Athletics Ireland President John Cronin with the National Silver medallists: Alisha Maher, Teagan Delaney, Eimear Cotter, Katie Deverell and Lucy Champ.

National glory as U19 girls claim silver and smash club record

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Athletics Ireland President John Cronin with the National Silver medallists: Alisha Maher, Teagan Delaney, Eimear Cotter, Katie Deverell and Lucy Champ.

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Shane McGuinness and Sorcha Galvin at the Banagher 5k.

Published: Wed 9 Apr 2025, 10:19 PM

Tullamore Harriers AC News

The final day of the All-Ireland Juvenile Indoor Championships took place last Saturday at TUS Midlands, Athlone. The Tullamore Harriers U19 girls relay team, Alisha Maher, Katie Deverell, Lucy Champ, Eimear Cotter and Teagan Delaney (substitute), lined up in lane 4 for the 4x200m final, following a strong second-place finish behind Ratoath in the provincial championships.

Alisha got the team off to a great start, handing over with a slight lead to Katie, who maintained the advantage heading into Lucy on the third leg.

Ratoath, however, pushed hard to take a narrow lead going into the final leg. Sticking to the race plan Eimear fought to close the gap, gaining some ground, but not enough to catch Ratoath who finished just half a second ahead. The girls crossed the line in 1:43.26, securing a well-deserved silver medal.

Not only did the team improve their time by 2.32 seconds from the provincial championships, but they also broke their own club record of 1:44.64 from 2024, a superb achievement. Congratulations to the girls and their coaches on a very successful indoor season.

Banagher 5K

What a stunning morning it was for the annual Banagher 5K, hosted by Banagher AC last Sunday. With blue skies overhead and the sun shining brightly, a record turnout of 474 athletes toed the line, no doubt encouraged by both the perfect weather and the promise of a fast course, considering this race's reputation.

This year’s course featured a slight adjustment from previous editions, a change that was well received by competitors.

Peter Somba of Ratoath AC claimed top honours with a winning time of 15:03. Not far behind, Kevin Minnock of Tullamore Harriers put in a stellar performance to finish 2nd in15:13, followed closely by clubmate Paul Mitchell, who took third in 15:16.

In the women’s race, Fiona Gettings of Longford AC led the field, finishing strongly in 16:37.

Denise Egan of Ferbane claimed 2nd place in 17:53, while Sarah Flanagan represented Tullamore Harriers on the podium with a fine 3rd place finish in 18:07.

The club had two age group winners – Mary Galvin 1st O60 and Eileen Kenny 1st O70. Tullamore Harriers took first place in the men’s team placing, with Kevin Minnock, Paul Mitchell, Jonathan Dunne and Barry Mooney on the team. The ladies were placed 4th team with Sarah Flanagan, Charlotte Abbott, Una Mullen and Eileen Kenny scoring.

Well done to the 41 athletes from the club who competed; congratulations to all who took part; and special thanks to Banagher AC for hosting another great event.

Tullamore Harriers results: Kevin Minnock 0:15:13 Paul Mitchell 15:16; Jonathan Dunne 16:12; Barry Mooney 16:21; Barry Minnock 16:31; Nigel Cunningham 17:02; Jamie Malone 17:05; Shane McGuinness 17:30; Darragh Carroll 17:34; Darren Butler 17:57; Sarah Flanagan 18:07; Alan Heffernan 18:26; Leslie Buckley 18:37; Glen Finlay 18:40; Brendan Kelly 18:50; Nick McGowan 18:55; Brendan Abbott 18:55; David Hollywood 19:23; Justin Murtagh 20:14; Charlotte Abbott 20:37; Liam Dunne 21:16; Forrest McCormack 21:16; Una Mullen 21:27; Bryce Fraser 21:37; Eileen Kenny 22:07; Anne Marie McNamara 22:22; Helena Buckley 22:19; Brendan Carroll 22:22; Mark Egan 22:20; Finian McDermott 22:34; Mary Galvin 22:47; Sorcha Galvin 23:06; Emer Rigney 23:18; Anne O'Malley 24:20; Sara McLaughlin 25:15; Sharon Daly 25:37; Olive Mannion 26:52; Elma Ravenhill 28:19; Pat Kennedy 31:32.

Spring Throws

Well done to Olive Mannion who came away with a gold medal at the Spring Throws Event, hosted by Athletics Ireland on Sunday last. Olive competed in the O60 Javelin competition, throwing a best of 10.73m.

Berlin Half Marathon

A group of nine club athletes travelled to the German capital to take part in the Berlin Half Marathon on Sunday last. Joining nearly 40,000 runners in this iconic event, renowned as the site of the last seven world half marathon records, they witnessed history once again as Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay shattered the women’s course record with an incredible time of 1:03:35.

Huge congratulations to the runners who represented the club with pride in blue and white. Fantastic performances all around.

Results: Alan Mitchell 1:35:10; Rachel Henry 1:35:11; Diarmuid Herlihy 1:35:45; Evelyn Herlihy 1:36:39; Maire Triona Keane 1:38:59; Rita Daly 1:39:30; Michelle Mullaney 1:39:39; Sean Spollen 1:42:58; Enda Golden 1:54:28.

Westport 10K

Well done to Trish Shaw, Paul Shaw, Dorothy Heffernan, and Martina Lydon who took on the Westport 10K last Sunday.

The route offered a stunning mix of scenic countryside, spectacular coastal views along the Wild Atlantic Way, and the charming streets of Westport, making it as beautiful as it was challenging. Results: Paul Shaw 45:52; Martina Lydon 55:02; Trish Shaw 1:02:28; Dorothy Heffernan 1:09:31.