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2004
News
December 28th: Bandon
5 mile Road Race
Bandon
Athletic
Club will be hosting its annual 5 mile road race on New Years Day. Entries will be taken on
the day in the G.A.A. pavilion until
Also on New
Years
day are the Munster Masters Indoor Championships in Nenagh. This will be the first competitive outing
for many masters athletes since the summer and hopefully the Cork
athletes will
pick up a few medals here. Events start
at 1pm.
Jeff
Scott of Carrignavar won the Belgooly 4 mile RR on Monday while
Carmel Parnell of Leevale won the ladies race.
Over
€6500 was raised at the Goal mile in the CIT on Christmas
Day. Well done to the organisers and
all who took part. Fastest mile of the
day was by John Shine of Leevale, his time was 4.46.
December 26th: Belgooly
4 mile Road Race Rescheduled
The Belgooly 4 mile road race was called off this morning due to the icy weather. The race has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Monday, December 27th) starting at 1pm. Race headquarters are in Belgooly GAA.
December 22nd:
All
Trials
for the Cork Teams for the All-Ireland Juvenile Cross Country
Relays will take place at
There
will be trials for Boys and Girls born in 1991/1992 and
1993/1994. A special thanks to the
East Cork Board who are allowing this event be held with their Cross
Country
Championships.
December 20th:
Christmas Road Races
There a number of events coming up during the Christmas holidays. On Christmas Day the annual Goal mile takes place in the CIT Track and there is also a Goal mile taking place in Doneraile. On Sunday (St Stephens Day) the Belgooly 4 mile Road Race will be held. This is a very popular road race, always attracting a big crowd including many American based athletes home for Christmas. Last year the race winners were Martin McCarthy and Carmel Parnell of Leevale but last years sadly will be remembered for the sudden death of Belgooly Athletic club president Dick Copithorne while watching the finish of the race. His family are sponsoring the race this year and part of the entry fee will go to Bowel Cancer Research in the CUH. Race headquarters are in Belgooly GAA and the race starts at 12pm.
Bandon Athletic
Club will be hosting its annual 5 mile road race on New Years Day. Entries will be taken on the day in the
G.A.A. pavilion until
December
13th: National Novice Cross Country
Championships
The national novice cross country championships were held yesterday in Belvedere House, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Conditions for running were good but a tricky course certainly made the going tough for athletes.
The
The County
Novice
Mens team was led home by James McCarthy of
Well done to all who took part in County teams this year and also well done to County team manager Joe O’Flynn and his helpers who brought a lot of medals to the County this year.
December
13th: National Juvenile Cross Country
Championships
The second round of the juvenile cross country championships was held yesterday in Mullingar. County teams fared well. There were bronze medals for the under 18 girls, silver for the under 16 boys and under 12 girls while the under 14 boys took gold. The under 14 girls finished 4th.
December 12th:
Silver
at European Cross Country Championships
The
European Cross Country championships were held today in Heringsdorf in
First home
for Ireland was Mark Christie in 5th, Andrew Ledwith who competed with
the
North Monastery last year was 7th, Danny Darcy was 11th, Jamie McCarthy
of
Riverstick Kinsale was 21st, Joe Sweeney was 44th while Mark Hanrahan
of
Leevale was 56th. Jamie
McCarthy and
Mark Hanrahan are well known local athletes.
They have been well rewarded for their hard work in training
over the
last few years representing
From a
Fiachra
Lombard took part in the senior men’s race today but
unfortunately had a below par performance obviously still suffering
from the
effects of a recent illness. The former
national novice cross country champion finished 80th. Hopefully he will
be
fully recovered for the world cross country championships in the spring.
December 5th: CIT
Sports Bursaries for
Well
done to Carl McNamara & Paddy O’Gorman of Leevale and Liam
O’Brien of Togher who received sports bursaries for the CIT recently. Carl McNamara has impressed in the 100m and
200m events over the last few years.
Paddy O’Gorman and Liam O’Brien are 400m specialists and both
were very
impressive in this event last year.
December 5th:
The national
novice cross country championships take place on Sunday (December 12th)
in
Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Strong Cork
teams have been named for the event.
The women’s team includes the County and Munster Novice Cross
Country
champion as well while the mens team is led by county novice champion
Thomas
Maunsell of Leevale. Also on with the
novice races is the second round of the All Ireland Juvenile Cross
Country
Championships. There will be many local
athletes in action in these races and hopefully they will all do well
at these
championships.
Women: Sharon McGarry, Elaine Keaty, Catherine O’Rourke, Margaret Dinan (St Finbarrs), Dawn Kelly (Belgooly), Orla Touhy (Grange Fermoy), Ger Mullaney, Martina Carver, Liz Hendersen, Niamh Rowe (Eagle), Marjorie Lynch (Togher). Men: Thomas Maunsell (Leevale), James McCarthy, Frank Hayes (East Cork), Pat Brown, Timmy Murphy, Fergal Tubridy, Kieran Hurley (Togher), Ger Dunlea, T Kelleher, Wieslaw Sosnowski, Pat Murphy (Eagle), Billy O’Brien, Damien Twohig (Skibbereen), Sean McGrath (Midleton), Kieran Ryan (St Finbarrs).
Anybody named
who
will not be taking part is asked to contact corkathletics@eircom.net.
December 5th:
The Munster
Masters Cross Country championships were held today in Rathgormack, Co.
Willie Neenan
of
Millstreet won the over 70 race, John O’Leary of Leevale won the over
65 while
Frank Cashman of
45 womens race.
December 5th:
The Munster Juvenile B Cross
Country
Championships were held recently in Rathgormack, Co.
Well done to the County under 12 girls and under 14 boys cross country relay teams who won took gold at the Munster Juvenile Cross Country Relays. Pictures of the relay teams are available at www.corkathletics.org.
December 1st:
A meeting of the officers of the Cork County Athletics Association of Ireland took place tonight. Motions and nominations for the upcoming AGM were discussed. Notice of the AGM will be sent out to clubs in the next few weeks.
November 30th: Irish Teams for European Cross Country Championships
The Irish teams
for the forthcoming European Cross country Championships were named
last
night. There was good news for cork with two athletes on the
men's junior
team and on on the senior mens team. Mark Hanrahan of Leevale and
Jamie
McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale both had fantastic runs on Sunday in
Dungarvan
with Hanrahan 3rd and McCarthy 4th. Both of these athletes will
be on the
junior men's team. This will be Jamie's second European Cross Country
Championships. Fiachra Lombard of Leevale who won an
international cross
country race in
Pictures below: Mark Hanrahan of Leevale (left) and Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale both of whom made the Irish Junior Team for the European Cross Country Championships:
November 29th: Munster Cross Country Championships
The Munster Masters Cross Country Championships will take place in Rathgormack, Co. Waterford on Sunday, December 5th. Cork has traditionally done well in this event nearly always finishing in the medals in the intercounty competition. Also on Sunday are the Munster Juvenile B Cross Country Championships, which take place at 12pm. On Saturday, December 4th, there is a Schools coaching day in the CIT Track in Cork starting at 11.00am. As usual there will be top coaches in attendance and with the indoor season coming up after Christmas, it is an event well worth attending.
Cork Teams for Munster Masters Cross Country Championships, Sunday December 5th, Rathgormac, Co. Waterford.
Men O40
Michael Murphy, Willie Hayes, Cathal O’Connell, Eamonn Carroll, Paul Dinan, Michael Dunne, J O’Flynn (St Finbarrs), Denis McCarthy, Dermot O’Sullivan (East Cork), Joe O’Sullivan (Bandon), Martin Drake (Clonmel), Patrick O’Brien (Skibbereen), Noel Curtin (Youghal), Pat Murphy, Joe Murphy (Eagle).
Men O50
Eamonn McEvoy, Liam O’Leary (St Finbarrs), J Murphy (Skibbereen), John O’Riordan (Rising Sun), Maurice Tobin (Grange Fermoy), Finbarr Long (West Muskerry), Frank Cashman, John Walsh (East Cork), John Quigley (Eagle), John O’Leary (Leevale).
Women O35
Mary Sweeney, Margo Dinan, Catherine O’Rourke, Angela McEvoy, Mary Murphy, Eileen Buckley (St Finbarrs), Carmel Crowley, Elizabeth Coomey, Grainne Caulfield (Bandon), Fiona Begley, Maria Hurley (Bantry).
Women O45
Carmel Parnell (Leevale), Joan Hough, Marion Lyons (St Finbarrs), Maggie Dunne (Grange Fermoy), Geraldine Curtin (Youghal).
November 28th: County AGM
Motions and Nominations for the County AGM must be with the county Secretary by Wednesday December 1st. email corkaaisecretary@eircom.net. There will be no County Board meeting on Wednesday, there will be an officers meeting instead at 8pm in the SMA Hall in Wilton.
November 28th: All Ireland Inter-County Cross Country Championships
The All Ireland Intercounty Cross country Championships were held today in Dungarvan. Condition were ideal for running with bright sunshine and only a slight breeze blowing. Underfoot conditions were good throughout the course.
The Cork senior women did the County proud taking silver. The scorers for Cork were Louise Cavanagh, Carmel Parnell, Rhona Lynch and Orla Touhy. Louise (UCC) and Carmel (Leevale) ran a controlled race moving up through the field after the first lap to finish 14th and 15th. Carmel Parnell won a mjor international cross country race recently see - www.leevale.org. Rhona Lynch ran solidly finishing17th while County Intermediate Cross Country Champion Orla Touhy of Grange Fermoy was 23rd (4th under 23 athlete). Claire O'Brien (East Cork), Martina Carver (Eagle), Joan Hough (St Finbarrs) and Collette O'Riordan (West Muskerry) also ran well in this race for the county. Pictured Left: Louise Cavanagh of UCC leading Carmel Parnell of Leevale at the finish of the Senior Ladies Inter County Race
The junior ladies were unlucky finishing 5th good runs here from Joyce Curtin of Glenbower, Louise Finn and Christina Broderick of Belgooly, Maire Heffernan of Liscarroll, Rose Twohig of Duhallow, Aoife McCarthy of North Cork, Margaret McCarthy of Blarney Inniscarra, Sarah O'Shea of Youghal and Katie Fitzgerald of Ballincollig.
The junior men were led home by Mark Hanrahan of Leevale in 3rd and Jamie McCarthy in 4th, both strong contenders for places on the Irish Junior team for the European Cross Country Championships. Hanrahan ran a controlled race making up a lot of ground in the last lap finishing with a thrilling sprint between himself and McCarthy over the last 100 metres. Timmy O'Donoghue of Glenbower was next in followed by Kieran Ryan of St Finbarrs. The other scorer for the cork team were John Shine of Leevale and Ian Tivy of Togher. Other members of the team to run well were Stephen Lynch of Togher, Diarmuid Collins & Ronan McCarthy of Glenbower and Alec Daunt of Leevale.
The senior mens team were weakened by the withdrawal of Fiachra Lombard due to illness. David Doherty of Togher had a good run finishing in 26th with Donnacha O'Mahony of East Cork in 27th. Next home was Thomas Maunsell of Leevale who had his best run of the season. The County Novice Cross country champion was the second under 23 athlete overall. County senior champion Brian McMahon of Carraig na bhFear was next home with Des Casey of Millstreet just behind him. Eric Meade of East Cork and Cillian Ó Tuama of Leevale were the remaining scorers for the county. Eddie Coughlan of Clonliffe Harriers and Fergus Meade of East also did their best for the Cork team.
Well done and thanks to all the athletes who lined out for the County at this event.
Full Results see www.athleticsireland.ie.
November 23rd:
County Teams for All Ireland Inter-County Cross Country Championships
on Sunday
The Cork
Teams for the upcoming All Ireland Intercounty Cross Country
Championships
taking place in St Augustines College Dungarvan have been named. Cork did well in this competition last year
with the senior men and women taking bronze and the county’s junior men
and
women taking silver and bronze. The All
Ireland Intercounty Cross Country Championships will take place on
Sunday
November 28th starting at 12pm with the juvenile uneven age
cross-country
races.
It would be
appreciated if anybody named who is unable to take part would let it be
known
to corkathletics@eircom.net. Best of Luck to the juvenile athletes
taking part, there is a Cork team in every juvenile race.
Cork Teams for All Ireland Intercounty Cross Country Championships, Sunday November 28th, Dungarvan:
Senior
Men: Brian McMahon
(Carraig na bhFear), Donnacha O’Mahony, Fergus Meade, Roy Fahy &
Eric Meade
(East Cork), Cathal O’Connell, Derek O’Leary & Trevor Woods (St
Finbarrs),
Des Casey (Millstreet), Cillian O’Tuama (Leevale), Alan O’Shea
(Bantry), Eddie
Coughlan (Clonliffe Harriers), Substitutes: Fiachra Lombard, Thomas
Maunsell
& Martin McCarthy (Leevale).
Junior
Men: John Shine,
Alec Daunt & Mark Hanrahan (Leevale), Diarmuid Collins
& Timmy O’Donoghue (Glenbower), Ian
Tivy, Stephen Lynch & Stephen McCarthy (Togher), J McLoughlin
(Dublin),
James McCarthy (Riverstick Kinsale), Kieran Ryan (St Finbarrs),
Substitutes:
Tim Healy (Togher), Chris Horgan (Leevale).
Senior
Women: Louise Kavanagh & Rhona Lynch (UCC), Carmel Parnell
(Leevale), Orla
Touhy (Grange Fermoy), Collette O’Riordan (West Muskerry), Anne Marie
Healy
(Eagle), Joan Hough (St Finbarrs), Claire O’Brien (East Cork),
Substitutes:
Margaret Dinan (St Finbarrs), Martina Carver (Eagle), Valarie Vaughan
(Blarney
Inniscarra).
Junior
Women: Margaret
McCarthy (Blarney Inniscarra), Louise Finn & Christina
Broderick (Belgooly), Joyce Curtin &
Eileen Cleary (Glenbower), Maire Heffernan (Liscarroll), Rose Twohig
(Duhallow), Aoife McCarthy (North Cork), Substitutes: Sarah O’Shea
(Youghal),
Eadaoin O’Neill (Glenbower), Katie Fitzgerald (Ballincollig).
November 21st:
The Cork County Intermediate and Masters Cross Country Championships were held today in Bandon. A special thanks to the West Cork Board, Bandon Athletic Club and landowner Denis Collins who may it possible for this event to go ahead. Conditions were good with only a light breeze blowing and underfoot conditions ideal.
Orla Touhy of Grange Fermoy continued her good form in the intermediate ladies race. She took the lead in the first hundred metres and opened a large gap on the rest of the field during the early stages of the race. She crossed the line comfortably in front to claim another county title for herself. Catherine O’Rourke of St Finbarrs was second while Martina Carver of Eagle was third. St Finbarrs won the club title here ahead of Bandon with Eagle third. The masters ladies race was won by Carmel McCarthy Crowley of Bandon. Best Club were St Finbarrs with Bandon 2nd and St Finbarrs B third.
The intermediate and master mens race was a very entertaining affair. After the first lap the leaders were Frank Hayes (East Cork), Sean McGrath (Midleton) and Tim Murphy (Togher) with Cathal O’Connell (St Finbarrs) in 4th. The lead was constantly changing for the next two laps. The last lap saw Murphy fall off the pace and O’Connell join McGrath and Hayes up front. As the pace increased Hayes dropped back leaving McGrath and O’Connell battle for the race lead. Veteran O’Connell had that extra strength over the last few hundred metres and opened up a small gap on McGrath to cross line in first place overall. McGrath in second place overall won his first County Title as he was the first intermediate athlete across the line. Frank Hayes was 2nd intermediate while Timmy Murphy of Togher was 3rd. Togher won the intermediate team competition with Eagle second and Skibbereen 3rd.
Cathal O’Connell of St Finbarrs won the masters mens race, St Finbarrs won the team title ahead of Eagle and St Finbarrs B. Results Full Results
November 19th: Big Boost for Young Cork Athletes
Young athletes in Cork received a big boost from Flemming Construction recently with the announcement that they will be sponsoring Cork athletes who are members of the Irish Athletics Academy. The Irish athletics academy was set up to aid young athletes in their athletic careers providing them with specialised coaching and advice. The academy has already met twice and will meet again in the near future. Cork has a produced some of the country’s greatest athletes and with the support of Flemming Construction of Corks young stars of the future the county can be confident of some great talents emerging in the next few years.
The announcement was made at the International awards night and a special thanks to members of the academy who came along on the night and to County treasurer Pat Walsh for securing this sponsorship.
November 19th:
County International Awards Night
The Cork County Athletics Association of Ireland International awards night took place recently in the Morans Silver Springs Hotel in Cork. Over the past year 25 athletes have represented Ireland at either junior, senior or masters level in international competition. AAI president Michael Heery announced that the CIT Track in Cork would be the venue for the All Ireland Junior and Under 23 Track and Field Championships in July next year.
Well known athletes like Sonia O’Sullivan of Ballymore Cobh, Mark Carroll and Derval O’Rourke of Leevale as well as Robert Heffernan of Togher who represented Ireland at the Olympics were given awards. A number of Cork athletes were on the Irish team which competed at an under 23 international competition in Derby in the UK and these athletes also received awards, These athletes have excelled over the last year in their events. Receiving awards for the Derby international were Ronan Foolkes of Togher, Dawn Kelly of Belgooly, Bryan Murphy of UCC, Deirdre Murphy, Mark Hanrahan, Aisling Maunsell and Niamh Cremin of Leevale. Kathleen Fitzgerald and Amy Clarke of Leevale received awards for competing internationally for Ireland in indoor competitions in the spring. The country’s top sprinters Jer O’Donoghue and Ailis McSweeney of Leevale who were members of the Irish team at the Europa Cup in Iceland also received awards. Cross Country athletes Alan O’Shea of Bantry, Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale and Brian McMahon of Carraig na bhFear received awards. Orla Touhy and Michael Lyons of Grange Fermoy competed with the Irish Mountain Running team this year also received awards. Many of the county’s young talents also received awards for competing internationally this year. Imelda Morrison of Youghal, Linda and Anne Marie Cronin and Christopher Crowley of Belgooly received awards for competing in the Dublin International Track and Field meeting. The captain of the Irish Masters Track and Field Team Daithi O Murchu of Liscarroll received an award. Many of these athletes will be hoping for further recognition of their achievements at the Munster Sports Star awards in January 2005.
Also receiving
awards on the night were members of the Athletics Association of
Ireland who
have given Trojan service to the sport over the last few years. Ted Murray of Togher who is the County
starter received an award. Also
receiving awards were former chairman of the County Board John Smyth of
Leevale
and Vice Chairman of the Board Dan McCarthy of East Cork.
Pictures to follow.
November 17th:
The
November 14th:
International Awards Night
The Cork county International Awards night will take place on Friday coming (November 19th) at 7.30pm in the Silver Springs Hotel. Over 20 athletes who represented Ireland at either junior, senior or masters level will be receiving awards. Also on the night Flemming Construction will be announcing some good news for athletes who are members of the Irish Athletics Academy. Members of the athletics academy are invited to attend as well as anybody who helped at the mini-marathon
November 14th:
All Ireland Intercounty Teams
The Cork
Team for the upcoming All Ireland Intercounty Cross Country
Championships
taking place in St Augustines College Dungarvan has been named. Cork did well in this competition last year
with the senior men and women taking bronze and the county’s junior men
and
women taking silver and bronze. The All
Ireland Intercounty Cross Country Championships will take place on
Sunday
November 28th starting at 12pm with the juvenile uneven age cross
country
races.
Further
details are available on www.corkathletics.org.
It would be
appreciated if anybody named who is unable to take part would let it be
known
to corkathletics@eircom.net.
Cork Teams for All Ireland Intercounty Cross Country Championships, Sunday November 28th, Dungarvan:
Senior
Men: Brian McMahon
(Carraig na bhFear), Donnacha O’Mahony, Fergus Meade, Roy Fahy &
Eric Meade
(East Cork), Cathal O’Connell, Derek O’Leary & Trevor Woods (St
Finbarrs),
Des Casey (Millstreet), Cillian O’Tuama (Leevale), Alan O’Shea
(Bantry), Eddie
Coughlan (Clonliffe Harriers), Substitutes: Fiachra Lombard, Thomas
Maunsell
& Martin McCarthy (Leevale).
Junior
Men: John Shine,
Alec Daunt & Mark Hanrahan (Leevale), Diarmuid Collins
& Timmy O’Donoghue (Glenbower), Ian Tivy,
Stephen Lynch & Stephen McCarthy (Togher), J McLoughlin (Dublin),
James
McCarthy (Riverstick Kinsale), Kieran Ryan (St Finbarrs), Substitutes:
Tim
Healy (Togher), Chris Horgan (Leevale).
Senior
Women: Louise Kavanagh & Rhona Lynch (UCC), Carmel Parnell
(Leevale), Orla
Touhy (Grange Fermoy), Collette O’Riordan (West Muskerry), Anne Marie
Healy
(Eagle), Joan Hough (St Finbarrs), Claire O’Brien (East Cork),
Substitutes:
Margaret Dinan (St Finbarrs), Martina Carver (Eagle), Valarie Vaughan
(Blarney
Inniscarra).
Junior
Women: Margaret
McCarthy (Blarney Inniscarra), Louise Finn & Christina
Broderick (Belgooly), Joyce Curtin &
Eileen Cleary (Glenbower), Maire Heffernan (Liscarroll), Rose Twohig
(Duhallow), Aoife McCarthy (North Cork), Substitutes: Sarah O’Shea
(Youghal),
Eadaoin O’Neill (Glenbower), Katie Fitzgerald (Ballincollig).
November 14th:
Munster Juvenile Cross Country
The second
round of the Munster Cross Country Championships was held recently in
Carrick
on Suir, Co. Tipperary. A good course
brought out the best in the Cork athletes with the county winning a
team prize
in every age group. Local athletes were
to the fore in these teams. Rachel
O’Shea of Beara was an impressive winner of the under 10 girls race
helping the
Cork team win gold. Maire O’Brien of
Skibbereen was third in the under 16 race leading the Cork team to
silver. Bantry athletes Stacey O’Sullivan
and
Jennifer Mullins won silver medals with the Cork under 14 team. Bandon Athletic club fared well winning
bronze team prizes in the under 12 and under 16 boys races. Many Bandon athletes featured prominently on
County teams. A full report on the
success of Bandon athletic club is available on www.bandonathleticclub.com. The West Muskerry under 14 boys won bronze
in a very competitive race. Michael
O’Sullivan led the West Muskerry team home.
Riverstick
Kinsale athlete Orla Nash won a very exciting under girls race leading
the
County to gold and her club to silver.
Cliodhna Galwey of Belgooly athletic club won silver in this
race.
Liscarroll
athlete Anthony O’Neill won silver in the under 10 boys race leading
the County
to silver. Patrick Maher of Liscarroll
featured prominently in the under 14 race winning silver with the
County. Duhallow athletes Carol Finn,
Michelle Finn
and Michelle Twohig all won medals with their county teams. Frances O’Shea of North Cork won silver with
the Cork under 14 girls team also on this Cork team was Michelle
Hartnett of
Grange Fermoy.
Joyce curtin
led Glenbower to gold in the under 18 girls race. She
also scored for the Cork team in this race. The
Youghal under 16 girls team won bronze
in their race.
Ciaran O
Lionaird of Leevale was a very impressive winner of the under 18 boys
race and
will be the favourite for both the under 17 & under 18 All Ireland
titles. He lead the Leevale team to
bronze in this race. Laura Kelly was
3rd in the under 10 race helping the County win gold and her club win
bronze. Eric Curran of Leevale was 3rd
in the under 14 race leading the Cork team to gold.
Togher athletic club who are having a very good year continued
their good from with their teams taking bronze in both the under 14 and
under
16 boys race.
These
athletes will be in action again at the All Ireland Championships in
Dungarvan
on Sunday November 28th at 12pm.
Further details are available on www.corkathletics.org.
November 14th:
Munster Intermediate Cross Country
The Munster
Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held recently in Piltown,
Co.
Kilkenny. While the unusual venue for
this a Munster Championships may have been unusual, the course and
facilities
were excellent and full marks to Carrick on Suir & Tipperary Co.
Board for
organising the event. Underfoot conditions were remarkable with not a
speck of
mud to be seen or found.
There was
an impressive performance in the ladies intermediate race by Orla Touhy
of
Grange Fermoy. She was an impressive
winner of this race taking the lead after the first hundred metres and
holding
on to win comfortably. Orla, who only
took up competitive running in the last year has had a very good year
winning
both the Munster and County Novice Cross Country titles in the last
month. There was also a good performance
by Angela
McEvoy of St Finbarrs in this race, which helped St Finbarrs win bronze
in the
inter-club competition. The County team
was unlucky here finishing fourth.
There was
disappointment in the men’s race as the county failed to field a team. There were impressive runs here by Sean
McGrath of Midleton and Frank Hayes of East Cork who finished 4th and
5th.
Cork Results Munster Intermediate Cross Country, Piltown, November 14th 2004:
Women: Individual: 1. Orla Touhy (Grange
Fermoy), 7. Martina Carver (Eagle), 9. Angela McEvoy (St Finbarrs), 11.
Jennifer Goggin (UCC), 12. Sharon McGarry (St Finbarrs), 16. Denise
Twohig (St
Finbarrs), 17. Liz Hendersen (Eagle), 22. Dawn Kelly (Belgooly), 35.
Elaine
Keaty (St Finbarrs). Club: 3. St
Finbarrs 72 pts (9, 12, 16, 35), County: 4. Cork 70 pts (1, 12, 22, 35).
Men: 4. Sean McGrath (Midleton), 5. Frank Hayes
(East Cork), 45. Patrick O’Brien (Skibbereen).
November 7th:
County Senior & Junior Cross Country
November 7th:
The Munster Intermediate Cross Country championships will be held in Piltown, Co. Kilkenny on Sunday next - November 14th. County Team manager has named the following athletes on the Cork Team. It would be appreciated if any body named who is unable to run would let us know by contacting corkathletics@eircom.net.
Men: Derek O’Leary (St Finbarrs), Sean Whelan, Ger Dunlea, Ken Wyman (Eagle), Pat Browne, Stephen Macklin, Keiran Hurley (Togher), Frank Hayes, James McCarthy (East Cork), Billy O’Brien, Tommy Murphy (Skibbereen), Tom Maunsell (Leevale), Sean McGrath (Midleton), Michael Herlihy, Ger McAuliffe (North Cork).
Women:
Sharon McGarry,
Elaine Keaty, Catherine O’Rourke (St
Finbarrs), Frances O’Regan (Skibbereen), Dawn Kelly (Belgooly), Maire
Heffernan
(Liscarroll), Orla Touhy (Grange Fermoy), G Mullaney, Niamh Rowe
(Eagle), Barbara
Harte, Collette Hurley Tuttle (Bandon).
Also on are the Munster juvenile even age
cross country championships which start at 12pm.
November 7th:
County Junior & Senior Cross Country Championships
The
Cork County Junior and Senior Cross Country
Championships were held today in Dromtariffe.
Great credit must go to Duhallow athletic who organised the
event and
did an excellent job. Special thanks
also to Michael Daly and Dromtariffe for allowing the Hall and lands be
used
for this event.
The
senior mens race proved to be an
enthralling race. After the first few
laps of the race the leading group of four was made up of Tim Hartley
(North
Cork), Brian McMahon (Carraig na bhFear), David Doherty (Togher) and
Fergus
Meade (East Cork). Meade and Doherty
were dropped with two laps to go and McMahon and Hartley battled it out
over
the remainder of the race. Half way
through the last lap McMahon, the Munster Under 23 cross-country
champion,
pulled ahead of Hartley and held out to cross the line in first
position. Tim Hartley, currently training
for the
Benidorm half marathon was second and third was last years champion
Donnacha
O’Mahony of East Cork. East Cork
athletic club retained the club title.
St Finbarrs were second while Togher were third.
Eagle won the B grade team competition.
The
senior womens race was dominated by Louise
Kavanagh of UCC, the current Munster senior cross-country champion. She came to the front after the first lap
and opened a sizeable gap on the rest of the field.
She crossed the line comfortably in front to become the 2004
champion, a title she won three years ago at the same venue. Former world masters 5000m champion Carmel
Parnell of Leevale finished second after working her way up through the
field. She will be competing for
Ireland at the Home Countries International Veterans Cross Country
later this
month. In third place was Rhona Lynch
of UCC. Club champions in this race
were St Finbarrs with Eagle an impressive second while UCC were third.
The
junior mens race was a very exciting affair
with John Shine (Leevale), Ciaran Ó Lionaird (Leevale), Timmy
O’Donoghue
(Glenbower) and Kieran Ryan (St Finbarrs) running shoulder to shoulder
for most
of the race. Ó Lionaird and Shine broke
clear in the last lap with Ó Lionaird winning ahead of Shine with
Munster Under
19 champion O’Donoghue third. Leevale
retained their club title in this race with Glenbower second and Togher
third.
Host
club Duhallow Athletic Club had reason to
celebrate in the junior womens race with Michelle Finn taking gold and
her club
mate Michelle Twohig taking silver.
Louise Finn of Belgooly was third.
Duhallow taking part for the first time in the junior ladies
race for
the first time won the team title, Glenbower were 2nd and
Youghal,
last years champions were third.
November 3rd:
County board Meeting.
A county board meeting was held tonight in
the SMA Hall in Wilton. A number of
items were discussed. Youghal athletic
club and Skibbereen athletic club were praised for hosting the recent
county
championships. Skibbereen athletic club
were again praised for the great job they did on recently hosting the
Munster
Cross Country Championships. Landowners
Geraldine & Noel Curtin and Der O’Donovan were also thanked for
allowing
their lands be used for the recent Cross Country championships. The chair of the board thanked all those who
helped at the events. Munster
Competition Secretary thanked all for their help at the Munster Cross
Country
Championships. Team manager Joe O’Flynn
gave the results of the recent Munster Novice and Under 23 Cross
Country
Championships where Cork won three gold and one silver inter county
team
prizes.
The following fixtures were approved:
Mallow 10 mile January 9th, Eagle 5 mile
February 27th and Riverstick Kinsale Open Sports May 2nd.
There is an introductory level coaching
course on Saturday November 21st in the CIT Track.
Registration forms must be sent to the county coaching
coordinator by November 12th. There is
a pole vault coaching course in Santry, Dublin on the weekend November
20/21.
Further details for both of these events are available at corkathletics@eircom.net.
The Cork County AAI International awards
night will be held on Friday November 19th at 7.30pm in the
Silversprings
Hotel. Over 20 athletes will be
receiving awards on the night. Anybody
who helped out at the mini-marathon is welcome to attend.
There is some good news to be announced for
members of the Irish Athletics Academy who are also invited to attend.
The Cork County AAI AGM will take
place on Saturday January 15th starting 2pm in Bishopstown GAA. Motions
and nominations
must be submitted by Wednesday December 1st. Clubs
can email or post their motions and nominations to
corkathletics@eircom.net. Clubs are
asked to give careful consideration to motions they are submitting and
be
mindful that there will be no national congress next year to deal with
national
motions. Clubs are requested to notify
individuals they are nominating for the various positions.
Both Padraig Kelly and Tim Fitzpatrick have
indicated that they do not want their names to go forward for their
respective
positions on the juvenile committee.
Nominations are invited for the following positions: Chairman,
Vice
Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, PRO, Competition Secretary, Registrar,
Team
Manager, Recorder, Starters, Delegates to Munster Council,
Representative on
Munster Masters Committee, Representative on Munster Juvenile
Committee, Juvenile
Committee – Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary,
Competition
Secretary, PRO. Notice of the AGM will
be sent out to clubs along with venue details.
There
was general agreement at the meeting that
the AGM should be held on a Sunday to improve attendance, regrettably
there
simply is not a free Sunday that could be used. Hopefully
this can be addressed in the next year.
There
will be an officers meeting at 8pm on
Wednesday December 1 st, there will be no county board meeting in
January. The next full board meeting will
be
Wednesday February 2nd 2005.
November 1st:
County Cross Country Championships
The
premier County Cross Country event of the year takes place on Sunday
(November 7th) at 1pm in Dromtarriff where the Cork County Junior and
Senior
Cross Country Championships will take place.
Last years event proved to be very exciting with some of last
years
participants competing internationally since.
This years event being hosted by Duhallow Athletic Club promises
to be
just as exciting with a number of big names already entered. Results of the races will be available on www.corkathletics.org. The Cork County Juvenile B Cross Country
Championships will be held at 12pm.
(in
accordance with a motion passed at the AGM, guest will not be
allowed participate in these championships)
November 1st: Munster Cross Country Championships
The first
round of the Munster Cross Country Championships was held recently in
Castlehaven. Conditions were very good
considering the deluge that fell in the week before the race and
competitors
and spectators enjoyed sunshine all through the event.
A special thanks to landowner Der O’Donovan
and Skibbereen Athletic Club for hosting this event.
Venues and clubs willing to host these events are getting
scarcer. Thankfully in Cork there has
always been a generous landowner and a club willing to host these
events so we
have never been stuck. The venue and
organisation were superb so well done to Der O’Donovan and Skibbereen
athletic
club on hosting this their second big cross country event in a
fortnight.
The ladies
Novice race proved to be a very good race for Cork athlete Orla Touhy
of Grange
Fermoy who took gold. This race was run
in conjunction with the under 23 race in which Orla took gold. She led the Cork under 23 team to gold and
the Cork Novice team to silver. Zara
Murphy of UCC was third in the under 23 race helping her club retain
its under
23 team title. Bandon took bronze in
the novice race with Collette Hurley Tuttle leading the Bandon team
home.
Mark
Hanrahan of Leevale was an impressive winner of the Novice race. Hanrahan took the lead after the second lap
opening up a gap that never closed.
Cork were second in the inter county competition.
Host club Skibbereen were third in the inter
club competition. Brian McMahon of
Carraig na bhFear successfully defended his under 23 title leading the
Cork
under 23 team to gold.
In the
juvenile races there were very impressive wins for Joyce Curtin of
Glenbower,
Ciaran O Lionaird of Leevale and Michael O’Sullivan of West Muskerry. The County teams did well winning medals in
all the juvenile races. The Cork under
13 girls, under 19 girls and under 11 boys all won gold.
In the inter club competition the Bandon
under 11 girls took gold as did the Riverstick Kinsale Under 13 girls.
The next
round of the Munster Cross Country Championships will take place on
Sunday
November 14th in Piltown, Co. Kilkenny starting at 12pm.
Munster
Novice & Under 23 Cross Country
Championships, Castlehaven, Sunday October 31st.
Women: Novice: 1. Orla Touhy (Grange Fermoy)
Inter Club: 3. Bandon 71 pts. Inter
County: 1. Cork 25 pts (1, 6, 8, 10).
Under 23: 2. Orla Touhy (Grange Fermoy), 3. Zara Murphy (UCC). Inter Club: 1. UCC. Inter
County: 1. Cork 10 pts.
Men: Novice: 1. Mark Hanrahan (Leevale).
Inter Club: 3. Skibbereen 111 pts (11, 23, 25, 52).
Inter County: 2. Cork 81 pts. Under
23: 1. Brian McMahon (Carraig na
bhFear). Inter County: 1. Cork 16
pts
(1, 4, 5, 6).
Munster
Juvenile Uneven Age Cross Country
Championships, Castlehaven, Sunday October 31st:
Boys: Under 19: 1. Timmy O’Donoghue (Glenbower), 5. John Shine
(Leevale), 9.
Peter Fennell (Togher), 11. Stephen Lynch (Togher).
Inter Club: 2. Togher 53 pts.
Inter County: 2. Cork 57 pts.
Under
17: 1. Ciaran O’Lionaird (Leevale), 9.
Mark Fitzgerald (Glenbower). Inter
Club: 3. Leevale 99 pts. Inter County:
2. Cork 90 pts.
Under
15: 4. Niall Griffin (Glenbower), 11.
Thomas Allen (Carraig na bhFear). Inter
Club: 2. Togher 105 pts. Inter County:
3. Cork 100 pts.
Under
13: 1. Michael O’Sullivan (West
Muskerry), 2. Patick Maher (Liscarroll).
Inter County: 3. Cork 110 pts.
Under
11: 2. Brian O’Reilly (Fanahan
McSweeney), 6. Ryan Lynch (West Muskerry), 11. Gearoid Finn (Riverstick
Kinsale). Inter Club: 3. Glenbower 97
pts. Inter County: 1. Cork 76 pts.
Under
9: 6. Sean O’Donovan (Skibbereen), 12.
Ciaran Cronin (Youghal). Inter Club: 3.
Youghal 81 pts. Inter County: 3. Cork
103 pts.
Girls: Under 19: 1. Joyce Curtin (Glenbower), 2. Margaret
McCarthy (Blarney
Inniscarra), 3. Christina Broderick (Belgooly), 4. Louise Finn
(Belgooly), 5.
Ciara Walsh (Glenbower), 6. Katie Fitzgerald (Ballincollig), 8. Sarah
O’Shea
(Youghal), 11. Emer Murphy (Carraig na bhFear). Inter
County: 1. Cork.
Under
17: 2. Michelle Finn (Duhallow), 6. Maire
O’Brien (Skibbereen), 11. Michelle Twohig (Duhallow).
Inter County: 2. Cork 77 pts.
Under
15: 2. Francis O’Shea (North Cork). Inter
County: 2. Cork 102 pts.
Under
13: 3. Orla Finn (Riverstick Kinsale), 6.
Jessica O’Shea (Glenbower), 7. Jennifer Mullins (Bantry), 9. Alana
Allen
(Riverstick Kinsale), 10. Vivian Maher (Riverstick Kinsale). Inter Club: 1. Riverstick Kinsale 39
pts. Inter County: 1. Cork.
Under
11: 2. Rachel O’Shea (Beara), 10. Ciara
Fenton (Riverstick Kinsale), 12. Helena Noonan (Grange Fermoy). Inter Club: 3. Riverstick Kinsale 121
pts. Inter County: 2. Cork 86 pts.
Under
9: 4. Aisling Everard (Bandon), 6. Cliona
Hegarty (Leevale), 12. Aideen Caulfield (Bandon). Inter
Club: 1. Bandon 63 pts.
Inter County: 2. Cork 82 pts.
October 28th: International Awards Night
The Cork AAI International awards night will take place on Friday November 19th. Any club that has not yet nominated athletes for the event is requested to do so quickly. Athletes who have not been nominated cannot be recognised. Athletes eligible are those who have represented Ireland internationally at junior, senior or masters level. Details of nominations should be sent to corkaaisecretary@eircom.net.
October 20th:
Women:
Novice: Sharon McGarry, Catherine O’Rourke & Elaine Keaty (St Finbarrs) Frances O’Regan (Skibbereen), Fiona Begley (Bantry), Dawn Kelly (Belgooly), Maura Heffernan (Liscarroll), Orla Touhy (Grange Fermoy), Gail Mullaney & Niamh Rowe (Eagle), Barbara Harte (Bandon)
Under 23: Dawn Kelly (Belgooly), Maura Heffernan (Liscarroll)
Men:
Novice: Thomas Maunsell & Bernard Twomey (Leevale), James McCarthy, Frank Hayes & David Dywer (East Cork), Pat Brown, Tim Murphy & Fergal Tubridy (Togher), Ger Dunlea, Tony Kelleher, Padraig McDonnell & Kevin Sievewright (Eagle), Billy O’Brien & Damien Twohig (Skibbereen), Sean McGrath (Midleton).
Under 23: Thomas Maunsell (Leevale), James McCarthy & Fergus Meade (East Cork), Pat Brown (Togher), Brian McMahon (Carraig na bhFear).
October 17th:
The second round of the County Cross Country Championships was held today in Ballyhilty, Skibbereen. The event hosted by Skibbereen Athletic Club on the lands of Der O’Donovan was a big success with some very entertaining races. The Course was challenging and this brought out the best in athletes many of who have been training hard since early summer. The weather was very good and spectators and athletes enjoyed a great view of the surrounding countryside.
First race of the day was the Novice Ladies race. Orla Touhy of Grange Fermoy came to the fore very early in the race and by the second lap had a very comfortable lead. The county 10 mile champion held on to take gold comfortably in this race. Second was Catherine O’Rourke of St Finbarrs, who was second last weekend at the Novice B race. Third was Collette Hurley Tuttle of Bandon who gave it her all, crossing the line in a very tired state. Bandon won the team competition ahead of Eagle.
The mens race was a very entertaining race with the Thomas Maunsell of Leevale and James McCarthy of East Cork battling it out to take the title, in a repeat of last weekend’s novice b race. At the Novice B race last weekend Maunsell surrendered a lead in the last lap with McCarthy taking Gold. This Sunday Thomas made his move in the last lap opening up a gap between himself and James that never closed. He crossed the line comfortably in front with McCarthy taking silver. Sean McGrath of Midleton worked his way up through the field to finish in a good third position. East Cork were unlucky in the novice b cross country team competition finishing on equal points with Eagle athletic club but lost out on count back. This weekend East Cork won the Novice A title with a few points to spare over second placed Eagle. Togher were third team. Full Novice A Cross Country Results
The
juvenile races were very competitive. The
under 18 boys race was won in style by Ciaran O’Lionaird of
Leevale who looks like he could be in line for another national title
if his
form and training continue to go well.
Leevale won the under 18 boys team competition ahead of Togher. The girls race was won by Joyce Curtin of
Glenbower who made a decisive move in the last lap to win the race. She led her club to gold in this race. Michelle Finn of Duhallow won the under 16
girls race while Eric Murphy of Togher won the boys race
County Novice A & Even Age X-Country Results
The next big Cross country event is the Munster Novice, Under 23 and Juvenile Uneven Age Cross Country Championships which takes place in Castlehaven on Sunday October 31st. starting at 12pm. The event is being held on the lands of Der O’Donovan and Skibbereen athletic club are again hosting the event.
October 10th:
The
first round of the County Cross Country championships was held today
in Killeagh. The event hosted by
Youghal Athletic Club on the Lands of Noel and Geraldine Curtin was a
tremendous success with some very exciting races.
The
first race of the day was the Womens Novice B race.
Martina Carver of Eagle came to the fore
early in this race and was never really challenged and crossed the line
to take
gold and lead her team to the Novice B title.
St Finbarrs took silver while host club Youghal were third. Catherine O’Rourke of St Finbarrs was second
individual while Liz Hendersen of Eagle was third.
The
men’s race was a closer affair with James McCarthy of
The
juvenile races proved to be very exciting. This
was the first day out for many taking part so well done to
all who finished their first cross country race today.
The surprise result of the day was in the
under 19 girls race where Christina Broderick of Belgooly, better known
for her
feats in the jumping events and hurdles came strong in the last 300m to
take
gold in this race ahead of club mate Louise Finn in second and Joyce
Curtin of
Glenbower in third. The Boys Under 19
race was won by John Shine of Leevale.
Shine made his move after the
first lap opening a big gap which, despite a brave effort from Timmy
O’Donoghue
of Glenbower who was 2nd overall, never closed. Ian
Tivy of Togher in third led his team to gold. Togher
had a very good day with their Boys
teams winnign the under 13, 15, 17 and 19 races. Great
credit must go to their coaches for this achievement.
Ciaran O’Lioaird of Leevale won the Boys
under 17 race comfortably while Maire O’Brien of Skibbereen won the
under 17
girls race.
The
County Novice A and Juvenile Even age Cross Country Championships
take place on Sunday next in Ballyhilty, Skibbereen (same venue as last
year)
starting at 12.00pm.
October 6th:
A
county board meeting was held tonight in the SMA Hall in
The
County hopes to hold it’s annual international awards night towards
the end of November. Clubs with
athletes who represented
October 3rd:
The
County Cross Country season gets underway on Sunday next (October
10th) in Youghal at
October 3rd: Mini
The
Cork Ladies mini marathon committee had a meeting during the week to
review this years mini marathon.
Overall the committee were very happy with the race and were
very
impressed by the big turnout from the clubs to help on the day. Any competitor who was left short a
medallion can expect their medallion in the post in the next few weeks. The committee was again concerned by the
number of people taking part who were not registered.
If this problem continues in future races, the race will most
certainly have to be cancelled. The
race is very expensive to run and all the organising is done on a
voluntary
basis. Any profit made goes back into
athletics in Cork.
Anybody
with suggestions or comments about the race is welcome to forward
them to minimarathon@eircom.net.
September 26th:
Avondhu X-Country Championships
INAUGURAL CROSS COUNTRY A MAJOR SUCCESS The first Avondhu divisional Cross Country Championships were successfully held in Banteer on September 26th under the excellent stewardship of Duhallow A.C’s Jerry Twohig and team. This and other events in the pipeline should boost athletics in the member clubs : Abbey Striders, Duhallow, Fanahan McSweeney, Grange Fermoy, Mallow, Millstreet, North Cork, Old Abbey and Rising Sun. Results
Seamus
Fox, Avondhu
Athletics.
September 19th:
The
Cork Ladies Mini-Marathon was held today in
September 12th:
St Finbarrs Half Marathon
St Finbarrs Half Marathon was held today in Blarney. The race was a fantastic success with over 400 competitors taking part. Full results are available on www.stfinbarrsac.com. The event also incorporated the County half Marathon championships so well done to Roy Fahy of East Cork and Mary Sweeney of St Finbarrs who won the County Championships event.
September 12th:
Important Notice to Clubs:
The
Cork Ladies Mini-Marathon will take place on Sunday September 19th
at 2pm. This event keeps the Board
financially in the black, without it the board would have to cut back
considerably on expenditure as well as increase competition entry fees. For this event to
run smoothly it is essential that there be enough help on the day of
the
race. Every club must contribute at
least four to help on the day.
Stewards should report to Copley street at 12.30pm on race day. Help will be needed on Grand parade and
Copley street from 11.00am to erect barriers.
Help will also be needed at the finish and cleaning up
afterwards on
Copley street. To date there has been
great help – a special thanks to the East Cork clubs for helping pack
the goody
bags and all who helped out at the office.
A big effort by clubs on Sunday to get out help will make the
race the
great success it has been for the last few years!
For
further information email corkathletics@eircom.net.
September 12th:
Mini Marathon News!
The Cork
Ladies Mini-Marathon will take place on Sunday September 19th at 2pm. The race organised by Cork County Athletics
Association of Ireland and sponsored by the Evening Echo and Express
Kitchens
and Floors is one of the biggest in the county and is a major
fundraiser for a
number of local and national charities.
The mini
marathon this year will be the biggest yet with an entry of 6500. Only registered athletes will be allowed
to
participate. Entry is now closed and no
entries will be accepted on the day of the race.
The five
mile race will start on Grand Parade in the City Centre and athletes
should be
lined up at 1.30pm. The race will
finish on Copley Street where there will be a street party. Race numbers are to be worn in front. Changing facilities are available in the
College of Commerce. Further details are available in the Evening Echo
or on www.corkathletics.org.
September 5th:
Busy Sunday Ahead!
This Sunday
will be a busy one for Cork athletes.
The St Finbarrs Half Marathon sponsored by Avia takes
place on
Sunday (Sept 12th) in Blarney. The race
will incorporate the County and Munster Half Marathon Championships and
some of
the countrys top athletes will be taking part.
The race starts at 11.00am and race headquarters are in Blarney
GAA. Also on this Sunday is Riverstick
Kinsale Open Cross Country. There
is a great programme of events and there will be team prizes. The event starts at 12.00pm and will take
place opposite Kinsale Rugby Grounds on the main Cork Kinsale road. Athletes and spectators will be delighted to
know this event and the half marathon will be over in plenty of time
for the
big match in Croke Park.
September
5th: Mini Marathon
The Cork
Ladies Mini-Marathon Office will close on Saturday (Sept 11th) at 4pm. Anybody who wants to run the race must
register. The office is located
upstairs near the restaurant in Roches Stores, Patrick Street in Cork. Further details are available on www.eveningecho.ie or www.corkathletics.org.
September 5th:
Field Events Coaching Day
A field coaching day was held today in the CIT Track. Some of the countys top coaches helped out at the event and many athletes benefited from the day. It is hoped that there will be more of these events in the Spring. Feedback from the event would be appreciated. Pictured below athletes in action at the event.
August 29th:
Upcoming Events
Thousands
of entries have already been received this week for the Cork Ladies
Mini
Marathon. The race office is open until
4pm Saturday in Roches Stores Patrick Street.
To avoid disappointment get your entry in quickly.
Entry is €10, entry forms are in the Evening
Echo and there are still a few goody bags left for entrants.
This Sunday
(September 5th) marks the beginning of the cross country season as Midleton Athletic Club hold their
annual Cross Country meeting. There
is a new venue for the meeting this year. The
course is next to East Cork Oil on the
Midleton Fermoy Road. The course will
be sign posted. There are races for all
ages at this event with prizes for the first ten in each race. The event starts at 2pm.
Also on
this Sunday is a field events coaching day in the CIT Track. Clubs have been notified about the event at
which top coaches will be in attendance.
August 28th:
Email!
The county
secretary hopes to start using email to communicate with clubs rather
than the
post. This change will improve the
frequency and efficiency of communication between the county secretary
and
clubs. It will also save some money and
more importantly time.
If your
club is willing to receive communications via email please forward two
email
addresses that are regularly checked to corkathletics@eircom.net. The county secretary’s email address will be
set up in the next few weeks. Clubs
that want assistance in setting up a club email address should contact corkathletics@eircom.net. For clubs that do not have access to email
postal communication will continue to be used.
August 15th:
Mazda League Final
The
Mazda League Final was held today in Tullamore. Leevale
athletic club took part in the
premier division finals. The Leevale
ladies who teamed up with UCC for the event did very well finishing
second
overall. The Leevale men finished 4th.
In the
division 1 ladies final Belgooly were again involved in a close
finish and were second overall.
Considering they were missing a few athletes this was a very
impressive
performance. Avondhu took part in the
men’s division final and finished 7th. Results
August 15th:
Tracton Open Sports
Tracton
Sports were held recently in Minane Bridge GAA.
There was a fine crowd and the event and there were some very
exciting events. One of the top
performers of the day was Timothy Harrington of Courceys who won a
number of
events.
Host club
Tracton did very well with a number of their young athletes winning
medals on
the track and in the field events.
Also
well done to Liscarroll Athletics Club
who held their sports on Sunday last, by all accounts it was a
fantastic day
for all who took part. Results
August 10th:
Action Packed Weekend Ahead
A number of Cork clubs are in action at the final of the Mazda Track & Field League this Sunday (August 15th) in Tullamore. Leevale will be among the favorites in the premier division final as will Belgooly in the Division 1 Womens Final. Avondhu compete in the men's Division 1 final.
Also this Sunday (August 15th) are Tracton Open Sports which take place in Minane Bridge GAA starting at 1pm. There is a great programme of events at these sports so they will be well worth attending and there will be events for all ages.
August 10th:
Olympics not far away now!
The athletics events of the Athens Olympics start on Friday August 20th. There will be four Cork athletes in action at the Olympics.
Sonia O’Sullivan of Ballymore Cobh will be competing in her fourth olympics. She won a fantastic silver in the 5000m in Sydney at the last Olympics. Her last race was in Zurich where she finished 3rd in the 3000m in a time of 8.41. Sonia will compete in the 5000m.
Mark Carroll of Leevale will compete in the men’s 5000m on Friday 20th. Mark has been the top male middle distance runner in Ireland for the last ten years and won Bronze at the European championships in the 5000m a few years ago. Another Leevale athlete in action at the Olympics will be Derval O’Rourke who takes part in the sprint hurdles. This will be Dervals first Olympics where she hopes to set a new Irish record in the sprint hurdles. Derval is in action on August 22nd at 7.35pm.
Robert Heffernan of Togher takes part in the mens 20 km walk. Robert was 28th in the last Olympics and has since improved his national record over this distance. His event is on Friday August 20th at 9am.
A number of other athletes with Cork Connections will be taking part in the Olympics. Walkers Olive Loughnane and Gillian O’Sullivan can often be seen training in Cork and will take part in the 20km walk on August 23rd at 9am.
August 9th: Good
Performances by
There
were good performances by
cork athletes in
U23 and
Junior Home Countries
International at
Junior
Women: 400m: 5. A. Maunsell 58.62; 4x100m
relay: 1. Ireland 45.97 (new national junior record); winning
quarter: A.
McNeill, M. Crowe, C. Brady, L. Kiernan); Shot: 2. K. Fitzgerald 11.07;
Discus:
7. K. Fitzgerald 27.55
Men - U23 - 400m hurdles: 3. R. Foolkes 54.91; 4x100m relay: 5. Ireland
42.56;
4x400m relay: 3. Ireland 3.17.29; Long
Junior Men
- 3,000m: 1. M. Hanrahan 8.41.50;
Also well done
to
all the masters athletes who won medals in Tullamore at the masters
track and
Field Championships of Ireland last Sunday.
August 3rd: Busy
Weekend Ahead Again!
The
coming weekend looks set to be another busy weekend for
athletics. On Saturday an introductory
level coaching course will take place in the CIT Track.
On Sunday the Masters Track and Field
Championships of Ireland take place in Tullamore, best of Luck to all
the Cork
athletes taking part. Also on Sunday
Liscarroll hold their annual Open Sorts starting at 1pm in Liscarroll
GAA.
August 2nd: Linz
IAAF Grand Prix
There
were good performances by Cork athletes at the IAAF Grand Prix
meeting in Linz, Austria this evening.
Mark Carroll of Leevale was 2nd in the 3000m running a seasons
best time
of 7.48.03. He was in the lead for the
last 200m but weakened coming up to the line and had to settle for
second. Freda Davoren of UCC was 3rd in
the 1500m
running a seasons best time of ~4.09.
She too had a very good run and was contesting for first place
down the
home straight. The last twenty metres
saw her legs tire, she gave up the battle for first but was passed by
Olympic
bound US athletes Amy Rudolf on the line and had to settle for third. Nevertheless this was a very impressive
performance by the reigning County Senior Cross Country Champion.
August 2nd:
Rising sun Open Sports
There
was a big crowd at Rising Sun Open Sports held today in the CIT
Track. Great credit must go to the club
for organising the event. There were
some very exciting races and an enjoyable day was had by all. Another enjoyable day is in prospect next
weekend at Liscarroll Open Sports,
which
take place on Sunday August 8th in
Liscarroll GAA
starting at 1pm. There is a
big programme of events and it is a sports well worth attending.
August 1st: Mazda League Rnd 2 Results,
There were exciting performances by athletes today in the CIT Track at the second Round of the Mazda League. Performance of the day was that of Eileen O’Keeffe of Kilkenny City Harriers who threw a new national record in the hammer.
Leevale fared well in this competition and look set to comfortably qualify for the final. Deirdre Murphy, Paddy O’Gorman, Ailis McSweeney, Kathleen Fitzgerald and Ger O’Donoghue all won their events and good performances by the Leevale relay teams helped secure valuable points for the club. The club was comfortably on top in the mens premier and a close second in the ladies.
Belgooly continued their good Mazda League form topping their pool in division 1. Dawn Kelly won the 400m hurdles and 200m while Christina Broderick won the triple jump and walk for Belgooly. Belgooly also won the 4x400m relay. Avondhu finished 3rd in their pool in division 1 with Ann Marie Cronin winning the hammer and Emer O’Shea winning the 800m for Avondhu. Belgooly look set to make the final here but Avondhu will probably be a few points short.
Avondhu
finished
second in their pool in division 1 men with Brendan Dennehy winning a
number of
events for the club. Depleted Togher
and Muskerry teams finished joint 5th
in their pool. Togher had a
notable victory in the 4x400m relay.
The
final will be held in Tullamore on Sunday August 15th.
July 25th: Woodies DIY National
Senior T&F Championships
Cork
athletes did well at these championships this weekend.
Conditions were testing though with weather
more fitting for cross country championships than track and field
championships
prevailing.
Robert
Heffernan of Togher won the men’s 10k walk and looks all set for
the Olympics. His club mate Ronan
Foolkes had a notable performance in the 400m hurdles taking silver. He was 4th in this event last year but has
improved since to win silver.
Olympics
bound Derval O’Rourke despite an appendix scare earlier in the
week won the 100m hurdles ahead of clubmate Niamh Cremin.
Another Olympian Mark Carroll of Leevale was
a comfortable winner of the 5000m and took bronze in the 1500m. Leevale Sprinters Ger O’Donoghue and Ailis
McSweeney took silver in the 100m while Ailis also took silver in the
200m. Deirdre Murphy of Leevale was 3rd
in the discus.
Christopher
Crowley of Belgooly was 2nd in the high jump while Ann
Marie Cronin of Old Abbey was 3rd in the hammer.
Freda
Davoren of UCC won the 1500m race. Freda
who won the 1500m at the Cork City Sports recently beat
last years winner Roisin McGettigan and Sonia O’Sullivan of Ballymore
Cobh who
was 3rd. Olympics bound Sonia who used
the championships as a training session was 3rd also in the 800m.
July 23rd: Woodies DIY National
Senior T&F Championships
The
national senior T&F championships are
being held this weekend in Santry, Co. Dublin.
There are a number of very exciting competition sin prospect. In the sprints Cork athletes Ger O’Donoghue
and Ailis McSweeney of Leevale will be hoping to be among the medals. There is a very interesting 5000m race in
prospect with Leevale club mates Cathal Lombard and Mark Carroll will
be
battling it out. Robert Heffernan of
Togher will be the firm favorite for the Walk.
Christopeher Crowley of Belgooly who has jumped over 2 metres
this year
is a medal prospect in the high jump.
Sonia O’Sullivan of Ballymore Cobh will be expected to do well
in her
event as will Derval O’Rourke of Leevale in the Sprint
Hurdles.
Further details see www.athleticsireland.ie. Best of Luck to all the Cork athletes taking
part.
The
international deadline for Olympic
qualification has not yet passed but unfortunately the deadline imposed
on
Irish athletes by the Olympic Council of Ireland has passed so
performances at
this weekend’s championships will not count towards Olympic
Qualification. This undermining of our
national championships
can only be detrimental for the sport and quite possibly will do damage
to
athletics which will only become apparent as fewer athletes try to
qualify for
the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
July 22nd: Upcoming Events
The
next few weeks will be very busy for
athletes in Cork. There are a number of
local events coming up:
On
Friday July 30th, the Kinsale Regatta 5
mile Road race takes place at 8pm, race HQ are in Kinsale GAA.
On
August 1 Banteer Sports are on starting at
1pm in Banteer Sportsfield. On August 2
Rising Sun hold their annual open sports starting at 1.30pm in the CIT
Track. On August 8th Liscarroll hold
their annual Open Sports starting at 1pm in Liscarroll GAA while on
August 15th
Tracton Open Sports are on in Tracton GAA starting at 1pm.
July 21st: County Juvenile Relay
Trials
Trials
for the upcoming Lucozade Sport National Juvenile Inter County
Relays took place tonight in the CIT Track.
There were some exciting races.
Girls:
Under
9 – Clare Sexton (Bandon), Jennifer O’Sullivan (Leevale), Kate
Toner (Badon).
Under
11 – Grainne Moynihan (West Muskerry), 2. Jessican Sheehan
(Grange Fermoy), Rachel O’Shea (Beara), Sinead Moloney (Courcies), Phil
Healy,
Edel O’Connell (Donoughmore).
Under
13 – Joan Healy (Bandon), Lorraine O’Brien (Bandon), Jennifer
Mullins (Bantry), Sally Flanagan (Youghal), Tracy Bradfield (Bandon),
Rebecca
Corbett (Leevale).
Under
15 – Harriet Cross (Belgooly), Stacey O’Sullivan (Bantry), Roisin
Howard (Grange Fermoy), Sarah Ryan (Youghal).
Under
17 – Imelda Morrison (Youghal), Paula McCarthy (Bantry), Siobhan
Greene (Youghal), Michelle Cronin (Bantry).
Boys:
Under
9 – Fintan O’Shaughnessy (Bandon), Jamie O’Connor (Blarney
Inniscarra), Promise Okafor (Bandon).
Under
11 – Mighty Okafor (Bandon), Shane Howard (Grange Fermoy), Great
Okafor (Bandon), Denis O’Sullivan (Leevale), Sean Fogarty (Leevale),
Kieran
Histon (Balymore Cobh).
Under
13 – David Killeen (Leevale), Andrew Power (Midleton), Michael
O’Sullivan (West Muskerry), Sam Lynch (Leevale), Colin O’Flynn
(Leevale), Spke
O’Shaughnessy (Bandon)
Under
15 – Chris Nash (Bandon), Philip Burns (Bandon), Timmy Harrington
(Courcies), Gerard Minehane (Skibbereen), Ricky Peters (Bantry),
Brendan Lynch
(West Muskerry).
Under
17 – Gerard O’Connell (Liscarroll), Brian McGowan (Skibbereen),
Daniel McAuliffe (Blarney Inniscarra), Thomas O’Sullivan (Leevale),
Paul Broe
(Blarney Inniscarra).
July 20th: County Juvenile Relay
Trials Wednesday 7pm CIT Track.
Trials
for the upcoming Lucozade Sport National Juvenile Inter County
Relays take place on Wednesday (July 21) at 7pm in the CIT Track. Athletes taking part must be registered
and available to compete on Sunday August 1st in Tullamore. Athletes are requested to double check their
availability as nobody wants to turn up in Tullamore to find they have
not got
a relay team!!
July 20th: Lucozade Sport Juvenile Championships of
Ireland Results
July 18th: Mazda League Round 1
CIT.
The
first round of the Mazda League was held in the CIT Track
today. The Weather was not very kind
with frequent heavy showers making conditions testing.
Cork clubs enjoyed a good day.
Leevale
topped both the men’s and women’s Premier division with
athletes young and old coming out to help their club.
Belgooly
missing some of their athletes who were on international duty
also fared well topping their pool in the womens division 1. Avondhu were 5th in their pool in division
1.
Togher
topped their pool in the mens division 1 competition with
Avondhu second and Muskerry 4th in this pool.
The
second Round of the league takes place on Sunday August 1st. Venues
are yet to be confirmed.
July 13th: Donoughmore 7, Take the
Challenge!
The
Donoughmore 7 takes place this Friday in Donoughmore.
The race, one of the most popular in
Ireland, starts at 8pm and entry is on the night. There is a T-Shirt for
every finisher and
refreshments are available after the race.
There are prizes for the first 8 senior men and the first 6
senior women
as well as numerous category prizes.
There
is a fun run on at 7.30pm and a non
competitive walk at 7pm.
July 7th: Open Senior Track and Field Meeting
There was a healthy crowd a tonight's open track and field meeting in the mardyke. The event hosted by UCC athletic club attracted athletes from all over the county and beyond eager to take advantage of the electronic timing that was in use. Performance of the night was that of Gordon Kennedy in the 400m who ran 46.89 seconds and considering that there was a strong wind against him over the last 100m this was a very impressive performance. Results
A special thanks to all who took part and helped out on the night. Great credit must go to Ronan Foolkes of Togher and Darren O’Brien of Leevale who organised the event.
It is hoped to organise more of these events next year and perhaps have a series – comments and suggestions about last nights meeting would be appreciated. Email them to corkathletics@eircom.net.
July 4th: National Junior & Under 23 T&F
There were good performaces by a number of Cork athletes at the National Junior and Under 23 Track and Field Championships in Tullamore today. Dawn Kelly of Belgooly ran a fantastic race to the win the under 23 400m hurdles title. Kathleen Fitzgerald of Leevale took gold in the junior shot while her club mate Deirdre Murphy won the under 23 discus. Leevale athlete Whitney Gum won the under 23 hammer competition.
A number of athletes won silver and bronze in their events, For results see www.leevale.org.
July 3rd: Bupa Cork City Sports
The
Bupa Cork City Sports were held today in the UCC Mardyke
Track. Many Irish athletes attended
this event in the hope of attaining Olympic qualifying times as this
was the
last day for Irish athletes to qualify for the Olympics under a ruling
by the
Olympic Council of Ireland. Conditions
certainly were far from ideal for the sports with heavy showers and
blustery
winds making things uncomfortable for athletes and spectators.
The
ladies 1500m race was won by local athlete Freda Davoren of UCC who
came through in a very exciting and close finish. Olympic
bound Sonia O’Sullivan had a comfortable victory in the
5000m race. Ailis McSweeney took bronze
in the 100m. Derval O’Rourke was 5th in
the sprint hurdles. Gary Ryan equalled
the national 100m record winning 100m race and later in the event also
won the
200m race. Adrian O’Dwyer won the high
jump. Other local athletes to
impress
included Donna Hosford (long jump), Paddy O’Gorman (400m), Jer
O’Donoghue
(100m) and Christopher Crowley (high jump).
The
junior 1500m was dominated by Cork athletes. The
race was won by Leevale’s Ciaran
O’Lionaird while Mark Hanrahan was 2nd.
Results
The
national 4x400m team missed out on Olympic qualification in the
4x400m relay, which was the last event of the day, despite a brave
effort. Many Irish athletics fans will be
very
disappointed that today was the last chance for Irish athletes to
qualify for
the Olympics considering that the international deadline is a few weeks
off. This Irish deadline was set by
the Olympic Council of Ireland and repeated requests by the Athletics
Association of Ireland to have the date moved were denied.
July 1st: National Junior T&F Notice
A
reminder to any athletes taking part in this Sundays National Junior
Track and Field Championships: if they are still eligible for juvenile
competition they will need parental consent in the event of being
called for a
drug test. Any athletes competing in
junior and senior competition can be tested for drugs.
June 28th: Big Weekend of
Athletics Ahead!
A big
and busy weekend of athletics lies ahead for all. On
Saturday the Bupa Cork City Sports takes
place in the mardyke track starting at 2pm.
As this is the last day for Irish athletes to qualify for the
Olympics
spectators can be assured of some great competition.
Further details in the press or see www.corkcitysports.ie.
On
Sunday the national Junior and Under 23 Track and Field
championships take place in Tullamore.
A number of Cork athletes will be out to defend their titles and
we wish
them and all the Cork competitors the best of luck.
Also on Sunday the Munster juvenile B T&F championships take
place in Waterford.
June 27th: Lucozade Sport Munster
U14-U19 Track & Field Results (Saturday
only)
The
Munster Juvenile track and field championships were held this
weekend in the CIT Track in Bishopstown, Cork.
There were some fine performances by Cork athletes at the event. Timothy Harrington of Courcies was the
outstanding Cork athlete at the competition taking gold in a number of
under 14
events winning the discus, sprint, sprint hurdles, 200 metres, long and
high
jump. Caitriona O’Callaghan of Grange
Fermoy won the under 14 sprint, sprint hurdles and 200 metre races.
Carl McNamara and Greg O’Leary
of Leevale had sprint doubles winning gold in the under 18 and 19 100m
and
200m. Another Leevale athlete to enjoy
a double was John Shine who won the under 19 800m and 1500m. Francis O’Shea of North Cork returned to
form to take gold in a very competitive under 15 800m and 1500m races. Ciaran Kenny of Blarney Inniscarra took gold
in a very exciting under 16 800m race.
Aoife Cooke of Youghal won the under 19 1500m and 3000m races
while her
club mate Sarah O’Shea won the under 19 800m.
Joyce Curtin of Glenbower won the under 18 3000m.
Christina Broderick of Belgooly won three
gold in the under 18 events winning the 300 metre hurdles, triple and
high
jump. Christopher Crowley of Belgooly
also had a treble winning the under 18 high, long and triple jump
competitions.
Declan
Murphy of Carraig na bhFear dominated the under 19 throwing
events taking gold in the shot, hammer and discus.
Andrew Kenneally of Kilmurry, Linda & Anne Marie Cronin of
Old Abbey all took gold in their hammer events.
A
number of other Cork athletes impressed competing many not winning
medals but no doubt learning and enjoying the experience which will
stand to
them at the championships next year.
Best of Luck to all the Cork athletes who qualified for the
national
championships on July 11/12th in Tullamore.
A
special thanks to all the volunteers who helped run the championships
during the weekend.
June 20th – County Juvenile Championships
The
last
County Championship event of the year the County Juvenile B and
Pentathlon
championships were held recently in the CIT Track in Cork.
The weather which had been so good during
May kept up and athletes competed in almost perfect conditions.
The juvenile B championships, an important development competition in which athletes competed in pairs, was a very enjoyable competition and there was big numbers in many of the events.
Left to Right: Bantry Boys celebrating after winning medals at the Juvenile B T&F, Blarney Girls, Leevale and Courcies Athletes.
In the pentathlon a number of athletes proved very impressive over a variety of events and no doubt will do well at the All Ireland championships in July. Results
The
Munster
U14-U19 Track and Field championships take place in Cork on Saturday
and Sunday
(June 26/27) in the CIT Track. Also on
this weekend are the Tailteann Games, an interprovincial secondary
schools
track and field competition, which takes place in Tullamore on Saturday
(June
26). There are a number of Cork
athletes on the Munster team and we wish them the best of luck.
June 19th – County Junior T&F Championships
The
Cork
County junior Track and field championships were held last evening in
the CIT
Track. ‘We needed rain but not this
evening’ was the quote of the event as a few heavy showers made
conditions testing
for athletes especially during the 3000m.
Aoife Cooke of Youghal returning from injury took gold in the
ladies
3000m race while Peter Fennell of Togher took gold in the men’s race. Aaron Hornibrook won the steeple chase. Keith Moloney of Togher won gold in the
1500m while Joyce Curtin of Glenbower won gold in the ladies race. The 800m men’s race was an exciting affair
with John Shine and Ciaran O’Lionaird of Leevale involved in a
thrilling sprint
finish, John took gold but was only a hair’s breadth ahead of
O’Lionaird. The ladies 400m and 800m races
were won by
Louise Finn of Belgooly. Greg O’Leary
and Paul Horan of Leevale had sprint doubles winning gold and silver in
the
100m and 200m races. Orla Coughlan of
Leevale won the ladies 100m while Christina Broderick of Belgooly won
the 200m,
400m hurdles and the high jump. Mera
O’Connor of Belgooly won the sprint hurdles while Diarmuid Barry of
Grange
Fermoy won the men’s sprint hurdles.
Ronnie Neville of Riverstick Kinsale took gold in the 400m and
long
jump.
Performance
of
the night was by Stephen Noonan of Carraig na bhFear in the Pole Vault
where he
set a new personal best, winning with a clearance of 3.40m. His club mate Declan Murphy was also
impressive winning gold in the shot, hammer, discus and javelin. The Cronin sisters from Old Abbey, Ann-Marie
and Linda, took gold and silver in the hammer.
Paula McCarthy of Bantry won the javelin while Kathleen
Fitzgerald took
gold in the shot. The junior ladies
long jump was won by Elaine O’Leary of Ballincollig while Margaret
McCarthy of
Blarney Inniscarra won the triple jump.
The open senior 1500m race was very exciting with Billy O’Brien of Skibbereen taking first ahead of Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale and Kieran Hurley of Togher. The senior ladies 1500m was won by Jennifer Goggin of UCC, while Diarmuid Bowe of Ballincollig won the open 200m.
The open
masters
events saw a number of Cork’s top masters athletes in action. Brendan Dennehy of Rising sun won the 100m
and long jump. John O’Riordan of Rising
Sun won the 400m. Declan Coakley of
Skibbereen won the shot while Eamonn McEvoy of St Finbarrs won the
1500m. In the ladies events Liz McCarthy
Coomey won
the shot and 100m. Ebhana Finnegan of
Rising Sun won the long jump. Margaret
Horgan of Donoughmore was first in the 400m and 1500m.
June 14th – County Junior T&F
The county Junior Track and Field Championships take place on Friday coming. Field events start at 6.30pm while track events start at 7pm. Masters Events (100m, 400m, 1500m, long jump and shot) will also be held on this night. There will also be an open senior 200m race and 1500m race at this event, registration on the night. programme
June 7th - Ladies Mini Marathon Launched!
The Cork Ladies mini marathon was launched this week. The race one of the biggest in the country and a major fundraiser for lots of local charities will take place on Sunday September 19th starting at 2pm. The race is being sponsored by the Evening Echo and Express Kitchens & Floors. Entry forms will be in the Evening Echo and postal entries are already being accepted.
Need help with your training why not join your local athletic club see the clubs page.
Further details will be on this website in the next few weeks.
June 7th – Upcoming Events
Next weekend the Munster Juvenile T&F (u9-u13) will be held in Castleisland. On Friday June 18th the County Junior T&F will be held in the CIT, programme. Closing Date for entries Friday June 11. Also on this night there will be an open master T&F, events 100m, 400m, 1500m, long jump and shot.
On Sunday June 20th the County Juvenile B Track and Field Championships take place in the CIT. The County pentathlon championships also take place on this day.
June 6th – Munster Senior T&F
The Munster Senior track and Field Championships were held today in the CIT Track. The All Ireland Schools T&F and holiday weekend took their toal on numbers competing but nevertheless there were some very exciting competitions. The men’s 56lb over the bar was a very exciting competition with Andrea Lasslo of Old Abbey taking gold with a throw of 4.05m. The Cork ladies did very well in the throws events with Deirdre Murphy retaining her shot and discus titles. Anne Marie Cronin of Old Abbey won the hammer competition. Paddy O’Gorman of Leevale had a sprint double winning the 200m and 400m. Jessika Zebo won the ladies 100m while Marian Andrews of Togher won the 400m. Deirdre Cronin of Youghal won the long jump while Belgooly enjoyed a high jump double with Susan Hoare winning the ladies title and Christopher Crowley winning the men’s title. Dawn Kelly of Belgooly retained her 400m hurdles title.
June 2nd – County Board Meeting
A county board meeting was held tonight in the SMA Hall in Wilton. At the juvenile meeting the chairman Tim Fitzpatrick thanked all who had helped at the recent juvenile T&F championships. The County juvenile B T&F will be held on Sunday June 20th in the CIT. The juvenile B will be a team competition where athletes compete in pairs, this will go up to under 13. For U14 to U19 there will be a pentathlon competition. Clubs will receive entry forms in the next few days.
The County Junior T&F Championships will be held on Friday June 18th in the CIT Track (programme). Also on this night will be an open masters competition, the events will be 100m, 400m, 1500m, shot and long jump. This competition is being held in response to a request to provide competition due to a lack of competition for masters athletes. It is hoped the vent will be well supported.
The Cork ladies mini marathon was launched recently and the first committee meeting will take place on July 7th.
Satisfaction was expressed at the recent County Senior T&F Championships with athletes Jer O’Donoghue of Leevale and Dawn Kelly of Belgooly being congratulated on their fantastic performances at the event. The results of the championships including those of guests have been forwarded to the AAI for inclusion on performance lists. Any views or feedback on the event would be appreciated, email corkathletics@eircom.net. It was accepted that this was one of the most successful championships in a number of years but can be improved further so feedback and suggestions are needed and appreciated.
The next board meeting will be on July 7th and will be an officers meeting. This will incorporate a mini marathon meeting and a cross country committee meeting as well.
May 30th- Munster Junior, Under 23 and Masters
The Munster
Junior, Under 23 and Masters Track and Field Championships were held
yesterday
in Castleisland, Co. Kerry. Conditions
for competition were good and there were some fine performances by Cork
athletes at the event.
Star
performers in the junior womens events were Louise Finn and Mera
O’Connor of
Belgooly who won medals in the 800m and sprint hurdles.
Ciaran Ó Lionaird and John Shine of Leevale
impressed in the junior mens 800m race finishing in the medals. Marion Andrews of Togher had a double
winning the under 23 100 and 200 metre races.
Sean O’Sullivan of Ballincollig won gold in the under 23 javelin
while
Brian McMahon of Carraig na bhFear won the under 23 3000 metre race.
In the
masters events Cork athletes were again to the fore with Brendan
Dennehy and
Jimmy Murray of Rising Sun winning gold in the over 55 sprint events. Liz Coomey of Bandon won the over 35 100m
and 200m while St Finbarrs dominated the middle distance events with
Marion
Lyons and Margo Dinan winning gold in their 3000 metre races.
This
weekend will be a very busy weekend for athletics.
On Saturday (June 5th) the Kit Kat All Ireland
Schools
Track and Field Championships take place in Tullamore.
On Sunday (June 6th) the Munster
Senior Track and Field Championships will be held in the CIT Track,
Cork
starting at 11.00am. On bank holiday
Monday the Avondhu T&F championships take place in Mitchelstown GAA
at 1pm
with open events for under 17 and senior athletes.
May 23rd – County Senior T&F
Report and
more
Pictures – http://www.leevale.org/
Pictures on Eagle AC Website
The
Cork
county senior track and field championships were held in the CIT Track
yesterday. Conditions were ideal with
the athletes enjoying fantastic sunshine throughout the day.
Performance
of the day was that of Jer O’Donoghue of Leevale who clocked a time of
10.53
seconds in the 100 metres setting a new personal best and club record. This was the second fastest time by an Irish
athlete in this event this year.
Speaking in an interview with Red FM after the race he said he
was
feeling very good and felt he could go even faster.
Amy Clarke of Leevale won the women’s 100m.
Olympic bound international hurdler Derval
O’Rourke was on hand to watch Belgooly complete a hurdles double with
Dawn
Kelly winning the 400m hurdles and club mate Mera O’Connor winning the
100m
hurdles. Togher had a 400m double with
Kevin Walsh and Marian Andrews winning their races.
International athlete Ailis McSweeney of Leevale won the 200m.
The men’s
middle distance races proved to be particularly exciting.
The men’s 1500m was thrilling with Thomas
Maunsell of Leevale and Fergus Meade of East Cork running shoulder to
shoulder
over the last half lap. Maunsell just
held out to win his first County senior title.
The men’s 800m race saw another close finish with Tadhg
O’Callaghan of
Togher edging out Billy O’Brien of Skibbereen.
International Cross Country athlete Orla Drumm of UCC was an
impressive
winner of the ladies 1500m in a fast time of 4.36.
Carmel Parnell of Leevale won the ladies 3000m while Munster
5000m champion and County senior cross country champion Donnacha
O’Mahony of
East Cork won the men’s 5000 metres.
International masters athlete Daithi Ó Murchu of Liscarroll won
the 400m
hurdles. The Evening Echo South Munster
Schools 800m intermediate champion Louise Finn of Belgooly won the 800m
race.
James
Flanagan of Youghal won the pole vault.
Paul O’Donoghue of Riverstick Kinsale won the long jump with a
jump of
close on 6.5 metres. Deirdre Murphy of
Leevale successfully retained her discus and shot titles as did hammer
champion
Ann Marie Cronin of Old Abbey athletic club.
Brendan Dennehy of Rising Sun won the triple jump while
Christina
Broderick won the ladies triple jump.
Brian Whitty of Blarney Inniscarra was impressive in the
throwing events
winning the discus, shot, weight for distance and 56lb over the bar. The javelin competitions were won by Thomas
McKenna of Ballincollig and Margaret McCarthy of Blarney Inniscarra.
This Sunday (May 30th) the Munster Junior, Under 23 & Masters Track and Field Championships take place in Castleisland, Co. Kerry. Also on Sunday is Courcies Open Sports, which takes place in Ballinspittle GAA starting at 1pm.
May 21st – County Senior Track and Field Preview
The Cork County Senior Track and Field Championships will take place on Sunday in the CIT Track.
There has been a big entry for this competition. The sprints will be very exciting as many athletes from outside the County are making the journey to Leeside to take advantage of the electronic timing. Favourites for the sprints will be Ailis McSweeney and Ger O’Donoghue of Leevale, the fastest woman and man in Cork. Paul O’Flynn of Leevale who almost cleared the 7 metre mark in the long jump last year will be tipped to take gold in the long jump but can expect competition from Paul O’Donoghue of Riverstick Kinsale. The ladies 400m hurdles will be very competitive with Niamh Cremin of Leevale, Dawn Kelly of Belgooly and Nicole O’Regan of Togher all in action. Ronan Foolkes of Togher who was 4th in the national senior 400m hurdles last year will be the favourite for the men’s race. The men’s middle distance races will be the big events of the day. David Doherty of Togher will be the favourite in the 1500m. The 5000m race will be a very open event with Alan O’Shea of Bantry, Munster 5000m champion Donnacha O’Mahony of East Cork, Fergus and Eric Meade of East Cork and County Novice Road Champion Wieslaw Sosnowski of Eagle all well capable of taking gold in this race. Martina Carver of Eagle, Collette O’Riordan of West Muskerry and the experienced Carmel Parnell of Leevale will be the top women in the middle distance races.
Defending County Champion Sean O’Sullivan of Ballincollig goes in the pole vault while Brendan Dennehy of Rising Sun will be hoping to take gold in the high jump. The throwing events will be very competitive. Deirdre Murphy of Leevale will be the favourite in the shot and discus. Linda Cronin of Old Abbey will be the favourite in the ladies hammer. The men’s throwing events will be very open. There is a big entry in the 56lb for distance and over the bar. Andrea Lazzlo of Old Abbey, Munster Champion Batty McHugh of East Cork, John Howard of Rising Sun, Francis Horgan of West Muskerry and blarney athletes John Dilworth and Sean Whittey will all be hoping to do well in this event.
The throwing
events start at 11.00am while the track events start at 1pm. Admission is free and the programme is
available online. Programme for County Senior
T&F
May 16th – County Senior Track & Field Championships
The County
Senior track and field championships take place on Sunday May 23rd. This event promises to be one of the top
senior track and field competitions in Munster this year with athletes
from
outside the County travelling to take part.
A number of prominent Cork athletes taking part in the
championships.
Ailis McSweeney of UCC who is the current national under 23 100m
champion,
Bryan McMahon of Carrignavar who was on the Irish universities
international
cross country team, Ger O’Donoghue of Leevale who won the St Patricks
Day 60m
dash, Gareth Barry of North Cork who won the Munster indoor 3000m will
be some
of the big names at this event. As
there will be electronic timing at the event spectators can
expect some
very impressive times as athletes do their best to qualify for upcoming
international competitions. The event
takes place in the CIT Track on Sunday May 23rd. Throwing
events start at 11.00am while the track events start at
1pm. Admission is free.
The closing date for entries is
Wednesday. Guests are welcome to take
part.
Programme for County Senior
T&F
May 16th – County Masters T&F
Glorious weather brought out the best in the County master athletes in the CIT Track today. Rising Sun were the best club today with all their athletes doing well in their events. Denis Howard, Con O’Donovan, John O’Riordan, Con Ó Cuirc, Sean O’Sullivan, Joe Hogan, Jimmy Murray, Brendan Dennehy, George Webb, Ruth Murray and Ebhana Finnegan all winning gold in their events. Liz Coomey of Bandon won gold in the over 35 shot, 100m, 200m, 400m, discus and hammer. Maura McCarthy of Bantry won gold in the over 40 100m, long jump, 200m and 400m. Martina O’Shea of Bantry had a gold double in the over 40 shot and discus. Joe Downing of Courcies won gold in the over 45 100m and 200m. Daithi O’Murchu of Liscarroll won gold in the over 40 100m, 200m, 400m, long jump and javelin. John Murphy of Liscarroll won the over 40 high jump while club mate Tim Fitzpatrick won the over 60 javelin and discus. Priscilla O’Sullivan won the over 35 javelin. Seamus Fox of Fanahan McSweeney won silver in the over 45 long jump. Tim McSweeney of Blarney Inniscarra won the over 40 shot. Marti O’Sullivan of Ballincollig won the over 45 long jump. St Finbarrs athletes did well in the middle distance events with Michael Murphy, Margo Dinan, Dave O’Brien, Marion Lyons and May Sweeney all winning gold in their middle distance races. Pat Murphy and John Quigley of Eagle won gold on the track and field. Other athletes to do well in the middle distance events were Sean Ó Lionaird (West Muskerry), Padraig McCarthy, Patrick O’Brien and Declan Coakley of Skibbereen and Liam Horgan of Leevale. Frank Stam of Leevale won gold in the high jump, javelin and discus. Grange Fermoy athletes Mary Barry and Maggie Dunne both won gold medals on the track.
Masters athletes will be in action again on May 30th in Castleisland at the Munster Masters T&F championships. Results
May 10th - County Masters T&F
This
weekend the second round of the South Munster Schools track and field
championships takes place on Saturday (May 15th) at 1pm in the CIT
Track while on
Sunday (May 16th) the County Masters Track and Field Championships take
place
in the CIT Track with throwing events starting at 11.00am and all other
events
at 1pm.
May 9th - County
Juvenile T&F Results Day 2
Glorious weather brought out the best in Cork’s juvenile athletes at the CIT Track today for the second leg of the County Juvenile Track and Field Championships. There were big numbers in a lot of the events however numbers in some of the throwing events and the hurdles were disappointing. The event ran off very well and great credit must go to the volunteers who gave up their free time to help run the event. The next competition for juveniles in the County will be Courcies Open Sports on Sunday May 30th in Ballinspittle GAA Grounds at 1pm.
May 3rd - Rising Sun Sub 4-Minute Mile Commemoration
On May 6th
1954 Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4-minute mile (3mins 59.4 secs)
in
Oxford. Also in this year a famous Cork club was founded Rising
Sun. To commemorate this important athletics milestone, Rising
Sun
athletic club are hosting a straight mile on Lisfihill Road,
Ballinhassig on
Thursday May 6th at 8pm. There will be time
certificates for
all finishers and a number of prizes. The entry fee is adults €5
and
juniors & juveniles €2. Proceeds from the race are going to
Enable
Ireland, Lavanagh Centre. Lisfihill Road is approximately 1 mile
form
Ballinhassig village, take the turn at Marian Hall and continue for 1
mile and
turn left. Athletes will have to come prepared, as there are no
changing
facilities.
May 3rd - Evening Echo South Munster
Schools Track
and Field Championships
The
first day of the Evening Echo sponsored South Munster Schools track and
field
championships takes place in the CIT Track next Saturday. Entries
for
these championships must be with the secretary by Wednesday and must be
signed
by the school principal.
May 2nd - County Juvenile Track and Field Championships
The first leg of the Cork County juvenile track & field championships was held recently in the CIT Track. With the sun shining conditions were ideal for the championships with big numbers taking part.
There were a number of very impressive performances by athletes at the event. Ciaran O’Lionaird of Leevale had a double on the track winning the under 17 400m and 1500m. Daniel McAuliffe of Blarney Inniscarra won the under 16 high jump and hammer. Joe Warne of Dohenys won the under 18 1500m race, one of the most exciting races of the day. Mera O’Connor of Belgooly won the under 18 sprint and long hurdles while her club mate Tom Cross won the under 16 discus, triple jump and shot. Liam O’Brien of Togher ran the under 19 400m in a time of 50.5 second and hopefully we will see him break the 50 second barrier this season. Paula McCarthy of Bantry won the under 17 javelin, high jump and long hurdles while national indoor 300m champion 2004 Claire McSweeney of Leevale won under 18 300m.
A special thanks to all who helped today to keep the event running smoothly.
The next
day of the county juvenile championships is Sunday May 9th starting at
10.30am
in the CIT Track.
May 2nd - Great News from the US
Cathal Lombard got his track season off to a fantastic start setting a new national record of 27.33 in the 10,000m. For more details see the Leevale website. Also running an impressive time was Sonia O'Sullivan who ran inside the Olympic qualifying time for the 5000m. Mark Carroll also ran inside the Olympic qualifying time for the 5000m. Five Cork athletes are now qualified for the Olympics - Derval O'Rourke Sprint Hurdles, Mark Carroll 5,000m, Sonia O'Sullivan 5000m, Cathal Lombard 10000m and Robert Heffernan Walk.
April 28th - County Juvenile Track and Field Championships
The first leg of the county juvenile track and field championships takes place on Sunday in the CIT Track starting at 10.30am with the long hurdles. Check-in for the long hurdles is at 10.00am. Relays will follow the long hurdles. The competition will start at 10.30am sharp. Clubs will need to help so that the day will run smoothly. Athletes are asked to listen carefully to announcements during the day and to ensure they are ready when their events are called. The correct length spikes must be worn (max 5mm) and club singlets must be worn in all competition. Best of Luck to all athletes taking part.
April 26th - AAI Congress
The AAI congress was held this weekend in Donegal. There was a good attendance with 21delegates from Cork making the long journey to Donegal. The national executive was elected with all officers retaining their positions including Michael Quinlan of Bandon (treasurer). A number of Cork officials were elected onto the various national committees.
The president, Michael Heery, in his address congratulated all those whose voluntary effort keeps the sport alive. He pointed out the the sport was now enjoying good relationships with other bodies - OCI, NIAF, Schools, ISC, AMRA and that the organisation was working well. He expressed disappointment at the apparent lack of support the sport sometimes receives highlighting the plight of the National stadium in Santry, the fact some of the outstanding success Irish athletes have enjoyed on the international scene has gone almost unnoticed and the fact that there was no representative of the Minister of Sport or the Irish Sports Council at Congress. It was suggested too that the need for facilities for athletics be brought to the attention of politicians in the next few weeks when they will be particularly visible and helpful. Michael Quinlan in his treasurer's report showed that the sport is in good financial health but the extent to which it relies on grants is worrying as it limits the independence of the sport and long term the sport should be aiming for financial independence.
Secretary Georgina Drumm gave a brief overview of the strategic plan which will be discussed at consultation meetings around the country in the summer. An academy for young athletes was launched at this congress. details of the academy have been sent to club and individual athletes have been invited to the academy.
A number of motions were passed which will affect athletics in the county, these will be discussed at the next county board meeting on Wednesday, May 5th in the SMA Hall in Wilton at 7.30pm.
April 18th - AAI Congress
This weekend the Athletics Association of Ireland Congress takes place in Co. Donegal. Cork has nominated a number of officials for positions on the national executive and national committees. Cork has also put forward a number of motions for discussion at the agm.
April 18th - Leevale Open Sports
The County track and field season got off to a great start today with Leevale Open Sports. There were big crowds in the races and some of the county’s top athletes of all ages took part. Results from the sports will be on the Leevale website – http://www.leevale.org/. The next open sports will be Riverstick Open Sports on Monday May 3rd at 1pm in Riverstick GAA Grounds.
April 16th - Busy Weekend for T&F
The all Ireland Intervarsity Track and Field Championships take place in the Mardyke track in Cork with competition starting at 9.45am on Saturday. There were a number of impressive performances by Cork athletes in this competition today.
Leevale hold their annual open sports on Sunday in the CIT Track starting at 12.00pm for juveniles and 3pm for seniors.
April 11th - Upcoming Track and Field Season
The County Track and Field season gets underway next Sunday in the CIT Track where Leevale Athletic Club hold their Open Sports. The Sports now in it's third year has established itself as one of the biggest sports in the County attracting large numbers of athletes and spectators. There is an impressive programme of events at this sports which can be viewed on http://www.leevale.org/. Juvenile events start at 12.00pm while the senior events start at 3pm. Electronic timing will be used on the day.
The County Championships take place in May in the CIT Track with the County Masters and Senior Championships taking place on the 16th and 23rd. The Munster T&F Championships take place in May and June. In July the National T&F championships and Mazda Track and Field League take place. The Cork City Sports takes place on Saturday July 3rd in the Mardyke Track will be very exciting this year as it will be the last chance this year for Irish athletes to post qualifying times for the Olympics.
The Olympics in Athens in August will see a number of Cork athletes in action. Already Robert Heffernan of Togher, Sonia O'Sullivan of Ballymore Cobh, Dervil O'Rourke and Cathal Lombard of Leevale have qualified and expect to see some great performances in the next few months as more Cork athletes try to join these athletes in Athens.
There are plenty of Open Sports taking place in Cork this summer and these sports are a great way to get involved in the sport. Leevale Sports are on next Sunday, Riverstick Kinsale and Courcies hold their Open Sports in May, Fanahan McSweeney Open Sports in June. In August Rising Sun, Banteer, Liscarroll and Blarney Open Sports will be held.
April 7th - County Board Meeting
The Cork County Athletics Association of Ireland held it's monthly county board meeting tonight in Wilton. At the Juvenile meeting the upcoming County Championships were discussed. In order that these championships are run off efficiently clubs were asked to help out on both days and athletes turn up for their events on time. Athletes who won medals at the recent national juvenile indoor championships were congratulated.
At the board meeting clubs were reminded to make sure that registrations were in order. The success of Cork teams at the Munster Road championships was discussed and congratulations were extended to athletes and team manager. A number of fixtures and transfers were approved. The upcoming national AGM was discussed. The bus for Cork delegates will leave St Patricks Quay at 6am Saturday, April 24th.
The next Board meeting will be held on the first Wednesday in May at 7.30pm in the SMA Hall in Wilton.
April 5th - National Juvenile Indoors
The National Juvenile Indoor Championships were held recently in Nenagh Co. Tipperary. There were a number of outstanding performances by Cork athletes with a big haul of medals picked up by Cork athletes.
March 28th - Munster Senior & Novice Road Championships
The Munster Senior and Novice Road championships were held today in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary. Orla Touhy of Grange Fermoy, the county 10 mile champion was an impressive winner of the ladies novice race ahead of Jennifer Goggin of UCC. Cork won the inter-county competition. Ann-Marie Healy of Eagle was 2nd in the senior race.
Alan O'Shea of Bantry enjoyed a double winning silver in the novice and senior race which were run together. The county won silver in the intercounty competition while Togher & Eagle won silver and bronze in the team competition. North Cork won silver in the senior inter-club competition. Results
March 28th - AAI Relays
There were some notable performances by Cork athlete at the AAI indoor relays in Nenagh today with Belgooly winning a number of medals and Leevale winning gold in the 4x200m relay. Results
March 21st - Success at Munster Masters Road Championships.
The Munster Masters Road championships were held today in Lisdoonvarna. Co. Clare. Conditions were very testing with a strong gale blowing and rain never far away.
Joan Hough of St Finbarrs (above left) got the day off to a great start winning the master ladies O45 race. County Champion Marie Hurley of Bantry (above right) won silver in the O40 category.
East Cork athletes Martin Drake and Denis McCarthy (above top left) had a great run finishing 2nd and 3rd in the over 40 category. Eamonn McEvoy of St Finbarrs and Tommy Murphy of Skibbereen (above top right) were 2nd and 3rd in the over 45 category. Good running by Philip Withers of Duhallow and Kevin Cooney (above left) of Midleton helped the County team win gold in the over 40 competition.
The County had a clean sweep in the over 55 race with Frank Cashman of East Cork winning gold ahead of Liam O'Leary and Michael Dunne of the Barrs. John O'Leary of Leevale won gold in the over 65 race. The Cork over 50 team won silver (Frank Cashman & Tim Twomey - East Cork, Liam O'Leary & Michael Dunne - St Finbarrs). In the over 50 inter-club competition East Cork (Frank Cashman, John Walsh, Tim Twomey) won gold while St Finbarrs (Liam O'Leary, Michael Dunne & Roy Cummins) won silver.Results
March 18th - St Patricks Day Dash!
There was tremendous excitment on MacCurtin Street yesterday at the St Patrick's Day 60m Dash. The ladies race was won by Ailis McSweeney of UCC ahead of Jessika Zebo (Leevale) 2nd, Orla Coughlan (Leevale) 3rd, Christina Broderick (Belgooly) 4th and Donna Hosford (Leevale) 5th. The men's race was won by Ger O'Donoghue of Leevale with Paddy O'Gorman (Leevale) 2nd, Darren Coughlan (Leevale) 3rd, Alan O'Mahony (Wexford) 4th and Darren O'Brien (UCC) 5th.
A special thanks to the Cork City Sports Committee who organised the event with the assistance of parade organisers Cork Junior Chamber. The event was kindly sponsored by the Market Tavern who came on board to support the event again this year.
Best of Luck to the many young Cork athletes who take part in the National Juvenile Indoor Championships in Nenagh this weekend.
March 17th - Munster Masters Road Championships
The Cork masters teams for the upcoming Munster masters Road championships which will be held in Lisdoonvarna, Co.Clare on March 21st have been announced.
The men's team will be lead by Denis McCarthy of East Cork who recently won the County masters road championships. Also on this team is the County 10 masters cross country champion Cathal O'Connell of St Finbarrs and Eamonn McEvoy who is the County over 45 Road Champion.
The ladies team will be led by County Champion Maria Hurley of Bantry. Other members of this team include Carmel Parnell of Leevale and Joan Hough of St Finbarrs both of whom have had fantastic cross country seasons.
Athletes unable to take part are asked to email corkathletics@eircom.net
Mens Team: Cathal O'Connell, Eamonn McEvoy, Michael Murphy, Paul Dinan & Tony Archer (St Finbarrs), Denis McCarthy, Martin Drake, Tony Hartnett & B. O'Regan (East Cork), Tommy Murphy (Skibbereen), Paul Withers & Michael Daly (Duhallow), Pat Murphy & John Murphy (Eagle), Kevin Cooney (Midleton).
Ladies Team: Mary Sweeney, Angela McEvoy, Mary Murphy & Joan Hough (St Finbarrs), Mary Finn (Millstreet), Frances O'Regan (Skibereen), Carmel Parnell (Leevale), Maria Hurley & Fiona Begley (Bantry), Liz McCarthy Coomey & Carmel Crowley (Bandon).
March 11th - St Patrick's Day Sprint!!
The annual 60 metre dash which is held before the St Patrick's day parade in Cork will take place again this year thanks to the Market Tavern who are sponsoring the event. The event was launched this evening in the Market Tavern by the deputy Lord Mayor - Cllr. Deirdre Clune. Also present were the Cork Junior Chamber who organise the parade, the Cork City Sports committee, officers of the County Board and members of the media. The race will take place on MacCurtin Street at 1pm on St Patrick's Day.
March 7th – Good Performance at World Indoors
Well done to the Irish men’s 4x400m relay team (David McCarthy, David Gillick, Gary Ryan and Rob Daly) who finished third in the World Indoors 4x400m relay final in Budapest today. The Irish team were fourth crossing the line. The US team who were third, had dropped the baton and the wrong athlete picked up the baton so the US team was disqualified resulting in the Irish team winning the bronze. The team set a new national record in the event in the semi finals this morning and now are the first Irish relay team to have won a medal at a major world championship event. This is a big breakthrough for Irish sprinting, which has improved so much in the last few years. Relays are probably the most exciting and enjoyable athletic events so why not join your local athletic club and take part in relays. Details of athletic clubs are at Clubs.htm. The track and field season will start on Sunday April 18th with Leevale Open sports in the CIT Track in Bishopstown in Cork. You are never too old for athletics as there are competitions for all ages from young to old. Further details about athletics in Cork are available on http://www.corkathletics.org/ or email corkathletics@eircom.net.
March 7th – Ballycotton 10
The Ballycotton 10 mile road race was held today in Ballycotton. Conditions were perfect with only a very light breeze blowing and almost uninterrupted sunshine for the entire race.
With almost 2400 entries, this the 27th year of the Ballycotton 10 was the biggest to date. There was a fantastic atmosphere in the village before the race with athletes from every corner of the country and beyond warming up.
East Cork Board Chairman Dan McCarthy started the race for the 26th time. After the first mile which was covered in 4.29 Martin McCarthy of Leevale was in the lead with Kenyan athletes Charles Kiplagat and Issac Kimuge close behind him. The 3 mile mark was reached in 14.05 and at this stage Kiplagat was in the lead. He hit the halfway mark in a time of 23.05 with McCarthy and Kimuge still in pursuit. At the eight mile mark Kiplagat started to open a big gap and finished comfortably in front in a time of 48.00. His fellow countryman Kimuge was second while McCarthy was 3rd. Valarie Vaughan of Blarney Inniscarra who was 2nd three years ago won the ladies race ahead of Rosemary Ryan. A number of Cork athletes fared well at this event with County 10 mile RR Champion George Murray of North Cork, Cathal O’Connell & Derek O’Leary of St Finbarrs and Donnacha O’Mahony of East Cork all finishing in the top 15.
Martin McCarthy Bronze Medallist
Full results will be on the Ballycotton 10 website – http://www.ballycottonrunning.com/.
Well done to all who took part and the organising committee and volunteers who go to so much trouble to ensure this special event goes so well.
March 3rd - Eagle 5 Mile Roadrace.
The Eagle 5 mile Road race was held last Sunday in Carrigaline. For results see the Eagle website.
March 3rd - County Board Meeting
A County board meeting was held tonight in the SMA Hall in Wilton. At the juvenile meeting the upcoming County T&F championships were discussed, it was decided that starting times would have to be strictly adhered to. Entry forms and programmes will be sent out in the next few weeks. Closing date for entries will be April 14th. Munster Juvenile Indoor Secretary Esther Fitzpatrick thanked all from Cork who helped at the recent Munster Juvenile Indoor championships.
At the senior meeting the recent success of Cork teams at the National Intermediate Cross Country Championships in Dungarvan was discussed. Team manager Joe O'Flynn was complimented along with all the athletes who took part. Chair Noreen Murphy expressed her satisfaction with the fantastic effort made by Millstreet athletic club on hosting the recent County Road Championships. Pictures from the evnt are available on the Eagle athletic club website. The recent officials course held by Michael O'Hart was also discussed and Michael was commended on his presentation. Anybody interested in getting an electronic copy of the report should contact corkathletics@eircom.net. A number of fixtures were approved. Clubs were advised that transfers must be with County Registrar by the end of the month.
Clubs were also requested to send letters to the CIT sports office highlighting the need for further improvement of the facilities at the CIT Track. Currently the track is one of the best in the country and a credit to the sport in Cork and the CIT Track. The provision of further facilities such as a stand, toilets, changing rooms, check in rooms etc. would enhance the track and certainly it would be without equal in the country with these facilities.
The national AGM was also discussed, accommodation and transport for county delegates has been booked and nominations and motions will be discussed at next months meeting on April 7th.
February 29th – County Board Meeting
A
county board meeting will be held on Wednesday next in the SMA Hall
in Wilton at 7.30pm.
February 25th – Munster Juvenile
Indoor Championships
A
number of Cork athletes excelled at the recent Munster Juvenile
Indoor Championships. Christopher
Crowley (Left) of Belgooly was very impressive in the high jump setting
a new
Munster Record of 1.96m, hopefully we will see him break the 2.00m mark
this
year. On the track a number of Cork
athletes won gold with Brendan O’Connor of Beara, Paula McCarthy &
Marion
O’Sullivan of Bantry, Mera O’Connor & Harriet Cross of Belgooly,
Orla Finn
of Riverstick Kinsale, Caitriona O’Callaghan of Grange Fermoy, Timothy
Harrington of Courcies, Emer O’Connell of Blarney Inniscarra and Claire
McSweeney
& Christopher Murnane of Leevale some of the athletes who won gold. In the jumps Christina Broderick, Katey Byrd
& Tom Cross of Belgooly, Donna Hosford of Leevale and Daniel
McAuliffe of
Blarney Inniscarra won gold while Kathleen Fitzgerald of Leevale,
Jonathon
Murphy & Declan Murphy of Carraig na bhFear and Rachel Roche of
Bandon all
won gold in the Shot competition. Results
February 22nd – National
Inter-Club Cross Country Championships
A
number of Cork athletes impressed at these championships – results.
Report on Leevale Website.
February 16th – Officials Meeting
Michael O’Hart will hold an officials seminar on
Wednesday Feb 18th at 7.30pm in the Rochestown Park Hotel.
He will take questions on the rules of
Competitions as well as outline the recent changes to IAAF Rules.
There will be a County Board Officers Meeting next
Thursday in the SMA Hall in Wilton at 8pm to discus nominations for the
upcoming national AGM.
February 15th – County Novice and
Masters Road Championships
The
Cork County Novice and Masters Road Championships were held today
in Millstreet. Conditions were very
good and the course was very fast finishing on the Old Coach Road in
the
town.
The
mens race was an exciting affair, after the first lap the race was
led by Wisslaw Soznowski of Eagle with East Cork athletes Denis
McCarthy, Ian
O’Sullivan and James McCarthy. The lead
changed during the second lap with Denis McCarthy taking over to finish
first
and win the masters race. Soznowski won
the novice race with O’Sullivan and McCarthy second and third. The club competition was won by Eagle ahead
of Millstreet in second and their near neighbours Duhallow in 3rd. The winners of the masters race categories
are as follows: over 40 Denis McCarthy (East Cork); over 40 Eamonn
McEvoy (St
Finbarrs); over 50 John Quigley (Eagle); over 55 Michael Dunne (St
Finbarrs);
over 60 John O’Leary (Leevale); over 70 Willie Neenan (Millstreet). The masters club competition was won by
Eagle, St Finbarrs were second while Duhallow were third.
The
ladies race was dominated by Maria Hurley of Bantry who came to the
fore after the first hundred metres of the race and held on throughout
to win
comfortable. Mary Finn of Millstreet
was second while Anglea McEvoy of the Barrs was 3rd.
Millstreet won the team competition ahead of Bantry. Bantry won
the masters team competition.
Great
credit must go to all in Millstreet Athletic club who went to a
lot of trouble to host the event and fielded teams in both races. The next big road championships are the
Munster masters and Novice & Senior which will be held in March. Clubs entering teams for these championships
are asked to contact County Team Manager Joe O’Flynn on 087 9614567 so
County
Teams can be selected.
February 11th - National Indoor Championships
The National Indoor Championships are being held this weekend in Belfast. A number of cork athletes have been in impressive form of late. Ailis McSweeney of UCC will be among the favourites for the 60m sprint. Jer O'Donoghue of Leevale will be in very good company in the 60m sprint but after his recent performance in British AAA indoor championships, where he reached the final, he looks well capable of winning a medal.
February 9th – County Road Championships
The County Novice and Masters Road Championships take
place
in Millstreet on Sunday next at 1pm.
Race headquarters are in Millstreet GAA. Entries
to be with County Competition Secretary Pat Buckley by
Wednesday, February 11th (5a Ashgrove Park, Bishopstown, Cork). Previous winners of this race are ineligible
to participate.
The first round of the Munster juvenile Indoor
Championships are on in Nenagh this weekend.
Best of Luck to the Cork athletes taking part!
February 8th – Cork win National
Intermediate Men’s Title
The national intermediate and masters cross country championships were held today in Dungarvan. Conditions were ideal and there were very exciting races. (full Results - Leevale Website)
Carmel Parnell (above left - 368) of Leevale got the day
off
to a very good start for Cork finishing 2nd overall in the masters
ladies race
leading the Cork team to silver. Joan
Hough (above right, 365) of St Finbarrs was 9th overall leading the St
Finbarrs
team to silver. Mary Sweeney, Angela
McEvoy and Mary Murphy of St Finbarrs also scored for the Cork Team. Carmel Parnell won the over 45 category
while Joan Hough was second.
Cathal O’Connell of St Finbarrs was involved in a very
exciting masters men’s race. He was in
the leading group from the early stages and as the leading group
stretched out
over the last lap he was left in 3rd.
Tony Archer of St Finbarrs had a good run in this race as did
his club
mate Eamonn McEvoy. East Cork
athletes
Denis McCarthy and Martin Drake also had a good run as did Tommy Murphy
(left)
of Skibbereen helping the county win silver.
The following athletes won individual medals – Cathal O’Connell
3rd over
45, Frank Cashman (East Cork) 3rd over 55, John O’Leary (Leevale) 3rd
over 65,
Willie Neenan (Millstreet) 1st over 70.
Orla Drumm of UCC was 2nd in the intermediate ladies
race. Jennifer Goggin of UCC who has
had a very good season was the first Cork athlete over the line in 9th. Carmel Crowley McCarthy (far right) of
Bandon was 11th, Catherine Keohane (near right) of Leevale was 21st
while
County Novice Cross Country Champion Sharon McGarry of St Finbarrs was
24th. The county finished 3rd overall
while UCC won bronze in the inter-club.
In the intermediate mens race there was an impressive performance by the County team. Alan O’Shea of Bantry/West Cork, George Murray of North Cork, David Doherty of Togher and Fergus Meade of East Cork were in the leading group after the first lap. O’Shea was still to the fore at the half way mark. He slipped back into third in the last few laps but held on to cross the line in 3rd place. David Doherty and George Murray were locked in a fantastic battle over the last few laps of the race for the 4th position with Doherty just edging out Murray to finish 4th while Murray was 5th. County Novice Cross Country Champions Fergus Meade was 9th, Derek O’Leary of St Finbarrs was 15th, Josh Palmer of Togher was 19th, Eric Meade of East Cork was 22nd. Also running well were James McMahon of East Cork and Thomas Maunsell of Leevale. Cork won the inter-county title while East Cork won silver in the inter-club competition. Togher were 4th missing out on the bronze by only a few points. (Cork Results)
February 7th – Good Indoor
Performances
Ailis McSweeney, one of the top sprinters in the country
last year, had a fantastic performance today in England at the British
World
Indoor Trials finishing second in the 60m setting a new personal best. Paddy O’Gorman of CIT won the intervarsities
indoor 400m while Orla Drumm of UCC won the 3000m.
February 5th – County Board
Meeting
A number of items were discussed at yesterdays county
board meeting. At the juvenile meeting
the dates were set for the County juvenile Track and Field
Championships – Sunday
May 2nd & 9th. The proposed dates
for the Munster juvenile T&F were June 12/13th and
26/27th,
these dates are subject to approval by Munster Council.
County teams that competed all over the
country during the cross country season were congratulated.
The senior meeting was presided over by new chairperson
Noreen Murphy. Tim Ahern of Blarney
Inniscarra was nominated as vice chair of the County board, a position
he
accepted. The dates for the County
Masters and Senior T&F were set for Sunday May 16th and 23rd. Michael O’Hart will hold an officials
seminar on Wednesday Feb 18th at 7.30pm in the SMA Hall in Wilton
(venue may
change). He will explain recent changes
in IAAF rules and takes questions on competition rules and regulations. The County board nominated a number of
persons to the local sports for a which will be set up under the Cork
local
sports partnership in the next few months.
The national AGM will be held in Donegal in April – the county
will have
~25 votes at this AGM, persons interested in travelling should contact
the
county secretary.
February 1st – County Board
Meeting
There
is a county board meeting on Wednesday February 4th in the SMA
Hall in Wilton, Cork at 7.30pm.
February 1st - County Novice and
Masters Road Championships
The
county novice and masters road championships will be held in
Milstreet on Sunday February 15th at 1pm.
The distances are 4 miles for men and two miles for women. Entries to County senior competition
secretary (Paddy Buckley, 5a Ashgrove Park, Bishopstown, Cork) by
Wednesday
11th of February.
February 1st – Training for
Competition Judges & Coaching Courses
Mr
Michael O’Hart will be coming to Cork on Wednesday February 18th to
hold a training session for judges at a Cork City venue.
Persons interested in attending this course
should contact the County Secretary at or before the next County Board
meeting
(Wednesday February 4th)
Persons
interested in doing coaching courses should contact the County
Coaching Coordinator Finbarr McCarthy, for contact details email: corkathletics@eircom.net.
January 31st – National Masters
Indoors
There
were very impressive performances at the national masters indoors
in Nenagh today. Brendan Dennehy of
Rising Sun who won 4 gold at the Munster masters indoors added the 4
corresponding national medals to his collection winning the over 55
60m, 200m,
long jump and high jump. Willie Neenan
of Millstreet won the over 70 400m, 800m and 1500m.
Paul Dinan of St Finbarrs won the over 45 800m while Con
O’Donovan of Rising Sun won the over 60 200m.
There were middle distance doubles for two Cork women in this
event with
Carmel Crowley of Bandon winning the o35 1500m & 3000m while Mary
Sweeney
of St Finbarrs won the over 40 800m & 3000m. Maura
McCarthy of Bantry won the over 40 long jump. Results
January 27th - Munster Awards
The Munster Sports Star awards are being held in the Lanterns Hotel, Tarbert, Co. Kerry on Friday January 30th. A number of Cork athletes have been nominated for these awards. Brendan O’Connor (Beara), Katey Byrd (Belgooly), Christopher Crowley (Belgooly), Conor Sheehy (Togher), Donncha O’Mahony (East Cork), Ailis McSweeney (Leevale) and Michelle Cronin (Bantry). A number of clubs are also receiving awards at this event – Togher, Leevale, UCC, Ballincollig, St Finbarrs and Rising Sun.
January 25th - National Juvenile Cross Country Relays
Cork teams performed well at this competition today in Athlone. The event was held in Athlone IT and conditions and facilities were very good. The Cork under 14 girls won gold, the under 12 boys won silver while the under 14 boys won bronze. Well done to all. The National B juvcenile cross country championships were also held in conjunction with this event and results will be published on the AAI website
January 24th – Celtic Cross Country
Cork athletes did themselves proud at the Celtic International Cross Country in Scotland today. Brian McMahon had a fantastic run finishing 2nd and winning gold with the Irish team. Ciaran O'Lionaird was 10th in the under17 race.
January 21st – Celtic Cross Country
The
Celtic Cross Country takes place in Ayr, Scotland on Saturday. Two Cork athletes are on the teams. Ciaran
O’Lionaird of Leevale is on the under 17 team while Brian McMahon of
Carraig na
bhFear is on the under 23 team. Best of
luck to both athletes who head for Scotland on Friday.
January 20th– Cork Teams for
National Masters & Intermediate Cross Country Championships
The
national masters & intermediate cross country championships
will take place in Dungarvan on Sunday February 8th. Any member of the Cork team unable to take
part is asked to contact County Team manager Joe O’Flynn on 087 9614567.
The
Cork teams are as follows:
Intermediate
Men: Eric & Fergus Meade
(East
Cork), Josh Palmer, David Doherty, Stephen Macklin, Fergal Tubridy,
Kieran
Hurley sub, Pat Browne sub (Togher), Sean Whelan, Ger
Dunlea
(Eagle), Alan O’Shea (Bantry), Michael Herlihy, George Murray, Ger
McAuliffe
(North Cork), Trevor Woods (St Finbarrs).
Intermediate
Women: Sharon McGarry, A.
Amoeba (St
Finbarrs), Carmel Crowley, Elaine Crowley (Bandon), Olga Cronin (East
Cork),
Catherine Keohane (Leevale), Jennifer Goggin (UCC), Emma Legrand
(Eagle).
Masters
Men: Cathal O’Connell, Eamonn
McEvoy, Michael
Murphy, Paul Dinan, Richie Crowley, Willie Hayes sub (St
Finbarrs),
Denis McCarthy, Martin Drake, T Hartnett, B. O’Regan, Frank Cashman sub,
T. Twomey sub (East Cork), Tommy Murphy (Skibbereen), T. Smyth,
Pat
Murphy (Eagle),
Masters
Women: Mary Sweeney, Angela
McEvoy, Mary Murphy,
Joan Hough (St Finbarrs), Frances Regan (Skibbereen), Carmel Parnell
(Leevale),
Maria Hurley, Fiona Begley sub, Maura McCarthy sub
(Bantry), Liz
Coomey sub, Carmel Crowley (Bandon).
January 18th – Munster Senior
& Junior Cross Country Results
The Munster Senior and junior Cross Country Championships were held today in Carrignavar. Great credit must go to hosts Carraig na bhFear athletic club and land owner Teddy O’Sullivan who went to great trouble to ensure all went well. Conditions were ideal with bright sun shining and perfect underfoot conditions.
The first race of the day was the junior ladies race. The Cork challenge was led by Aoife Cooke of Youghal (left), Joyce Curtin of Glenbower and Louise Finn of Belgooly. At the half way stage it was a battle between Aoife Cooke and Maria Halley of Ferrybank. With 300m to go Maria pulled ahead of Aoife. Aoife then came under pressure from Ellen Scanlon of St Cronans and finished in third only a few seconds behind Ellen. Cork were the best county in this competition and had a clean sweep of the club prizes. The scorers for Cork were Aoife Cooke & Sarah O’Shea (Youghal), Joyce Curtin (Glenbower) and Louise Finn of Belgooly. Glenbower won the team competition (Joyce Curtin, Ciara Walsh, Michelle Aherne, Evelyn Cleary, Eadaoin O’Neill). Duhallow in their first Munster junior Cross Country Championships were second. The young Duhallow team was Carol Finn, Michelle Finn, Rose Twohig and Michelle Twohig. Youghal (Aoife Cooke, Sarah O’Shea, Clara Hennessy and Mary O’Brien) were 3rd.
Highlight of
the
day were the senior races. The senior
men’s race was dominated by Cork athletes.
Alan O’Shea of Bantry went into an early lead in the
senior mens
race followed closely by Brian McMahon of Carraig na bhFear, David
Doherty of
Togher and Donncha O’Mahony of East Cork.
At the halfway mark Alan O’Shea dropped back into third. Donncha O’Mahony and Brian McMahon ran
shoulder to shoulder for the next few laps in a thrilling battle for
first
place. The Cork County senior champion
Donnncha O’Mahony opened up a gap between himself and Brian in the
final lap
crossing the line to become the Munster Champion. Brian
McMahon, who ran in the Belfast international cross country
recently was 2nd, while George Murray of North Cork, County 10 mile
Road
champion was 3rd. Cork
(Donncha, Brian, Alan, George, David Doherty of Togher and Des Casey of
Millstreet) won the intercounty competition and had a clean sweep of
the club
prizes with East Cork (Donncha, Fergus & Eric Meade, Denis McCarthy
and
John Walshe) winning ahead of St Finbarrs and North Cork.
Most encouraging about this race was the
number of young Cork athletes taking part who have only recently turned
senior.
(Picture Fergus Meade and Donnacha O’Mahony of East Cork)
The ladies race was won by last years winner Louise Cavanagh (left) of UCC. Louise controlled the race from early on, taking the lead after the first 500metres. Niamh O’Sullivan and Maura Prendeville of Ríocht followed Louise but were never given the chance to mount a challenge, finishing 2nd and 3rd. UCC (Louise Cavanagh, Orla Drumm, Courtney Qurin, Jennifer Goggin, Angela Shine) won the team competition ahead of St Finbarrs and Ríocht. Carmel Parnell of Leevale, who has had a very impressive season, winning the Home Countries International Masters Cross Country in Cardiff in November, finished 4th helping Cork (Louise Cavanagh, Carmel Parnell, Joan Hough of St Finbarrs & Anne Marie Healy of Eagle) win the intercounty competition. Orla Drumm of UCC was 5th while Carmel Crowley who led the race early on was 6th.
The junior mens race was a very close affair with a leading group of Sean Hehir of Marian, Paul Stephenson & Philip Conway of Ferrybank, Timmy O’Donoghue of Glenbower and John Shine of Leevale running together for most of the race. Sean Hehir made a decisive break in the last lap to win ahead of Paul Stephenson and Timmy O’Donoghue. Ferrybank won the team prize for the first time while Waterford won the intercounty title.
The Cork junior men’s team was 2nd. Timmy O’Donoghue (right) of Glenbower had a very good run in this race working his way up through the field to finish 3rd. John Shine of Leevale also ran well finishing 5th. Togher were 3rd in the team competition.
January 14th – County Juvenile Cross Country
Relay Trials
The
County Juvenile Cross Country Relay trials were held today in
Carrignavar. There were some very
exciting races and the teams will now go forward and compete in the
National
Juvenile Cross Country Relays in Athlone next Sunday.
Best of luck to the teams!
January 14th – Countdown to Munster
Championships
The
Munster Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships will be held in
Carrignavar on Sunday January 18th.
Cork fared wll last year winning a number of County titles.
Strong Cork
teams have been entered – The mens team will be lead by county champion
Donncha
O’Mahony of East Cork. Also on this
team are David Doherty (Togher), George Murray & Gareth Barry
(North Cork),
Brian McMahon (Carrignavar) all of who won Munster or County Titles
this year.
The ladies team will be led by International cross country athlete
Valarie
Vaughan of Blarney Inniscarra, also on the team is Louise Cavanagh of
UCC who
won silver at the County Senior Cross Country, Munster Novice Champion
Olga
Cronin of East Cork is also on the team. International athlete Jamie
McCarthy
of Riverstick Kinsale who won the Belfast International Cross country
last week
leads the County Junior mens team while County Champion Aoife Cooke of
Youghal
leads the junior ladies team. For
further details see www.corkathletics.org. Competition gets underway at
1pm in
Carrignavar.
Teams:
Senior
Men: Donncha O’Mahony &
Fergus Meade (East Cork),
Bryan McMahon (Carraig na bhFear), Gareth Barry, George Murray, Ivan
O’Connell
& Ger McAuliffe (North Cork), David Doherty & Josh Palmer
(Togher),
Cathal O’Connell & Derek O’Leary (St Finbarrs), Sean Whelan
(Eagle), Alan
O’Shea (Bantry), Cillian O Tuama (Leevale), Des Casey (Millstreet).
Senior
Women: Louise Cavanagh, Angela
Shine, Jennifer Gogin
&Zara Murphy (UCC), Olga Cronin (East Cork), Anne Marie Healy
(Eagle),
Sharon McGarry, Joan Hough & Blaithin Ni Hannon (St Finbarrs),
Carmel
Parnell (Leevale), Brid Ni Conaill (Raheny), Valarie Vaughan (Blarney
Inniscarra).
Junior Men: Jamie McCarthy (Riverstick Kinsale), Timmy
O’Donoghue, Diarmuid Collins, Joe Fitzgerald & Ronan McCarthy (East
Cork),
Mark Hanrahan, Damien Dunlea, Keith Linehan, Alex Daunt, Ciaran
O’Lionaird,
John Shine & Richard O’Connor (Leevale), Peter Fennell & Shane
Lynch
(Togher).
Junior
Women: Aoife Cooke, Sarah
O’Shea, Mary Beecher &
Deirdre Cronin (Youghal), Louise Finn & Christina Broderick
(Belgooly),
Maire Heffernan (Liscarroll), Rose Twohig (Duhallow), Aoife McCarthy
(North
Cork), Joyce Curtin (East Cork), Oonagh Crotty (Carraig na bhFear).
January 15th – Belgooly 4 Prize Giving
The prizes
for the Belgooly 4 were presented last night in the Viaduct Inn. The race raised over €1000 for the Cork
University Hospital Bowel Cancer treatment Fund. Well
done to Belgooly for organising the race and raising the
money.
January 12th- Mallow 10
The Irish Sugar
Mallow 10 was held yesterday. There was
a fantastic turn out at the event with over 287 finishers.
The race incorporated the County 10 mile
Road Championships. George Murray of
North Cork and Cathal O’Connell of St Finbarrs were involved in a
thrilling
finish with George winning out to become County Champion.
In the ladies race there was a surprise
winner with O. Barry winning of Grange Fermoy winning ahead of Mary
Sweeney of
St Finbarrs, last years winner. Well
done to Mallow A.C. for organising the race.
The next big County Road Championship Race will be the County
Novice and
Road Championships in Millstreet on February 15th.
January 11th – Munster Senior
and
Junior Indoor Championships.
There were some
impressive performances by Cork athletes at the Munster Indoor
Championships
today in Nenagh. In the senior events a
number of Cork athletes won Gold. Ger
O’Donoghue of Leevale won the 60m.
Gareth Barry of North Cork won the 3000m. Fergus
Meade of East Cork won the 1500m. Ailis
McSweeney of UCC won the ladies 60m
and 200m. Dawn Kelly of Belgooly won
the 800m. In the junior competitions a
number of Cork athletes won gold, Mera O’Connor of Belgooly won the 60m
hurdles, Christopher Crowley of Belgooly won the high jump. Carl McNamara of Leevale won the 200m. Nicole O’Regan of Togher won the 400m while
Kathleen Fitzgerald of Leevale won the shot.
Belgooly had a double in the jumps with Katey Byrd winning the
triple
jump and Christina Broderick winning the high jump.
Louise Finn of Belgooly won the 1500m. It
was also encouraging to see other Cork clubs win medals –
Liscarroll, Ballincollig and Blarney Inniscarra. Results
January 11th – Belfast
International
Cross Country
There were some
very impressive performances by young Cork athletes at the Belfast
International Cross Country yesterday.
In the junior mens race Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale was
an
impressive winner. His performance
helped the Irish team win gold in this race.
Jamie has had a very impressive cross country season winning the
County
Junior Cross Country in November and running for the Irish team in the
European
Junior Cross Country Championships in Scotland in December. UCC student Brian McMahon, who runs with
Carraig na bhFear athletic club, finishing in 29th position was first
home for
the Irish Universities Cross Country team in the senior race. Brian, the current Munster under 23 cross
country champion was a member of the bronze winning Cork team at the
National
Inter County Cross Country Championships last year.
January 10th – Munster Sports
Star
Awards
The Munster
Sports Star awards are being held in the Lanterns Hotel, Tarbert, Co.
Kerry on
Friday January 30th. A number of Cork
athletes have been nominated for these awards.
Brendan O’Connor (Beara), Katey Byrd (Belgooly), Christopher
Crowley
(Belgooly), Conor Sheehy (Togher), Donncha O’Mahony (East Cork), Ailis
McSweeney (Leevale) and Michelle Cronin (Bantry). A
number of clubs are also receiving awards at this event –
Togher, Leevale, UCC, Ballincollig, St Finbarrs and Rising Sun. Tickets @ €30 are available form the Kerry
Athletics Association of Ireland – contact Denis McSweeney (066
7147065/087
7995647) Kilsarcon, Currow, Killarney, Co. Kerry. Tickets
should be ordered before January 20th.
January 10th – County Juvenile
Relay
Trials
Trials
for the Cork County All Ireland Juvenile Cross Country Relays in
Athlone, Co. Westmeath on Sunday January 25th. Will be held in
Carrignavar on
Sunday January 18th at 11.00am. The
Trials will be for under 13 and under 15 athletes (2004 age groups) and
only
athletes able to travel to the All Irelands are asked to take part.
January 10th – Belgooly 4
Prize
Giving
Presentations
of Prizes for the Belgooly 4 held on Dec 26th
2003 will take place in the Viaduct Inn, Bishopstown at 8pm on
Wednesday,
January 14th. Prizegiving on
the day of the race had to postponed due to the sudden death of
Belgooly club
president Dick Copithorne. Prize
winners unable to attend are asked to contact Rose Copthorne on 086
8411193 (Results)
January 10th – County AGM –
New
Chairman
Outgoing Chairman John Smyth handing over the Chain of
Office to new
Chair Noreen Murphy
The Cork County
Athletics Association of Ireland held its AGM on Saturday January 10th. The AGM was held in Carrignavar Community
Centre, the first time the County AGM was held outside the city. It was fitting that the AGM was held in
Carrignavar as Noreen Murphy of the Carraig na bhFear Athletic Club was
elected
as Chairman. Numerous Tributes were paid to outgoing chairman John
Smyth who
has been involved in the Sport since the 1960’s at various levels. In
his
address he complimented all those who keep the Sport alive
and well in Cork – his fellow officers, the clubs and the
athletes. The highlight of his time as Chairman was the amalgamation of
the two
athletics bodies in Ireland and officiating at the Special Olympics
last
summer. He commented that he would like
to see an Irish Special Games held every year.
Noreen Murphy in her first speech as chair of the board thanked
all
those who helped over the years especially her club Carraig na bhFear
who have
worked so hard alongside her over the years.
She said it was a great honour for her and she looked forward to
the
next year.
The meeting
discussed a number of motions which clubs will be advised of over the
next few
weeks. The next County Board meeting
will be on Wednesday, February 4th in the SMA Hall in Wilton.
Cork County
Athletics Board Officers for 2004: Chair: Noreen Murphy, Vice Chair:
Terry
O’Sullivan & Dan McCarthy, Secretary: Maura McCarthy, Treasurer:
Pat Walsh,
PRO: Padraig Kelly, Competition Sec.: Paddy Buckley, Registrar: John
Copithorne, Team Manager: Joe O’Flynn, Starters: Ted Murray, John
Meagher,
Donie O’Leary & John O’Riordan, Recorder: Ted Murray, Delegates to
Munster
Council: TJ Buckley, John Copithorne, Liam Fleming, Mary Kenneally&
Mary
Meagher, Munster Masters Committee Rep.: Tim Fitzpatrick, Munster
Juvenile
Committee Rep.: Mary Meagher, Juvenile Committee: Tim Fitzpatrick
(Chairman),
Tom Houlihan (Vice chair), Mary Meagher (Competition Secretary).
January 6th – County AGM
The
Cork County AAI will hold its annual general meeting this Saturday
(Jan 11th) in Carrignavar Community Centre at 2pm.
A large number of motions have been submitted and these will be
discussed at the meeting. The meeting
will begin with officers reports followed by the election of officers,
the
motions will then be discussed.
January 5th – Cork Teams for
Munster
Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships
The
Munster Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships will be held in
Carrignavar on Sunday January 18th.
Cork fared wll last year winning a number of County titles.
Strong Cork
teams have been entered – The mens team will be lead by county champion
Donncha
O’Mahony of East Cork while the ladies team will be led by
International cross
country athlete Valarie Vaughan of Blarney Inniscarra. International
athlete
Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale heads the County Junior mens team
while
County champion Aoife Cooke of Youghal leads the junior ladies team.
January 4th – Good Results at Indoors over the weekend.
There
were some impressive performances by Cork athletes at the Indoor
competitions held over the weekend. The
Munster Masters indoors held on Saturday saw a number of Cork athletes
win
gold. Most impressive were Brendan
Dennehy of Rising Sun and Maura McCarthy who won the 60m, 200m, long
jump and
high jump in their age categories. M Dunne of Grange Fermoy won the O50 800m, 1500m & 3000m while E
Finnegan of Rising Sun also had a treble
winning the O45 60m, 200m & long jump. Carmel
Crowley of Bandon and Mary Sweeney of St Finbarrs had
double winning the over 35 1500m & 3000m and over 800m & 3000m. Other gold medal winners included Tommy
Dunne of Skibbereen, Liz Coomey of Bandon, Marion Lyons & Paul
Dinan of St
Finbarrs and M Barry of Grange Fermoy.
At the
AAI Games on Sunday more Cork athletes impressed. Ger
O’Donoghue of Leevale won gold in the
60m as did clubmate Paddy O’Gorman in the 400m. National
U23 100m Champion Ailis McSweeney of Leevale wonthe 60m
and won silver in the 200m. Also
impressing at the games were Belgooly athletes Katey Byrd, Louise Finn
and
Christina Broderick. Results
January 4th – Irish Sugar
Mallow 10
The
first
county championship event of the year, the county 10 mile road
championships
will be held in conjunction with the Mallow Irish Sugar 10 on Sunday
(Jan
11th). The race is over a flat course
and starts at 12.30pm. Entry is
€5. There is a non competitive 10 km
walk starting at 12pm. Race headquarters
is in the Mallow Youth Centre near the swimming pool.
For further details contact Jerry McCarthy 021 7333004 or John
Holland 022 21280.
January 1st – Bandon &
Newmarket
Kanturk Results
The Newmarket
to
Kanturk race was won by Noel Berkley of DSD, the ladies race was won by
Valarie
Vaughan of Blarney Inniscarra. The
Bandon 5 was won by Alan O’Shea of Bantry while the laides race was won
by
Carmel Crowley of Bandon.
December 28th - Bandon 5
The Bandon 5 will be held on New Year day in Bandon at 2.30pm. The Munster Master indoor championships will be held on Sunday Jan 4th in Nenagh.
December 26th -Belgooly 4
The Belgooly 4 was held today, race winners were Martin McCarthy and Carmel Parnell of Leevale.
December 14th - European Cross Country Success
The big athletics news today will be the fantastic performance of the Irish Senior Ladies Cross Country Team in Scotland . The team one of the strongest named in a number of years by Ireland included two of Irelands greatest female athletes. The Irish team won silver in one of the most exciting races in a number of years. First home for the Irish team was Cork ’s Sonia O’Sullivan in 4th place. The Ballymore Cobh athlete had a very good race, she was up with the leaders from the very start. She was 4th after the first lap and a half but slipped back into fifth. In the second lap she regained her fourth position and held on to cross the line only 8 seconds behind the third placed athlete.
Next home for Ireland was the winner of the Cork Ladies Mini Marathon Rosemary Ryan, Another former winner of the Ladies mini marathon Anne Keenan Buckley was the third scorer for the team while Catherina McKiernan, just over a recent bout of the flu was the fourth scorer.
This was a fantastic team performance by the Irish ladies team who beat a number of very strong European teams and hopefully with the World Cross Country Championships coming up in March we can hope for more team medals. For the record the winner of the ladies race was Britains Paula Radcliffe, and top team were Britain .
The Irish men’s junior team were 7th in their race, Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale was a member of this team and finished 69th. The Irish Junior ladies team was also in action finished 8th. UCC student Orla Drumm was on this team and finished 66th. The Irish Senior men’s team was 10th.
November 15th - National Inter County Cross Country Championships
The Munster Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held recently in Killarney. Ideal conditions brought out the best in athletes and spectators were treated to some very exciting races. County Novice Cross Country Champions Fergus Meade ran well in the men’s race finishing 4th overall leading Cork to the silver medal in the inter county competition. Former County 800m champion Billy O’Flaherty in 5th helped his team Skibbereen finish in the silver medal position. In the ladies race St Finbarrs led home by Angela McEvoy in 6th were 2nd in the inter club competition.
In the juvenile races there were some very good results for Cork . Ciarán O’Lianaird of Leevale and Sally McCarthy of Grange Fermoy current Munster under 17 champions added the under 16 titles to their collection. Rachel O’Shea of Beara also won another Munster title winning the under 10 race. Niall Griffin of Glenbower won the under 14 race while Denis O’Sullivan of Leevale won the under 10 race. Cork teams fared well, the Cork Girls Under 18, Boys under 10, 14 & 18 won gold. The Girls Under 14 & 16 and Boys under 16 won silver. The Cork Girls under 12 and Boys under 12 won Bronze. Glenbower, Youghal, Leevale and Togher all won prizes in the club competition.
November 8th - County Cross Country Championships
The Cork County Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships were held today in Kilmichael. Conditions were testing with nasty showers and a strong breeze testing competitors over what is regarded as a fast course. Host club, West Muskerry and landowners, Sean & Angela O'Lianaird deserve great credit for organising the event which ran very well. Also many thanks to Peadar and Mairín O'Lianaird of Folláin in Cúil Aodh who provided pots of jam and relish for race finishers.
The men's senior race was a very exciting race. Four times County Cross Country Champion Donnacha O'Mahony of East Cork was involved in the race from early on and led a breakaway group of Fergus Meade (East Cork) and Bryan McMahon (Carraig na bhFear) in the early stages. After the third lap he broke clear to win the race comfortably ahead of club mate and County Novice Champion Fergus Meade. In third place was Mark Hanrahan of Leevale still a junior athlete, 4th was Munster under 23 champion Bryan McMahon, 5th former national 1500m Champion Gareth Barry of North Cork, 6th Munster Novice Champion David Doherty of Togher. The team competition was very close with only a point separating North Cork and East Cork with 1 lap to go. There were anxious moments as the team scores were calculated. East Cork emerged 2003 Champions with only a few points to spare over North Cork who are celebrating 25 years in existence this year. Togher missing last years Champion Robert Heffernan and Stephen Macklin who withdrew due to injury finished 3rd on 55 points. St Finbarrs won the B grade competition ahead of Eagle.
The senior ladies race turned out to be a battle between two of the top athletes in Cork with Freda Davoren and Louise Kavanagh of UCC running shoulder to shoulder for most of the race. With 300m to go track specialist Freda Davoren broke clear to win the race. Louise was 2nd. In third place was World Masters 5000m champion Carmel Parnell of Leevale, 4th Munster Novice Champion Olga Cronin of East Cork, 5th Joan Hough of St Finbarrs who will run for Ireland in the Home Countries International Masters Cross Country on November 22nd, 6th was Angela Shine of UCC. UCC won the team competition, last scorer for UCC was Jennifer Goggin. St Finbarrs were second club, while East Cork was 3rd.
The junior mens race was won by Jamie McCarthy of Riverstick Kinsale who came to the front early in the race and held on throughout. Ciaran O'Lianaird of Leevale , still under 16 was 2nd after outsprinting Timmy O'Donoghue of Glenbower who was 3rd. Leevale won the team competition, team - Ciaran O'Lianaird, Keith Linehan, Thomas Maunsell & John Shine, Glenbower were 2nd, team - Timmy O'Donoghue, Diarmuid Collins, Joe Fitzgerald & Ronan McCarthy.
Aoife Cooke (Left) of Youghal was an impressive winner of the junior ladies race ahead of Louise Finn of Belgooly. Maire Heffernan of Liscarroll was 3rd. Youghal won the team competition here, team - Aoife Cooke, Sarah O'Shea, Deirdre Cronin, Mary Beecher.