Cork City Marathon Report and Results - April 1984

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 Report and Results of Cork City Marathon 1984

Cork

Monday April 23rd 1984

This was a BLE registered event, incorporating the BLE National Marathon Championship

This course was measured by Jack O'Leary

 Cork City Marathon 1984 - Irish Runner Magazine Cover

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This article, by John Walshe, appeared in The Echo, on Tuesday June 16th 2020

Controversy in the 1984 Cork City Marathon as both winners were disqualified over breaking rules on logos

by John Walshe

Jerry Kiernan Wins 1984 Cork City Marathon

The Olympic Year of 1984 promised much for Irish athletics.

The previous August, Eamon Coghlan had won the 5000m at the inaugural World Championships, with Regina Joyce seventh in the marathon.

At the ’84 World Cross-Country, John Treacy showed he was getting back to his best when finishing 13th place.

The Los Angeles Olympic Marathon was being touted as the most eagerly awaited race ever at the distance. To qualify for this classic was the aim of Ireland’s leading exponents, as the year made famous by George Orwell got underway.

A major coup for the organisers and sponsors of the third Cork City Marathon came when the Irish governing body BLE designated it the national championship, incorporating the Olympic trial.

With this added boost, entries showed a big increase to almost 1,500. “It will be the most competitive race of its kind to be held in Ireland for years,” declared BLE President Paddy MGovern in the race programme.

For the elite, BLE had set stiff times of 2:14 (men) and 2:35 (women) as Olympic qualifying standards. The race was seen as the big showdown between Cork holder Jerry Kiernan and three-time national champion Dick Hooper.

Kiernan had already won the national cross-country, at Kilmacow, in February, while Hooper, as was his style, had concentrated solely on the 26.2 mile distance. Ever meticulous with his preparation, the Raheny-man even travelled down to Cork to train on the route.

The weather on this Easter Monday was unseasonably warm, with the date of April 23 being later than normal. The course was unchanged from the previous year and when the gun cracked on the South Mall, Kiernan immediately took the lead.

Action from the 1984 marathon

After the first mile, he had only Donie Walsh for company, with daylight stretching between them and a group which included Hooper, Ray Treacy, Bulgarian Nemov Stanimar and Galway’s Jimmy Fallon.

Kiernan reached three miles in 14:46, with Walsh dropping back to the chasers. At five miles, reached in 24:36, Kiernan was 150 yards clear, with the group now working together in an effort to close the gap.

Nearing the Regional Hospital, Hooper surged clear and started to eat into Kiernan’s lead. The gap was down to 11 seconds at 12 miles, with Hooper occasionally checking his watch, and the splits written on his arm. Coming into the city, Kiernan started to pull away again, and was over a half-minute clear at 15 miles reached in 74:42.

Along with the warm sunshine, the runners also had a strong easterly breeze to contend with as they headed down the Marina. Coming up to 19 miles, Kiernan appeared to be in some sort of distress, almost coming to a halt. After passing 20 miles in 1:40:48, he was forced to stop on two occasions.

Although word of Kiernan’s plight had reached Hooper, there wasn’t much he could do about it. “I was getting reports back, but I had hit the wall myself at 12 miles. It was a bad run for me,” he related afterwards.

With two miles left of this epic encounter, Kiernan’s lead was just 28 seconds, and it looked like he was just about going to hang on. However, coming into the South Mall, with the finish in sight, he had to stop again to ease the leg cramps.

With the large crowd urging him on, and the thought of final release in sight, he crossed the line a relieved man, just nine seconds ahead of the equally gallant Hooper.

In the circumstances, the times of 2:14:30 and 2:14:39 were remarkable. “There must have been 50 times when I thought I was not going to finish,” admitted Kieran. “I had cramps everywhere.”

Almost unnoticed, Gerry Deegan had finished strongest of all, to take third, in 2:18:20.

Once again, the spectacle up front took from the women’s race, where Emily Dowling was determined to make an attempt on the standard of 2:35. But the strong breeze coming up to 18 miles slowed her and, after reaching 20 miles in 2:03, she realised she wasn’t going to achieve her aim and retired.

Her DCH team-mate Deirdre Nagle didn’t realise she was in the lead until nearing the South Mall, and was therefore surprised to take her first marathon win, in a time of 2:48:26, over a minute clear of Christine Kennedy from Galway.

In third, after attracting a lot of pre-race publicity as the local hope, 1983 winner Lucy O’Donoghue recorded a personal best of 2:56:06 after moving up from 12th at halfway.

As the remaining finishers struggled to cross the line in various states of exhaustion and exhilaration, they were unaware of the drama unfolding alongside them in the Imperial Hotel.

Because the size of the advertising logos on Kiernan’s and Deirdre Nagle’s vests transgressed the IAAF rules, the two winners were disqualified. The ironic fact was that both were wearing adidas apparel, the sponsor of the marathon.

An exhausted Jerry Kiernan rests after winning the 1984 Cork City Marathon.

“It’s not our ruling,” pointed out Eddie Spillane, PRO of BLE. “It is an IAAF rule and all athletes are aware of it. Before the race, officials approached individual athletes and told them they were wearing illegal vests.”

It also put the Cork County Board and its chairman Reg Hayes in a quandary as adidas sponsored the Board, along with most of the races in the county. The decision was also not lost on Michael O’Connell of adidas who called on BLE to clarify the position regarding sponsorship in writing.

But it wasn’t over yet.

At the prize presentation, Dick Hooper was declared the winner of the National Championship. When presented with the winning trophy and medal, he turned and handed it to Kiernan and in a brief emotional speech said: “As much as it breaks my heart, I didn’t win this race and I now hand over the trophy to the real winner.”

The packed room broke into thunderous roars of applause and both Kiernan and Hooper were given standing ovations, much to the obvious embarrassment of the BLE officials.

There was a happy ending later when Kiernan and Hooper were both selected for the Olympics. Often much maligned for their selection policies, BLE for once played a trump card by awarding the third spot to John Treacy who went on to take the silver medal on that unforgettable August evening on the streets of Los Angeles.

Running the race of his life, Kiernan finished a magnificent ninth in what was the greatest marathon line-up in Olympic history.

His performance was understandably overshadowed by Treacy’s silver and the publicity he received paled in comparison to the front page news which dominated from that warm Easter Monday four months before.

RESULTS Summary

MEN

1 Jerry Kiernan 2.14.30; 2 Dick Hooper 2.14.39; 3 Gerry Deegan 2.18.20; 4 Paddy Murphy 2.19.03; 5 Nemov Stanimar 2.19.25; 6 Martin Deane 2.19.53; 7 John Bolger 2.20.13; 8 Greg Hannon 2.21.29; 9 John Griffin 2.23.26; 10 Murt Coleman 2.23.57.

Deirdre Nagle crosses the line at the Cork City Marathon in 1984

WOMEN

1 Deirdre Nagle 2.48.26; 2 Christine Kennedy 2.49.46; 3 Lucy O’Donoghue 2.56.04; 4 Audrey O’Brien 2.58.35; 5 Catherine Hennessy 3.00.14; 6 Nuala Logan 3.00.37.

Other well-known names among the finishers included:

Youghal native Christy Crowley won a silver team medal with Raheny when finishing 29th in 2:33:58.

Another Youghal man, George Walsh, just made the top sixty in a time of 2:45:21.

Seamus Casey of the Naval Service, now part of the Cork BHAA committee, ran 3:02:22 in his first-ever race.

Peter Gaffney from Mallow, another regular on the road race circuit, finished in 3:07:26.

Denis (DD) Murphy from Glanmire was close behind in a time of 3:08:14 with well-known shoe repairer Noel Muckley recording 3:08:37.

The late Tom Rawley finished in 3:09:18, just ahead of Stephen Murphy - then of Leevale, now with Rising Sun – who ran 3:09:28.

Christy O’Driscoll from Dublin Hill had a time of 3:15:52 with Joe Murphy from Eagle on 3:17:01 and Michael O’Connell of team Adidas recording 3:17:15.

Tim-Joe Buckley from Donoughmore ran 3:18:58, with Mary Murphy from Mallow taking the Munster Championship bronze medal in 3:19:50.

Tony Huff from Blackrock (3:32:05) was five seconds ahead of Denis Ryan (3:32:10).

 Patrick Buckley of St Finbarr’s AC, now chairman of the Cork Athletics County Board, finished in 3:42:52.

Irish Times Report April 5th 1983

 Jerry Kiernan crosses the line in the South Mall

Front Page - Irish Times Tuesday April 24th 1984

Winners Disqualified

There was an unprecedented development in the Irish Marathon Championship in Cork yesterday, when Gerry Kiernan was disqualified after crossing the line first in 2 hours 14 min's 30 secs. Kiernan, a Dublin schoolteacher, was judged to have broken the international rule governing the size of the lettering of advertising material on His singlet and the race was awarded to Dick Hooper, of Raheny.

"It was an unpopular action to have to take, but we were merely implementing the rule handed down by the governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation,” said BLE official Eddie Spillane.

Delrdre Nagle, the winner of the women's race, was also disqualified for wearing three advertising logos instead of the permitted one, on her singlet.

Irish Times reports Tuesday April 24th 1984


Irish Runner Report - May 1984, Vol 4, No 4, P16-21

adidas' two page ad in Irish Runner

It was very clear from the start of the adidas Cork City Marathon, on Easter Monday, that the defending champion, Jerry Kiernan was leaving nothing to chance, and that he was out to run his opposition into the ground.

Kiernan had come to Cork in a confident mood, and he was anxious to add the National B.L.E. Marathon Title to his National Cross-Country Victory and complete a unique double. Once the gun cracked in the South Mall, he chased into the lead and, at the first mile mark, he had already established some daylight between himself and a group that included Dick Hooper, the Bulgarian, Nemov Stanimar, Ray Treacy and Jimmy Fallon. At this point, Kiernan had only former National Marathon Champion Donie Walsh for company, and already he seemed to be establishing a very fluent rhythm.

Heading down The Mall, just after the 'off'

Donie Walsh and Jerry Kiernan

The second mile took just 4:55, and Kiernan’s split for two miles was 9:47, just ahead of Donie Walsh, who was beginning to fade off the hot pace even at this early stage. Kiernan kept up his relentless pace and, at three miles, he was well clear of Walsh who was now joined by a chasing group, who were beginning to form a good working unit, but who were still losing ground to the Clonliffe Harriers runner.

Early stages, in Anglesea St
Kiernan led through four miles, in 19:40, and was 16 seconds ahead of a group made up of Robert Costello, Jimmy Fallon, Nemov Stanimar and four times National Marathon Champion Dick Hooper. Then there was a gap back to Donie Walsh and Donie’s brother Michael, and Ray Treacy, who were running together ahead of Jim McGlynn. Further back came Greg Harmon, the Craig brothers, Neil Cusack, and then another gap to Danny McDaid and Eamonn Tierney, who were running together. Tony Ryan (Dungarvan) was next, just ahead of John Griffin (Tralee) and Paddy Murphy (Kildare).

The chasing pack in Turner's Cross

At six miles, (29:40) Kiernan had close to two hundred yards on a close knit group of Fallon, Hooper, Costello and the Bulgarian but this group, who were working well together, appeared to be capable of holding him in their sights. Michael Walsh and Ray Treacy came next ahead of Johnny Bolger, Jim McGlynn, Greg Hannon, Neil Cusack and Donie Walsh.
The Craig brothers, Martin Deane and Tony Ryan were now together further back, ahead of Damian McCay, John Griffin, Danny McDaid and Eamonn Tierney.

Just after seven and a half miles, Hooper and Costello detached themselves from the chasing group and, coming near the regional Hospital, Hooper surged clear and began to determinedly cut into Kiernan’s lead.

The Raheny man looked strong, and he could be seen checking his watch, and also his planned splits that he had written up along his arm.

At nine miles Hooper had eaten into Kiernan’s lead and there was just twenty seconds separating them (44:35), (44:55), with Costello back in third (45:04) ahead of Nemov, Fallon, Michael Walsh, Ray Treacy, Greg Hannon, Jim McGlynn, Johnny Bolger, Paul Craig and Donie Walsh.

Pairs Lead
Hooper had cut the lead down to 11 seconds at twelve miles and, in the press bus, the general opinion was that he was getting ready for the big swoop. He had worked well on his pace, and he was running with the same style and vigour that saw him set the fastest marathon on Irish soil in Limerick in 1982.

It was just after this point, however, that Kiernan picked up the pace again and, once again, we saw the gap widen. The gap had yawned to 19 seconds at the half way point (65:19 - 65:33) and it was now clear that Hooper had lost his momentum and was dropping back as Kiernan moved into overdrive.

There were still nineteen seconds between himself and Hooper at the fourteen mile mark, on Lavitt’s Quay. Along the quay we could see that Stanimer had now gone into third, ahead of Costello, Fallon and Michael Walsh.

Kiernan stretched the lead still further as he left the city and he had 37 seconds to spare at 15 miles, passed in 74:42.

Windy

The leader's pace dropped as he hit the strong wind that was blowing along the Marina, but, as we drew up alongside him in the Press Bus, it appeared that he was still full of running and looked very composed.

Coming up to nineteen miles Kiernan first began to show a chink in his armour as he slowed down, and almost came to a halt on a hill at this point. He appeared to have leg trouble, but he rallied bravely and continued with the task in hand.
The leader was still forty three seconds clear at 20 miles in 1:40:48 and, as he hit the Douglas Road, it seemed that he had rallied from his brief bad patch. However, he was forced to stop again on two occasions before reaching twenty two miles in 1:51:21.

Word of Kiernan’s plight had now gone back to Hooper, and he was closing hard, as Kiernan passed through twenty three miles in 1:56:06. At this point, Kiernan rallied again and his lead was just twenty eight seconds at twenty four miles, and it looked like he was going to hang on.

Kiernan was in trouble again with just three hundred yards of the race remaining, and he again stopped to ease his leg cramp. He now had the finish almost in his sights, and the thought of final release from his agony carried him to a diminishing nine second victory over the gallant Hooper.

The time of 2:14:39 was quite an achievement considering the bad patches that he encountered, and also taking into account the hot weather, and the strong winds that were a slowing factor on some of the course.

Dick Hooper finishing in 2nd place

Hooper’s time of 2:14:39 was a great performance, and one that suggests that he is fully recovered from the injury that sidelined him last vear.

However, Dick was anything but happy with his run, and especially as he felt that as early as ten miles he had the race within his grasp. I just came apart at twelve miles” he said afterwards, and from there on in I had to really gut it.” He felt that he should have taken in a half marathon as part of his race build up, as he had concentrated mainly on lowering his 10k time in the weeks previous to the event. “I had done all the work” he said, “but I feel that a half marathon race a few weeks before the big event would have made a great difference in my performance.

Jerry Kiernan was a relieved man that his big task was over, and he too admitted to having a nightmare run, from just after eighteen miles. He came close to throwing in the towel on a few occasions during the race, but he must have emerged a much stronger runner as a result of the experience. He is going to have to work hard on a solution to his cramping problems and he feels that one remedy to the problem may be to get his shoes specially built for him with special supports included. “I overpronate a lot” he said “and I think that this is part of my problem, when I race in very light shoes. I will definitely be working to overcome the problem”.

Third finisher was Gerry Deegan

The top ten placings in the race turned up a few surprises, as runners came through in the second part of the distance. Gerry Deegan created the biggest surprise, as he came through to take third place in 2:18:20 ahead of Paddy Murphy, Kildare, 2:19:03. Nenov Stanimar was fifth, in 2:19:25, and Martin Deane sixth, in 2:19:53.

Gerry Deegan was especially happy with his third placing, as he had run a very cautious race. He still had two bad memories of marathons in Boston and Dublin, where he had experienced bad cramps in his thighs. He was four mintues down, in twelfth place, at 12 miles, but at twenty one miles he was just two and a half minutes behind Kiernan. He ran sub five minute miles from twenty to twenty five miles, despite suffering from a bad stitch. “I sucked in air through my feeding bottle, and I had a terrible stitch from twenty one miles” he said.

Paddy Murphy places fourth

Paddy Murphy had also reason to be happy with his run, and he showed that experience is a big factor in marathon running when the chips are down.

With everyone engrossed in Hooper’s withering pursuit of the fugitive and cramp-wracked Kiernan, the action in the ladies was forgotten until the top men had finished, and all the Press saw was the action in the last mile by which point all had been decided. Emily Dowling went clear and, in the early stages, her closely female pursuer was Catherine Hennessey. Next came Deirdre Nagle shadowed by Audrey O’Brien and Nuala Logan, with Christine Kennedy pacing it nicely behind these, with Cork’s Lucy O’Donohue also in contention.

By fifteen miles Emily was two minutes clear of Deirdre who, in turn, was well clear of Christine Kennedy, who had come to the fore, ahead of Audrey, Nuala, Catherine and Lucy. Deirdre Nagle made a pit stop at sixteen miles, but still held second though she enabled Emily Dowling to double her lead. Between twenty and twenty one miles Emily unexpectedly called it a day, leaving Deirdre to come home the winner, ninety seconds clear of Christine Kennedy. With Catherine Hennessey paying for her early prominent showing, Audrey O’Brien shook off Nuala Logan, and went third at the twenty mile mark, but Lucy O’Donohue finished best of all, and overtook Audrey, pushing her back to fourth. Catherine took fifth, ahead of Nuala Logan who was very one paced over the last ten miles.

Deirdre Nagle - Womens Winner

Every line of form in the months before the race suggested that Emily Dowling was fittest of all the women taking part, and that the prize was hers for the taking. However, Emily decided that winning was not enough. She made an attempt on the B.L.E. qualifying standard for the Olympic Marathon, which required her to clock 2.35. Alas the form book suggested that this time was totally beyond her and, when around eighteen miles, Emily herself realised that she was not going to make it the shock proved too much.

“I was running with this young lad and, for fifteen miles, we ran 5.55 miles. The breeze along the river between fifteen and eighteen miles was very strong against us. As we headed up the hill at eighteen miles the young fellow glanced at his watch and said to me “We will be 2:3:30 at twenty. I suddenly realised I had fallen way behind. When we got to twenty, they called 2 hrs. 3 mins, and I just stopped. It seemed a long time before Deirdre arrived and I thought — she looks more tired than I am and I tried to get back in after her. I made three attempts but I could not do it. Looking back on it, I suppose I should have kept going and tried to win the race”.

Had Emily kept going she only had to run the last six miles in forty four minutes to win, Deirdre’s time of 2:48:26 was only her third fastest, and four seconds slower than Emily’s best. Saddest of all is the fact that Emily missed the chance to crown a magnificent comeback, after a serious knee injury threatened to end her running career, a year ago. Nevertheless she has the rest of the year to compensate for this disappointment.

Both Kiernan and Deirdre Nagle were disqualified, as BLE invoked the IAAF rule on the wearing of illegal advertising material in a championship race.

The news of the disqualifications was greeted with amazement and resentment by many of the runners assembled at the presentation ceremonies, and it was unfortunate that a technicality had to mar what was otherwise a great sporting occasion. Dick Hooper received loud applause as he handed over the championship trophy to Jerry Kiernan.

The women’s title was awarded to Christine Kennedy but both Jerry Kiernan and Deirdre Nagle received the trophies for the adidas Cork City Marathon.

Although neither Kiernan nor Hooper made the BLE qualifying time of 2:14, they should still be selected for the Olympic marathon. The decision rests with the management committee of BLE, and they will be making their decision at the end of this month. Both runners deserve their place on the team, and it is confidently expected that both runners will be in the line up in LA.

Irish Runner Editorial - May 1984, Vol 4, No 4

Editor Frank Greally

The disqualification of Jerry Kiernan and Deirdre Nagle at the BLE National Marathon clearly shows the lack of communication that exists between the B.L.E. management and their affiliated athletes.

The whole affair was handled in a clumsy heavy handed manner by B.L.E., and the stripping of the National Titles from both athletes put a damper on what had been a really top class marathon contest.

It is time that B.L.E., and their affiliated athletes, worked closer together, and there should really be no need to have a situation like the one in Cork arise again.

As the National Governing Body of athletics in Ireland, it is the duty of B.L.E. to enforce IAAF rulings but it is also the duty of the association to give clear directives to athletes by direct contact and not through third hand information.

The time to point out the clear directive on advertising to the top contenders for the marathon title was in the weeks previous to the race and this could have easily been done by means of a letter to the top twenty contenders.

It is ironic that the company who sponsor Jerry Kiernan, and whose logo he was wearing in the race, actually gained more publicity from the disqualification incident than they did from their sponsorship of the event. This company has been the official sponsor for running gear to Irish international teams for a number of years, and it would be expected that a clear guideline regarding the use of advertising logos would have been issued to them by B.L.E.

In the long term interest of athletics in this country, let us open up the lines of communication between officials and athletes.

The sport will be better for it.

Results of the other Cork City Marathons from the 80's

1982

1983

1985 to be added

1986

 Results of Cork City Marathon 1984

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