Red-letter day for Louth athletics
SUNDAY was a historic day for athletics in County Louth as the county’s men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded their best-ever performances in the Athletics Ireland National League Final in Tullamore.
The women’s team had qualified for the final of the top-tier Premier Division for the first-time ever, taking their place among the top eight teams in the country, and on the day they scored a total of 68 points to finish in seventh place. The previous best performance by the Louth women’s team in the Premier Division came back in 2014, when they finished 10th overall.
The men’s team also performed very well to finish sixth in the Division 1 final with a total of 78.5 points. In 2014 and 2017 the Louth men had also finished sixth in this final but with significantly lower points totals – 69 in 2014 and 68 in 2017 – so this year’s performance can justifiably be regarded as the best ever.
The most impressive individual performance on the day came from Emily Rogers (St Peter’s) who finished joint first in the Women’s High Jump. Second-place finishes were recorded by Karen Costello (Dunleer) in the Women’s 3,000m and, for the men’s team, by Kieran McGrath (Drogheda & District) in the 800m, Conor Matthews (Dunleer) in the 1500m and Conor Durnin (St Peter’s) in the Triple Jump.
Mary Leech (Drogheda & District) and Eva Cummins (Boyne) also scored strongly for the women’s team, finishing third in the 1500m and 3,000m Steeplechase respectively, while Brendan Rogers (St Peter’s) crossed the line in third place in the Men’s 3,000m Walk.
The other athletes on both teams also played their part with some excellent performances and can be very proud of their contribution to the teams’ success.
Seoda Matthews (Dunleer), Shauna McMahon (Blackrock), Katelyn Quinn (Glenmore), Nicola Welsh (Dunleer), Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners), Sharon Olatunde (Dundealgan), Catherine Rogers (St Peter’s), Róisín Coade (Drogheda & District), Rosemary Gibson (North East Runners), Ashling Mathews (North East Runners), Ciara Reilly (Dunleer) and Mary Scanlon (Blackrock) all performed strongly for the women’s team.
The men were well served by Tom Cummins (Boyne), Anthony Dillon (Dunleer), Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District), Shane Larkin (Drogheda & District), Lee McGuinness (Drogheda & District), Conor McMahon (Ardee & District), Kevin Olandujoye (Dundealgan), Darren Weldon (Ardee & District), Eoghan Smyth (Blackrock), Gabriel Bell (St Peter’s), George Maas (Dundalk St Gerard’s) and Tom McGrane (St Peter’s). McGrane also acted as manager of both the men’s and women’s teams.
A noteworthy feature of the Louth teams in the National League Final was their diversity, in the sense that they included athletes ranging in age from 15 to 58 from no fewer than 10 clubs across the county – a diversity which undoubtedly contributed to their history-making performances at the Co Offaly venue.