Category Archives: Results

Leinster Intermediate Cross Country Championship and Weekend Round Up

November 10, 2014Club News, Results, SeniorMedbh Peavoy

Donore Harriers men’s team had to settle for 3^rd place in the Leinster Intermediate Cross Country championship at Adamstown in County Wexford on Sunday in what proved to be a keenly contested race.

Niall Lynch (27.35), fresh from his win in the Leinster Novice race last month, was edged out of an individual medal position when he placed 4^th – just two seconds behind both the second and third placed runners – respectively Stephen Hunter (27.33) of St. Michaels AC and James McAssey (27.33) of St. Laurence O’Toole AC. The relatively flat course over a distance of 8km, in rained soaked conditions, would not have suited Niall’s preference for a hilly terrain.

Colm O’Connell (27.43) continues to improve following his transfer from Raheny Shamrocks AC, placing an encouraging 6^th position. Graham Hopkins (28.14) gave a fine display of running, having obviously recovered from his Dublin Marathon exploits, to edge into the top 10 in the field.

The scoring 4 was completed by Henry English (29.30) in 33^rd position. Liffey Valley AC (44) were team winners with Sli Cualann AC (51) second and Donore Harriers (53) in third.

The individual winner was Henry Lupton (26.19) of Portlaoise AC.

Four other Donore Harriers athletes competed, including Paul ‘Padre Pio’ O’Callaghan (29.41) who placed 37^th and showing good promise for the future. The others were: – Will Morris (29.36) in 35^th; Darren Hughes (31.10) in 51^st and Niall P. O’Reilly (33.41) in 77^th.

Results in brief: –

4^th Niall Lynch M40 (27.35); 6^th Colm O’Connell (27.43); 10^th Graham Hopkins M35 (28.14); 33^rd Henry English M35 (29.30); 35^th Will Morris M35 (29.36); 37^th Paul O’Callaghan (29.41); 51^st Darren Hughes (31.10); 77^th Niall P. O’Reilly (33.41)

Team: 1^st Liffey Valley AC (44); 2^nd Sli Cualann AC (51); 3^rd Donore Harriers <Lynch; O’Connell; Hopkins; English> (53); 4^th Sliabh Buidhe Rovers (88); 5^th Tullamore Harriers (116)

Other results: –

BHAA Bank of Ireland XC at ALSAA (8/11/14) Women 2 miles: –

4^th Maura Kearns (12.37); 16^th Rhona Duane W35 (13.49)

BHAA Bank of Ireland XC at ALSAA (8/11/14) Men 4 miles: –

14^th Emmet O’Briain M35 (23.00); 61^st Tom Fagan M45 (26.28); 68^th Joe Murphy (26.49); 69^th Peter Nugent M45 (26.51); 96^th Eoin George (28.51); 126^th Des Gill M45 (32.46); 130^th Joseph Maguire M75 (33.54)

Malahide Parkrun 5km (8/11/14): 1^st Stephen Gavin JNR (17.45)

Waterstown Parkrun 5km (8/11/14): 29^th Andrew Maguire M45 (29.05)

Tymon Parkrun 5km (8/11/14): 11^th / 2^nd woman Samantha Conroy W35 (22.02)

Griffeen Parkrun 5km (8/11/14): 43^rd David Hudson M55 (24.13); 49^th Joan McTernan W55 (24.47)

Dublin Senior Cross Country Championships

November 4, 2014Results, SeniorMedbh Peavoy

Strong running by Barbara Cleary and Aislinn Nic Dhomhnaill laid the foundations for an excellent silver medal performance from the Donore Harriers women’s team at the Dublin Senior cross country championships at Santry Demense on Sunday. On a bright and calm day the 6km and 4 lap course proved a testing course as the Donore Harriers team threw the gauntlet down to team favourites Crusaders AC. A magnificent effort fell only 7 points short of overall team glory.

Barbara (17.49), the current Women’s Mini-Marathon champion, mixed it at the front early on and found herself adrift in third place at the halfway stage. However, she eventually had to settle for fourth position behind Ciara Durkan (17.26) of Skerries AC, Orla Drumm (17.32) of Crusaders and Sarah Mulligan (17.32) of DSD. Aislinn (18.54) showed the determined form that recently won her the Dublin Novice championship to come home in an excellent 8^th position. The team silver was secured thanks to the ever consistent Ann Curley (19.20) who placed 12^th and Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill (20.02) who the fourth scorer in 19^th spot.

A fine run from Grace Kennedy (20.19) in 23^rd position ensured good cover in the quest for team glory.

The men’s race over a 6 lap course (10km) proved to be a disappointing fare for the Donore Harriers team. Missing Van Haeften, Hynes and Eric Keogh from last year’s bronze team it was always going to be a tough day out in the field. News that reigning champions Clonliffe had a depleted team gave early encouragement, but the fine team packing by a resurgent Rathfarnham AC team gave them a deserved 3^rd position behind favourites DSD and a solid Raheny Sharmocks AC crew that got the team silver.

The Donore Harriers team was led home by the defending champion John Travers. John (28.10) made a conservative start before picking up to 3^rd position by the end of lap 2. He then put in an effort to catch the front pair of Brendan O’Neill (28.05) of DSD and national cross country champion Mick Clohisey (28.15) of Raheny Shamrocks. However as the race developed it was O’Neill, recent winner of the new Autumn Open Cross race, who kicked on whilst Travers (28.10) pulled away from Clohisey to finish in a clear second position.

Mark Dooley (29.28) had a fine run to place 9^th. The very consistent John Dunne (29.53) was always competitive and gained to 15^th, whilst Caoimhin Kelly (30.18) proved once again that he a key player in the team’s future plans.

With 6 to score the Dublin Senior is surely the most competitive race on the cross country calendar. The gap back to 5^thand 6^th scorers, respectively Colm O’Connell (31.18) and Gavin Keogh (31.40) in 30^th and 36^th places, allowed the Rathfarnham team that closed in 23^rd position edge out Donore for the bronze medals.

The other members of the Donore team were Aogan MacDomhnaill (32.01) who placed 39^th and Fergal Whitty (32.26) who was 42^nd.

Results in brief: –

Women’s Dublin Senior XC 6km

4^th Barbara Cleary (17.49); 8^th Aislinn NicDhomhnaill (18.54); 12^th Anne Curley (19.20); 19^th Sorcha NicDhomhnaill (20.02); 23^rd Grace Kennedy (20.19)

Team: 1^st Crusaders AC (36); 2^nd Donore Harriers <Cleary; A. NicDhomhnaill; A. Curley; S. NicDhomhnaill> (43); 3^rd Raheny Shamrocks AC (58)

Men’s Dublin Senior XC 10km

2^nd John Travers (28.10); 9^th Mark Dooley (29.28); 15^th John Dunne (29.53); 19^th Caoimhin Kelly (30.18); 30^thColm O’Connell (31.18); 36^th Gavin Keogh (31.40); 39^th Aogan MacDomhnaill (32.01); 42^nd Fergal Whitty (32.26)

Team: 1^st DSD AC (65); 2^nd Raheny Shamrocks (84); 3^rd Rathfarnham (104); 4^th Donore Harriers (111)

Other results: –

Dublin Athletics Board Marathon championships (27/10/14): – M35 category – 3^rd Sean Fox (2.50.20); M40 Category – 3^rd Graham Hopkins (2.51.00)

Griffeen Parkrun 5km (1/11/14): – 3^rd George Brady M35 (18.08); 49^th David Hudson M55 (24.32); 56^th Joan McTernan F55 (25.01)

Tymon Parkrun 5km (25/10/14): – 20^th / 3^rd woman Samantha Conroy (21.20); 21^st Frank McNally M50 (21.30)

Dublin Uneven Age Groups Cross Country Championships

November 4, 2014Club News, Juvenile, ResultsMedbh Peavoy

The main Donore Harriers interest was centred on the Boys under 15s race over 3500m in the Dublin Uneven Age Groups cross country championships at Santry Demense. Fathi Aden, fresh from his win in the u/14s championship a couple of weeks ago, was stepping up for the purpose to field a team in the older age group.

After another slow start Fathi picked his way through the field and was an isolated 3^rd at the end of lap 1 of 3. Leading was eventual winner James Maguire (10.52) who is a national champion, with Craig Giles (11.03) of Clonliffe Harriers in second. Fathi (11.14) gave chase, but ultimately had to settle for the bronze medal position.

Next in for Donore was Sekeriye Ahmed (11.40) in 6^th place, well good enough for an automatic spot on the Dublin team in the National Unevens due to take place in Santry on the 7^th of December. This was a fantastic run by Sekeriye, who is relatively new to the sport and is making noted improvement.

Jack Raftery, also stepping up an age group, had a very fine run gaining from 27^th at the end of lap 1 to finally get up to 17^th. Ruairi Fitzgibbon probably made ‘his move’ too early in the race and struggled home in 31^st stop.

The team placed an agonising 4^th, just 3 points behind Tallaght as DSD and Clonliffe Harriers took places 1 and 2.

8 years-old Honor Lynch placed an excellent 17^th amid a huge field in the Girls u/9s over 800m. Conor Mulcahy made a very encouraging debut in the u/9s Boys, also over 800m, when placing 27^th. Honor and Conor are certainly young athletes to watch out for in the future!

Lucy McCann stepped up an age group and placed an excellent 8^th in the Girls u/17s contest over 4000m. In the Boys u/17s over 5000m Michael Gibbs narrowly missed automatic selection to the Dublin team when he lost the battle for 12^th place; finishing a gallant 13^th. This was a huge effort by Michael, who is also relatively new to the sport. In the same race Paul O’Neill pulled out due to injury.

Results in Brief:

u/9s Girls 800m – 17^th Honor Lynch

u/9s Boys 800m – 27^th Conor Mulcahy

u/11s Girls 1500m – 38^th Grace Raftery; 52^nd Sadbh Parker

u/13s Girls 2500m – DNF Ellie Raftery

u/15s Boys 3500m – 3^rd Fathi Aden (stepping up); 6^th Sekeriye Ahmed; 17^th Jack Raftery (stepping up); 31^st Ruairi Fitzgibbon (team placed 4^th)

u/17s Girls 400m – 8^th Lucy McCann (stepping up)

u/17s Boys 500m – 13^th Michael Gibbs; DNF Paul O’Neill

Other results: –

Griffeen Parkrun 5km (1/11/14): – 10^th Andrew Strickland (20.04); 29^th Oisin Campbell (22.07) debut; 129^th Kate Lynch (36.20); 130^th Ben Halpin (36.20); 132^nd Robyn Strickland (37.23); 133^rd Shannon Verdon-Byrne (37.23); also Justin Maher who completed 2.5km.

Dublin Marathon 2014

October 31, 2014Club News, ResultsMedbh Peavoy

There was more heartbreak and disappointment than celebration after this year’s Dublin Marathon. Alterations to the course map made the 35^th edition of the race tougher than in previous years. The long climb from Parkgate Street and up along the Chesterfield Avenue through the Phoenix Park made the first quarter of the race very demanding. There was also a strong head-wind to contend with at various stages of the route and the day was surprisingly humid. In such energy sapping conditions the performance of Andy Kinane (2.46.16) deserves special mention. Andy took 5 minutes of his previous best time and was the 62^nd overall finisher.

Elaine Verdon and Laura Murray also had excellent PBs, whilst Dave Wogan endured the pain of a long-term knee injury to complete the distance.

Club results in brief: –

62^nd / 30^th Andrew Kinane SEN (2.46.16) PB; 99^th / 19^th Sean Fox M35 (2.50.20); 104^th / 17^th Graham Hopkins M40 (2.51.00); 134^th / 29^th Patrick Moriarty M35 (2.52.51) PB; 590^th / 54^th Derek O’Neill M45 (3.10.43); 1147^th / 315^th Andrew Cusack M35 (3.22.59); 1204^th / 309^th Liam Hickey SEN (3.24.10); Karol Kelly SEN 2921^st / 742^nd(3.46.20); 3983^rd / 798^th Des Tremble M40 (3.56.08); 3695^th / 102^nd Elaine Verdon F35 (3.53.41) PB; 5223^rd /98^thLiz MacCurtain F45 (4.05.53); 5636^th / 299^th David Wogan M50 (4.09.46); 8233^rd / 643^rd Laura Murray SEN (4.35.38) PB; 8662^nd / 1473^rd Shane McAuley M40 (4.40.06)

Other results: – 1067^th / 121^st Stephen McCann (Lucy’s Dad) M45 (3.21.20) PB; 3557^th /723^rd Declan Raftery (Jack’s Dad) M40 (3.52.16)

Leinster Novice and Masters Cross Country Championships and Weekend Round Up

October 28, 2014Club News, Juvenile, Results, SeniorMedbh Peavoy

The ladies novice race consisted of 4 x 1k loops of the largely flat and dry course in Avondale. Rhona Duane was first home for the team in 21^st

place. Karla Doran made her cross country debut for Donore and was a solid 28^th . Ashling Swaine was 35^th and Medbh Peavoy is racing her way back to fitness to finish 41^st. The team finished 5^th overall, a solid result considering that all of the novice team wasn’t represented.

The Masters race was an identical course to the novice route. Anne Curley led it out for some time, she was overhauled by eventual winner Jackie Carty (Kilmore) and there was also a battle with 2^nd placed Paula Grant (Portlaoise) but this was a commanding run just a month after the Berlin marathon and improved markedly on her Autumn cross country open the week before, Anne was 3^rd overall and silver W40 with a Dublin team gold also. Karen Behan had her trademark sprint finish to come over the line in 17^th place with Eva Campion finishing 39th. The team just missed the bronze by 5 points, 4^th of 10 teams was a fine result.

Donore Harriers novice men stepped up to the mark in Leinster, after achieving gold in Dublin they set their sights on medalling in the Leinster novice and they didn’t disappoint. In the beautiful setting of Avondale House on a challenging course all team members put in solid performances to take the deserved team silver medal. The team was lead home by Caoimhin Kelly who ran an excellent race slotted into a nice group on lap one and put himself into medal contention on lap two but finished out and excellent fourth place well clear of fifth. Next home was Darren Hand in 17^th, after starting well back on lap 1 he work through the field well particularly on the downhill sections. Darragh Fitzgibbon had a very solid race to finish just inside the top 20 and Luke Boland completed the team scorers with an excellent 36^th. Darren Hughes had a good race to come in at 52^nd with Bernard Byrne not far behind in 58^th and Killian O’Hora in 63^rd.

In the masters race Niall Lynch took the lead at the first corner and threw himself down the first downhill section to open up a gap on the field behind and managed to hold onto the lead for the 3 lap course and take the win in a good follow up to his M40 win at the Autumn Open Cross the previous week. Will Morris and Emmet O’Brian followed in 12^th and 15^th respectively in a big improvement on their outing for the Dublin Novice. Will took bronze in the M35 category. Final scorer on the team was Phill Hennessey in his first cross country race of the season and only a few weeks after his run in the Berlin marathon, this was enough to get Donore the silver medal well ahead of Raheny in 3^rd and only 3 points behind Liffey Valley in gold. Hugh Brosnan ran a solid race to finish 32^nd and Tom Fagan completed the Donore team coming in a commendable 58^th out of 113 runners.

Results in brief: –

Women’s Leinster Novice XC 4km

21^st Rhona Duane (15.47); 28^th Karla Doran (16.35); 35^th Ashling Swaine (16.47); 40^th Medbh Peavoy (16.58)

Team: 1^st Dublin City Harriers (20); 5^th Donore Harriers (124)

Men’s Leinster Novice XC 6km

4^th Caoimhin Kelly (20.51); 17^th Darren Hand (22.10); 19^th Daragh Fitzgibbon (22.20); 36^th Luke Boland (23.05); 52^nd Darren Hughes (24.09); 58^th Bernard Byrne (24.54); 63^rd Killian O’Hora (25.24)

Team: 1^st Liffey Valley AC (59); 2^nd Donore Harriers <Kelly, Hand, Fitzgibbon & Boland> (76); 3^rd Tullamore Harriers (87)

Women’s Leinster Masters XC 4km

3^rd Ann Curley (14.26); 17^th Karen Behan (15.43); 39^th Eva Campion (17.02)

Team: 1^st Rathfarnham WSAF (36); 4^th Donore Harriers (59)

Men’s Leinster Masters XC 6km

1^st Niall Lynch (21.07); 12^th Will Morris (22.35); 15^th Emmet O’Briain (22.39); 23^rd Phil Hennessy (23.01); 32^nd Hugh Brosnan (23.37); 58^th Tom Fagan (24.52)

Team: 1^st Liffey Valley (48); 2^nd Donore Harriers <Lynch, Morris, O’Briain, Hennessy> (51); 3^rd Raheny Shamrocks AC (120)

Other results: –

Amsterdam Marathon (19/10/14): – Ian Redican (3.27.45)

Tymon Parkrun 5km (25/10/14): – 12^th / 3^rd woman Samantha Conroy (21.00)

Marlay Parkrun 5km (25/10/14): – 6^th Paul Cummins (18.25)

Frankfurt Marathon (26/10/14): – 147^th / 29^th woman Claire Morrissey (3.22.00)

Leinster Schools Combined Championships at Athlone IT (22/10/14)
One gold (Max Carey), 2 silver (Alex Clarkin and Rolus Olosa) and a bronze (Lara O’Byrne) made it a successful day for Donore Harriers athletes at the Leinster Schools Combined championship at Athlone on Wednesday.

Results in brief: –

MINOR GIRLS: 3^rd Lara O’Byrne; 18^th Tanisha Bissett
JUNIOR GIRLS: 9^th Martina Hughes
INTERMEMEDIATE GIRLS: 4^th Roisin Rynn-Cahill; 9^th Lauren Kennedy; 14^th Albhe Healy
MINOR BOYS: 1^st Max Carey; 11^th Jack Raftery
JUNIOR BOYS: 2^nd Alex Clarkin
INTERMEDIATE BOYS: 10^th Zak Higgins
SENIOR BOYS: 2^nd Rolus Olosa

Salestian College Road Race (4.2km) at Celbridge (23/10/14)

Oisin Fitzgibbon’s win in the 34^th running of the Salesian College road race means that Donore Harriers athletes have won the Fr. Charlie Archer Cup on each of the last 8 occasions.

Results in brief: –

1^st Oisin Fitzgibbon; 2^nd Stephen Gavin; 42^nd Ruairi Fitzgibbon; 66^thTadgh Fitzgibbon

Make-A-Wish Witches & Wizards 5km Run at Phoenix Park (25/10/14)

Good results from Donore athletes in the inaugural Make-A-Wish run on Saturday. This novelty race will hopefully become a regular event and target more young athletes to take part.

Results in brief: –

2^nd Michael Gibbs (18.57); 3^rd Lucy McCann (19.51); 5^th Daniel Brady (21.06); 14^th Roisin Brady (25.59)

Athletics Ireland Autumn Open Cross Country and Weekend Round Up

October 20, 2014Club News, Results, SeniorMedbh Peavoy

There was more success for Donore Harriers athletes in the first Athletics Ireland Autumn Open Cross in the Phoenix Park (19/10/14) on Sunday. The 5km and 8km races incorporated various categories and acted as a trial race for the British & Irish Masters cross country championships due to take place in Nottingham on the 22^nd of November.

There was plenty to cheer in the opening 5km race with Aislinn Nic Dhomhnaill (19.52) following up her recent Dublin Novice success with victory in the F35 category. Karen Behan (22.13) placed 6^th in the same age group. Anne Curley (20.50) placed an excellent 5^th in a very competitive F35 class. Barry Potts (22.15) had a great run and came 3^rd in the M65 class, whilst Terry Mee (23.13) and Joseph Maguire (17.16) were respective winners of the M70 and M75 categories. Aislinn and Anne placed 8^th and 28^th respectively in the Open race.

The 4 lap, 8km race proved to be a battle of the elements as the strong winds continued and a downpour of rain further tested the athletes. John Dunne and Niall Lynch raced together for the first 3 laps, before John (28.18) put in a big effort over the last lap to finally place 35^th overall and 6^th in the M35 category. Niall (28.44) showed plenty of determination to finish 40^th in the open race and was a clear winner in the M40 class. In the same category Ciaran McCarthy (30.41) placed 10^th on his club debut. John Dunne placed 35^th overall in the Open race, whilst Niall Lynch was 40^th.

The selection criteria for the Ireland team are as follows: – M35 through to M50, teams of 6 with the first 4 across the line gaining automatic selection, with consideration for 2 “wildcard” selections. M55 to M75 plus Women’s teams from W35 to W70, comprise of 4 Athletes, therefore first 3 across the line, with consideration given to 1 “wildcard” selection. Therefore, Aislinn, Barry, Terry, Joseph and Niall have automatic selection. Hopefully John and Anne have done enough to warrant the trip to Nottingham.

Results in brief: –

Athletics Ireland Open Cross at Phoenix Park (19/10/14)

5km race: –

F35 – 1^st Aislinn Nic Dhomhnaill (19.52); 6^th Karen Behan (22.13)

F40 – 5^th Anne Curley (20.50)

M65 – 3^rd Barry Potts (22.15)

M70 – 1^st Terry Mee (23.13)

M75 – 1^st Joseph Maguire (27.16)

8km race: –

M35 – 6^th John Dunne (28.28)

M40 – 1^st Niall Lynch (28.44); 10^th Ciaran McCarthy (30.41)

M45 – 10^th Ian O’Leary (33.14)

Open Race – 55^th Colm O’Connell (29.20) debut; 97^th Barbara Cleary F40 (30.59) 6^th female; 150^th Ryan Leitch (37.52)

Other results: –

Punchestown 10km (18/10/14): – 3^rd Darren Hand (37.56)

Longwood Village 10km (19/10/14): – 23^rd Niall J. O’Reilly (40.50)

New York City 10km (19/10/14): – 16^th Stephen Dawson (39.23); 250^th Michelle Dawson (52.54)

Griffeen Parkrun 5km (18/10/14): – 1^st George Brady M35 (18.39)

Tymon Parkrun 5km (18/10/14): – 10^th Samatha Conroy F35 (21.29) 2^nd female

Dublin Even Age Cross Country Championships

October 20, 2014Club News, Juvenile, ResultsMedbh Peavoy

Another master class in tactics and pure natural ability brought gold glory to Fathi Aden in the Dublin Even Age Groups Cross Country championships at the Phoenix Park on Sunday. Leading a team of six Donore Harriers athletes in the Boys u/14s race over a distance of 3km the Synge Street student made a conservative start and was lying in 14^th position after 500 metres. At the half-way mark he had moved up to fifth. Once the race headed into the wooded area with a kilometre to go Fathi changed up a gear and took control of the race. As the race entered onto the long home straight at the north-end of the football pitches Fathi had taken a commanding lead. He won comfortably with 20 plus metres to spare over his nearest rival.

Next Donore Harriers athlete home was Jack Raftery in 27^th position, with Jack Connolly 33^rd, Ronan McCooey 41^st, Luke Kelly 42^nd and James McDonagh.

The girls under 16s race over 4km proved to be eventful, but ultimately somewhat disappointing for the team. DSD athletes dominated at the front whilst Lucy McCann showed dogged determination to place an excellent 5^th. Next home for the team was the ever improving Suzanne Masterson in 9th spot – with Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh just one place further back. With 3 runners in the top ten the silver medals in the team competition was all but assured. However new girl Ciara Murphy retired injured from the race with just one kilometre to go. Ciara was running in about 20^th position, but the recurrence of a severe shin splint injury put paid to her valiant performance. It was all very unfortunate, but respect to Ciara for showing bravery and making such a determined effort on the day. She will certainly be one to watch in the future.

The best team result came in the Boys under 16s race, also over 4km, with a 4^th placing behind winners DSD, Clonliffe (2^nd) and Tallaght AC (3^rd). The team was led home by Sekeriye Ahmed in 13^th place. This was a very encouraging run from ‘Zack’ who was stepping-up an age group. The second scorer was Gabhan O’Tighearnaigh in 24^th, with Sean Creagh 27^th and Daniel Brady 31^st. Andrew Strickland retired from the race after 2.5km due to a hamstring injury. Andrew is another relative newcomer to the club and will be an important member of the team going forward.

Fathi, Lucy, Suzanne and Eliza qualify to represent Dublin in the National Juvenile Cross Country championship at Dundalk IT next month. Sekeriye will contest the Dublin Uneven Age Groups championship in the u/15s class at Santry Park on the 2^nd of November.

Results in brief: –

Girls u/10s (1000m) 15^th Grace Raftery

Boys u/10s (1000m) 29^th Oliver Hopkins

Girls u/14s (3000m) 54^th Niamh Clarke; 56^th Shona Smyth

Boys u/14s (3000m) 1^st Fathi Aden; 27^th Jack Raftery; 33^rd Jack Connolly; 41^st Ronan McCooey; 42^nd Luke Kelly; also James McDonagh

Girls u/16s (4000m) 5^th Lucy McCann; 9^th Suzanne Masterson; 10^th Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh; also Ciara Murphy retired injury

Boys u/16s (4000m) 13^th Sekeriye Ahmed; 24^th Gabhan O’Tighearnaigh; 27^th Sean Creagh; 31^st Daniel Brady; also Andrew Strickland retired injured

Boys u/18s (6000m) Oisin Fitzgibbon retired due to an injury at the halfway point

Successful Cross Country Season Opener for Donore

October 6, 2014Club News, Results, SeniorMedbh Peavoy

Two gold and a silver made it another great day in the park for Donore Harriers! This was the Dublin Novice cross country championships (5/10/14) and in the 4km women’s race an outstanding last lap performance from Aisling Nic Dhomhnaill (14.30) saw her as the runaway winner with 19 seconds to spare over runner-up Niamh Donnelly of Celtic DCH.

An excellent debut run from Michelle Childs (15.26) saw her place 7^thand this put the team in contention for team honours. Celtic DCH further packed places 8, 9 and 10 to win the team competition. However, strong running from Kim Hickey (15.46) in 11^th and Sinead Graham (16.05) in 16^thensured that our women’s team claimed silver.

In the men’s race over 6km the trio of Niall Lynch, Caoimhin Kelly and Daragh Fitzgibbon were always placed near the top end of the field and this set the tone for a strong team challenge. But Dundrum South Dublin with three in the top 10 were also in contention. Ultimately good packing saw the host club win the day with Eoin Durkan making a crucial contribution as the fourth Donore Harrier home. Niall Lynch (19.57) came an excellent 5^th and used his summer mountain running exploits to good use by gaining ground on the undulating sections. Caoimhin Kelly (19.58), who recently transferred in from Glaslough AC, made a very telling debut for Donore by placing 6^th. Daragh Fitzgibbon (20.10) had a very fine run to place 8^th despite losing a little ground in the last of the four 1500 metre laps.

The race was won by John Frazer (19.36) of Crusaders with Wishu Gebreselassie (19.53) of DSD in second place.

Results in brief: –

Women’s 4km race:- 1^st Aisling Nic Dhomhnaill (14.30); 7^th Michelle Childs (15.26) debut; 11^th Kim Hickey (15.46); 16^th Sinead Graham (16.05); 18^th Emer Rathigan (16.16); 21^st Rhona Duane (16.21); 28^th Ruth Cavanagh (16.43); 34^th Lisa Carley (16.52); 43^rd Medbh Peavoy (17.19); 45^th Aisling Swaine (17.21); 46^th Eva Campion (17.25); 51^stAisling Lonergan (17.50); 60^th Sarah Mullins (18.21); 61^st Mary Murphy (18.29)

Team Score: 1^st Celtic DCH 29; 2^nd Donore Harriers 35 (Nic Dhomhnaill; Childs; Hickey; Graham); 3^rd Crusaders; 9^th Donore Harriers ‘B’. Total of 11 teams.

Men’s 6km race:- 5^th Niall Lynch (19.57); 6^th Caoimhin Kelly (19.58) debut; 8^th Daragh Fitzgibbon (20.10); 14^thEoin Durkan (20.36); 25^th Emmet O’Briain (25.10); 54^th Darren Hughes (22.29) debut; 56^th Patrick Byrne (22.31) debut; 72^ndGerard McDonald (23.30); 76^th Tom Fagan (23.38); 79^thNiall J O’Reilly (23.50); 81^st Niall P O’Reilly (23.56); 94^thIan Redican (25.05)

Team Score: 1^st Donore Harriers 34 (Lynch; Kelly; Fitzgibbon; Durkan); 2^ndCrusaders 43; 3^rd DSD 45; 13^th Donore Harriers ‘B’ 258; Total of 15 teams.

Other results: –

Dublin Simon Community 5 mile road race Phoenix Park (4/10/14) – 3^rd Gavin Keogh (27.27); 53^rd Joseph Maguire M75 (35.43)

Tymon Parkrun 5km (4/10/14) –7^th Samantha Conroy F35 (21.25) first in women’s class

Leixlip GAA 10km road race (5/10/14) – 2^nd Darren Hand (35.25)

The Laurels Charity Crew 10km (5/10/14) – 5^th Robert Cogan (38.20); 7^thGrace Kennedy (39.14);

Dublin Juvenile League 3rd Round

October 5, 2014Club News, Juvenile, ResultsMedbh Peavoy

There were more encouraging club results in the 3^rd fixture of the Dublin Juvenile League at the Phoenix Park on Sunday morning (5/10/14). And none more so than in the Girls under 16s category over 3000 metres! Lucy McCann ran out an impressive winner, whilst Suzanne Masterson and Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh came 2^nd and 4^th respectively – all showing improved form prior to the Dublin cross country championships in two weeks time.

The Boys u/14s race over 2500m was well represented by Donore Harriers with 7 members competing. Fathi Aden and Jack Raftery were to the fore in the first lap, before the race came down to a duel between Fathi and Pearce Christie of Bros Pearse AC. It was the Donore Harriers youngster who came home with 5 metres to spare, whilst Jack Raftery ran a tremendous race to place 4^th.

In the Girls u/10s race over 800 metres Grace Raftery judged her race perfectly and came from 8^thto third with a big sprint finish over the final 40 metres. Exciting stuff!

Other notable performances came from Niamh O’Neill, returning to racing after a long lay-off, winning the Girls under 18s class over 3000m; and by Michael Gibbs, who came an excellent 3^rdin a very competitive Boys u/17s race over 4000m. Michael only took up the sport a few months ago and his progress has been very impressive.

Special mention must go to the three Fit4Youth athletes who competed for the first time. Kate Lynch, who was the first member of this new foundation group when it was set up back in the early summer, placed a very encouraging 10^th in the Girls u/15s race over 2500m. In the Boys u/16s race over 3000m Andrew Strickland and Ben Halpin both had very respectable runs to place 8^th and 11^threspectively. Their mentor Janette Strickland said: “I’m delighted for them. They did great. Especially Kate as she was really nervous”

Full club results (non official)

Girls u/10s (800m) 3^rd Grace Raftery

Boys u/10s (800m) 26^th Oliver Hopkins

Girls u/11s (1000m) 42^nd Sadbh Parker; 52^nd Clodagh McCooey (debut)

Girls u/13s (1700m) 38^th Ellie Raftery

Boys u/13s (1700m) 22^nd Alan Reid

Girls u/14s (2000m) 24^th Roisin Brady

Boys u/14s (2000m) 1^st Fathi Aden; 4^th Jack Raftery;15^th Jack Connolly; 17^th Luke Kelly; 18^thRonan McCooey; 20^th James McDonagh; 22^nd Chris Moloney

Girls u/15s (2500m) 10^th Kate Lynch (debut); 12^th Lauryn Dunne

Boys u/15s (2500m) 4^th Sekeriye Ahmed (debut); 7^th Ruairi Fitzgibbon

Girls u/16s (3000m) 1^st Lucy McCann; 2^nd Suzanne Masterson; 4^th Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh

Boys u/16s (3000m) 6^thGabhan O’Thighearnaigh; 8^th Andrew Strickland (debut); 10^th Daniel Brady; 11^th Ben Halpin (debut)

Boys u/17s (4000m) 3^rd Michael Gibbs; 7^th Paul O’Neill

Girls u/18s (3000m) 1^st Niamh O’Neill

Good Showing for Donore in Berlin and Rathfarnham and Weekend Round Up

September 30, 2014Club News, Juvenile, Results, SeniorMedbh Peavoy

Donore Harriers was well represented in the 41^st edition of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday. This race made history as Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto broke the world marathon record in a phenomenal 2.02.57 as his compatriot Emmanuel Mutai, who finished second in 2:03:13, also broke the previous mark.

Anne Curley placed an excellent 39^th overall in the women’s class. She was a little over half-a-minute behind her season best set in winning the Derry Marathon earlier in the year and was the second Irishwoman to finish the race. Anne who has a best time of 2.53 has now completed 10 marathons, all inside the 3 hours barrier. Fergal Whitty narrowly missed his previous best time set in Dublin a couple of years ago. This was a fine return to best form for Fergal. He was the second Irishman across the finish line.

Results in brief: –

Men: 108^th Fergal Whitty M35 (2.34.48); 695^th Philip Hennessy (2.54.42); 942^nd Fred Kiernan M40 (2.57.55); 1690^th George Brady M35 (3.06.12); 3198^th Derek O’Neill M45 (3.18.54); 3536^thStephen Dawson (3.20.54); 5518^th Tony Griffin M55 (3.31.25); 10070^th Charlie O’Neill M60 (3.52.26);

Women: 39^th Anne Curley F40 (2.58.35); 140^th Alma Hanevy F35 (3.15.41) PB; 202^nd Breda Mahony F35 (3.19.42) PB; 3028^th Michelle Rowley F40 (4.17.25); 4057^th Michelle Dawson (4.34.14)

In a keenly contested New Ireland Rathfarnham 5km road race on Sunday John Travers (14.28) had to settle for 4^th place as David McCarthy (14.13) of West Waterford AC ran out the winner ahead of Martin Fagan (14.21) of Mullingar Harriers. Travers and Fagan took the early pace in the race, but paid the price in the latter stages as they got reeled in by McCarthy. John also had to succumb to a strong finish from 3^rd placed Conor Rooney (14.21) of Raheny Shamrocks.

Results in brief: –

4^th John Travers (14.28); 47^th Oisin Fitzgibbon (16.25) 4^th in junior category; 56^th Henry English (16.41); 71^st Sam Gallagher (17.10) 5^th in junior category; 108^th Gerard McDonald M45 (18.04); 110^th Bernard Byrne (18.08); 121^st Niall J. O’Reilly (18.25); 159^th Grace Kennedy (19.12); 161^stBarbara Murray F40 (19.13); 186^th Sinead Graham (19.45); 214^th Karen Behan (20.20); 230^thFrank McNally M50 (20.41); 327^th Karen Crowley (22.29); 420^th Geraldine Lynch (24.11); 471^stEilish Joyce (24.38); 665^th Tony Jenkins M60 (27.49); 743^rd Michael Brophy M60 (28.56)

Team Results:

Men’s team – 1^st St. Abbans AC 66; 6^th Donore Harriers (Travers, Fitzgibbon, English, Gallagher) 170

Women’s Team – 1^st Dunboyne AC 80; 3^rd Donore Harriers (Kennedy, Murray, Graham, Behan) 123.

Emmet O’Briain placed second in the Liz McDonell Memorial 5km Cross Country race at Celbridge. This race, which is run on an undulating course on the grounds of the Castletown House estate, was won by Kevin Kelly (16.11) of St. Coca’s AC.

Results in brief: –

2^nd Emmet O’Briain (16.32); 8^th Bob Blake 17.40 (1^st in o/40 category); 10^th Stephen Gavin JNR (18.01), 17th Tom Fagan M45 (18.46); 60^th Terry Mee M70 (22.52); 69^th Mary Murphy (23.09) & 128^th Pauline Fagan (26.10).
Men’s Team Result: 1^st Donore Harriers (O’Briain; Blake; Gavin; Fagan).

The Slater Cup (club novice handicap) 6km race took place over 4 laps of the Magazine Fort lap last Tuesday evening. Newcomers Rory O’Connor and Colm O’Connell had a fine duel over a testing hilly course with Rory narrowly edging the ‘real time’ race. Victory in the ‘sealed handicap’ race went to the much improved Tom Fagan with Henry English placing second. Race organizer Iain Morrison said: “Tom had a fabulous run and was a deserving winner...”

Result in brief: –

1st Tom Fagan (24.32) allowed 4 minutes = 20.32; 2nd Henry English (22.28) allowed 1m.30s = 20.58; 3rd Rory O’Connor (21.14) scratch = 21.14; 4th Colm O’Connell (21.20) scratch = 21.14; 5th Bernard Byrne (23.52) allowed 2m.30s = 21.22; 6th Gerard McDonald (23.40) allowed 2m.15s = 21.25; 7th Niall O’Brien (25.24) allowed 3m.15s = 22.09; 8th Ian Redican (25.10) allowed 3 minutes = 22.10; 9th Eoin Hannon (24.36) allowed 2 minutes = 22.36; 10th Giovanni Borza (25.41) allowdd 2m.50s = 22.51; 11th Eoin George (27.40) scratch = 27.40.

Sam Allen placed second in both the 3.000m and One Mile races at the Bandon AC 50^thAnniversary Meeting (27/9/14). Thomas McCarthy of Bandon AC won both these races, but the 3km race was down to a ‘photo finish’. McCarthy placed 3^rd in the European club’s competition in Portugal on the previous weekend. This would indicate that Sam is making steady progress back to form after an injury lay-off. No times available.

Other results: –

Tymon Parkrun 5km (27/9/14) – 6^th Samantha Conroy F35 (21.18) first in women’s class

Marlay Parkrun 5km (27/9/14) – 3^rd Paul Cummins (17.49)

Moone Kilomarthon 26.2km (27/9/14) – 14^th Garvan Smith M40 (1.43.23); 15^th Sean Fox (1.43.23); 49^th Liam Hickey (2.01.27)

Footnote: –

First Irishwoman home in the Berlin Marathon was Mairead O’Rourke (2.58.16) of Mornington Chasers. You may have heard of them?

Juvenile Report:

Those in attendance at the Dublin Juvenile Cross-country League at Tymon Park on Sunday (28/9/14) may have witnessed for the first time a real future star in Irish athletics. Fathi Aden made a conservative start to the Boys u/14s race, but at the halfway point of the 1.5km course swept past most of the leading group on an uphill section and with 400m remaining took over the lead and began opening a sizeable gap before winning with 25 to 30 metres to spare. Born in Somalia and a student at Synge Street School Fathi is obviously a very naturally talented athlete. This was certainly an impressive debut in the colours of Donore Harriers and as they say – watch this space!

The Girls u/16s race was again a race that held a lot of interest for the club with Lucy McCann impressing once again with a very fine 2^nd place finish. But another relative newcomer Suzanne Masterson also shows huge potential as she ran strongly throughout, particularly on the climbs, placing an excellent 3^rd. Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh ran her best race for some time and came home in 6^th.

Other notable performances came from Michael Gibbs who placed 3^rd in the Boys u/17s race – and by Grace Raftery and debutante Conor Mahony who both placed 6^threspectively in the Girls u/10s and Boys u/10s.

Full club results (non official)

Boys u/9s (500m) 10^th Joe Kinsella

Girls u/10s (700m) 6^th Grace Raftery

Boys u/10s (700m) 6^th Conor Mahony (debut); 24^th Oliver Hopkins

Boys u/11s (900m) 16^th Sean Kinsella (picked up an injury during race); 17^th Michael Barry

Girls u/13s (1300m) 23^rd Marie Cormican (debut); 32^nd Ellie Raftery

Boys u/13s (1300m) 20^th Alan Reid

Girls u/14s (1500m) 25^th Roisin Brady

Boys u/14s (1500m) 1^st Fathi Aden; 13^th Jack Connolly; 25^th James McDonagh (debut); 26^thChris Moloney

Girls u/16s (2500m) 2^nd Lucy McCann; 3^rd Suzanne Masterson; 6^th Eliza Ni Thighearnaigh

Boys u/16s (2500m) 11^th Gabhan O’Thighearnaigh (lost shoe during race)

Boys u/17s (3500m) 3^rd Michael Gibbs

Other juvenile results: –

Waterstown Parkrun 5km (27/9/14) – 17^th Shona Smyth u/15s (26.26) 4^th female overall