Week ending Saturday 15th November

Impressive Leinster titles on home turf for Emily Rose, Lily and Cillian

Early morning fog cleared and gave way to a cool but dry and very calm day in Kilbeggan Racecourse last Saturday where the Leinster Senior, u/23 and Juvenile Uneven Ages Cross Country was held. Mullingar Harriers was the host Club and although this was a new venue, thanks to Trojan work over the last months and weeks, it all came together on the day and Mullingar’s army of volunteers laid out an excellent course with great visibility that meant spectators could stay on the very accessible ambulance road around the horse race track and follow all the action up close. The course itself had long steady inclines rather than any sharp hills but a few twists and turns, creating a nice balance that challenged the stronger runners but didn’t really disadvantage the weaker ones. Despite lots of rain during the week leading up to the event, underfoot conditions were very good with only a few short stretches of soft mud to negotiate, which was reflected in the great racing enjoyed by everyone that attended.

Hosting the event was only possible due to a great team effort by lots of volunteers from the Club but we must pay special thanks to Westmeath Civil Defence, the Garda Siochana, and especially Stephen Heffernan, the Manager of Kilbeggan Racecourse, and the Racecourse Committee for allowing the use of their excellent venue, which came in for universal praise from everyone that attended.

Being a home venue so to speak, it was no surprise that Mullingar Harriers was out in force and with a squad of over 100, we had athletes competing in every race. Such numbers competing was reflected in the great individual and team successes, notably Leinster titles for Emily Rose Coyne (u/11), Lily Walsh (u/15), Cillian Galvin (u/15), ten other top-12 individual juvenile medals, team medals for six juvenile Club teams and four juvenile County teams, and County medals for our senior men team.

The Leinster Championships got underway with the u/11 girls 1,500m where Emily Rose Coyne led from early on and raced to a brilliant victory and the Leinster title, leading the very big team of Maisie Walsh, Mia Barry, Cara Hickey, Zoe O’Donoghue, Meabh Doyle, Adele Bertolo, Heather Kelly, Sarah Cummins, Sophie Whitelaw, Eanin Staunton, Rachel Robinson, Shona Rice, Sophie Doran, Maddie O’Brien and Madison Bell Lynch to silver medals for second Club. We had a big team too in the u/11 boys 1,500m too, led home by Rian Healy, followed by Shay Gavigan, Matthew Kellaghan, Liam McLoughlin, Emmet Walsh, Luke Cosgrove, Ben Coloe, Rafe Murray, Daniel Cosgrove, Rory Grehan, Matteo Fitzpatrick and Liam Byrne who all ran very well and were unlucky to finish out of the medals against tough competition.

Helen McGrath raced very hard to the line in the u/13 girls 2,500m and was rewarded with a fine eighth place finish for her efforts. Thanks to great support and team packing behind her by Caoimhe Lynam, Isabelle Morris, Lauryn Smith, Katie Bohan, Farah Fox (Athlone AC), Aoife Dunne, Ellen Cummins, Caitlin McCormack, Abigail Nohilly, Caitlin Doyle, Rose Harte, Aoibheann Lynam, Roisin Keane and Kate Horohoe, no surprise that this talented team finished first Club and a very creditable fifth County. On to the u/13 boys 2,500m where Daniel Cummins kept right in the thick of the action from the start and was delighted to cross the finish in fifth place. With Cillian McManus (Athlone AC), Donagh Bourke, Adam O’Donoghue, Cillian Gavin, Conor Gavin, Aaron Robinson, Killian Hardman, John Healy and Jacob Buckley running hard and providing terrific team support, the boys finished first Club and third County, to qualify for the National finals.

Up front in the u/15 girls 3,500m race everything went to plan for Lily Walsh, leading the field from the start and just after half way into the race making a decisive break. Holding on to her lead all the way to the finish Lily added the u/15 Leinster title to the u/16 title she won two weeks earlier in Gowran. Unfortunately some of the other Clubs had a little more in depth than Mullingar and the girls were edged out of team prizes this time round. Regardless, the team, including Shaynah Mitchell, Clodagh Keane, Chloe Bell, Amelie G Kelly, Hannah Dunne, Alice Hyland, Muirin Dunne, Liadan Gavin, Emily Tully and Clodagh Doran, did themselves proud on the big stage. The Mullingar team in the u/15 boys 3,500m was expected to make their presence felt and they didn’t disappoint, winning the team event with an impressive 20 points. The team was always in the main leading group and with 1,500m to go, Cillian Galvin was in the duo that broke away from the field. Approaching 1,000m from the finish, Cillian attacked going up a slight incline and kept the pressure on trying to shake off his opponent who was doing his best to stay with him. Into the final 500m and Cillian found another gear and pulled clear to win by nine seconds for an impressive win. With Oisin Clarke in fourth, Antonio Bertolo sixth, Gareth Glennon ninth, team gold for first Club was secured. Backed up by Harry Flanagan, Robert Whelan, Aonghus O’Reilly, Senan Walshe and Rian Gavin, the team also finished second County, brilliant results for an excellent team.

The Mullingar team in the u/17 girls 4,500m was led home by Tianna O’Leary and despite Beibhinn O’Reilly, Isabel Tynan Daly, Blathnaid Peters and Emma Lagan running with great courage and determination, unfortunately they finished outside the medal places, but top marks for effort and the girls did themselves proud. Most of the Mullingar team in the u/17 boys 4,500m were moving up an age, but that didn’t stop them giving it their all. Conor Walsh had a great race to finish fourth, and with Daniel Glennon, Scott Cogan, Daniel Horohoe, Morgan Isdell, Cian Hyland, Evan Nohilly, Cormac McGrath and Trijol Bhattacharjee putting in strong performances against strong competition, the team were delighted to finish first Club and third County.

Ailbhe O’Farrell and Lydia McDonnell lined up in the u/19 girls 5,000m and both ran extremely well with Ailbhe running steadily for the first 3,000m and coming through the field to finish in eleventh place, with Lydia running strongly in behind her. The final juvenile race of the day was the u/19 boys 5,000m where the team of Donagh Carey in fourth, Conor Liston tenth, Luke Greene twelfth, and Oisin Kehoe fourteenth, narrowly missing an individual top-12 individual medal, combined to finish an excellent second Club. With great support from John Glennon, Matthew Molloy and Txema Lozano, the team also finished second County to conclude an excellent day for the Mullingar juvenile athlete squads.

With the conclusion of the juvenile programme, attention turned to the senior races. We had no team in the Senior Women 6,000m race but Susan Glennon and Orlaith Flanagan were undeterred and put in strong performances and expressed satisfaction with their races. The final race of the day was the Senior Men 9,000m where Mullingar had a strong team looking to retain the Club title they have won the previous two years. Diarmuid Fagan and John Ryan were in very strong positions for most of the race, but unfortunately were unable to finish due to illness. This effectively put paid to any real hope of team victory, but pushing on hard was Vinny Connolly, Kevin Moore, Ross Killalea and James Keegan, unlucky to finish fourth Club, missing team bronze by just three points. However, with great support and team effort by Ian McCormack, Enda Seery and Conleth Mullen, the team finished third County, adding the final set of medals to Mullingar’s collection after a long and exciting day of competition.

Thanks to the many parents and coaches that attended to support our teams, especially our young u/11 teams where some of them were competing in their first Leinster Championship races, so they really needed plenty of attention and support to keep any nerves at bay. The juvenile even age teams that have qualified from Kilbeggan – six on a club team and 10 on a county team – will go forward to the National finals in Dublin in December [GD/TW/CW].

Kilbeggan 2025 – The Volunteers

Staging the Athletics Leinster Senior, u/23 and Juvenile Uneven Ages Cross Country Championships in Kilbeggan Racecourse was an excellent example of the power of volunteers to achieve success. Mullingar Harriers had 75 adults in place as the first of almost 1,000 athletes and probably double that number in parents and supporters converged on Kilbeggan from 9am. As the first volunteers arrived just after 7am, the receding fog still covered the site, gradually burning away to provide a welcome dry and at times sunny day. The list of roles and responsibilities was coordinated and people were allocated to car parking, crossings on the running track, start area, finish line, managing the turning points on the different laps on the course, and a myriad of other tasks. The course had been built using 6km of white electric fencing tape, 500 plastic fence posts, 500m of plastic mesh fencing, 120 signs and 70 timber stakes. Everything was managed and completed, allowing the Athletics Leinster officials and their own volunteers to successfully run off the fourteen races on the programme. The public address system, Westmeath Civil Defence personal, food and refreshment facilities, the tented village for the Clubs, all added to a festival atmosphere. Outside the venue, the Gardai managed the road traffic to and from the site with their customary professionalism and expertise.

As a Club, it was a huge undertaking, but was delivered thanks to the many members who contributed to the volunteer effort. As the final race concluded in the fading light, they worked in teams to dismantle the course, which was finished off and moved off the racecourse by midday on Sunday. The heartbeat of a club is its members and the ability to organise and deliver an event of such scale is a credit to everyone involved. Joining the many adults volunteers were the next generation, a big number of our younger members, helping with some of the tidying up of the fencing, rope, signs and other items. Take a bow our volunteers, young and older, a great reflection on a club with a future where the volunteer is central to its success [MO’S].

Best of luck to Kevin Moore and Team Ireland

Regarded by many as the highlight of the masters calendar, the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country will take place this coming Saturday morning in Leeds, where the best masters cross country athletes from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland will battle it out for individual and team honours. Among the Irish teams will be Maura Dervin, Brigid McCabe, Kevin Moore, Nicky McCabe and Sean McMullin, excited to swop the maroon and white of Mullingar Harriers for the green of Ireland. This will be Kevin’s International debut and is a fantastic and very well deserved achievement for Kevin and the Club. Everyone at the Club wishes Maura, Brigid, Nicky, Sean, and especially Kevin, the very best of luck in Leeds.

Bordeaux 10k

The race programme for the Bordeaux Half Marathon last Sunday afternoon included a 5k and a 10k, and using the 10k race to sharpen up for the National Senior Cross Country in Derry in two weeks was Jack O’Leary and Jamie Battle. Showing that he is really coming into form, Jack was delighted to finish second in 28:13, with Jamie also having a great run behind to finish strong in nineteenth place in 29:04. Performances like these will give them added confidence of competing well in Derry, where they will be part of a strong Mullingar team [GD].

50th Anniversary Book

Some copies of our 50th anniversary book are still available. You can order online from our website or by contacting any member of the committee. Alternatively, the book is stocked at “Just Books” on Pearse Street, Mullingar.

Sympathy

Finally, the executive and members of the Club wish to express sincere sympathy to Owen McIntyre and family on the recent death of his grandmother, Margaret, in Tyrrellspass. May she rest in peace.

Congratulations

Finally, on a happier note, congratulations to Kris Foster and his wife Michelle on the recent birth of their daughter, Grace and to Dan Morris and his wife Lorraine on the very recent birth of their daughter.

Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.

PRO