McGlynn and Harriers trio make cut for European Championships

Three Tullamore Harriers athletes, along with Offaly native Ann-Marie McGlynn, have been named in the Ireland team for the upcoming SPAR European Cross Country Championships.

Danielle Donegan is joined in the team by Tullamore Harriers colleagues Laura Mooney from Cappincur and Ava O’Connor from Emo, Co. Laois. With Donegan competing at senior level, Mooney and O'Connor are part of the U23 cohort.

Overall, Athletics Ireland has selected a 36-strong team for the championships which take place in Antalya, Türkiye, on Sunday week, December 8.

McGlynn was crowned national senior cross country champion in Castle Irvine Estate, near Enniskillen, on November 17. In the process, she became the first athlete to win national senior cross country and marathon titles in the same year, having retained her marathon crown in Dublin at the end of October.

McGlynn was pleasantly surprised with her cross country success and she was in a state of disbelief afterwards.

“I didn’t do anything apart from staying in contact and all of a sudden then I landed at the front. I kept that same momentum, I didn’t do anything stupid or crazy, my strength paid off in the end," said McGlynn, who is a member of Letterkenny AC.

The Mucklagh native won a team bronze medal at the 2022 European Cross Country Championships held in Turin.

Danielle Donegan claimed the bronze medal at the recent National Cross Country Championships, with Niamh Allen of Leevale AC winning silver. Both Donegan and McGlynn are coached by Emmett Dunleavy.

Laura Mooney, who is coached by Ray Treacy, finished 56th at the recent NCAA cross country in the USA, while Ava O’Connor (coached by Damon Martin) placed 19th in the NCAA Division II cross country. Both athletes are studying in the USA on athletics scholarships.

Fiona Everard (Bandon AC), Mary Mulhare (Portlaoise AC) and Cheryl Nolan (St Abban’s AC) are also on the senior women’s team.

National senior men's cross country champion Keelan Kilrehill will be joined in the senior men’s team by Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers), Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers), Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC), William Fitzgerald (Craughwell AC) and Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers).

Kilrehill and Dalton both featured on the Irish senior men’s team that finished fourth at last year’s championships in Brussels, with Dalton finishing inside the top ten individually.

Nick Griggs secured the U20 bronze medal at these championships twelve months ago, with the Tyrone teenager making the step up to the U23 ranks this year. Griggs was part of the U20 team who claimed gold at these championships last year, and even with some of that team graduating to the U23 ranks, the U20 team once again looks to be one of Ireland’s best hopes of challenging for the leading team placings on Sunday week.

Speaking at the team announcement, Athletics Ireland national endurance coordinator Mark Kenneally said: “On the back of last year’s success in Brussels, I am delighted that we travel to Turkey with strong teams again. It is getting harder to make the Irish team for the European Cross Country Championships year on year, and great credit goes to all the athletes who have made this team. We now travel to Turkey in December with realistic medal ambitions and will look for strong performances from athletes across the board.”