Summer round-up: National records and national medals!, August 25th, 2026
The dust has settled on all divisional, county, provincial, national and international track and field championships. All in all, thanks to various injuries and ailments, it has been a quiet season on track for the club but nonetheless there have been a few highlights to report.
Before that however, we must begin on the roads.
Michael Harty – national record holder on the treble
Mike Harty has continued to prove that age is no limit to ambition and in the space of less than two months he has re-written the M45 road-racing record books.
First up on 26th June was the St. Coca’s 5k in Kilcock, on the banks of the Royal Canal in Co. Kildare. Mike was fourth here last year and this year he went one place better, finishing third in what was a very tight finish. The youthful Jonas Stafford of UCD won the race by a hair’s breadth over Clonliffe Harriers’ veteran Colm Rooney. The winning time was 14m 09s. Mike was just four seconds behind in 3rd place in an M45 record-breaking 14m 13s, knocking 18 seconds off the previous record which had been held since 2019 by Derry’s Declan Reed. As a side note, Rooney had only just recently broken Mike’s own M40 5k record, running 13m 48s in the Bob Heffernan 5k in Enfield, Co. Meath.
Mike was at it again just five days later, this time in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary at the Coillte 10k on a course that takes in two quick, flat laps around the village and its environs. This race was even closer, with only two seconds covering the top three finishers after a sprint to the line. It was won by Clonmel’s William Maunsell from Kilkenny City Harriers’ Billy Coogan. Mike finished in 3rd place in 30 minutes flat, knocking just under a minute off Declan Reed’s previous record. He is now the proud M40 and M45 national record holder over the 10k distance on the roads.
And finally, just last Sunday, Mike was back up in Larne for the Antrim Coast Half Marathon. Last year he set an M40 national record there by the seaside. He was at it again this year, finishing 29th in 65 minutes 57 seconds and bagging his third national M45 record of the summer.
These records are a well-deserved reward for Mike’s hard work and dedication. They will no doubt provide inspiration to the club’s more mature members to strive for the best in years to come….
National T&F Gold and Munster T&F Silver
Congratulations to Niamh O’Connor on winning F45 1500m gold at the National Masters T&F Championships at a sunny Morton Stadium last weekend, having survived the Dublin traffic and a lengthy start-line delay. Niamh has been our only female representative on the track this year and this gold has been added to her national medal collection – an upgrade on the bronze medal she won over the same distance at the National Indoor Masters back in March.
Meanwhile, our M50 800m specialist, Ollie Smiddy took silver at the Munster Masters on a wet and wild Sunday afternoon in early June at MTU. He followed this up a couple of weeks later with two imperious gold medal winning performances over 800m and 300m at the East Cork Track & Field Championships in Carrignavar, where weather conditions were quite the opposite to those on offer earlier in the month.
The Summer-long saga of Donal vs. Stephen
East Cork Track & Field Championships
Donal Giltinan and Stephen O’Brien were our most ever-present attendees at training over the course of the summer. So much so, that crowds of interested spectators found themselves flocking to Wednesday and Saturday sessions in order to observe the latest form and speculate as to who might have the upper hand once the real business began in competition.
It took a while, but that business began at the 59th running of the East Cork Track & Field Championships on 23rd June, bonfire night, on what was a very hot Tuesday evening in the grounds of Coláiste an Chroí Naofa in Carrignavar. As ever, the races were run over an immaculately-prepared 300m grass track. Round one was the M35 800m race. Stephen set the pace in the initial stages until Donal swept by at the half-way mark. The two ran in tandem until, with 50 metres to go, Stephen made a burst for the line to win by one second.
Next up was the 3000m race, the highlight of the championships. All age categories were in the one race which made for a busy race over the short track. Paul Hartnett took to the start line, and to no-one’s surprise, went on to dominate proceedings. He won the race in 9m 09s, having lapped the entire field. As the field assembled, Paul’s clubmates were comforted by the fact that, according to their own detailed calculations, they would not be lapped. Oh how wrong they were…. Nevertheless, it was Stephen who took up the early running behind Paul as he led the rest of the field for two and a half laps. Donal then swept by again and went on to build a reasonable gap over his nemesis as things settled down, with East Cork looking good for the 1-2-3 finish. With two laps to go Donal had Stephen on the ropes. Stephen started chipping away at that gap though and as the runners took the bell for the final lap he sniffed a chance. He closed the gap and dealt a knock-out blow as they entered the final bend, taking 2nd place overall and M35 honours with Donal in 3rd.
Also on the night, Olwyn Reidy took F50 gold at both 100m and 300m and Eoin Hartnett, making his championship debut, narrowly missed out on a medal in the senior 300m race. Well done to Carraig na bhFear AC for hosting a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment yet again. Given the balmy conditions on the evening, all that was missing was a post-race barbecue….
MTU track night and County Championships
Next up, on the 17th July was the race night organized by MTU Athletics and Cork Track Club at the MTU track. Our two heroes entered the 800m, with this being Donal’s first effort at the distance over a ‘proper’ 400m track. He easily had the upper hand on the night, finishing 8th in the ‘C’ race in 2m 13.9s. Stephen never got going and wound up in 9th place (2m 16.3s).
The two were back two days later for the County Track & Field Championships – this time for the 1500m. The event was poorly attended, and all male age categories took to the start line for the one race. Finnian Lawton of Durrus AC won with ease. Stephen had his usual sprightly start, tracking the West Cork man early on but had been overhauled by Donal and Togher’s Cian O’Mahony before the 300m mark. Donal dropped to 3rd place behind the Togher athlete not long afterwards and he was to stay in that position to the end of the race, taking county M40 honours in 4m 31s flat. As seems to be the custom, Stephen dropped away from his rival as the race progressed but was being kept honest by Cork Track Club’s Craig Harrington who nipped at his heels throughout. With 200m to go Stephen pushed on, finishing less than one second behind his clubmate (4m 31.8s) to secure M40 silver. There were no other M40s in the race….
Earlier in the morning, Denis McCarthy picked up his 99th county medal and counting - a remarkable haul - taking M60 silver in the 3000m.
Final Graded League and National Masters
The final graded league of the season was held on a windy evening at MTU on Tuesday the 4th August. Donal and Stephen were back for another pop at 1500m as a precursor the National Masters Championships which were to be held the following weekend. There was a bit more quality in the (paced) field on the evening and one wonders how this was not possible for the county championships. The Dynamic Duo finished one behind the other yet again. This time, Donal was ahead by a comfortable margin, finishing 7th in 4m 32.6s, with Stephen 5.5 seconds further back in 8thplace.
Donal had by now gained a clear upper hand after five rounds of track action. Could Stephen arrest the slide in the big one or would Donal hold on to claim club bragging rights into the Autumn?
The National Stadium in Santry was this year’s venue for the National Masters Track & Field Championships. In a break from tradition, competition kicked off on a Friday evening with the event of interest to us being the 1500m. Spurred on by Niamh O’Connor’s aforementioned success, Donal and Stephen were in action not long afterwards in the first 1500m race which was run for the M35, M40 and M45 categories. The action got underway in warm evening sunshine and the pace was fast from the start, with several groups forming at an early stage. Running faster than he had done before over the distance, Donal hung on to the train as best he could as Stephen decoupled from the rear, a couple of seconds behind his clubmate. Donal struggled to maintain the pace over the final lap though, and with 150m to go his maroon singlet began to act like a red rag to the charging bull behind…. Stephen has been responsible for several late muggings in the past but this one took the biscuit as two surges saw him pass Donal to take club honours - for that was all that was on offer - with just metres to go to the finishing line. Stephen finished 14th in 4m 26.3s, just one hundredth of a second off his best, with Donal finishing 15th in 4m 26.6s, a one-second PB. The two lads’ previous bests had been set at the nationals back in 2022 so it is great to see that, despite creaking bodies, they can still do it four years later. East Cork had claimed M40 1500m bronze for the previous three seasons (2023 Stephen, 2024 Donal, 2025 Brian Harty), but that sequence was broken and we had to make do with 5th and 6th placed M40 this time around. There were no other M40s in the race….
In other business
· Christine Kelly was our only representative over the full distance at the Cork City Marathon which was held on the June bank holiday weekend. This year, for the first time, all races finished up on Grand Parade. There was a buzz around the city centre on the day with participants running through a tunnel of spectators along Washington Street before turning right for the line. Christine put in the hard yards in the months leading up to race day and her efforts were rewarded with a fine 26th place finish overall in the ladies race with a strong 3hrs 17mins effort. Stephen O’Brien, Annelise Hutch, Tim Mahony, Sarah Goulding, Olwyn Reidy and Lavinia Swords all ran in the 10k race. So too did Eoin and Paul Hartnett, with Paul, on pacing duty for his older brother, offering non-stop encouragement throughout the entire race. Rumours that Eoin wished the non-stop encouragement would have stopped at times are thought to be wide of the mark, and the two were seen speaking to each other in Carrignavar just a few short weeks later.
· Michael Furlong could not be dragged off the roads over the past two months. Energised by the super-turbo V10 Puma boots, he blazed to a 5 mile PB with a 7th place finish at the Willie Neenan 5-miler in Millstreet at the end of June (28m 08s). He pushed his 5 mile marker on even further with an impressive 27m 42s a month later in Kinsale, finishing in 27th place on the night. There were also some impressive runs over 4 miles at Churchtown (22m 21s – 5th place) and on his adopted home roads at Kilgobnet, Co. Kerry (22m 15s – 2nd). He finished it off with the Youghal Bay Half Marathon, less than two days after Kilgobnet - though one suspects his legs were somewhat finished by the end of that race!
· The Corkbeg 4 miler was held in glorious sunshine on the 2nd July. Although club representation in the race itself was low, plenty of members were there on the night to help ensure that the event ran as smoothly as always. Thanks to all for this!
· Dave O’Dwyer travelled to Galway for his annual victory in the Mary Courcey 5k in Cleggan.
· Martin Hennessy picked up plenty of category prizes in the various BHAA races run over the summer months.
· Paul Hartnett made a return to the roads finishing runner up to West Waterford’s Evan Fitzgerald in the Rathcormac 4 miler on 20th August.
· Congratulations to Eve Buckley on her impressive 2nd place finish at the recent IMRA Galtymore Mountain Race. Walshtown will hold no fear at all for her over the coming months!
Winter training
Contrary to rumours of its demise, Market Green still exists for the time being, and we will continue to use it for as long as that remains the case. Winter training shall therefore resume at Market Green on Tuesday evenings from 6pm, starting on 25th August. Hill sessions will recommence at Walshtown Woods from Saturday 29th August with the usual 10am start. Allcomers are welcome. Let’s see how long it takes for those hard-earned summer sun tans to fade away!
Before that however, we must begin on the roads.
Michael Harty – national record holder on the treble
Mike Harty has continued to prove that age is no limit to ambition and in the space of less than two months he has re-written the M45 road-racing record books.
First up on 26th June was the St. Coca’s 5k in Kilcock, on the banks of the Royal Canal in Co. Kildare. Mike was fourth here last year and this year he went one place better, finishing third in what was a very tight finish. The youthful Jonas Stafford of UCD won the race by a hair’s breadth over Clonliffe Harriers’ veteran Colm Rooney. The winning time was 14m 09s. Mike was just four seconds behind in 3rd place in an M45 record-breaking 14m 13s, knocking 18 seconds off the previous record which had been held since 2019 by Derry’s Declan Reed. As a side note, Rooney had only just recently broken Mike’s own M40 5k record, running 13m 48s in the Bob Heffernan 5k in Enfield, Co. Meath.
Mike was at it again just five days later, this time in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary at the Coillte 10k on a course that takes in two quick, flat laps around the village and its environs. This race was even closer, with only two seconds covering the top three finishers after a sprint to the line. It was won by Clonmel’s William Maunsell from Kilkenny City Harriers’ Billy Coogan. Mike finished in 3rd place in 30 minutes flat, knocking just under a minute off Declan Reed’s previous record. He is now the proud M40 and M45 national record holder over the 10k distance on the roads.
And finally, just last Sunday, Mike was back up in Larne for the Antrim Coast Half Marathon. Last year he set an M40 national record there by the seaside. He was at it again this year, finishing 29th in 65 minutes 57 seconds and bagging his third national M45 record of the summer.
These records are a well-deserved reward for Mike’s hard work and dedication. They will no doubt provide inspiration to the club’s more mature members to strive for the best in years to come….
National T&F Gold and Munster T&F Silver
Congratulations to Niamh O’Connor on winning F45 1500m gold at the National Masters T&F Championships at a sunny Morton Stadium last weekend, having survived the Dublin traffic and a lengthy start-line delay. Niamh has been our only female representative on the track this year and this gold has been added to her national medal collection – an upgrade on the bronze medal she won over the same distance at the National Indoor Masters back in March.
Meanwhile, our M50 800m specialist, Ollie Smiddy took silver at the Munster Masters on a wet and wild Sunday afternoon in early June at MTU. He followed this up a couple of weeks later with two imperious gold medal winning performances over 800m and 300m at the East Cork Track & Field Championships in Carrignavar, where weather conditions were quite the opposite to those on offer earlier in the month.
The Summer-long saga of Donal vs. Stephen
East Cork Track & Field Championships
Donal Giltinan and Stephen O’Brien were our most ever-present attendees at training over the course of the summer. So much so, that crowds of interested spectators found themselves flocking to Wednesday and Saturday sessions in order to observe the latest form and speculate as to who might have the upper hand once the real business began in competition.
It took a while, but that business began at the 59th running of the East Cork Track & Field Championships on 23rd June, bonfire night, on what was a very hot Tuesday evening in the grounds of Coláiste an Chroí Naofa in Carrignavar. As ever, the races were run over an immaculately-prepared 300m grass track. Round one was the M35 800m race. Stephen set the pace in the initial stages until Donal swept by at the half-way mark. The two ran in tandem until, with 50 metres to go, Stephen made a burst for the line to win by one second.
Next up was the 3000m race, the highlight of the championships. All age categories were in the one race which made for a busy race over the short track. Paul Hartnett took to the start line, and to no-one’s surprise, went on to dominate proceedings. He won the race in 9m 09s, having lapped the entire field. As the field assembled, Paul’s clubmates were comforted by the fact that, according to their own detailed calculations, they would not be lapped. Oh how wrong they were…. Nevertheless, it was Stephen who took up the early running behind Paul as he led the rest of the field for two and a half laps. Donal then swept by again and went on to build a reasonable gap over his nemesis as things settled down, with East Cork looking good for the 1-2-3 finish. With two laps to go Donal had Stephen on the ropes. Stephen started chipping away at that gap though and as the runners took the bell for the final lap he sniffed a chance. He closed the gap and dealt a knock-out blow as they entered the final bend, taking 2nd place overall and M35 honours with Donal in 3rd.
Also on the night, Olwyn Reidy took F50 gold at both 100m and 300m and Eoin Hartnett, making his championship debut, narrowly missed out on a medal in the senior 300m race. Well done to Carraig na bhFear AC for hosting a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment yet again. Given the balmy conditions on the evening, all that was missing was a post-race barbecue….
MTU track night and County Championships
Next up, on the 17th July was the race night organized by MTU Athletics and Cork Track Club at the MTU track. Our two heroes entered the 800m, with this being Donal’s first effort at the distance over a ‘proper’ 400m track. He easily had the upper hand on the night, finishing 8th in the ‘C’ race in 2m 13.9s. Stephen never got going and wound up in 9th place (2m 16.3s).
The two were back two days later for the County Track & Field Championships – this time for the 1500m. The event was poorly attended, and all male age categories took to the start line for the one race. Finnian Lawton of Durrus AC won with ease. Stephen had his usual sprightly start, tracking the West Cork man early on but had been overhauled by Donal and Togher’s Cian O’Mahony before the 300m mark. Donal dropped to 3rd place behind the Togher athlete not long afterwards and he was to stay in that position to the end of the race, taking county M40 honours in 4m 31s flat. As seems to be the custom, Stephen dropped away from his rival as the race progressed but was being kept honest by Cork Track Club’s Craig Harrington who nipped at his heels throughout. With 200m to go Stephen pushed on, finishing less than one second behind his clubmate (4m 31.8s) to secure M40 silver. There were no other M40s in the race….
Earlier in the morning, Denis McCarthy picked up his 99th county medal and counting - a remarkable haul - taking M60 silver in the 3000m.
Final Graded League and National Masters
The final graded league of the season was held on a windy evening at MTU on Tuesday the 4th August. Donal and Stephen were back for another pop at 1500m as a precursor the National Masters Championships which were to be held the following weekend. There was a bit more quality in the (paced) field on the evening and one wonders how this was not possible for the county championships. The Dynamic Duo finished one behind the other yet again. This time, Donal was ahead by a comfortable margin, finishing 7th in 4m 32.6s, with Stephen 5.5 seconds further back in 8thplace.
Donal had by now gained a clear upper hand after five rounds of track action. Could Stephen arrest the slide in the big one or would Donal hold on to claim club bragging rights into the Autumn?
The National Stadium in Santry was this year’s venue for the National Masters Track & Field Championships. In a break from tradition, competition kicked off on a Friday evening with the event of interest to us being the 1500m. Spurred on by Niamh O’Connor’s aforementioned success, Donal and Stephen were in action not long afterwards in the first 1500m race which was run for the M35, M40 and M45 categories. The action got underway in warm evening sunshine and the pace was fast from the start, with several groups forming at an early stage. Running faster than he had done before over the distance, Donal hung on to the train as best he could as Stephen decoupled from the rear, a couple of seconds behind his clubmate. Donal struggled to maintain the pace over the final lap though, and with 150m to go his maroon singlet began to act like a red rag to the charging bull behind…. Stephen has been responsible for several late muggings in the past but this one took the biscuit as two surges saw him pass Donal to take club honours - for that was all that was on offer - with just metres to go to the finishing line. Stephen finished 14th in 4m 26.3s, just one hundredth of a second off his best, with Donal finishing 15th in 4m 26.6s, a one-second PB. The two lads’ previous bests had been set at the nationals back in 2022 so it is great to see that, despite creaking bodies, they can still do it four years later. East Cork had claimed M40 1500m bronze for the previous three seasons (2023 Stephen, 2024 Donal, 2025 Brian Harty), but that sequence was broken and we had to make do with 5th and 6th placed M40 this time around. There were no other M40s in the race….
In other business
· Christine Kelly was our only representative over the full distance at the Cork City Marathon which was held on the June bank holiday weekend. This year, for the first time, all races finished up on Grand Parade. There was a buzz around the city centre on the day with participants running through a tunnel of spectators along Washington Street before turning right for the line. Christine put in the hard yards in the months leading up to race day and her efforts were rewarded with a fine 26th place finish overall in the ladies race with a strong 3hrs 17mins effort. Stephen O’Brien, Annelise Hutch, Tim Mahony, Sarah Goulding, Olwyn Reidy and Lavinia Swords all ran in the 10k race. So too did Eoin and Paul Hartnett, with Paul, on pacing duty for his older brother, offering non-stop encouragement throughout the entire race. Rumours that Eoin wished the non-stop encouragement would have stopped at times are thought to be wide of the mark, and the two were seen speaking to each other in Carrignavar just a few short weeks later.
· Michael Furlong could not be dragged off the roads over the past two months. Energised by the super-turbo V10 Puma boots, he blazed to a 5 mile PB with a 7th place finish at the Willie Neenan 5-miler in Millstreet at the end of June (28m 08s). He pushed his 5 mile marker on even further with an impressive 27m 42s a month later in Kinsale, finishing in 27th place on the night. There were also some impressive runs over 4 miles at Churchtown (22m 21s – 5th place) and on his adopted home roads at Kilgobnet, Co. Kerry (22m 15s – 2nd). He finished it off with the Youghal Bay Half Marathon, less than two days after Kilgobnet - though one suspects his legs were somewhat finished by the end of that race!
· The Corkbeg 4 miler was held in glorious sunshine on the 2nd July. Although club representation in the race itself was low, plenty of members were there on the night to help ensure that the event ran as smoothly as always. Thanks to all for this!
· Dave O’Dwyer travelled to Galway for his annual victory in the Mary Courcey 5k in Cleggan.
· Martin Hennessy picked up plenty of category prizes in the various BHAA races run over the summer months.
· Paul Hartnett made a return to the roads finishing runner up to West Waterford’s Evan Fitzgerald in the Rathcormac 4 miler on 20th August.
· Congratulations to Eve Buckley on her impressive 2nd place finish at the recent IMRA Galtymore Mountain Race. Walshtown will hold no fear at all for her over the coming months!
Winter training
Contrary to rumours of its demise, Market Green still exists for the time being, and we will continue to use it for as long as that remains the case. Winter training shall therefore resume at Market Green on Tuesday evenings from 6pm, starting on 25th August. Hill sessions will recommence at Walshtown Woods from Saturday 29th August with the usual 10am start. Allcomers are welcome. Let’s see how long it takes for those hard-earned summer sun tans to fade away!
Churchtown South 4 Mile, Thursday July 23rd 2026
Live Results for Corkbeg 4 Mile race, Thursday July 2nd 2026
May Update - 25th, 2026
Road Racing:
Mike Harty has continued his early summer form with a 2nd place in the Midleton 5 mile in 24.28. Also running were Donal 29.10, Annelise 34.35, Dave 34.43, Sarah Goulding 35.45 and Denis 50.01. Mike followed Midleton up with a comfortable victory in the Killeagh 4 miler, setting a course record of 19m 10s, no doubt boosted by a recent new arrival. Congrats Mike and Nadine. Lorna ran as well and was just outside the 30 minute barrier in 30.04.
The blue riband event in the BHAA calendar, the John Buckley 5k, was run over 5.4k around the Marina on Tuesday 19th May. Michael Furlong was our first finisher home in 43rd place. Convinced he had cracked 17 minutes, the records will forever state he finished in 18:12 over a course that measured at least 300 metres long. Scientific analysis can reveal that his true 5k time was in fact 17:02. At least his PB was never under threat on the night. With the length of the course in mind there were also some good runs by Eoin Hartnett in 19.19, Stephen O'Brien 19.35 and Tim Mahony in 19.57.
Michael Furlong also ran the Killarney Half Marathon in 79.07 and Eibhlin ran the Cheetah Run in Fota in 28.12.
Track and Field:
Our only apparently serious track athlete, Ollie Smiddy, ran the mile in the May Graded Leagues at MTU, finishing 8th in 5m 27s.
Wicklow Way Relay 2026 – a happy ending!
Saturday 16th May saw the 23rd annual running of the Wicklow Way Relay – the annual sideshow. The club has an impressive recent record in the Wicklow Mountains, finishing as runners-up in 2022 followed by three wins on the bounce from 2023-2025. Last year’s big question was whether we could win without our no-so-secret weapon, Tim O’Donoghue. This year’s big question was whether we could field a team at all. The team captain cast the net far and wide in his search for volunteers and, come Saturday morning, we had a full complement ready and willing to take on the challenge, with three team members making their debut. Although outright victory was seen as a long shot, the absence of a competitive Rathfarnham team raised hopes that a podium finish could be achieved.
Race day dawned grey and murky, a far cry from the blazing sunshine of last year. The honour of leading the East Cork charge fell to Diarmaid Collins. Feeling refreshed, having camped out by Lough Tay the night before, he set off from Kilmashogue in the Dublin Mountains at 7:01 am. Diarmaid was a man in a hurry, as he needed to be in Kenmare for a nautically-themed stag party in the evening. With that thought foremost in his mind he ground out a decent opening leg which included two long uphill slogs. At the 7-mile mark he crossed from County Dublin into County Wicklow and he reached the changeover in 3rd place, albeit with a 6-minute deficit to the early pacesetters – Belpark Tri Club and TT Racers. The gap to 4th place was a slim 17 seconds at this stage. Diarmaid was soon hightailing it down to Kerry for pints and pizza.
With over 2,200 feet of climbing over nearly 9.5 miles, Leg 2 packs a punch and we had our best punching bag available to take on the challenge – team captain, Kevin O’Brien. Kevin had also camped out at Lough Tay the night before but in the rather more luxurious surroundings of the O’Brien Family Camper Van. Leg two takes the adventurous runner from the outskirts of Curtlestown Woods, up under the watchful gaze of Djouce Mountain to a spectacular viewpoint over Lough Tay. Kevin didn’t stop to take in the views on this occasion though as he ticked off the miles in just over 73 minutes. We gained 90 seconds to TT Racers on this leg, though Belpark had pulled out another 90 seconds in the lead. 4th placed The Hurt Squad were now 9 minutes behind us.
Legs 3 - 5 enter our three Wicklow Way novices. Having survived the long journey up with Chris McGrath, Chris Kelly and Stephen O’Brien – departure from East Cork at c. 4:45am – Eve Buckley immediately sought some peace and quiet in the oasis of serenity that was the aforementioned O’Brien Family Camper Van upon her arrival at Lough Tay. Convinced she was livin’ the dream, she was raring to go when Kevin arrived at the changeover point. And she most certainly went. One of our strongest performers on the day, our recent W21E national orienteering champ put her experience over rough terrain to very good use on the short Leg 3. Fastest overall on the leg, she arrived at Oldbridge having taken 2 minutes out of Belpark’s lead and 3.5 minutes off TT Racers. The gap to 4th place was maintained at 9 minutes.
It was on Leg 4 that any hopes of victory began to drift. Stephen O’Brien, another rookie, took over for the short and rolling leg from Oldbridge to Glendalough. Though he was second overall on the leg, the deficit to TT Racers, who had by now taken over the lead, had grown by 4 minutes to 6 minutes overall. The deficit to Belpark, in second place, was maintained at 5 minutes. The gap to the Hurt Squad, in fourth, had grown to over 12 minutes by now, aided by a malfunction at their changeover in Oldbridge.
There was a new approach to the changeovers this year. Gone were the fingertip dramatics and flying trackers of yore. Competitors now had to stop, unclip the tracker, hand over the tracker, clip the tracker, and go. Stephen and Chris Kelly methodically demonstrated this approach at the changeover in Glendalough – pictured below. Tea and biscuits were offered to the pair from onlookers, however they were in too much of a hurry to get going to accept.
Once the changeover formalities were concluded, Chris got going for his first Wicklow Way experience. Leg 5 takes competitors from Glendalough to Glenmalure and, as a result of some fresh logging en route, a diversion had lengthened the stage by a kilometre or so. Chris first had to negotiate the contents of several tour busses which had been deposited onto the trails on the lower slopes of the valley. Once clear, he acquitted himself very well on the gruelling 4 mile climb up towards Mullacor. Chris was enjoying his run so much that he chose to extend it somewhat by taking a wrong turn on his way down the mountainside. Mistake rectified, he arrived into Glenmalure maintaining the club’s 3rd spot. The gaps did grow on this leg. TT Racers had pretty much checked out in the lead by now. Belpark had a 16 minute advantage over us and our gap to the Hurt Squad, in 4th place, stood at 11 minutes.
A lot can change on the Wicklow Way Relay however.
Forestry activity has left the mountains bare to the south of Glenmalure. This comes with an advantage though, as competitors can see the opening stages of their route clearly scrawled against the treeless hillside. Mind you, it can be equally dispiriting to see so clearly what your running future holds…. Nonetheless, Donal Giltinan attacked the leg with relish in deteriorating weather conditions. Buoyed by some vocal support alongside the Military Road – some German walkers were very impressed by this specimen of an athlete – he reached the Iron Bridge having taken 6 minutes off Belpark. The gap behind was now 13 minutes.
Leg 7 is to the Wicklow Way Relay what ‘Moving Day’ is to the Augusta Masters. Graham Swords was given the responsibility of taking on the sprawling 12.5 miles stage from the Iron Bridge to Crossbridge. As a man who likes the misery, Graham gritted his teeth and got to work. Rumours that he scaled the 177 steps towards the end of the leg on his knees may not be far from the truth… A monumental effort saw him lop 6 minutes off Belpark meaning just 4 minutes separated 2nd and 3rd places at the final changeover. An equally monumental effort from The Hurt Squad saw them reduce the gap to us to 4 minutes as well. So all was to play for on the final leg as far as the minor podium positions were concerned.
Our hopes rested on the shoulders of Annelise Hutch. It was on this leg 4 years ago, that Annelise saw a handy lead evaporate in a race that ultimately saw us finish second. There was no sign of that painful memory though as she set out on her leg with a smile on her face. Annelise looked comfortable throughout and it was Belpark’s runner, an M50, who looked under most pressure. Not long after passing the Dying Cow pub, the gap to 2nd place had reduced to just one minute with less than 5k to go. The four minute gap to 4th place was being maintained. Anticipation built as the rest of the team gathered by the finish line at Parkview House in Shillelagh. TT Racers had long ago won the race but, for us, all eyes were on the next finisher. And it was Annelise that appeared first having taken over 2nd place with just a few hundred metres to go. She crossed the line, still with a smile on her face, just four seconds ahead of the Belpark athlete after over eight hours and 104 kilometres of running. Any demons from 2022 were well exorcised.
Given that the club was missing some notable names this year, it must be said that we maximized our finishing position, though the 39 minute deficit to the winning TT Racers team told its own tale. Congratulations to all nonetheless.
Thanks to the organisers for putting on another very well-run and enjoyable event. Thanks also to our support crew of Ava & Lavinia, Lorna, Daniel & Robyn, and Tamzin, for providing transport and support all along the way. Special thanks must go to Chris McGrath who took on the onerous responsibility of delivering three athletes to Wicklow. He went on to run a marathon two days later – an altogether more pleasant experience no doubt! The Wicklow Way Relay is truly a team effort!
Summer training
A reminder to all club members that the summer training season has started. Sessions are at the CBS on Wednesday evenings at 6pm and Saturday mornings at 10am. Warm weather and sunshine are guaranteed.
Mike Harty has continued his early summer form with a 2nd place in the Midleton 5 mile in 24.28. Also running were Donal 29.10, Annelise 34.35, Dave 34.43, Sarah Goulding 35.45 and Denis 50.01. Mike followed Midleton up with a comfortable victory in the Killeagh 4 miler, setting a course record of 19m 10s, no doubt boosted by a recent new arrival. Congrats Mike and Nadine. Lorna ran as well and was just outside the 30 minute barrier in 30.04.
The blue riband event in the BHAA calendar, the John Buckley 5k, was run over 5.4k around the Marina on Tuesday 19th May. Michael Furlong was our first finisher home in 43rd place. Convinced he had cracked 17 minutes, the records will forever state he finished in 18:12 over a course that measured at least 300 metres long. Scientific analysis can reveal that his true 5k time was in fact 17:02. At least his PB was never under threat on the night. With the length of the course in mind there were also some good runs by Eoin Hartnett in 19.19, Stephen O'Brien 19.35 and Tim Mahony in 19.57.
Michael Furlong also ran the Killarney Half Marathon in 79.07 and Eibhlin ran the Cheetah Run in Fota in 28.12.
Track and Field:
Our only apparently serious track athlete, Ollie Smiddy, ran the mile in the May Graded Leagues at MTU, finishing 8th in 5m 27s.
Wicklow Way Relay 2026 – a happy ending!
Saturday 16th May saw the 23rd annual running of the Wicklow Way Relay – the annual sideshow. The club has an impressive recent record in the Wicklow Mountains, finishing as runners-up in 2022 followed by three wins on the bounce from 2023-2025. Last year’s big question was whether we could win without our no-so-secret weapon, Tim O’Donoghue. This year’s big question was whether we could field a team at all. The team captain cast the net far and wide in his search for volunteers and, come Saturday morning, we had a full complement ready and willing to take on the challenge, with three team members making their debut. Although outright victory was seen as a long shot, the absence of a competitive Rathfarnham team raised hopes that a podium finish could be achieved.
Race day dawned grey and murky, a far cry from the blazing sunshine of last year. The honour of leading the East Cork charge fell to Diarmaid Collins. Feeling refreshed, having camped out by Lough Tay the night before, he set off from Kilmashogue in the Dublin Mountains at 7:01 am. Diarmaid was a man in a hurry, as he needed to be in Kenmare for a nautically-themed stag party in the evening. With that thought foremost in his mind he ground out a decent opening leg which included two long uphill slogs. At the 7-mile mark he crossed from County Dublin into County Wicklow and he reached the changeover in 3rd place, albeit with a 6-minute deficit to the early pacesetters – Belpark Tri Club and TT Racers. The gap to 4th place was a slim 17 seconds at this stage. Diarmaid was soon hightailing it down to Kerry for pints and pizza.
With over 2,200 feet of climbing over nearly 9.5 miles, Leg 2 packs a punch and we had our best punching bag available to take on the challenge – team captain, Kevin O’Brien. Kevin had also camped out at Lough Tay the night before but in the rather more luxurious surroundings of the O’Brien Family Camper Van. Leg two takes the adventurous runner from the outskirts of Curtlestown Woods, up under the watchful gaze of Djouce Mountain to a spectacular viewpoint over Lough Tay. Kevin didn’t stop to take in the views on this occasion though as he ticked off the miles in just over 73 minutes. We gained 90 seconds to TT Racers on this leg, though Belpark had pulled out another 90 seconds in the lead. 4th placed The Hurt Squad were now 9 minutes behind us.
Legs 3 - 5 enter our three Wicklow Way novices. Having survived the long journey up with Chris McGrath, Chris Kelly and Stephen O’Brien – departure from East Cork at c. 4:45am – Eve Buckley immediately sought some peace and quiet in the oasis of serenity that was the aforementioned O’Brien Family Camper Van upon her arrival at Lough Tay. Convinced she was livin’ the dream, she was raring to go when Kevin arrived at the changeover point. And she most certainly went. One of our strongest performers on the day, our recent W21E national orienteering champ put her experience over rough terrain to very good use on the short Leg 3. Fastest overall on the leg, she arrived at Oldbridge having taken 2 minutes out of Belpark’s lead and 3.5 minutes off TT Racers. The gap to 4th place was maintained at 9 minutes.
It was on Leg 4 that any hopes of victory began to drift. Stephen O’Brien, another rookie, took over for the short and rolling leg from Oldbridge to Glendalough. Though he was second overall on the leg, the deficit to TT Racers, who had by now taken over the lead, had grown by 4 minutes to 6 minutes overall. The deficit to Belpark, in second place, was maintained at 5 minutes. The gap to the Hurt Squad, in fourth, had grown to over 12 minutes by now, aided by a malfunction at their changeover in Oldbridge.
There was a new approach to the changeovers this year. Gone were the fingertip dramatics and flying trackers of yore. Competitors now had to stop, unclip the tracker, hand over the tracker, clip the tracker, and go. Stephen and Chris Kelly methodically demonstrated this approach at the changeover in Glendalough – pictured below. Tea and biscuits were offered to the pair from onlookers, however they were in too much of a hurry to get going to accept.
Once the changeover formalities were concluded, Chris got going for his first Wicklow Way experience. Leg 5 takes competitors from Glendalough to Glenmalure and, as a result of some fresh logging en route, a diversion had lengthened the stage by a kilometre or so. Chris first had to negotiate the contents of several tour busses which had been deposited onto the trails on the lower slopes of the valley. Once clear, he acquitted himself very well on the gruelling 4 mile climb up towards Mullacor. Chris was enjoying his run so much that he chose to extend it somewhat by taking a wrong turn on his way down the mountainside. Mistake rectified, he arrived into Glenmalure maintaining the club’s 3rd spot. The gaps did grow on this leg. TT Racers had pretty much checked out in the lead by now. Belpark had a 16 minute advantage over us and our gap to the Hurt Squad, in 4th place, stood at 11 minutes.
A lot can change on the Wicklow Way Relay however.
Forestry activity has left the mountains bare to the south of Glenmalure. This comes with an advantage though, as competitors can see the opening stages of their route clearly scrawled against the treeless hillside. Mind you, it can be equally dispiriting to see so clearly what your running future holds…. Nonetheless, Donal Giltinan attacked the leg with relish in deteriorating weather conditions. Buoyed by some vocal support alongside the Military Road – some German walkers were very impressed by this specimen of an athlete – he reached the Iron Bridge having taken 6 minutes off Belpark. The gap behind was now 13 minutes.
Leg 7 is to the Wicklow Way Relay what ‘Moving Day’ is to the Augusta Masters. Graham Swords was given the responsibility of taking on the sprawling 12.5 miles stage from the Iron Bridge to Crossbridge. As a man who likes the misery, Graham gritted his teeth and got to work. Rumours that he scaled the 177 steps towards the end of the leg on his knees may not be far from the truth… A monumental effort saw him lop 6 minutes off Belpark meaning just 4 minutes separated 2nd and 3rd places at the final changeover. An equally monumental effort from The Hurt Squad saw them reduce the gap to us to 4 minutes as well. So all was to play for on the final leg as far as the minor podium positions were concerned.
Our hopes rested on the shoulders of Annelise Hutch. It was on this leg 4 years ago, that Annelise saw a handy lead evaporate in a race that ultimately saw us finish second. There was no sign of that painful memory though as she set out on her leg with a smile on her face. Annelise looked comfortable throughout and it was Belpark’s runner, an M50, who looked under most pressure. Not long after passing the Dying Cow pub, the gap to 2nd place had reduced to just one minute with less than 5k to go. The four minute gap to 4th place was being maintained. Anticipation built as the rest of the team gathered by the finish line at Parkview House in Shillelagh. TT Racers had long ago won the race but, for us, all eyes were on the next finisher. And it was Annelise that appeared first having taken over 2nd place with just a few hundred metres to go. She crossed the line, still with a smile on her face, just four seconds ahead of the Belpark athlete after over eight hours and 104 kilometres of running. Any demons from 2022 were well exorcised.
Given that the club was missing some notable names this year, it must be said that we maximized our finishing position, though the 39 minute deficit to the winning TT Racers team told its own tale. Congratulations to all nonetheless.
Thanks to the organisers for putting on another very well-run and enjoyable event. Thanks also to our support crew of Ava & Lavinia, Lorna, Daniel & Robyn, and Tamzin, for providing transport and support all along the way. Special thanks must go to Chris McGrath who took on the onerous responsibility of delivering three athletes to Wicklow. He went on to run a marathon two days later – an altogether more pleasant experience no doubt! The Wicklow Way Relay is truly a team effort!
Summer training
A reminder to all club members that the summer training season has started. Sessions are at the CBS on Wednesday evenings at 6pm and Saturday mornings at 10am. Warm weather and sunshine are guaranteed.
Summer has officially begun! - May 1st, 2026
Ballintotis 4 Mile & County Roads
As the traditional curtain-raiser for the summer evening road racing season, the Ballintotis 4-miler is always one to attract a crowd and this year proved no different. Aside from a stiff easterly breeze, conditions were perfect for racing as around 1,200 athletes lined up, under blue skies and a setting sun, to tackle the 4 mile loop around Loughaderra and its hinterland.
The course itself was immaculately presented with all verges trimmed and plenty of support, signs and mascots around and about to offer encouragement to the observant athlete. The observant spectator may have noticed a lack of East Cork singlets at the sharp end when compared to previous years but all our representatives ran to the best of their abilities on the night. Many of those unable to take part assisted in stewarding and administration so thank you to them.
Leading our contingent home was Michael Furlong. Back on form, after some decent solo graft over the past few weeks, and sporting a fresh pair of Puma Super Turbo Boost shoes, the Cork/Kerryman started strongly. In a break from tradition, he then kept it going through to the end, finishing in 27th place with a huge PB of 22m 07s. Sub 22 is surely not far away. Being the top East Cork finisher in Ballintotis is a notable honour. As he stands on the shoulders of club giants, we can be sure sure that Michael will carry this achievement with humility and grace over the coming year.
Somewhat chastened after a bit of early argy-bargy with his leading clubmate, Stephen O'Brien followed Michael home in 29th spot (22m 20s) with Grange-Fermoy's Kieran McKeown separating the two. Kieran Beausang, making his debut for the club, finished 39th while Chris Kelly was 48th having got the better of his Ballynoe nemesis, Jim Harty.
Martin Hennessy led the more experienced contingent home in 72nd place ahead of Ollie Smiddy.
Annelise Hutch was our top female finisher as she continues her return to racing. Also running were Dave O'Dwyer, Lorna O'Brien, Olwyn Reidy, Denis McCarthy and Eiblin Cleary. Special mention should go to Eadaoin Gilmartin and Sarah Forristal who made their returns to the racing scene.
As has been the case since 2024, the race also doubled up as the County Road Championships. The club secured the silver men's novice medal (Michael, Stephen, Kieran & Chris) and bronze M35 (Stephen, Kieran, Chris & Martin). Congratulations to all.
We should commend all those who made light work of organising such a huge race in the East Cork area and for making it an enjoyabale evening for participants and spectators alike. Long may it continue.
Other notes
- Michael Furlong prepared for his Ballintotis heroics by spending some time locked up in Spike Island. And during his time there he tackled the 5k race, finishing in 2nd place (17m 44s). His prize? A voucher for a free visit to Spike Island....
- Paul Hartnett wrapped up his UCC career in the Intervarsities Track & Field Championships at MTU. He finished 5th in his 1500m heat (4m 04s), qualifying for the final, however a niggle prevented him from taking his place in the race the following day.
- Meanwhile our other Michael - Michael Harty - took a comfortable victory at the Curley 4 miler in Galbally, clocking in at a very impressive 19m 24s in his season opener.
- Also Kevin won the uphill only 3k IMRA race on Claragh Mountain in Millsteet in April.
As the traditional curtain-raiser for the summer evening road racing season, the Ballintotis 4-miler is always one to attract a crowd and this year proved no different. Aside from a stiff easterly breeze, conditions were perfect for racing as around 1,200 athletes lined up, under blue skies and a setting sun, to tackle the 4 mile loop around Loughaderra and its hinterland.
The course itself was immaculately presented with all verges trimmed and plenty of support, signs and mascots around and about to offer encouragement to the observant athlete. The observant spectator may have noticed a lack of East Cork singlets at the sharp end when compared to previous years but all our representatives ran to the best of their abilities on the night. Many of those unable to take part assisted in stewarding and administration so thank you to them.
Leading our contingent home was Michael Furlong. Back on form, after some decent solo graft over the past few weeks, and sporting a fresh pair of Puma Super Turbo Boost shoes, the Cork/Kerryman started strongly. In a break from tradition, he then kept it going through to the end, finishing in 27th place with a huge PB of 22m 07s. Sub 22 is surely not far away. Being the top East Cork finisher in Ballintotis is a notable honour. As he stands on the shoulders of club giants, we can be sure sure that Michael will carry this achievement with humility and grace over the coming year.
Somewhat chastened after a bit of early argy-bargy with his leading clubmate, Stephen O'Brien followed Michael home in 29th spot (22m 20s) with Grange-Fermoy's Kieran McKeown separating the two. Kieran Beausang, making his debut for the club, finished 39th while Chris Kelly was 48th having got the better of his Ballynoe nemesis, Jim Harty.
Martin Hennessy led the more experienced contingent home in 72nd place ahead of Ollie Smiddy.
Annelise Hutch was our top female finisher as she continues her return to racing. Also running were Dave O'Dwyer, Lorna O'Brien, Olwyn Reidy, Denis McCarthy and Eiblin Cleary. Special mention should go to Eadaoin Gilmartin and Sarah Forristal who made their returns to the racing scene.
As has been the case since 2024, the race also doubled up as the County Road Championships. The club secured the silver men's novice medal (Michael, Stephen, Kieran & Chris) and bronze M35 (Stephen, Kieran, Chris & Martin). Congratulations to all.
We should commend all those who made light work of organising such a huge race in the East Cork area and for making it an enjoyabale evening for participants and spectators alike. Long may it continue.
Other notes
- Michael Furlong prepared for his Ballintotis heroics by spending some time locked up in Spike Island. And during his time there he tackled the 5k race, finishing in 2nd place (17m 44s). His prize? A voucher for a free visit to Spike Island....
- Paul Hartnett wrapped up his UCC career in the Intervarsities Track & Field Championships at MTU. He finished 5th in his 1500m heat (4m 04s), qualifying for the final, however a niggle prevented him from taking his place in the race the following day.
- Meanwhile our other Michael - Michael Harty - took a comfortable victory at the Curley 4 miler in Galbally, clocking in at a very impressive 19m 24s in his season opener.
- Also Kevin won the uphill only 3k IMRA race on Claragh Mountain in Millsteet in April.
Springtime report - April 14th, 2026
A visit to the Kingdom for the Munster Roads
Suggestions that spring had sprung proved to be somewhat premature as the great and good of Munster athletics converged on Castleisland, Co. Kerry on Sunday, 1st March for the Munster Roads Championships. Wind and cold rain were the order of the day in the Kingdom. Hosted by An Riocht at their impressive club facilities, the 4 mile races took in a loop around the town which included a run down the widest street in Ireland at the beginning of the race, followed by a 300m blast around the track to finish up. All in all, it was an enjoyable course.
The club just about mustered up a team to make the journey and it was Matt Horrigan who led the side home in 20th position (21m 57s) scoring on the Cork gold medal-winning county novice side. Stephen O’Brien was next up in 43rd place, learning that a 300m blast on a track at the end of 4 miles is a different proposition to a 300m blast on a track full stop. Michael Furlong made a racing return in his adopted Kerry homeland in 53rd place with Ollie Smiddy rounding out the club’s day in 77th.
Masters medals galore in Athlone
St. Patrick’s weekend saw the National Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships take place in Athlone. Fresh from their exploits in Nenagh in February both Ollie Smiddy and Niamh O’Connor made the trip up to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands to measure themselves against the best the country has to offer. And they measured up quite well. In the 1500m, Niamh O’Connor took a comfortable F45 bronze medal (5m 25s). Ollie Smiddy held second place at the 600 metre mark of the M50 800m but was demoted to 3rd place in a blanket finish, setting a 2m 15s PB. Huge congratulations to both national medalists! Congratulations also to our training partner Elaine Cardiff who secured F40 silver in the 3000m behind her Kilmore AC clubmate Fiona Kehoe.
East Cork Roads – Ballynoe
Thursday 9th April saw the 47th edition of the East Cork Roads Championships - the race that not even Covid could defeat – run as always on the fabled lanes around the village of Ballynoe. They speak in hushed tones of the Beast of Ballynoe – the fearsome climb past the GAA club which has reduced some of the county’s finest to mere also-rans on occasion. Who would fall victim in 2026..?
The ladies ran off first and we only had one representative to take on the 3,000m course, Well done to Eibhlin Cleary for keeping the flag flying in a 22nd place finish.
The gentlemen were up next, facing four laps of the village over 5 miles. This year the division welcomed athletes from the revived Glanmire AC to the fold for the first time. Such has been the strength of their recruitment drive, and the current injury crisis affecting East Cork AC, that our hopes of victory were slim at best. Club glory was a more realistic target – something which has managed to elude us for the past few years, given that the top three individuals do not contribute to the team score. Would tactics come into play in order to secure the right result….?
Five clubmen took to the start and, from the off, the race for victory became an immediate battle between Glanmire’s media officer, Donal Coakley, and Carraig na bhFear’s Colin Meritt. These two were initially joined by St. Catherine’s Jim Harty but he was swiftly dropped, falling back into the chasing pack. This pack was led by Chris Kelly and Donal Giltinan. And so it remained for the first two laps, during which time, Stephen O’Brien passed a number of athletes to make it an East Cork trio running in 4th, 5th and 6th places. With Ollie Smiddy and Dave O’Dwyer a few places further back, we were in a strong position to win the team title.
Then, something strange happened on the third run down the hill. Chris Kelly misplaced his script and passed Jim Harty to take 3rd place. As a result of this, Dave O’Dwyer’s positioning suddenly became very important – a message relayed to the Limerick-man in no uncertain terms by Denis McCarthy.
And so it was that Chris, Jim Harty and Donal arrived at the base of the final climb together in that order, with Stephen around 10 seconds adrift. With the top two already finished, it was the battle for 3rd place that was to keep the punters spellbound. Donal made his move early, taking the lead of the group as they approached the GAA club. However, he didn’t bargain on the climbing prowess of his rivals and soon found himself overhauled and out of gas as the climb began to level off. It all came down to a final sprint between Chris and Jim Harty so, as they turned right for the finish line. Chris just couldn’t find that extra gear though (or was he thinking about the team…) and it was the St. Catherine’s man that took the final podium spot with a couple of seconds to spare.
Blissfully unaware of drama playing out ahead, Stephen had been steadily closing the gap to the trio with a final dash up the hill – the recent session at Walshtown no doubt paying off in spades. However, some exquisitely timed encouragement from a spectating Matt Horrigan gave Donal the impetus to keep his clubmate behind as he crossed the line in 5th place, just 2 seconds behind Chris, with Stephen a further two seconds in arrears in 6th place. Ollie Smiddy was fourth man home in a lonely 16th place while Dave O’Dwyer picked up couple of spots in response to Denis’s exhortations to finish 28th. All of this secured a comfortable victory for the club – its first since 2021.
Congratulations to Donal Coakley for winning the race on debut, becoming just the second non-East Cork AC athlete to triumph since the club’s formation in 1985 – Martin Drake being the other, winning for Celtic AC in 1993. We can only hope that ‘normal’ service will be resumed in 2027.
And finally…
· Paul Hartnett and Ciarán McNamee represented their colleges at the IUAA indoor championships in Dublin. Paul placed 5th overall in the 3000m (8m 32s) while Ciarán was 24th in the 1500m (4m 36s).
· Sunday the 8th March saw the second running of the CEASC 10 miler along the Midleton-Mogeely section of the Greenway. Although only one East Cork club singlet was spotted participating in the race, there were plenty of volunteers who turned up for pacing duties: Mike Harty, Frank O’Brien, Matt Horrigan, Chris Kelly, Graham Swords, Christine Kelly and Dave O’Dwyer. Thanks to all. Hopefully the 60-minute gang appreciated the fact that they were being looked after by two national intermediate XC champions…
· The 2025/2026 Cloyne 4k Commons series came to a conclusion on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day. There was no club glory on the day but, as always, the race attracted a large turnout on a pleasant March morning. Just seven short months to go now before it all kicks off again!
· And finally, Christine Kelly finished 3rd placed F40 in last weekend’s Cobh 10-miler as she took a ‘break’ from her Cork City Marathon preparations. Well done Christine!
Suggestions that spring had sprung proved to be somewhat premature as the great and good of Munster athletics converged on Castleisland, Co. Kerry on Sunday, 1st March for the Munster Roads Championships. Wind and cold rain were the order of the day in the Kingdom. Hosted by An Riocht at their impressive club facilities, the 4 mile races took in a loop around the town which included a run down the widest street in Ireland at the beginning of the race, followed by a 300m blast around the track to finish up. All in all, it was an enjoyable course.
The club just about mustered up a team to make the journey and it was Matt Horrigan who led the side home in 20th position (21m 57s) scoring on the Cork gold medal-winning county novice side. Stephen O’Brien was next up in 43rd place, learning that a 300m blast on a track at the end of 4 miles is a different proposition to a 300m blast on a track full stop. Michael Furlong made a racing return in his adopted Kerry homeland in 53rd place with Ollie Smiddy rounding out the club’s day in 77th.
Masters medals galore in Athlone
St. Patrick’s weekend saw the National Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships take place in Athlone. Fresh from their exploits in Nenagh in February both Ollie Smiddy and Niamh O’Connor made the trip up to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands to measure themselves against the best the country has to offer. And they measured up quite well. In the 1500m, Niamh O’Connor took a comfortable F45 bronze medal (5m 25s). Ollie Smiddy held second place at the 600 metre mark of the M50 800m but was demoted to 3rd place in a blanket finish, setting a 2m 15s PB. Huge congratulations to both national medalists! Congratulations also to our training partner Elaine Cardiff who secured F40 silver in the 3000m behind her Kilmore AC clubmate Fiona Kehoe.
East Cork Roads – Ballynoe
Thursday 9th April saw the 47th edition of the East Cork Roads Championships - the race that not even Covid could defeat – run as always on the fabled lanes around the village of Ballynoe. They speak in hushed tones of the Beast of Ballynoe – the fearsome climb past the GAA club which has reduced some of the county’s finest to mere also-rans on occasion. Who would fall victim in 2026..?
The ladies ran off first and we only had one representative to take on the 3,000m course, Well done to Eibhlin Cleary for keeping the flag flying in a 22nd place finish.
The gentlemen were up next, facing four laps of the village over 5 miles. This year the division welcomed athletes from the revived Glanmire AC to the fold for the first time. Such has been the strength of their recruitment drive, and the current injury crisis affecting East Cork AC, that our hopes of victory were slim at best. Club glory was a more realistic target – something which has managed to elude us for the past few years, given that the top three individuals do not contribute to the team score. Would tactics come into play in order to secure the right result….?
Five clubmen took to the start and, from the off, the race for victory became an immediate battle between Glanmire’s media officer, Donal Coakley, and Carraig na bhFear’s Colin Meritt. These two were initially joined by St. Catherine’s Jim Harty but he was swiftly dropped, falling back into the chasing pack. This pack was led by Chris Kelly and Donal Giltinan. And so it remained for the first two laps, during which time, Stephen O’Brien passed a number of athletes to make it an East Cork trio running in 4th, 5th and 6th places. With Ollie Smiddy and Dave O’Dwyer a few places further back, we were in a strong position to win the team title.
Then, something strange happened on the third run down the hill. Chris Kelly misplaced his script and passed Jim Harty to take 3rd place. As a result of this, Dave O’Dwyer’s positioning suddenly became very important – a message relayed to the Limerick-man in no uncertain terms by Denis McCarthy.
And so it was that Chris, Jim Harty and Donal arrived at the base of the final climb together in that order, with Stephen around 10 seconds adrift. With the top two already finished, it was the battle for 3rd place that was to keep the punters spellbound. Donal made his move early, taking the lead of the group as they approached the GAA club. However, he didn’t bargain on the climbing prowess of his rivals and soon found himself overhauled and out of gas as the climb began to level off. It all came down to a final sprint between Chris and Jim Harty so, as they turned right for the finish line. Chris just couldn’t find that extra gear though (or was he thinking about the team…) and it was the St. Catherine’s man that took the final podium spot with a couple of seconds to spare.
Blissfully unaware of drama playing out ahead, Stephen had been steadily closing the gap to the trio with a final dash up the hill – the recent session at Walshtown no doubt paying off in spades. However, some exquisitely timed encouragement from a spectating Matt Horrigan gave Donal the impetus to keep his clubmate behind as he crossed the line in 5th place, just 2 seconds behind Chris, with Stephen a further two seconds in arrears in 6th place. Ollie Smiddy was fourth man home in a lonely 16th place while Dave O’Dwyer picked up couple of spots in response to Denis’s exhortations to finish 28th. All of this secured a comfortable victory for the club – its first since 2021.
Congratulations to Donal Coakley for winning the race on debut, becoming just the second non-East Cork AC athlete to triumph since the club’s formation in 1985 – Martin Drake being the other, winning for Celtic AC in 1993. We can only hope that ‘normal’ service will be resumed in 2027.
And finally…
· Paul Hartnett and Ciarán McNamee represented their colleges at the IUAA indoor championships in Dublin. Paul placed 5th overall in the 3000m (8m 32s) while Ciarán was 24th in the 1500m (4m 36s).
· Sunday the 8th March saw the second running of the CEASC 10 miler along the Midleton-Mogeely section of the Greenway. Although only one East Cork club singlet was spotted participating in the race, there were plenty of volunteers who turned up for pacing duties: Mike Harty, Frank O’Brien, Matt Horrigan, Chris Kelly, Graham Swords, Christine Kelly and Dave O’Dwyer. Thanks to all. Hopefully the 60-minute gang appreciated the fact that they were being looked after by two national intermediate XC champions…
· The 2025/2026 Cloyne 4k Commons series came to a conclusion on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day. There was no club glory on the day but, as always, the race attracted a large turnout on a pleasant March morning. Just seven short months to go now before it all kicks off again!
· And finally, Christine Kelly finished 3rd placed F40 in last weekend’s Cobh 10-miler as she took a ‘break’ from her Cork City Marathon preparations. Well done Christine!
National Intermediate Champion and county glories in the wind, rain and mud - Feb 26th, 2026
The early weeks of 2026 have seen the cross-country season come to a close and from Bweeng to the Other Capital there were some great successes for the club.
National Intermediate XC Championships – Frank O’Brien is our latest National Champion!
It’s hard to believe that up until a week ago, the 2025/2026 cross country season had nearly passed without seeing East Cork represented at national level. However, at the last opportunity, Frank O’Brien dutifully stepped in to save the club’s blushes up in Abbotstown, as he lined up at the National Intermediates. And he did it in style.
As the Dublin-based media has kept reminding us, the weather on the east coast has been somewhat damp in the past few weeks. The effects of the rain on the national cross-country course resulted in race distances being cut and the races being run on a shortened kilometre-long lap. The men’s intermediate was thus run over six kilometres as the last event of the day, which may have played to Frank’s benefit, the finely tuned track athlete that he is.
The Dublin-based East Cork man was in the mix from the start and by half-way the race essentially distilled down into a battle between Frank, Clonliffe Harriers’ Mahad Mohamed Egaal and Thomas McStay of Gallway City Harriers. Frank had battled with Egaal two years ago at the national seniors in Enniskillen, coming out on top but the two of them were well behind McStay on that day. With conditions deteriorating underfoot, the two Harriers each took turns at the front, taking a strong headwind, but neither could make a decisive break and so it all came down to the last lap.
Fresh from glory at a prestigious Cork BHAA race the previous week, Frank sniffed another opportunity and with two hundred metres or so left he put on the afterburners. All three pushed hard for the line but it was Frank who prevailed by the slimmest of margins. Three seconds covered the top three at the line with Egaal one second behind Frank and McStay a further two seconds back.
After such a great performance, Frank now joins a select club of East Cork individual national champions. He is our fifth national intermediate cross country champion, following in the footsteps of Bryan Meade (1988), James McCarthy (2007), Mike Harty (2018) and his sparring partner, Paul Hartnett (2024).
Congratulations Frank!
Munster Indoors
We had two individual medals in the Munster indoors in Nenagh at the start of February. Ollie continued his good form for silver in the M50 800m in a swift time of 2.20. And the ever young Niamh O'Connor took gold in the 1500m F45 in 5.37. Well done both.
County Masters XC Championships – club gold in a battle against the elements
On 11th January, The County Masters (& Intermediate) Cross Country Championships returned to Bweeng after a successful trip there in 2025.
Those who were present last year remembered a lovely firm field with a tough climb or two into a cold, stiff breeze. It was an honest course and a tough race. Those who were present this year are still recovering from the shock! Mother Nature was on the entry list again this year and she turned up in force. Stormy winds topped the bill, ably supported by horizontal rain and healthy lashings of mud. Add to that a course designed to make the most of the headwinds and crosswinds and you had all the makings of an ordeal that those who were present on the day will not forget easily. And nor should they as this is what makes cross-country what it is!
The venerable masters athletes have seen it all over their many years mind you, so such conditions should hold no fear for them. There was much relief, however, when word spread at the start line that the race would be reduced from 7k to 6k. Just three long laps so.
So off they went with St. Finbarr’s Barry Twohig, seemingly unperturbed by the conditions, taking up the early running and winning with relative ease. Donal Giltinan initially led the East Cork charge, with Matt Horrigan taking less time than usual to ease himself into the race. Matt passed Donal early doors and knuckled down to finish 6th with Donal not too far behind in 7th. That translated to silver M35 and M40 medals respectively for the two gentlemen. In his favourite racing conditions, Stephen O’Brien found the time to pause and breathe it all in a couple of times on the last lap, stumbling over the line in 14th while Martin Hennessy finished in 39th to complete the East Cork quartet, securing M55 gold for himself in the process.
East Cork thus won club M35 gold for the fourth time in the past five years.
On the roads and in other business….
- Frank O’Brien won the J&J 5k BHAA race in Little Island with a reasonably punchy 15:03. In the same race Eoin Hartnett put his recent training form to good use breaking 18 minutes in a 5k for the first time (24th in 17:51).
- Eve Buckley made her East Cork debut in January’s edition of the Cloyne 4k – the first of many appearances we hope. The running public have continued to strongly support the series and the February race saw Ollie Smiddy, Eric Meade and Dave O’Dwyer claim their t-shirts.
- The ever-popular John Treacy 10 miler in Dungarvan saw a smattering of East Cork athletes taking part in perfect racing conditions.
- Kevin O’Brien dusted off the East Cork singlet, but only for two IMRA races, finishing in 2nd place to Nick Hogan in the Curragh Woods (10k) and 3rd in the Ballyhoura Moonlight Challenge (28k).
National Intermediate XC Championships – Frank O’Brien is our latest National Champion!
It’s hard to believe that up until a week ago, the 2025/2026 cross country season had nearly passed without seeing East Cork represented at national level. However, at the last opportunity, Frank O’Brien dutifully stepped in to save the club’s blushes up in Abbotstown, as he lined up at the National Intermediates. And he did it in style.
As the Dublin-based media has kept reminding us, the weather on the east coast has been somewhat damp in the past few weeks. The effects of the rain on the national cross-country course resulted in race distances being cut and the races being run on a shortened kilometre-long lap. The men’s intermediate was thus run over six kilometres as the last event of the day, which may have played to Frank’s benefit, the finely tuned track athlete that he is.
The Dublin-based East Cork man was in the mix from the start and by half-way the race essentially distilled down into a battle between Frank, Clonliffe Harriers’ Mahad Mohamed Egaal and Thomas McStay of Gallway City Harriers. Frank had battled with Egaal two years ago at the national seniors in Enniskillen, coming out on top but the two of them were well behind McStay on that day. With conditions deteriorating underfoot, the two Harriers each took turns at the front, taking a strong headwind, but neither could make a decisive break and so it all came down to the last lap.
Fresh from glory at a prestigious Cork BHAA race the previous week, Frank sniffed another opportunity and with two hundred metres or so left he put on the afterburners. All three pushed hard for the line but it was Frank who prevailed by the slimmest of margins. Three seconds covered the top three at the line with Egaal one second behind Frank and McStay a further two seconds back.
After such a great performance, Frank now joins a select club of East Cork individual national champions. He is our fifth national intermediate cross country champion, following in the footsteps of Bryan Meade (1988), James McCarthy (2007), Mike Harty (2018) and his sparring partner, Paul Hartnett (2024).
Congratulations Frank!
Munster Indoors
We had two individual medals in the Munster indoors in Nenagh at the start of February. Ollie continued his good form for silver in the M50 800m in a swift time of 2.20. And the ever young Niamh O'Connor took gold in the 1500m F45 in 5.37. Well done both.
County Masters XC Championships – club gold in a battle against the elements
On 11th January, The County Masters (& Intermediate) Cross Country Championships returned to Bweeng after a successful trip there in 2025.
Those who were present last year remembered a lovely firm field with a tough climb or two into a cold, stiff breeze. It was an honest course and a tough race. Those who were present this year are still recovering from the shock! Mother Nature was on the entry list again this year and she turned up in force. Stormy winds topped the bill, ably supported by horizontal rain and healthy lashings of mud. Add to that a course designed to make the most of the headwinds and crosswinds and you had all the makings of an ordeal that those who were present on the day will not forget easily. And nor should they as this is what makes cross-country what it is!
The venerable masters athletes have seen it all over their many years mind you, so such conditions should hold no fear for them. There was much relief, however, when word spread at the start line that the race would be reduced from 7k to 6k. Just three long laps so.
So off they went with St. Finbarr’s Barry Twohig, seemingly unperturbed by the conditions, taking up the early running and winning with relative ease. Donal Giltinan initially led the East Cork charge, with Matt Horrigan taking less time than usual to ease himself into the race. Matt passed Donal early doors and knuckled down to finish 6th with Donal not too far behind in 7th. That translated to silver M35 and M40 medals respectively for the two gentlemen. In his favourite racing conditions, Stephen O’Brien found the time to pause and breathe it all in a couple of times on the last lap, stumbling over the line in 14th while Martin Hennessy finished in 39th to complete the East Cork quartet, securing M55 gold for himself in the process.
East Cork thus won club M35 gold for the fourth time in the past five years.
On the roads and in other business….
- Frank O’Brien won the J&J 5k BHAA race in Little Island with a reasonably punchy 15:03. In the same race Eoin Hartnett put his recent training form to good use breaking 18 minutes in a 5k for the first time (24th in 17:51).
- Eve Buckley made her East Cork debut in January’s edition of the Cloyne 4k – the first of many appearances we hope. The running public have continued to strongly support the series and the February race saw Ollie Smiddy, Eric Meade and Dave O’Dwyer claim their t-shirts.
- The ever-popular John Treacy 10 miler in Dungarvan saw a smattering of East Cork athletes taking part in perfect racing conditions.
- Kevin O’Brien dusted off the East Cork singlet, but only for two IMRA races, finishing in 2nd place to Nick Hogan in the Curragh Woods (10k) and 3rd in the Ballyhoura Moonlight Challenge (28k).
Please support our road race in Whitegate on Thursday night July 3rd. Race starts at 8pm sharp and be aware of the 800 meter jog uphill to the start!
RACE RESULTS HERE
RACE RESULTS HERE
Munster and National Medals - A compilation by James McCarthy and Denis McCarthy
James and Denis have spent a lot of time and effort compiling results from Munster and National championships from the start of time (well 1986). It is very well put together and shows the success the club has had over the years. Thanks to both for this. It might be a trip down memory lane for some people or a source of inspiration to others!
There are one of two gaps that perhaps you might be able to help with. Mainly these are:
- 1989: National Road Relays 3rd team - Missing 3 members of the team.
- 1991: Intermediate Cross Country 2nd team - Missing one member of the scoring team.
- 1996: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - All missing!
- 2000: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - 2 missing
One wonders if we will have a junior mens or womens team compete again in the near future..
The file can be downloaded below and is also saved in the Club Records section.
There are one of two gaps that perhaps you might be able to help with. Mainly these are:
- 1989: National Road Relays 3rd team - Missing 3 members of the team.
- 1991: Intermediate Cross Country 2nd team - Missing one member of the scoring team.
- 1996: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - All missing!
- 2000: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - 2 missing
One wonders if we will have a junior mens or womens team compete again in the near future..
The file can be downloaded below and is also saved in the Club Records section.
| east_cork_medal_winners_1986-2018.docx |
