Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC

April 2015
Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC - TJ O'Mahony, The Rosscarbery Steam Engine The Rosscarbery Steam Engine
The only known photo of Timothy Joseph (TJ) O'Mahony, aka, The Rosscarbery Steam Engine

At the April meeting of Cork Athletics monthly Board meeting, Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC was approved as a member club.  As per procedure, the club's membership must be formally ratified at the next Cork Athletics Annual Convention.  The Board and member clubs present at the meeting were delighted to welcome teh new club, who were represented at the meeting.

The Rosscarbery Steam Engine
The club derives its name from Timothy Jerome (TJ) O'Mahony, an athlete of world renown who was born and lived in Rosscarbery, before moving to Dublin.

From Ralph Riegel's Irish Independent Article:
"He is an example to our young people that Irish athletes from even the smallest towns and villages can take on and beat the world's best," Mr O Muircheartaigh said.

TJ O'Mahony ranked as the GAA's Irish champion in the quarter-mile (400 metres) for three years (1885, 1887 and 1888) and as the Irish Amateur Athletic Association's (IAAA) national champion in 1886.
The son of a Rosscarbery shopkeeper, he was one of the leading lights in west Cork GAA and was the first secretary of the Carbery Rangers club.
When the fledgling GAA organised a promotional and fundraising tour of the US in 1888, Mr O'Mahony became the star of the show -- defeating all the American champions he faced.
Because US athletes of the period were considered the finest on the planet -- even without Olympic or World Championship competition -- he returned home as the uncrowned world champion.
His exploits at a gala meet in New York's Madison Square Garden made all the US newspapers -- with one American paper describing him as the 'Steam Engine' for the manner in which he defeated all US middle-distance champions.

Career
Mr O'Mahony arrived back in Ireland as a hero but his athletics career only lasted a few short years.
After retiring from the sports world, he took up journalism and set up home in Dublin. He worked as a sports reporter for more than 20 years before he died in Smithfield in Dublin in 1914 from heart failure when he was just 50.
His legacy was slowly forgotten over time but in recent years efforts have been made to remind people of his remarkable achievements."

In 2012, a headstone was finally erected over his grave, in Glasnevin Cemetary, Dublin.
TJ O'Mahony's Headstone

Articles about on TJ O'Mahony, "The Rosscarbery Steam Engine

Irish Independent (Ralph Riegel)
Irish Examiner
Cork City Library
Irish Abroad
Irish Central
The GAA Museum
Find a Grave - includes photos of TJ O'Mahony's headstone

Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC

Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC - Flyer 2015
Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC - Dublin City Marathon 2014


The club meets on Wed evenings, at 8pm, at Warren Beach Carpark, and Sat mornings, at 7.45am for Advanced Runners, and 9am for Beginners / Intermediate, at layby just before Celtic Ross Hotel.
email Rosscarbery Steam Engine AC, or contact via the club's Facebook page
Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC - Intervals at the Warren

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