CLUB CALL
KILMORE A.C.
Well done to Fiona Kehoe who was first woman home in the St. Coca’s A.C. 5k in Kilcock, Co. Kildare, on Friday. Fiona crossed the line in a great time of 17:33.
A fantastic evening was enjoyed at our annual parish sports on Thursday in Kilmore before a great turn-out. It was great to see new faces and hopefully they enjoyed their first taste of athletics. Thanks to all our volunteers on the evening, as your help was very much appreciated.
Also big thanks to Brendan Hendrick at Crazy Castles for the slushy machine. It went down a treat on one of the hottest evenings we’ve had all year!
Registration is now open for our Saltees Fish 85th anniversary 10k taking place on Saturday, September 15. Just visit https://register.primoevents.com/ps/event/KilmoreAthleticClubSalteesFish10K2MileFunRun to register.
If any local business is interested in sponsoring our 10k for advertising space on our race t-shirt, please e-mail kilmoreathleticsclub@gmail.com
Day one of the county Senior track and field championships take place this Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Enniscorthy. Fingers crossed K.A.C. can take home some silverware!
MENAPIANS A.C.
At the Irish Junior and Under-23 track and field championships in Tullamore on Saturday, Róisín O’Reilly, who will represent Ireland at the schools athletics international in Scotland this month, had an impressive win in the 3k Junior steeplechase, her first time running this distance in the event.
David McDonald, who was a member of the Irish Junior relay team which set a new national record in Germany, had an impressive victory in the Junior 100m heat but unfortunately, due to a minor injury, had to take the sensible decision of missing the final.
Mel O’Callaghan was fifth in his heat of the 60m and sixth in his 200m heat in the Under-23 category.
Shaun Donohue won his heat of the Under-23 400m in a time of 52.22. He upped the pace in the final, going sub-50 to take bronze in a time of 49.82 seconds.
Aaron Smith came very close to the medals, finishing fourth in the 110m hurdles, but he can take consolation from breaking the 15-second barrier, clocking 14.99.
Aaron continued his good day by finishing second in his heat of the 200m and finishing fifth in the final in a time of 22.62 seconds.
At the Irish Juvenile championships in Tullamore on Sunday, Ruby Reynolds performed well in the Under-13 long jump, finishing a very creditable sixth with a jump of 4.53m.
The Menapians 5k road race takes place on Friday, July 20, and online registration is now open at www.njuko. net/menapians5k
D.M.P. A.C.
It was a good day for D.M.P. at the national Junior and Under-23 track and field championships on Saturday.
Under-23 men’s javelin: 1, Peter O’Shea, 53.56.
Under-23 men’s high jump: 2, Shane Parle, 1.85 (lost gold on countback).
Junior ladies’ shot putt: Ebosele, 12.24.
Junior ladies’ discus: Ebosele, 38.86.
There was further success at the Juvenile Games in Tullamore on Sunday. 1, Lystus 2, Lystus In the girls’ Under-12 shot putt, Shannon Codd won a silver medal with a best effort, and new P.B., of 8.18m. Indeed, she beat her old P.B. three times in the competition!
Michael Kent was third in the boys’ Under-12 high jump with a P.B. of 1.35m.
In the boys’ Under-12 long jump, Kevin O’Mahony narrowly missed making the podium with a jump of 4.39m. Layla Stafford just missed the final eight in the Under-12 long jump.
NEW ROSS BOAT CLUB
New Ross Boat Club travelled to the National Rowing Centre in Cork to compete at the annual Cork regatta which is one of the most established in Ireland.
This year saw a record entry in excess of 850 crews from J14 to Senior competing for what is the biggest event outside the Irish rowing championships which will be held in three weeks’ time.
Irish rowers such as the O’Donovan brothers, Denise Walsh and Mark O’Donovan were competing over this two-day regatta. Apart from this being the last regatta before the national championships, it was also the final part of the trialing process for three New Ross scullers, Laura Brown, Shona Tierney and Luke Sutton, who have been competing all year to secure selection to represent Ireland at upcoming Junior international regattas.
And boy they did not disappoint. First up was the Junior women’s single scull, and Laura Brown was the fastest Junior sculler in a time of 8:30:59 which saw her winning the event. This should almost guarantee her a call-up to the Irish squad.
Shona Tierney was not too far behind her, finishing in the top ten Junior scullers.
Next to take to the water was lightweight sculler Luke Sutton. Luke was in a really strong, competitive division, but he did not let this distract him, finishing in a fantastic time of 7:44:55 in the top three lightweight men.
Our J14 rowers then took to the water. All scullers put in great performances, with Ella O’Hanlon winning her final.
The J14 boys didn’t disappoint, with commanding wins for both Sam Furlong and Ronan Gibbon in their respective finals.
The last medals of the day were won by doubles partners Faye Prendergast and Lily O’Keeffe in the club 2 2x event, beating their nearest rivals from Cappoquin.
Day two produced more silverware for the club and great performances by all New Ross crews who took to the water.
Luke Sutton dominated the Junior 18b single sculls with a confident win over his fellow competitors.
Lily O’Keeffe followed soon after, taking first in the club 2 single sculls for her first big win in this event.
Ronan Gibbon was narrowly beaten in the J15 1x but took second place, a great achievement for the young sculler.
There were also ‘B’ final wins for Faye Prendergast (J18 1x) and the club 2 4+ crew of Jennifer Whitney, Alannah Byrne, Sarah Sutton and Aoife Brennan.
There was to be more excitement from the doubles partners of Laura Brown and Shona Tierney who competed in the J18 2x event.
Confident from their win at the Metro regatta two weeks earlier, and with strong racing on Saturday, they produced the performance of their lives, coming to within one second of their rival doubles crew from Workman’s Rowing Club who will compete at the Junior world championships in August.
This should give the girls great confidence coming into the irish championships in less than three weeks’ time. Well done to all the club who took part and the coaches and parents who travelled to Cork for the two-day regatta.
UNITED STRIDERS A.C.
United Striders Athletic Club held the very first Declan Shannon 1,500m perpetual race at Town Park track in New Ross on Saturday.
Declan Shannon was a talented 1,500m runner and a former member of the club, back in the ‘80s, winning numerous county and Leinster medals, along with an All-Ireland medal for his school.
Tragically, Declan was involved in a motorbike accident, aged 30, and passed away on June 8, 1998. To mark his 20th anniversary this year, Declan’s family had asked if the club would organise a 1,500m race in his memory and donated a perpetual trophy as a prize.
Twelve athletes from the club, both Juvenile and Senior, lined up to compete for the honour of claiming the trophy. It was the first time the club’s Senior and Juvenile athletes competed together and both factions had their eye on the prize.
It promised to be a hotly-contested event and whilst, secretly, many had their favourites, nobody knew which athlete would be crowned winner. A large crowd gathered at the track to support and cheer on the athletes, including many members of Declan’s family.
The race lived up to expectations, with six athletes grouped closely at the front and still in contention on the last lap.
With 250m to go, Alan O’Connor broke to the front, closely followed by John McGrath, Alan’s son Adam O’Connor, and Darragh Flannelly.
But with 150m left Adam O’Connor, aged 15 years, spurred on by the cheers of the crowd, made a decisive move to the front and kicked hard all the way to the finish line, claiming victory just in front of his dad, Alan, with John and Darragh just a few metres behind.
This group was closely followed home by Brendan Lyng, Cian Flanagan, Paul Doran, Colin Carney, Eoin Shannon, Finn Kelly, Pat Callaghan and Mick O’Gorman. It was a fantastic performance from all athletes.
After the race, Katriona Shannon said a few emotional words to the supporting crowd, recalling her brother Declan’s time at the club and his love for running. It was a proud moment for Declan’s family and for the club.
Adam O’Connor was presented with the perpetual trophy by Declan’s parents, Kathleen and Michael Shannon.
A big well done to Aoife Moran, Luca O’Connor, Isabella O’Connor, Roan Kavanagh and Sam Dowling who all competed at the Wexford ‘B’ track and field championships in Enniscorthy, and brought home a number of medals.
Highlights included an impressive 300m victory for Luca and a stunning 3.65m long jump from Roan, to win gold in a competitive field.
Please note that U.S.A.C. Juvenile training has finished, for a short summer break. We will resume training in August, with club members being notified of the exact date in due course.
GOREY CRICKET
Gorey Cricket Club has reached the Russell Court Cup Trophy final by defeating Clondalkin 2 in a comprehensive manner, posting a mammoth 7-173 from 20 overs, winning by 40 runs.
Considering the club’s short history and how difficult it is, with so few competitions, to reach a Cricket Leinster final, this is a phenomenal success.
The final will be held in Sandymount, Railway Union’s ground, Dublin, on Sunday, July 22, with our opponents soon to be announced.
Anyone interested in being part of this historic trip is asked to contact us (details below), and a bus may be arranged depending on interest.
Competition for first team places is strong, a testament to our position in the league, with our Taverners team (a mixture of experienced, seasoned and young players) vying for the starting eleven places.
Parallel with the Seniors’ recent run of victories (excluding the Dick O’Neill quarter-final), our Taverners have a hectic schedule with games versus Ashford, Arthur’s Knights and Wicklow Co. in the offing, culminating in the CL Minor Cup Trophy, a competition for the second Senior team such is the expanding numbers of our members.
History will also be created on Wednesday, July 4, when our promising Under-15s, mentored by Chris Sheeran, will be making their C.L. debut at home versus Adamstown, Dublin.
Brochures for sponsorship, a much-needed lifeline in maintaining the club’s upward trend, are currently available. Brief and informative, this manual is encouraging businesses to be part of Gorey Cricket Club’s success. Contact Al (086-1599074) for more details.
E’CORTHY HOCKEY
Across Russia the knockout stages of the World Cup are under way, and a number of club supporters will be looking at the results more anxiously than most as part of the World Cup predictions competition.
The ten - John Kehoe, Brendan Durnan, Jack Tully, Fiona McCoole, Joe O’Sullivan, Sabina Sweeney, David Mulligan, Mary Cullen, Mary Forster and Kieran Costello - emerged as the best predictors following the group stages.
Best of luck to all, and many thanks to fundraising co-ordinator Eamonn Sweeney for his work to date.
Club Secretary Alan Smith and club gear organiser Andrew Rothwell are the brains behind the forthcoming seven-a-side mixed hockey tournament taking place on Saturday, July 21, at the Astro Active Centre.
The entry fee is just €60 per team of up to ten players. Please contact Alan at smitha69@gmail.com or Andrew at arothwell30@gmail.com to register or for further details. The closing date is Wednesday, July 18.
As an extra incentive, there are
S.B.R. A.C.
Saturday’s Waterford marathon and half-marathon was shortened to just a half following the recent heatwave.
That did not stop seven S.B.R. runners from competing with some fast times despite the warm conditions. Patrick Curley was first clubman home and finished well up in the field in 21st overall in a time of 1:24:45.
Adrian Doyle continued a great run of half-marathons with a 38th place finish in 1:27:52. Timmy O’Neill also broke the 1:45 barrier, clocking a 1:44:28 for 13.1 miles.
Michael Breen was next in 1:49:19 and was followed by first S.B.R. woman Belinda Kehoe in a quick 1:51:09.
Orla Hobbs ran a P.B. next in 1:58:50 which is great running on a hot day. Shea O’Neill rounded out the S.B.R. finishers in 2:09:05. Well done everyone on getting that done in difficult conditions!
Myles Gibbons was victorious at the Gorey Parkrun on Saturday, running a quick 17:07 for 5k. Clubmate Pedro Calvo was close behind in second in 17:15. Orlaith Deegan was first Junior and fifth woman in 24:44.
S.B.R. would like to wish our legendary member Tommy McElwaine a very happy 50th birthday. Tommy Mac has been a force in Wexford running for more than 30 years and his exploits are well known.
He finished an outstanding fourth overall in the 2017 Senior cross-country championship to lead the S.B.R. men to a close victory over United Striders.
Tommy is known for his consistency through the years and has been a great clubman.
He won a total of six Wexford Senior cross-country titles (1999, 2001-2005) and was second or third on a number of other occasions.
Tommy also won an outstanding five Wexford Senior road race titles and ran the club’s first sub-2:30 marathon in 2003, clocking a 2:29 in Dublin.
He has also been a great fundraiser through the years for various causes in Wexford and has helped a number of runners getting started in the club.
No doubt the age 50 category will provide him with new motivation and plenty of medals. Happy birthday Tommy.
The Mick Murphy Memorial road race returns on Saturday, September 8, at 5 p.m. in Ferns village.
This is always a great race with lots of prizes up for grabs and a great night of food and refreshments to follow it.
All details can be found on www. sbrclub.com, and registration is now opened at: https://www.popupraces.ie/ev…/mick-murphy-memorial-run-2018/