Celtic International XC 2026 (7th Feb)

The Celtic Cross Country Championships were held at London’s infamous Parliament Hill on Saturday 7th February and Mullingar Harriers were represented in both the boys and girls races. Typically comprising of teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the race piggybacked on the Home Nations Championships, a competition between England, Scotland and Wales.

The u/17 boys took on the challenge first where very muddy, wet conditions added to the already difficult hilly course. Racing 6,000m over four laps provided a tough test but nothing too daunting for Cillian Galvin, making his International debut for Ireland. The end results showed a very close scoring team competition, where the Irish u/17 team emerged eventual winners. Cillian, running with the Ireland Development team, packed well with his Irish team mates from start to finish, and was unlucky to finish just off the podium by a narrow margin with the fourth placed team.

Also covering 6,000m, the u/17 girls race was run in conjunction with the u/20 ladies race, adding an unnecessary additional level of competition for Lily Walsh. But the Irish girls rose to the challenge and Lily, along with her three Ireland u/17 teammates, each finished ahead of all their Scottish and Welsh opponents, winning the Celtic Championships. So dominant were Ireland in this race that the Ireland Development team also made the podium finishing in second place.

As u/16 athletes, both Cillian and Lily are eligible to contend for this Irish team again next year, which emphasises the high standard both athletes have already accomplished at such a young age. Congratulations to Cillian on a successful first outing in an Irish vest, and to Lily on her International team victory. It is always an honour and privilege to represent one’s country, and an achievement that’s hard earned but highly respected [CW].