ROADS Two major 10-mile roads races dominated the weekend road running schedule, with Dublin club runners featuring in both. At the John Treacy Dungarvan 10-Mile where Fearghal Curtin of Youghal AC won in a course record time of 47 mins 42 secs, Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers) was first M40 in 51:58. Closer to Dublin at the Trim 10-Mile, Ciara Hickey of Brothers Pearse AC was first woman and first W40 in 56:09. Diarmuid Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers) was first M65 in 75:03. The race was well supported by Dublin clubs - among the eighty women’s teams entered were six teams from Lucan Harriers, four each from Raheny Shamrock and Brothers Pearse, three from , Clonliffe Harries and two from both Esker RC and D15 RC two, with most other Dublin clubs also represented. Finishing third of the teams was Donore Harriers, led by Grace Kennedy. Of the 103 men’s teams entered, Civil Service Harriers proved best of the Dublin clubs finishing ninth. Clonliffe Harriers had four teams entered, Lucan Harriers and Raheny Shamrock three, and Brothers Pearse, Metro St Brigid’s, LSA, Donore Harriers and Esker RC two each. In Tullow Co Carlow and over the shorter distance of 5km, Kevin Donaher (Rathfarnham WSAF AC, M40) was the winner of the Mark Mahon 5km in time of 17 mins 19 secs. INDOORS Sarah Healy (UCD AC) set a new Irish indoors record of 8:35.19 in the women’s300m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, USA on Sunday night (Februrary 2). Healy finished fourth in a quality race. Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers opened his indoor season on Friday night (January 31) by finishing sixth in the 1500m with a time of 3 mins 39.01 secs at the Meeting Miramas Metropole, France. The times shaved shaving .09 of his previous best of 3:39.10. At the IFAM Gent Indoor, Belgium on Saturday (February 1) , Cillian Kirwan (Raheny Shamrock) ran a time of 1:49.51 for fifth place in the second of four heats. CROSS-COUNTRY Clonliffe Harriers finished a fighting fifth team in the women’s U20 race at the European Clubs Cross-Country Championships in, Albufeira, Portugal on Sunday (February 2). Emily Bolton led the team home finished fifth in a time of 20:14 for the 5.53km distance. Lorraine O’Connor was eighth in 20:41, Hazel Kenny 31st in 23:07 and Goda Buivydyte 40th in 25:23. Clonliffe had also qualifed for the men’s U20 race where they finished seventh. First home was Tom Breslin 27th in 18:37, followed by Sean Cronin 29th in 18:38 Lorcan Benjacar 33rd in 18:48 and Marti Ursachi 60th in 20.00. Two Dublin clubs had qualified for the 4 x 1500m mixed relay where the Dublin City Harriers’ quartet of Pierre Murchan, Niamh Carr, Philip Marron and Edel Monaghan finished fifth in 18:47 and Dundrum South Dublin’s team of Joe Hastings, Emma McEvoy, Jamie Byrne and Eimear Maher seventh in 19:08 SCHOOLS In the North Leinsters, postponed until last Wednesday (January 29) and held in the the Phoenix Park, Conrad Lathan of St Paul’s Raheny took a clear victory in the boys’ inter race with St Paul’s also proving best of the teams. Tara Rose Smith of Sutton Park and Mid-Sutton AC made it a Dublin individual double by winning the girls’ inter race, with St Dominic’s Cabra finishing second team.

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Please be advised, in keeping with what will be applied at the National Indoors this year, all 600m, 800m & 1500m contests will be run on times, with the 3 fastest from the heats awarded medals and the 4 fastest qualifying for Nationals, as is the case for all individual events, except the U12 & U13 600m where only 3 qualify. Please advise your athletes to. Check in before the closing time of their event, otherwise the athlete will not be Check in for all events, if competing in more than one on the day. If not competing in an event, please inform the check-in officials Not to check in before their check in time (this will reduce the queue). Athlete only to check in (no parent or coach) Failure to show for an event that the athlete has checked in for, will disqualify the athlete from competing in any other event (s) over the course of the 2 days of the competition. Keep the bib number if competing on both days. Warm up area Only go to the warmup area at his/her appointed time. Be present in the call room/assembly area when called, otherwise the athlete will not be permitted to line up on the track. Field event athletes can go directly to their event, provided they have checked in and picked up their bib number before the closing time. Leave the competition area when event is completed. All competitors, coaches and parents must respect the voluntary officials and stewards and abide by instructions and advice given. Please adhere to the parking and crowd control plans attached. Please place rubbish in the bins available or bring it home. No unauthorised photographers are permitted in the competition area. Coaches will be issued with wrist bands at a ratio of 1:10 competitors - this will give them access to the warmup area. Under no circumstances should anyone go near the results/photo finish room. Any queries MUST be raised with the track/field judge by a club appointed coach. Important Reminder Entries for Day 4 (Championship & Development Relays & Mixed U17/19 relays on Day 5) close on Sunday the 9th of Febuary at 23:00, and also Day 5 - Spraoi Games Games entry forms MUST be returned by the same date/time. Please note, any club that has not yet provided their quota of officials for this weekend should input the names on the document circulated by Seamus Flynn today. Officials MUST be at the event/duty they have been assigned, otherwise their club athletes will not be permitted to compete. An updated programme that will include check in, access to the warmup area, call room/assembly and event times will be circulated tomorrow and posted on our social media platforms and website. Please circulate and post on your own social media and websites on receipt of the document. Kind Regards Cecil Johnston

ROADS - INTERNATIONAL Hiko Tonosa of Dundrum South Dublin AC equalled Efrem Gidey's Irish half marathon record when he ran a time of 60 mins 51 secs on a damp morning in Seville on Sunday (January 26). The time knocked off 32 seconds Tonosa’s previous best of 62:23 run in Larne in August 2023. Next major challenge for the Tonosa is the Rotterdam Marathon on Sunday April 12, which means he will not be available for the European Road Running Championships in Brussels, Belgium which take place on the same weekend and includes a 10km and marathon as well as the half marathon. ROADS - LOCAL Clonliffe’s Efrem Gidey defied the wet blustery conditions and a last-minute change of course to win the AXA 41st Raheny 5-Mile on Sunday (January 26) in 22 mins 47 secs — the fourth fastest time ever. It means that Gidey joins the select group who have broken 23 minutes in this race since it was first held in 1985. Two years later in 1987, the course record time of 22:39 was set by Gerry Curtis (Donore Harriers) — thirty-eight years ago. In 1995 Cormac Finnerty (Mullingar Harriers) equalled that time. Fast forward then to 2020 when Hiko Tonosa came within a second of the record when winning the race in 22:40. On Sunday, Gidey proved the class of the field sprinting home over a minute clear of the chasers led by mountain running specialist Killian Mooney of Dundrum South Dublin AC who finished in 23:51. Third and first M40 in 24:05 was Colm Rooney (Clonliffe Harriers), the recently-crowned Dublin Masters cross-country champion. As usual, the race was well supported by Northern Ireland clubs and first woman was Hannah Gilliland of Annadale Striders in 26:34. Fourth and first Dublin athlete was Sorcha McAllister (Dublin City Harriers) in 27:23. Ciara Hickey (Brothers Pearse) was fifth and first W40 in 27:32 and Dublin senior cross-country champion Emma McEvoy (DSD AC) sixth in 27:37. Other category winners from Dublin clubs included Lisa Kelleher (The Liberties RC) W45, Sheelagh Jones (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) W65, June Comiskey (Raheny Shamrock) W75, Cillian O’Leary (Raheny Shamrock) M45, Ciaran McCarthy (Raheny Shamrock) M50, Tom Cuddy (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) M65, Eric Delahan (Balbriggan Roadrunners) M70 and Eddie Coyle (Tallaght AC) M80. In the team competition, Clonliffe Harriers with three in the top ten were clear winners of the men’s senior title on just 14 points. Host club Raheny Shamrock with 22 points was second and Dublin City Harries third on 88 points. Best of the women’s teams with 24 points was Dublin City Harriers, followed by Raheny Shamrock on 32 points and Dundrum South Dublin with 59 points. SCHOOLS A magnificent total of over 1,600 youngsters, mostly from Dublin schools were in action at the Leinster East and West cross-country championships held on Wednesday and Thursday before Storm Eowyn hit forcing the postponement of the North zone decider from last Friday until next Wednesday (January 29). At the East Leinsters, held on Wednesday at the traditional 15 Acres course in the Phoenix Park, Lorraine O’Connor and Emily Bolton ensured team victory for the Institute of Education in the senior girls’ race, with the pair crossing the line almost together. Bolton, now a member of Clonliffe Harriers, won both the Leinster and All Ireland inter titles last year. O’Connor is a member of Donore Harriers. In the senior boys’ race. Charlie White from Blackrock College and Donore Harriers finished second behind Noah Harris from ETSS Wicklow, while in third place, Ruairi O’Donoghue was leading Ard Scoil Ris to team victory. At inter level, Aoife Murphy of Loreto Foxrock had a comfortable win in the girls’ race, where Alexandra College were the team winners. Lucas Ryan from CBC Monkstown came home first of the boys. St Michael’s took the team title. In the junior age group, Aoife Murphy (Loreto Foxrock) was first home in the girls’ race while Conn McCluskey (St Benildus and DSD AC) was runner-up of the boys. Team winners were the Alexandra College girls and the Colaiste Eoin boys. A day later, the Phoenix Park was again the venue for the West Leinsters and, in bitterly cold and blustery conditions, Irish junior international Cillian Gleeson of Coláiste Chiaráin was a confident winner of the senior boy’s race. Ryan O’Neill from Terenure College and Rathfarnham WSAF AC was second and last year’s inter champion Liam Mac Muiris of Coláiste Chilliain Clondalkin third. Castleknock Community College packed well to take the team prize ahead of Belvedere College and Terenure College. Charlie O’Neill, last year’s All Ireland and Leinster junior champion, won the inter boys’ race and led Belvedere to team victory with three finishers in the top nine for the city centre school. O’Neill is a member of Donore Harriers. Students from Lucan Community Community College took three of the top four places in the girl’s senior race, led by Saoirse Fitzgerald the race winner, followed by Isabel Cuffe third and Maggie Jez fourth, which ensured team victory for their school. All three are members of Lucan Harriers. Finishing a fighting second was Cara Mohan of Castleknock Community College and Metro St Brigid’s AC. Alannah Ní Chatháin from Luttrellstown Community College led home the finishers in the girls’ inter race, where St Joseph’s Lucan were the team winners. At junior level, Ruby Farrelly of Our Lady’s Templeogue won the girls’ race, while Mount Sackville was best of the Dublin teams finishing in second place. Taking the boys’ title was Samuel Redmond of Templeogue College with Castleknock College clear winners of the team title. Pictures from the West Leinsters Schools CC are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720323354671/ All will be in action at the Leinster Championship which take place on Wednesday February 12, again in the Phoenix Park. 

EIGHT LEINSTER CROSS COUNTY TITLES FOR DUBLIN Newly-crowned Dublin masters champion Fiona Roche (Raheny Shamrock, W40) added another title to her collection when winning the women’s race at the Leinster Master Cross-Country Championships, held in Kilcormac, Co Offaly on Saturday (January 18). Roche won the race in a time of 14 mins 24 sec. Behind her, Noreen Brouder (Sportsworld, W45) finished third in 14:39 and ultra-running specialist Sorcha Loughnane (Donore Harriers W45) fourth in 14:43. With Aoife O’Leary (Sportsworld, W40) fifth, and Lorna Quinn tenth, Sportsworld were clear W35 team winners ahead of Donore Harriers. Best of the W50 teams was Raheny Shamrock’s trio of Tara Kennedy 13th, Mary Walsh 16th and Trish Fitzgerald 29th. Rathfarnham WSAF finished third, with Donna Mahon 19th, Sheelagh Jones 27th and Vanessa Sallier 37th making up the team. Sportsworld’s W50 team finished seventh. Winning the men’s race in 22 mins 50 secs was Pierce Geoghegan (Liffey Valley AC, M40). Raheny Shamrock AC finished second of the teams, led by David Kirwin in sixth place. Liffey Valley AC was fourth, Sportsworld fifth and Donore Harriers sixth. Rahney also finished second of the M50 teams, with Metro St Brigid’s third. In the M65 race, Liam Lenehan (Sportsworld AC) was the winner. Also taking place were Leinster Intermediate championships, and in the women’s race, Aoife Carroll (Sportsworld AC) finished second and her clubmate Elaine Kennedy fourth. With four in the top twelve, Sportsworld won the team title from Mullingar Harriers, with Liffey Valley third, Dublin City Harriers fourth and Civil Service Harriers fifth. Mark Naylor (Liffey Valley AC) finished second in the men’s race followed by Kevin O’Boyle (Donore Harriers) in fourth place. Liffey Valley finished second team. At county level, Dublin took all eight team titles on offer—in the over 35, 50 and 60/65 men and women’s masters races and in the two inter races. Some excellent pictures are on the Athletics Leinster Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1155709896561806&type=3 with some Dublin runners reposted here. BHAA ‘regulars’ Laura McDonnell and Sean Doran, both of them Dublin club athletes, were the winners at the Garda St Raphael’s BHAA Cross-Country, held on the ‘Munich hills’ course at the Phoenix Park on Sunday (January 19). First off were the women, with McDonnell pushing the pace from the start of teh two-mile race despite strong opposition from Caroline Crowley and Julie McGrath and they finished in that order. Fourth and first master was Karla Doran. Revenue took the team prize with Teachers second. In the men’s four-mile race, Doran proved the class of the field winning by over fifty seconds from Thomas Sherlock with Marc Fitzachery third and first M45. Fourth and first M40 was Niall Sherlock, older bother of Thomas. ESB was first team in division 1 and Eir the winners in division 2. Pics from the BHAA races are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720323290284/ INDOORS At the National Indoor League round in Abbotstown, Bori Akinola (UCD AC) produced the performance of the day in the men’s 60m, which he won in a personal best time of 6.65 secs. Akinola was running in one of a series of special ‘guest’ races. In the races that counted for league points, Lorcan Murphy (DSD AC) clocked 6.83 and Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers) 6.87. Second in the guest men’s 1500m was Benjamin Caulier (Lucan Harriers) in 3:57.42. In the league competition, Clonliffe Harriers topped the table with 115 points. Dundrum South Dublin AC was second with 107 points and Ratoath AC third on 92 points. Donore Harriers finished seventh and Raheny Shamrock tenth. Winners for Clonliffe were Marcus Lawler 400m and Eoin Sheridan shot put. Picking up top points in both the 60m and long jump for DSD AC was Lorcan Murphy. Ratoath topped the women’s table with 128 points, with defending champions Dundrum South Dublin a close second on 122.5. Clonliffe Harriers were fifth, Donore Harriers 11th and Raheny Shamrock 12th. Emily Bolton picked up maximum points for Clonliffe when winning the 1500m from Iseult O’Donnell of Raheny Shamrock. After the cancellation of the opening round, overall scores for the indoor league will be based on the combined scores from Sunday’s round and a second round on February 8 in Athlone, which was the original date for the final. That will not now take place. THREE FIFTHS IN SHEFFIELD At the BMC Sheffield Grand Prix, also on Sunday, Jonas Stafford (UCD AC) finished fifth in the men’s 1500m A race with a time of 3:48.73. Amy O’Donoghue (Dundrum South Dublin) was also fifth in her women’s A graded 1500m, clocking a time of 4:19.19. In the women’s A grade 3000m, Niamh Kearney (Raheny Shamrock) made it a another fifth place for the Irish when finishing in a time of 9:17.40. In the NIA, Abbotstown, at Track & Field Live No 4, on Wednesday (January 15), Edel Monaghan (Dublin City Harriers) won the women’s mile in 4:46.37, while Emma Moore (DCU) came home first in the women’s 800m with a personal best time of 2:05.94. STATESIDE In Seattle, at the Dempsey Indoor meet on an ‘oversized’ track on Saturday (January 18), Ronan McMahon-Staggs (Dublin City Harriers) ran a lifetime best of 3:51.85 for third place in the men’s mile. On the same day, Finn Boyle (Crusaders AC) was in Ithaca, New York where he ran a PB 2:27.38 for 1,000m. A week earlier, on Sunday January 12, Cormac Dixon (Tallaght AC) equalled the Irish U20 indoor record of 2:27.38 when he finished third in a 1,000m race in Brighton, Massachusetts, while in Akron Ohio, Irish shot put champion Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) opened his 2025 indoor season with a 19.30 heave. SCHOOLS At the DCU Schools Invitational Cross-Country in St Claire’s Glasnevin, Dublin, on Wednesday (January 15), Goda Buivytyte (St Dominic’s Cabra) was a convincing winner of the senior girls race with Sarah Doherty second. In the senior boys’ 4,000m race, Matei Ursachi (St Paul’s) made what looked like the winning move with about 1,000m to go but was beaten in the dip for the line and finished second to an athlete from Kilkenny. Third was Lorcan Benjacar (Ard Scoil Ris),with Tom Breslin (St Aidan’s CBS) fourth. 

The Dublin Athletics coach collaboration workshops started this week; thanks to all those who attended.  We had a great session with Teresa McDaid from Letterkenny AC where she talked about developing middle distance teenagers and her experiences with Darren McBrearty, Mark English and Ruairi Finnegan.

Although the weather was less than agreeable, the new course facing the Howth road at St Anne’s Park, got deserved praise at a well attended Dublin Masters Cross-Country Championships held on Sunday (January 5). Closest race of the day was the women’s over 35-49 race, where Raheny Shamrock pair Fiona Roche and Kate Purcell, both in the W40 age group, battled it out with defending champion Maria McCambridge of Dundrum South Dublin from the start. In the end Roche pulled away for victory in 11 mins 19 secs, with Purcell, the title winner in 2023, second in 11:21 and McCambridge third and first W45 in 11.29. Fourth and second W45 was Noreen Brouder of Sportsworld AC) in 11:53. A close Fifth and first W35 was former Irish international athlete Caroline Crowley of Crusaders AC who was also given a time of 11:53. Leading home the thirteen teams that finished was Sportsworld on 46 points with Crusaders just a single point adrift for second place. Metro St Brigid’s, led by Kate O’Neill in sixth place, finished third with 54 points. A clear winner of the M35-59 race was Colm Rooney of Clonliffe Harriers who completed the 6km course in 19 mins 6 secs and was also first M40. Mark Ryan of Rathfarnham WSAF was second and first M45 in 19:58 and Pierce Geoghegan of Liffey Valley third in 20:21. First M35 was Cathal McHale of Clonliffe Harriers who finished tenth overall. Rathfarnham WSAF, with four in the top eight, were clear winners of the team title with 20 points. Clonliffe Harriers was second with 32 points and Raheny Shamrock third with 68 points. A total of thirteen teams completed the race. Retaining her W50 title in some style was Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock, who pushed the pace from the start and was also first W55 in 12 mins 5 secs. Her Raheny clubmate Tara Kennedy finished second and first W50 in 12:46, while third and second W50 was Donna Mahon of Rathfarnham WSAF. Finishing 15th and first W65 was Sheelagh Jones of Rathfarnham WSAF in 14:02. First W60 and 17th overall was defending champion Fiona Byrne of Civil Service Harriers in 14:03. First W70 was Mary Lynch of Raheny Shamrock, another defending champion. Raheny Shamrock proved best of the ten teams entered with nine points, with Rathfarnham WSAF second on 28 points and Clonliffe Harriers third on 56 points. In the men’s M50-65 race, Lea Fulcher of Plant-Based AC took an early lead and held on for victory in 20 mins 52 secs. Kevin O’Connor of Clonliffe Harriers did his best to reel in Fulcher and finished second in 21:11. Third in 21:35 was Ciaran McCarthy of Raheny Shamrock. Finishing ninth and first M55 was Kenny McAndrew of Metro St Brigid’s in 22:39 while first M60 was David Woods of Raheny Shamrock in 24:19, with Philip O’Doherty of Clonliffe Harriers just one second behind for second place. Raheny won the team title with 45 points. Donore Harriers, led by Des Tremble in sixth place, was second with 60 points and Metro St Brigid’s third with 68 points. Ten teams had entered. Best in the M65-80 age group was Liam Lenehan of Sportsworld who finished in 11:54 for the 3000m distance. Tom Cuddy of Rathfarnham WSAF was second in 12:01 and Sean Doyle, also Rathfarnham WSAF, third in 13:12. Vincent O’Neill of Civil Service Harries was first M70, Pat Collins of Liffey Valley first M75 and Trevor Lloyd of Sportsworld first M80. Opening the day’s racing were the Dublin intermediate championships, with the women’s 3000m race dominated by Clonliffe Harriers and Crusaders athletes. Helena Butterly was the race winner in 11:10 followed by her Clonliffe team mate Niamh Kelly in 11:23, with Saoirse McGrath third in 11:38 and her Crusaders clubmate Orla Walsh just a second behind for fourth place. Just a single point separated the two clubs in the team competition with Clonliffe the winners with 20 points and Crusaders second with 21 points. Third with 68 points was Sportsworld. Kevin O’Rourke led a Donore Harriers ‘posse’ in the men’s 6000m race winning in 20:37, with his clubmates David McCann, Oliver Hopkins and Simon O’Toole finishing third, fourth and fifth. Second was Christopher McLoughlin of Dublin City Harriers. Donore took the team medals with just 13 points. Clonliffe as second with 42 points and Raheny Shamrock third with 61 points. For a fourth year, Raheny Shamrock ended up winning the Pat Hooper Trophy for the best overall club in the master’s competition, with four second places from the five counting races, giving the club a total of 40 points. Just three points adrift with 37 points was Clonliffe Harriers with Rathfarnham WSAF a close third with 35 points. Clonliffe and Sportsworld picked up points in all five races as did Sportsworld, fourth overall with 29 points. A total of eighteen clubs counted, with almost 500 athletes aged from 35 to 80 lining out despite the cold, and increasingly wet conditions.  Lindie Naughton’s has several great pictures from the Dublin Championships are at https:// www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720322980470 . Next up for masters and intermediate distance runners is the All-Ireland Cross-Country Championships to be held in Westport, Co Mayo on Sunday February 9. Dublin teams will compete.

GIDEY BREAKS 39-YEAR OLD IRISH RECORD Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) set a new Irish record for 10km when he ran a time of 27 mins 43 secs in Valencia, Spain on Sunday (January 12). His time knocked three seconds off the 27:46. run by John Treacy in 1985 — almost forty years ago. Gidey already holds the Irish half marathon record after running 60:51 in Denmark last September. Gidey, representing Hoka, finished 20th in a race won by Andreas Almsgren of Sweden in 26 mins 53 secs becoming the first European athlete ever to break 27 minutes for the distance. Gidey’s focus is now on the 10,000m on the track with Alistair Cragg’s Irish record of 27:39.55 his immediate target In the USA, Irish long jump champion Elizabeth Ndudi (DSD) equaled her own indoor personal best of 6.42m when competing for Illinois at the Fighting Illini Open in Champaign on Saturday (January 11). Ndudi finished fifth in the competition. INDOORS At the AI Indoor Games and Combined Events Championships held at the NIA, Abbotstown, Dublin over the weekend (January 11-12, Dundrum South Dublin AC won the inaugural mixed 4x400m indoor senior championship with a winning time of 3 mins 50.11 secs. Making up the team were Godwin Matias, Charlotte Bourke, Benjamin Hauer and Rachel Lynch. Finishing a close second in 3:50.43 was a second DSD quartet made up of Ciaran Carthy. Aobh Fords, Anton Roquette and Aisling Cunningham. Winning the men’s 1500m, was Lorcan Benjacar (Clonliffe Harriers) in a personal best 4:01.66. Fintan Kerins (Clonliffe Harriers) finished third in 4:03.00. Over 3000m, recently crowned Dublin masters cross-country champion Colin Rooney (Clonliffe Harriers) was the winner of the men’s race in a personal best 8:47.93. Amy O’Donoghue (DSD AC) won the women’s race in 9:46.10. In the sprints, Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers) won his 200m heat in 21:22, with Benjamin Hauer (DSD AC) second in 22:99 and Masahiro Watanabe (Crusaders) third in 24.14. In other heats, both Emmanuel Akinrolie (Titans AC) and Luke Timlin (Crusaders) were given times of 22.33. Over two rounds of 60m races, Bori Akinola (UCD AC) proved fastest with a time of 6.72 secs. Marcus Lawler clocked 6.82 in the second race. In a blanket finish to the men’s 60m hurdles, Valentinos Goularas (Crusaders) finished a close second with a time of 8.02 secs.Kate O’Connell (Lucan Harriers) proved fastest of the local runners in the women’s 200m clocking a personal best 24.40 secs in the second of seven heats. Molly Hourihan (UCD AC) won the opening heat in 24.77. Fastest overall was English visitor Jasmine Wilkins who won the third heat in 24.33. In the field, Colm Bourke (Raheny Shamrock AC) won the long jump with a 7.27 leap, while Daphni Doulapssi Teeuwen (also Raheny Shamrock) won the women’s triple jump with a final round careeer best of 12.28m. Molly Mullally (DSD) was second with 11.44. In a competitive senior men’s heptathlon, Lorcan Murphy (DSD) finished second with 4692 points, picking up his best points in the 60m, long jump, high jump and 1000m. Just 28 points ahead of him was winner Jack Forde (St Killian’s AC) with 4720 points. In the M50 competition, Kevin Byrne (DSD) finished third with 2250 points. Peader McGing (also DSD) finished second M60 with 2057 points. Of the women, Vanessa Sallier (Rathfarnham WSAF) finished second W50, with her best points coming in the 800m. At the British Milers Club indoor meet at Cardiff University in Wales on Sunday (January 12), Lorraine O’Connor (Clonliffe Harriers) won the 1500m B race in a personal best 4:22.71 which is a Clonliffe senior indoor record. In the 1500m A race Emily Bolton, also Clonliffe, finished third in 4:27.96, also a personal best. Both women are still competing at under 20 level. CROSS-COUNTY Over 170 finished the second round of the Women's Meet and Train Cross-Country League held on a 3km course beside the Dundrum South Dublin track at Tibradden Road (cleared of its usual woolly-backed inhabitants— and of residual snow!). In a battle to the line between members of host club DSD and Sportsworld, DSD took the top three places. Leading them home was Lisa Gaughan, who had finished second at the opening round of the league last November in Tymon Park. Clubs who had entered teams included Donore Harriers, Crusaders, Brothers Pearse, Esker, Tallaght, Dublin Front Runners, Raheny Shamrock, Blackrock and Waterstown Warriors, as well as individuals from LSA and Civil Service Harriers. Next round, hosted by Dublin Front Runners at a Marino venue, is on Sunday February 9. Info Fiona Shine fionashine@gmail.com The pics from the M&T are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720323144584 Not far away in Tymon Park, also on Sunday morning Stephen Kelly (Express Side Gates) was the winner of BHAA Bank of Ireland 6km cross-country in a time of 21 mins 34 secs. Paul Fleming (Ornua/Rathfarnham WSAF)) was second in 21:50 and Hugh McDowell third in 22.33. In the team competition, ESB, led by Fionn Griffin in fifth place, won Grade 1 ahead of Gardai and Revenue. ESB also won grade 2, with Eir best in Grade 3. First woman was Clare Sullivan (CSO/Crusaders) in 24:55. Niamh Brophy was second in 25:02 and Maura Kearns (Teachers) third in 25:20. Team winners were Stronger with Esther, with Revenue second. Next BHAA race is the Garda St Raphael open 4-Mile and women’s 2-mile in the Phoenix Park on Sunday January 19 (11am). Registration is at Civil Service Harriers Clubhouse, just off the main road; note that there is no parking available at the clubhouse. Info Ian Redican 087 2200666; www.bhaa.ie ROADS Mahad Mohammed Egaal (Clonliffe Harriers led home 265 finishers at the R-ACE 5km, in Drogheda, Co Louth on Sunday (January 12) in a time of 14 mins 34 secs. His clubmate Ben Guiden finished third in 14:50. On a good day for Clonliffe, Helena Butterly was first woman in 16:55.

Online entry for the Dublin Juvenile Indoor Championships is now open on the Entry4sport portal, or through these links https://entry.athleticsireland.ie/1214 or https://entry.athleticsireland.ie/dublin-indoor-25 Relays In 2025 we are introducing a new event - Development 4X200m Relays for U11-U15 girls & boys in addition to the Championship relays. Information attached. Please note, club competition secretary/secretary MUST submit the relay teams. The maximum number of teams a club can enter in the Championship relays is 3 teams and these should be named for example - Road runners A.C. U12 girls team A, B, C. Note: In order to seed/grade teams fairly, it is important that the A team must be the clubs' best team, B team the 2nd best. There is no limit on the number of teams a club can enter in the Development relays through the Entry4sport portal or through the links below. These should be named for example - Road runners A.C. U11 girls team 1 , 2, 3, etc. https://entry.athleticsireland.ie/1216 or https://entry.athleticsireland.ie/dev-relay-2025  Athletes may compete in TWO (2) relays ONLY . An athlete may move up one age group, however, for all U12-U17 relays at least 2 members of a competing relay team, participating in each round of that event on that day must be of the correct age U17and U18 age groups, all athletes may move up one age group, n.b., only 2 U16 athletes may compete on an U17 team The order for mixed relays is Female – Male -Female - Male If 6 teams or less check in, a Final will be held at Heat time Teams qualifying for a final MUST comprise of the same panel of runners that were entered and competed in the heats. Spot checks will be carried out on team entries 3 teams qualify for Nationals, and these can include one sub. Closing Dates Day 1 individual events - 19th January @ 23:59 Day 2 individual events - 25th January Day 3 individual events - 25th January Day 4 & Day 5 (mixed U17 & U19) relays - 9th February Information and entry forms for the Spraoi Games will be circulated separately.

Please find attached the Spraoi Games Competition Booklet, Arena Plan and entry form. Please ask your club competition secretary or club person responsible for submitting entries to complete and return the entry form by Sunday the 9th ofFebruary. All athletes MUST be registered for 2025. The completed entry forms will provide us with the information on the number of teams competing, and assist us in firming up the timetable, which you will find in the second last page of the booklet circulated. Team – Minimum of 4 athletes with no upper limit. However, clubs who do not have a team of 4 in an age group, can submit individual athletes and they will be facilitated. In the Spraoi games, athletes competing on an U9 team can't step up to the U10 relay, as they wouldn't be competing as members of an U10 team in the other events where points are scored. If a club has a team of 4 or more in any age group, only four of those athletes are selected for the relay. Only 1 relay team to run, irrespective of the number of athletes on the team. All participating clubs MUST provide 2 named officials with your entries. Designated coaches (DC) will accompany athletes to the warm up area, but can’t enter the competition area. All competitors will receive a special certificate. There will be no medals. Entry fee: 5 euro per athlete . This can be paid on the day or by bank transfer or check to the Dublin County Board. Entry fee for spectators is 5 euro. IMPORTANT REMINDER Online entries for Day 1 closes at 23:59 on this Sunday the 19 th of January. No late entries will be accepted. Please note - Entries for individual events and the Championship Relays (maximum 3 teams per club in any age group) can be submitted through the link below, https://entry.athleticsireland.ie/1214 Link to the Development relays below, https://entry.athleticsireland.ie/1216 All clubs MUST provide named officials at a ratio of 1:15 entries on each competition day. Please send the names and email address to, seamus.flynn@indaver.com

Dublin Cross Country Championships Although the weather was less than agreeable, the new course facing the Howth road at St Anne’s Park, got deserved praise at a well attended Dublin Masters Cross-Country Championships held on Sunday (January 5). Closest race of the day was the women’s over 35-49 race, where Raheny Shamrock pair Fiona Roche and Kate Purcell, both in the W40 age group, battled it out with defending champion Maria McCambridge of Dundrum South Dublin from the start. In the end Roche pulled away for victory in 11 mins 19 secs, with Purcell, the title winner in 2023, second in 11:21 and McCambridge third and first W45 in 11.29. Fourth and second W45 was Noreen Brouder of Sportsworld AC) in 11:53. A close Fifth and first W35 was former Irish international athlete Caroline Crowley of Crusaders AC who was also given a time of 11:53. Leading home the thirteen teams that finished was Sportsworld on 46 points with Crusaders just a single point adrift for second place. Metro St Brigid’s, led by Kate O’Neill in sixth place, finished third with 54 points. A clear winner of the M35-59 race was Colm Rooney of Clonliffe Harriers who completed the 6km course in 19 mins 6 secs and was also first M40. Mark Ryan of Rathfarnham WSAF was second and first M45 in 19:58 and Pierce Geoghegan of Liffey Valley third in 20:21. First M35 was Cathal McHale of Clonliffe Harriers who finished tenth overall. Rathfarnham WSAF, with four in the top eight, were clear winners of the team title with 20 points. Clonliffe Harriers was second with 32 points and Raheny Shamrock third with 68 points. A total of thirteen teams completed the race. Retaining her W50 title in some style was Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock, who pushed the pace from the start and was also first W55 in 12 mins 5 secs. Her Raheny clubmate Tara Kennedy finished second and first W50 in 12:46, while third and second W50 was Donna Mahon of Rathfarnham WSAF. Finishing 15th and first W65 was Sheelagh Jones of Rathfarnham WSAF in 14:02. First W60 and 17th overall was defending champion Fiona Byrne of Civil Service Harriers in 14:03. First W70 was Mary Lynch of Raheny Shamrock, another defending champion. Raheny Shamrock proved best of the ten teams entered with nine points, with Rathfarnham WSAF second on 28 points and Clonliffe Harriers third on 56 points. In the men’s M50-65 race, Lea Fulcher of Plant-Based AC took an early lead and held on for victory in 20 mins 52 secs. Kevin O’Connor of Clonliffe Harriers did his best to reel in Fulcher and finished second in 21:11. Third in 21:35 was Ciaran McCarthy of Raheny Shamrock. Finishing ninth and first M55 was Kenny McAndrew of Metro St Brigid’s in 22:39 while first M60 was David Woods of Raheny Shamrock in 24:19, with Philip O’Doherty of Clonliffe Harriers just one second behind for second place. Raheny won the team title with 45 points. Donore Harriers, led by Des Tremble in sixth place, was second with 60 points and Metro St Brigid’s third with 68 points. Ten teams had entered. Best in the M65-80 age group was Liam Lenehan of Sportsworld who finished in 11:54 for the 3000m distance. Tom Cuddy of Rathfarnham WSAF was second in 12:01 and Sean Doyle, also Rathfarnham WSAF, third in 13:12. Vincent O’Neill of Civil Service Harries was first M70, Pat Collins of Liffey Valley first M75 and Trevor Lloyd of Sportsworld first M80. Opening the day’s racing were the Dublin intermediate championships, with the women’s 3000m race dominated by Clonliffe Harriers and Crusaders athletes. Helena Butterly was the race winner in 11:10 followed by her Clonliffe team mate Niamh Kelly in 11:23, with Saoirse McGrath third in 11:38 and her Crusaders clubmate Orla Walsh just a second behind for fourth place. Just a single point separated the two clubs in the team competition with Clonliffe the winners with 20 points and Crusaders second with 21 points. Third with 68 points was Sportsworld. Kevin O’Rourke led a Donore Harriers ‘posse’ in the men’s 6000m race winning in 20:37, with his clubmates David McCann, Oliver Hopkins and Simon O’Toole finishing third, fourth and fifth. Second was Christopher McLoughlin of Dublin City Harriers. Donore took the team medals with just 13 points. Clonliffe as second with 42 points and Raheny Shamrock third with 61 points. For a fourth year, Raheny Shamrock ended up winning the Pat Hooper Trophy for the best overall club in the master’s competition, with four second places from the five counting races, giving the club a total of 40 points. Just three points adrift with 37 points was Clonliffe Harriers with Rathfarnham WSAF a close third with 35 points. Clonliffe and Sportsworld picked up points in all five races as did Sportsworld, fourth overall with 29 points. A total of eighteen clubs counted, with almost 500 athletes aged from 35 to 80 lining out despite the cold, and increasingly wet conditions . Lindie Naughton’s has several great pictures from the Dublin Championships are at https:// www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720322980470 . Next up for masters and intermediate distance runners is the All-Ireland Cross-Country Championships to be held in Westport, Co Mayo on Sunday February 9. Dublin teams will compete. ROADS Tadgh Donnelly (Drogheda and District AC) was a comfortable winner of the annual New Year’s Day Tom Brennan 5km, in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Wednesday (January 1). Donnelly’s winning time was 14 mins 38 secs, with Jack O’Leary (Mullingar Harriers) just out-sprinting Mahad Mohammed Egaal (Clonliffe Harriers) for second place. The pair were given times of 15:04 and 15:05. Laura Mooney (Tullamore Harriers) was first woman in 16:49. Lucy Barrett (Raheny Shamrock AC) was over a minute behind for second place in 17:56, with Saoirse McGrath (Crusaders AC) third in 18:16. In a closely-fought men’s team competition, Clonliffe Harriers, with three in the top nine, beat Drogheda and District on count-back when both ended up with 19 points. Third was host club Liffey Valley with 30 points, led by Pierce Geoghegan in fifth place. Liffey Valley proved best of the women’s teams, led by Ciara Broderick Farrell in sixth place. Crusaders was second and Raheny Shamrock third. On New Year’s Eve, Kane Collin (Donore Harriers) was the winner of the Grange-Fermoy New Year’s Eve 10km, in Glanworth, Co Cork, with a time of 32:27. Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers), M40) was second in 32:36.

TRACK (OUTDOORS) What a season it has been for Irish athletics in general and Dublin Athletics in particular! At the European Championships in early June, Rhasidat Adeleke of Tallaght AC finishing second in the 400m with her time of 49:07 seconds breaking her own national record. Sophie Becker of Raheny Shamrock, also in the 400m, clocked 51.54 secs for tenth place. Then came the final of the women’s 4 x 400m, where Adeleke and Becker, along with Phil Healy and Sharlene Mawdsley, took silver in a national record time of 3:22.71. And of course, Ireland struck gold in the mixed 4x400m relay with Adeleke again a crucial member of the team. At the Paris Olympics , Adeleke finished fourth in the individual 400m and, with Becker, helped the women’s 4x400m team to an agonising fourth in the relay. In the men’s 1500m, Clonliffe’s Cathal Doyle thrilled the nation when winning his 1500m repechage, while 20-year-old Nicola Tuthill of UCD AC gave of her best in the women’s hammer, as did Sarah Healy of Blackrock AC, Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock, siblings Jodie and Luke McCann of DCH/UCD in the middle distances, and Eric Favors of Raheny Shamrock in the shot. Then at the Paralympics, a delighted Orla Comerford of Raheny Shamrock won a bronze medal in the T13 100m with a time of 11.94 seconds, running a heat and the final in the same day. It was a third Paralympic Games and a first medal for Comerford, a member of Raheny Shamrock AC since the age of six awhere she was coached by the late great Brian Corcoran. Locally, Cathal Doyle made it a great night for the host club Clonliffe Harriers when winning the Morton Mile in sensational style at the Morton Games, at Santry in mid-July. American visitor and former winner Sam Prakel had led through 1500m, with Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock third and Doyle back in tenth place. All changed in the chase for the line, with Doyle charging through the field and just passing Prakel and Fay to win in a personal best time of 3 mins 52.06 secs. On the international circuit, Sarah Healy of UCD AC made a massive improvement to her 1500m time when running in one of the greatest women’s 1500m races of all time at the Paris Diamond League in early July. Up front, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya won the race in 3:49.04, improving on the 3:49.11 world record she had set a year earlier when becoming the first woman to break 3:50 for the distance. Healy’s time of 3:57.26 for seventh place knocked over two seconds off her previous best and puts her second on the all-time list behind Ciara Mageean. Other athletes in top form included Israel Olatunde of Tallaght AC who improved his own Irish 100m record to 10.12 secs when running in London in August. As for Efrem Gidey of Clonliffe Harriers, his time of 27:40.0, also run in London last May, puts his second on the all-time Irish list for 10,000m. Improving his own Irish shot putt record with a heave of 20.93m in April was Eric Favors of Raheny Shamrock. Also in record breaking form in April was 19-year-old Elizabeth Ndudi of Dundrum South Dublin who set an Irish long jump record of 6.68m. Coming ever closer to the Irish hammer record was Nicola Tuthill, who went over 70m for the first time with a throw of 70.32 in May. Going where no Irishwoman has gone before was 23-year-old Lara O’Byrne of Donore Harriers who finished sixth at the inaugural Women’s Decathlon World Championships, held in Geneva, Ohio, USA, in early August. O’Byrne amassed a total of 6570 points over the ten events, picking up her best scores in the 100m hurdles, 100m, 400m and high jump and also recording a personal best in the shot. She rounded off two exhausting days by clocking 5:26.54 in the1500m. As for Adeleke, apart from her adventures in Rome and Paris, she set an Irish record for the 100m when winning the Irish title in June, making her without question the country’s greatest ever sprinter. At national level, luck was with Clonliffe Harriers when the club won a 13th premier division title at the National Track and Field League final held at Tullamore in late July. In 2023, Leevale had ended a seven year winning streak for the north Dublin club, and Clonliffe was determined to take the title back. In the sprints, Marcus Lawler won both 100m and 200m, with his 100m time of 10.28 secs a personal best, a stadium record and the second fastest time by an Irishman this year. In the 200m, his time of 20.71 secs was a season’s best and put him second behind Mark Smyth on the Irish rankings. Finishing second in the standings behind Clonliffe was Dundrum South Dublin. In the women’s competition, Dundrum South Dublin was also going for a thirteenth win but for them, the number proved less lucky, and they lost out to Leevale for the title. ROAD Big road races of the year were the Irish Life Dublin Marathon in late October and the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon 10km in June, the only two races on the calendar which take place in Dublin City itself. At this year’s 42nd annual Women’s Mini Marathon, Dublin-based school-teacher Íde Nic Domhnaill (West Limerick AC) made it look easy when winning ina time of 33 mins 22 secs. Finishing second was Meghan Ryan of organising club Dundrum South Dublin in 34:53. It was a best ever finish for Ryan who, as a member of DSD, has run the mini marathon every year since she turned sixteen — and that’s sixteen times! Other notable performances came from the 2008 women’s mini marathon winner Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock, who finished 17th overall and first W55 in 38 mins 46 secs. In October, Hiko Tonosa of Dundrum South Dublin proved the star of the show at the Irish Life Dublin Marathon not only finishing third overall and first Irish athlete, but also breaking the Irish record with his time of 2 hrs 9 mins 42 secs. Tonosa, living in Ireland since 2017, had hoped to make the Paris Olympics qualifying time in April’s London Marathon, but was forced to drop out with an injury. At the Larne Half Marathon in late August, he proved that he had regained much of his fitness when he clocked a time of 62:46, not far off the 62:23 he had run in the same race a year earlier. Finishing third woman and first Dublin club athlete with a time of in a personal best time of 2:36:09 was Grace Lynch, like Tonosa a member of the Dundrum South Dublin club. The road running year had begun with the Tom Brennan New Year’s Day 5km in the Phoenix Park, where Efrem Gidey of Clonliffe Harriers was the winner. Abdel Laadjel of Donore Harriers, home from Providence College in the USA where he’s on an athletics scholarship, finished second. Later that month on the last Sunday of January, the 40th Raheny 5-Mile attracted a capacity entry of 5,000. Winners were Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) in 23 mins 58 secs and Shona Heaslip (An Riocht ) in 26:12. Team winners were the Clonliffe men and the Raheny women. An honoured guest on the day was former Raheny Shamrock AC club president Nick Corish, who celebrated his 100th birthday later in the year. ‘The Shamrocks’ were also celebrating the recent acquisition of a new and permanent home based in a reconditioned church in Raheny village. On St Patrick’s Day, March 17, all roads led to Dublin West, where Mitchell Byrne and Carla Sweeney made it a Rathfarnham WSAF AC double at the Tallaght 5km. A month later, Dublin clubs dominated the Great Ireland Run 10km, held in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday April 14. Crusaders AC, led by fifth placed Andrea Rodina, was first of the men’s teams, ahead of Donore Harriers and Raheny Shamrock AC. Best of the women’s teams was AECOM, a corporate team, followed by Portmarnock AC and Dublin Front Runners. D15 Running Club finished fourth and third of the club teams. In mid-May, sunny conditions greeted the capacity crowd at the annual Terenure 5-Mile where Peter Somba of Meath club Ratoath AC, was the winner in 24 mins 40 secs. First woman in 27 mins 16 secs was Grace Lynch of Dundrum South Dublin, who was having a good year on the roads. In the team competition, the DSD men and Sportsworld women were the winners. At the Phoenix Park in late June, Kieran Kelly of Raheny Shamrock AC led home 1,658 finishers at the Irish Runner 5-Mile Challenge, which doubled up as an Irish championships. Kelly, better known as a track runner, finished in 24 mins 11 secs. Launching the autumn road racing season was the Lucan 5-Mile, where Clonliffe’s Efrem Gidey ran a superb time of 22 mins 57 secs for a clear victory. His time smashed the course record of 24.12. Later in the month, Juan Ignacio Peña of Raheny Shamrock raced away from the chasers to win the Rathfarnham 5km in Dublin in a time of 14 mins 34 secs . Five seconds adrift was Colm Rooney of Clonliffe Harriers who was second and first M40 in 14:39. Coming down to the wire was the women’s race with Cheryl Nolan of St Abban’s AC passing Íde Nic Dhomhnaill almost on the line. Their times were 16:02 and 16:03. Taking both men and women’s team titles was Raheny Shamrock. Large numbers turned out for three races over the three-quarter marathon distance held on the first weekedn of October — about three weeks before the Dubin Marathon. At the Longwood 3/4 marathon race in Co Meath, Barbara Cleary of Donore Harriers finished first woman in 2 hrs 2 mins 50 secs. Cleary, aged fifty-one, would run a personal best 2:46.21 at the Valencia Marathon in Spain on December 1, which is an Irish over 50 women’s record. She had previously run 2:51.32 in the Dublin Marathon of 2011. Elsewhere, Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers) was the winner of the Streets of Portlaoise 5km held on the morning of St Patrick’s Day in a time of 14 mins 24 secs. The race was the opening round of nine in the the 2024 Peugeot Race Series. Murchan would go on to win the individual men’s title, with defending champion Dundrum South Dublin retaining the team title. On of the races in the series was the Dunshaughlin 10km in late June, where Dundrum South Dublin won all three team prizes — men, women and mixed. The women’s team was led by Meghan Ryan in second place and the men’s team by Killian Mooney who was seventh overall. None of the nine races in the series were held in Dublin. DUBS DOMINATE AT ROAD RELAYS Dublin clubs dominated all but one of the five races at the ational Road Relays held on the now traditional one mile lap in Raheny, Dublin, on Sunday April 28. Dundrum South Dublin won the women’s senior race slightly unexpectedly, while Clonliffe Harriers, powered by Efrem Gidey on the three-mile leg, had a more predictable victory in the men’s senior race. It was a third consecutive win and a 17th title overall for the Santry-based club. Sportsworld took the master women’s title, with Raheny Shamrock second, while Raheny proved best in the men’s master race, beating Clonliffe. For the men’s senior race alone, Clonliffe Harriers had entered seven teams and all seven finished, which must be some kind of record. Overall, Clonliffe had twenty teams entered on the day, which is definitely a record! CROSS-COUNTRY As always, the Dublin athletics year started with the Dublin Masters Cross-Country in St Anne’s Park, Raheny, where a record 464 athletes aged from 37 to well over 80 were in action. Maria McCambridge of Dundrum South Dublin and Paul Stephenson from Rathfarnham WSAF were the winners in the over 35-49 race. while Annette Kealy and Ciaran McCarthy made it a Raheny double in the over 50 age group. Raheny took three of the five team titles on offer with Rathfarnham WSAF winning the remaining two. Later in the year, with its traditional home at Santry unavailable, the Dublin Senior Cross-Country took place at Citywest, Saggart in early October. Individual winners of the senior races, both over 6.5km, were Emma McEvoy of Dundrum South Dublin and David Scanlon of Rathfarnham WSAF. Team winners were the DCH women and the Clonliffe men. Winners of the junior races were Emily Bolton of Clonliffe Harriers and Sean Quinn of DSD . Clonliffe won both team titles. Later on, at the All Ireland Cross-Country Championships in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh, Emma McEvoy would finish first U23 woman.Clonliffe Harriers won the men’s junior team title, with Donore in third place, and finished second of the junior women’s teams. Dublin City Harriers finished third of the senior women’s teams Continuing to offer a full programme of off-road races from November to March was the Business House Athletics Association which closed out the year with a combined 6km race for men and women at McKee Park in Tallaght, with St Mark’s GAA club the race HQ. It was a first race ever in the park and a welcome addition to list of venues. Earlier, in September, John Travers of Donore Harriers had been the runaway winner of the inaugural BHAA SNAP Jerry Kiernan Foundation 6km, held at the National Cross-Country course in Abbotstown. Travers, who was coached by the late Jerry Kiernan, led from the start and and had over a minute to spare when finishing in 18 mins 22 secs. MASTERS In mid-January Shane Healy of Metro St Brigid’s AC proved the star of the show at the Irish Masters Indoor Championships in Athlone when he set a new M55 world record in the 800m. His time of 2:01.46 knocked over three seconds off the old record. A week earlier, Healy had set a 3000m world age record. Winning the All Ireland masters cross-country title in Dundalk a couple of weeks later was Raheny Shamrock’s Kate Purcell, who had finished second behind Maria McCambridge in the Dublin Masters Championships and was the winner in Leinster. In the men’s team competition, Clonliffe Harriers lost out to North Belfast Harriers by a single point. At the European Masters Indoors in Torún Poland, Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock won both the W55 3000m and the cross-country in her age group and also helped the W55 team to victory. Donore’s Ann Woodlock not only won the W85 3000m but beat younger athletes on her way to victory in the 1500m. A busy woman was Edel Maguire of Clonliffe Harriers who won both theW65 60m and 400m, finished third in the 200m and helped the W60 mixed 4 x 200m relay team to silver. In late August, Kealy and Maguire were both in action again at the World Masters Outdoor Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. On the roads, Kealy won the W55 10km in a time of 39 mins 30 secs and later finished second in the half marathon in 1:27.33 also helping the Irish team to gold. On the track, Maguire won the the W65 high jump and finished third in the 200m on the same day. A few days later, she took silver in the 400m. In November, Ireland was the overall winner for only the second time ever at the annual British and Irish Masters International Cross-Country, hosted by the Northern Ireland Masters Association at the Billy Neill Playing Fields in Belfast. Helping the team to victory were a number of Dublin club athletes, among them Kate Purcell who was third W40 and part of the winning W40 team. In the W65 age group, Sheelagh Jones of Rathfarnham WSAF and Grainne Grennan of Blackrock AC helped the W65 team to victory, while in the W55 category, Annette Kealy added yet another individual title to her collection, with the team finishing second. In the men’s M35-45 race, Eoin Flynn of Rathfarnham WSAF was part of the winning M40 team, as was his Rathfarnham club mate Mark Ryan in the M45 age group where he finished second individual. Ireland last won the overall title in 2022 — the first time in the history of the event that England was beaten. DUBLIN AWARDS At the annual Dublin Athletics Graded League awards night held in Sportslink in Santry in late September, Darby Browne (Lusk ) for the pole vault was among the youngest of the winners, while Frances Mansfield (Clonliffe Harriers), now aged eighty, was the oldest when winning an award for her specialist hammer. Some sixty years ago in 1964, when women were finally invited to compete at the Dublin Graded Meets, Frances was among the pioneering group to sign up. Other winners included Maria McCambridge (DSD) and Aisling O’Connor (Rathfarnham WSAF) for women’s middle distance in grades A and B; Peadar McGing (DSD) for men’s high jump, and comeback kid Isabel Mullarney (Rathfarnham WSAF) for women’s shot. SCHOOLS/COLLEGES Cormac Dixon (HFCS Rathcoole) proved the class of the field in the boy’s senior 6km race at the All-Ireland Schools Cross-Country, held on a damp and dank day in Tymon Park, Dublin in early March. Only with the finish line in sight did Dixon, who is a member of Tallaght AC, sprint into the lead finishing in a solid time of 19 minutes exactly. In a great race for Dublin schools, St Aidan’s CBS packed superbly to take the team prize. ULTRA/HILL/TRAIL At the National 50km Championships in Donadea, Co Kildare, Sorcha Loughnane of Donore Harriers set a new national record of 3:18:04 when finishing first woman and first W45. In a Donore double, Ian Fitzpatrick was first of the men and overall winner, finishing in 3:04.44. Also in the spring, Loughnane finished second woman at the annual Maurice Mullins Memorial Ultra, held in the Wicklow Mountains. In wet and windy conditions, Loughnane completed the 51.1km course with 2,500m of climb in 5 hrs 23 mins 11 secs. Race winner was England-based Emma Stuart, originally from Sligo, in 5 hrs 5 mins 11 secs. Over the summer, Loughnane went on to finish fourth overall and first woman with a time of 9 hrs 38 mins 46 secs at the Serpent’s Trail 100km in Hampshire, England. The off-road (and occasionally muddy) course runs from Haslemere to Petersfield in the South Downs National Park. In September, she finished Fourth overall and first Irish woman in the 80km race at the annual Eco Trail Wicklow in Bray with a time of 7 hrs 51 mins 55 secs. Third and first local finisher in the 80km race was Sean Meehan of Cherry Orchard AC in 7 hrs 46 mins 18 secs. In August, Meehan had finished third in the Run the Ridge/20km on the Derrybawn woodland trail with a time of 94:14. Many thanks to Lindie for pulling all these highlights together and for her weekly reports throughout the year. 

Well done to all who competed in the Dublin Intermediate and Masters Cross Country Championships in St. Anne's Park, Raheny in driving rain but on a good testing course. Many thanks to Raheny Shamrocks for organising the event on a very successful cross country course, with great competitions throughout the 6 races. Well done to Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club in retaining the Pat Hooper Cup. Please email pjclaffey58@gmail.com to arrange collection of uncollected medals. These are M35+ team Silver Clonliffe Harriers AC , M35 Gold and Bronze (Clonliffe), M40 Gold (Clonliffe), M50 Gold (Plant based AC), F45 Silver (DSD), F50 (Bronze) Celtic DCH AC ), F60 (Gold and Bronze) Civil Service Harriers A.C.