICE & MASTERS ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Gowran, Co. Kilkenny (30.04.2022)
MASTER WOMEN’S 3km ROAD RACE: 17th & 9th W40 Audrey Gahan (12.20), 20th & 4th W45 Claire Mulligan (12.41), 27th & 4th W50 Angela Eustace (13.40). 38 finishers
MASTER WOMEN’S TEAM: 1st Sportsworld AC (14), 5th Donore Harriers <Gahan, Mulligan & Eustace) 64. 8 teams closed.
W50 COUNTY TEAM: 1st Westmeath (72), 2nd Dublin <2nd scorer Angela Eustace> 79.
MASTER MEN’S 5km ROAD RACE: 22nd & 3rd M50 Des Tremble (20.54), 38th & 5th M50 Alan Farrell (21.51), 67th & 2nd M65 Tony Kynes (24.30), 80th & 2nd M70 Barry Potts (27.32). 87 finishers
MASTER M50 TEAM: 1st United Striders AC (86), 2nd Donore Harriers <Tremble, Farrell, Kynes> (127), 3rd Sli Cualann AC (153). 6 teams closed.
REGERON GREAT LIMERICK MARATHON (01.05.2022)
62nd Liam Keane M40 (3.01.36)
875 finishers
REGERON GREAT LIMERICK HALF-MARATHON (01.05.2022)
17th Sean Fox M45 (1.17.37)
121st Patrick Moriarty M45 (1.31.16)
1,803 finishers
ARC 10km ROAD RACE at the Phoenix Park (02.05.2022)
3rd Ciaran Ryan M50 (38.53)
17 finishers
IMRA ‘SCALP’ 6.35km RACE at Carrickgollogan, Co. Dublin (27.04.2022)
3rd Niall Lynch M50 (29.10)
67th & 8th woman Honor Lynch JNR (39.31)
144 finishers
PARKRUNS 5km (23.04.2022)
ARDGILLAN: 25th Joe Murphy M40 (27.04)
BUSHY: 91st Thomas Halton M65 (31.34)
CASTLETOWN: 55th Joan McTernan W60 (28.14)
NEW ROSS: 10th Eugene McCurtain M55 (24.10)
PORTERSTOWN: 5th Kenneth McKeown M35 (21.06)
ROYAL CANAL, KILCOCK: 29th Charlie O’Neill M65 (26.12)
SPORTS CAMPUS ABBOTSTOWN: 16th Paul Nunan M45 (23.52)
TOLKA VALLEY: 5th Owen Robinson M35 (23.30)
WATERSTOWN: 9th & 2nd woman Katie Delaney W15-17 (23.43), 14th & 3rd woman Jean Murphy W35 (26.06)