Enniscorthy A.C. the best club
Leading lights honoured on a big night of celebration
THE ANNUAL Athletics Wexford awards night attracted a large number of athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters to the Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy, recently.
County Secretary Anne Marie Forde, in her role as M.C. for the evening, issued a warm welcome to Councillor Kathleen Codd-Nolan, Chairperson of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council.
Chairman Paddy Morgan welcomed Marie Mooney of sponsors Mr Oil, thanking her for the company’s continued support of athletics in Wexford. Then it was on to the awards.
Record breakers - Anne Gilshinan (Slaney Olympic): three world records (W55) in the 800m (2:19.63), 1,500m (4:41.46), and the one-mile event (5:08.47); silver medal at the world Masters indoors, Poland; South East Radio female athlete of the year; E.M.A. best Masters award in middle distance; world female Masters middle distance athlete of the year.
Antoinette Stafford (D.M.P.) set a national Over-40 long jump record of 5.17m.
Ann Sullivan (D.M.P.) broke a number of age records: Over-55 indoor 3,000m, 11.24 (nationals); Over-60 1,500m, 5.35.02 (nationals); five-mile road Over-60, 33.44 (nationals). She ran 41.50 for the 10k road race in Rosslare.
Perpetual Cups/Trophies - Jim Redmond Cup for best overall club, cross-country: United Striders; Brother Egan Cup for best Senior club, track and field: Enniscorthy; Ann O’Keeffe Trophy, best Under-17 female in Co. track and field: Aisling Kelly, Taghmon; Harry Keyes Trophy, best Under-17 male in Co. track and field: Jack Forde, St. Killian’s; Kehoe Foods award, lifetime service to athletics: Mary Kehoe, Kilmore.
Juvenile girl athlete of the year for 2019 was Lystus Ebsole (U.C.D.). Competing for her former club D.M.P., Lystus won no fewer than five championship titles.
As a thrower, her expertise at both shot putt and discus saw her winning national titles indoors, outdoors and schools in shot putt as well as winning All-Ireland outdoors and schools in discus. Lystus is now studying at U.C.D.
Juvenile boy athlete of the year for 2019 was Gergely Pap (St. Paul’s). Shot putter and discus thrower Gergely claimed a handful of championship titles in 2019.
He won national shot putf titles indoors, outdoors and schools. He medalled in shot at the S.I.A.B. international meet and at the inaugural Youth Nations.
He won an All-Ireland schools silver in discus. To cap a great season, he won both shot and discus at the Tailteann Games.
Michael Bowler was named Wexford Athletics Senior athlete of the year 2019. A talented and versatile multi-eventer, he was one of the main driving forces behind the County Wexford men’s National League Division 1 winning team.
He retained both the indoor and outdoor national Senior pole vault titles in 2019. The highlight of his year was representing Ireland in the decathlon at the European multi-events where he won an individual silver medal and helped Ireland to team silver.
Pádraig Hore (Taghmon) was a popular winner of the Junior athlete of the year award. He won national Junior medals in both shot putt and discus.
A highlight of his year was undoubtedly medalling in discus at the British Under-20 championships.
No one was surprised to see Anne Gilshinan from Slaney Olympic winning Masters athlete of the year.
She has already received numerous accolades, the most notable being the European Best Masters Award in middle distance.
Last year was a memorable one for Ann who improved on three world records within a single month. She set a new world record at 1,500m and lowered her own W55 world record once more.
In June, she set an Over-55 800m world record, lowering the previous record by two seconds.
In Dublin she set an Over-55 one-mile record. All of this in addition to her accomplishments in Poland, where she won a silver medal in the 1,500m a week before she turned 55.
Wexford Athletics had an unprecedented 20 athletes donning the Irish vest in 2019.
Darra Casey (Bree), competing in 100m hurdles, represented Ireland at the S.I.A.B. international in Swansea.
Claragh Keane (D.M.P.) represented Ireland twice in cross-country: Celtic Games and S.I.A.B’s.
Aisling Kelly (Taghmon) competed in sprints and relays at the S.I.A.B’s and Youth Nations Cup. Her clubmate, race walker James Hanlon, also made the S.I.A.B’s team.
Myles Hewlett (United Striders) made what is sure to be the first of many international appearances when he was selected for the Irish cross-country team at the S.I.A.B’s.
Maeve Hayes (St. Paul’s) competed in long jump at the Youth Nations Cup, while clubmate Gergely Pap brought home bronze medals from both the S.I.A.B’s and Youth Nations Cup.
Róisín O’Reilly of Menapians competed at S.I.A.B. cross-country, Youth Nations Cup and European Youth Olympics.
Enniscorthy’s Michael Bowler represented Ireland in decathlon at the European multi-events where he got an Individual silver and a team silver. Another multi-eventer, Jack Forde of St. Killian’s, represented Ireland in the S.I.A.B. multi-events.
Fiona Kehoe and Jackie Carthy, both Kilmore, represented Ireland at Masters level.
Conor Wilson and Shaun Donohoe, both Menapians, competed in sprints and relays at the Celtic inter-varsity meet.
Also representing their country at this meet were Amy Forde in hammer and javelin thrower Peter O’Shea (D.M.P.).
Wexford Marathon Club is making a name for itself on the ultra distance front. Lorraine McMahon and Yvonne Naughton competed in the I.A.U. 24-hour world championships in Albi, France, last October.
Owen Fenton travelled to China last October for the Taiping lake 100 km Ultra where he finished in second place.
Paddy O’Leary (Bree) was part of the Irish team at the world long distance mountain running championships in Argentina in mid-November 2019.