National Juvenile Awards
Four Galway athletes were honoured at the recent Athletics Ireland National Juvenile Star Awards for their impressive achievements during 2025. Darragh Kelly of Craughwell won the Star Award for the most successful juvenile athlete in County Galway last year with 3 National titles to his name including National Indoor U19 High Jump title, National Outdoor U19 High Jump title and National Outdoor 110m Hurdles title. Darragh added further glory with a silver medal in the Irish Schools Senior Boys High Jump and a bronze medal in the Irish National Senior Men’s Outdoor High Jump to cap a fantastic year for the Ballywinna athlete. Conor Penney also of Craughwell won the Athletics Ireland Special Recognition Trophy for a fantastic 2025 which saw him win the National Senior Men’s Outdoor High Jump title with an incredible leap of 2.10m and place 6th in the High Jump at the European Youth Olympics in Macedonia. Loughrea AC’s Darragh Fahy won an award for his Triple Jump performances last year including a National Senior Title , winning the Bill Battersby Long and Triple Jump Award , while Castlegar AC’s Matthew Newell was another awardee in winning the Roisin O Callaghan Walks Award, recognising his international appearances in Race Walking allied to multiple National medals.
IUAA Championships
The Intervarsity Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held in Munster Technological University in Cork last weekend, and both University of Galway and ATU excelled across the events. The University of Galway saw victories via Oisin Murray in the 1500m, just pipping teammate Oisin Davis who secured silver, while Neasa Ni hAinifein secured Ladies gold also in the 1500m with a dominant performance. In the Race Walk, Aisling Lane claimed gold for UG. Padraig Faherty returned to home soil from France to win silver in the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase, while the Mixed Relay quartet of Adam Tighe, Caitlin Hughes, David Mannion and Neasa Ní Ainifein struck bronze medals. (Cover Photo: IUAA university 1500m Gold and Silver medallists, Oisin Murray and Oisin Davis, University of Galway)
ATU secured four medals, with three coming via standout athlete Claire Kennedy, who produced an outstanding triple-medal performance in the women’s throws. Kennedy secured bronze medals in the discus, hammer, and 20lb weight for distance, underlining her versatility and consistency across multiple disciplines. Her best performances included a 36.69m throw in the discus, a 42.14m effort in the hammer, and a 7.96m throw in the 20lb weight, ATU’s remaining medal came in the women’s triple jump, where Caoimhe McDonagh delivered an excellent series of jumps to claim silver with a best mark of 12.03m.
Galway 5km Series
The Galway 5km Series kicked off in earnest last night the first of 6 legs in the EY sponsored series, which has attracted an entry of 1,200 athletes this year. The opening nights venue was Claregalway , and Evan O Rourke put on a masterclass of distance running clocking 15.43 for a clear victory , with John Hayes of GCH second in 16.20, and Darren Melia of South Galway third in 16.26. First lady was Phoebe Whiteside of GCH in 18.07, with fellow clubmates Aisling Joyce and Neasa De Burca second and third respectively in 18.16 and 18.23
Connemara Marathon
The Connemara Marathon series of races was held last weekend on scenic routes around Lough Inagh and the Maam Valley , with huge numbers partaking across the Ultra, Full and Half Marathons. First home in the Ultra 39.3-mile race was Pierre Duvernet in 4 hours 29 minutes, with first lady Sinead Egan of GCH in 5 hours 19 mins. In the Marathon, winner was Matt Augustin in 2 hours 39 minutes, with female winner Aoife Hoare coming home in 3 hours 10 minutes. In the Half Marathon, John Benner won the race outright clocking 1 hour 10 minutes, while local athlete Elizabeth Maher of Galway City Harriers won the Ladies section in 1 hr 27 minutes.
