International Selection
Galway City Harriers’ Emma Moore is part of a 12-strong Ireland team provisionally selected for the World Indoor Championships that starts in Poland on Friday week. The GCH star who recently smashed her own Irish U23 record over 800 metres is one of four Irish athletes waiting on World Athletics to confirm their participation this week. Kate O'Connor and Mark English are also part of the team for this year's Championships.
Irish Schools Cross Country Championships
One of the highlights of the calendar, the Irish Schools Cross Country Championships, was held on a superb course in Mallusk, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, on Saturday last. It was an historic day for Dónal Coyle of Seamount College Kinvara (pictured) and South Galway AC as he conquered the top-class Junior Boys field to race to victory after an epic battle with last year's winner Jack Brennan, a testament to his hard work over several years in athletics. Also in the Junior Boys Race, Patrick Lee made the top ten, placing 9th for Presentation Athenry, and his school were fourth overall. Both Coyle and Lee secure places on the Ireland School International Athletics team, which takes place in Bangor, Wales on March 21st.
Other top runs came via Fionn Creaven, Coláiste Baile Chlair, 15th in Junior Boys, David Frazer of Oranmore and Ciaran Considine, Kinvara, 13th and 14th in the Inter Boys, Siun Ni Chonaill of Coláiste na Coiribe, 16th in the Junior Girls, Roisin Fogarty, Gort CS, 20th in Minor Girls and Oisin Maher, Clifden, 22nd in a stacked Senior Boys race.
Kinvara Rock and Road 2026
The scenic coastal village of Kinvara once again played host to the Rock and Road 2026 series last Saturday. The men’s 10 km saw a dominant display from Richard Owens of Crusaders AC, who stormed home in 33:27. John Boylan followed in 34:18, with John Dolan completing the podium in 34:44. In the women’s race, Jane Ann Healy Meehan of Athenry AC took top honours with a superb 38:13, with Monika De Almeida second in 41:34, and Edel Carberry claimed third in 42:34.
The men’s half-marathon delivered one of the day’s most exciting contests. James Moran captured the overall win in 1:12:39, edging ahead of Cian O’Reilly of Galway City Harriers, who clocked 1:13:01. Paul Sheehy secured third with a strong 1:14:28 finish. In the women’s race, Romaine King of Dundrum South Dublin crossed the line first in 1:25:28. Close behind, Ellen Bermingham of South Galway secured second place in 1:26:53, while Gráinne Ní Uallacháin of Galway City Harriers claimed third in 1:27:36.
The ¾ Marathon saw an exceptional performance from Andreas Lundegård, who dominated the men’s field with a finishing time of 1:50:20. James Egan followed in 1:52:05, and Colm Deasy rounded out the podium in 1:53:45.In the women’s division, Sarah Flanagan of Tullamore Harriers triumphed in 2:19:24, followed by Selenia Nolan Culligan in 2:23:13. Faye Bohan secured third place with a strong 2:27:51 finish.
UG & ATU Shine at IUAA Indoors
The University of Galway (UG) and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) enjoyed a series of standout performances at the IUAA Indoor Championships, held last weekend in Dublin. UG’s strongest result of the day came from Neasa Ní Ainfein, who delivered a commanding performance to win gold in the women’s 1500m final, clocking 4:25.94, a UG record. Also for UG, in a high-quality men's 1500m final, Oisín Murray claimed silver with a superb 3:50.65, finishing just behind UCD’s Jonas Stafford. ATU’s standout performance in the field events came from Caoimhe McDonagh, who secured silver in the women’s triple jump with a best of 12.00m. ATU picked up another medal in the throws, with Claire Kennedy taking bronze in the 20lb Weight for Distance event, producing a best mark of 7.81m. On the track, Clara Daly delivered a polished race in the women’s 400m final, taking bronze in 57.44.
