Meath Ladies Team Finished 4th in the All-Ireland Masters Cross Country Championships held in Lough Key Forest Park, Boyle, Co Roscommon on Sunday last the 21st of February. Lucy Darcy lead them home with a fine 7th place finish, Lucy also lead Sportsworld to 2nd place in the club competition. The race was won by Annette Kealy from Dublin.

Mark Hoey was Meath top finisher in the Mens Intermediate finishing 23rd and leading the team to 5th place. Irish Under 23 International Brendan O Neill from Dublin was the winner.

Meath  won the Leinster Senior Womens Cross Country title in convincing fashion at Kilmacow Co Kilkenny today. County Champion Fiona Reid (Dunboyne) led the team home with a second place finish after having a great battle with Beijing Olympic Marathon representative Pauline Curley from Tullamore. With the two athletes together going out on the last lap Curley only got away over the last 800m. Catherine Jennings Sportsworld finished 3rd.

 Meath Athletes took the next three places with Fiona Mahon, Lucy Darcy and Aoife Brady giving Meath a total of 17 points with Dublin 2nd on 33 points and Offaly 3rd with 65 points. Meath also had Orla Timmons 8th and Crona Brady 10th in what is a very strong Ladies squad at the moment.

Dara Rennicks ran a great junior mens race to finish 3rd behind Stephen Attride St Abbans AC and Jake Byrne Mullingar.

Meath had no athletes in the senior mens race with Rory McDonnell and Mark Hoey waiting for next Sundays All Ireland Intermediate Cross Country in Roscommon where they will lead a strong Meath team that also includes Derek Croal, Morgan McDonagh, Robert Caffrey and Ciarian McKenna in his first race out of the Junior ranks.

Leinster Senior Placings
Ladies Senior
1. Pauline Curley Offaly
2. Fiona Reid  Meath
3. Catherine Jennings Dublin
4. Fiona Mahon Meath
5. Lucy Darcy Meath
6. Aoife Brady Meath
8. Orla Timmons Meath
10. Crona Brady Meath

Attached are the teams for the Uneven age and Novice Cross Country
Championships in Coleraine on Sunday 6th December. Please contact us early
if unavailable to travel as we want to have full teams on the day.  The
venue is the University of Ulster, Coleraine Co. Derry and we have attached a
map of Coleraine showing directions to the venue. The juvenile races start
at 12 noon and the Novice ladies is at 14.10 followed by the mens novice at
14.30.
Brendan Meade, Chairman ,Meath Athletics.

Gerard Heery, Manager Cross Country squads.

Brendan Meade 087 2533113  Gerard Heery 086 2499886

Bart Rogers the RDO is planning coach education courses for Spring 2010. AAI hope to have a new calendar of courses up on the website in early December. Bart wants clubs to let him know what courses they want to be arranged during this period.

He would like to know how many you may have for the Athletic Leader, the Assistant Coaches and Level 1 courses. Once he has this information he will be able to plan the various venues and dates. Please reply  before next week-end so that he can get on with the planning. 

Bart Rogers Regional Development Officer Athletics Ireland,  

Unit 19, Northwood Court
Northwood Business Campus
Santry,
Dublin 9
Ireland

 Tel;0872696577

E mail: bart@athleticsireland.ie

The board congratulated to Olive Loughnane on her silver medal success at the recent world athletics championships in Berlin. Tributes were also paid to the achievements of Derval O Rourke and David Gillick.

Votes of Sympathy were passed with the Heeney, Grant, McCrory and Heffernan families on their recent bereavements.

Results of the 2009 Track and field league. 1, Bohermeen AC. 2, Na Fianna. 3, Dunboyne AC.

Meath Men’s and Ladies Teams qualified for the Finals of the AAI Track & Field League following fine performances in Round 2 of the league in Athlone on Sunday. Mark Hanily got the team off to the best possible start with a win in the men’s Hammer with a third round effort of over 50m. Grainne Miggin followed with a fine 2nd place in the Women’s event. Aisling Watters was the first county athlete to test the new Mondo surface in Athlone and produced a fine effort to finish 4th in only her second senior 100m hurdles race. Michael Doyle and Lucy O Sullivan both took maximum points in there respective walks. Irish schools Pole Vault champion Keith Doherty cleared 3.60m in windy conditions to finish 2nd. Jenny Reilly made a return to athletics with a fine win in the High Jump and a 4th place in the Triple Jump.

Meath Sprinters are showing great form with Ciaran McDonagh winning the 100m Joey Monaghan 3rd in the 200m and Blessing Adeko 3rd in the women’s 100 & 200m and the Men’s and Women’s 100m Relay Teams finishing 2nd and 3rd Kourosh Foroughi cleared 2.10m to win the High Jump and Ger Nagle had a fine win in the Shot and was 2nd in the Discus. Colin Costello made a welcome return to the county colours and was a convincing winner off the 800m in 1.55 and Sara Treacy secured a hard fought win in the ladies event in a time of 2.14. Rory McDonnell followed his win in round 1 in the steeplechase with a 2nd place effort in round 2. Overall it was a fine Team performance and much will be expected in the Final in Tullamore on the 8th of August.

 Ladies Placings 100m: 3rd Blessing Adeko (Dunboyne) 200m: 3rd Blessing Adeko (Dunboyne) 400m: 4th Elaine Plunkett (St Brigid’s) 800m: 1st Sara Treacy (Moynalvey) 1500m: 4th Sharon Monaghan (Fr Murphy’s) 3000m: 3rd Mary Hanley (Na Fianna) 1500m Walk: 1st Lucy O Sullivan (Cushinstown) 100m H: 4th Aisling Watters (Navan) High Jump: 1st Jenny Reilly (Na Fianna) Long Jump: 5th Doireann Meade (Star Of The Sea) Triple Jump: 4th Jenny Reilly (Na Fianna) Shot: 5th Lucy O Sullivan (Cushinstown) Javelin: 3rd Grace O Sullivan (Cushinstown) Hammer; 2nd Grainne Miggin (Fr Murphy’s) 4x100 :) 3rd Blessing Adeko (Dunboyne), Aisling Watters (Navan) Moira Peppard (Trim) & Sophie Kennedy (Navan), 4X400: 3rd Elaine Plunkett(St Brigid’s), Sharon Monaghan (Fr Murphy’s), Sara Treacy (Moynalvey) & Mary Hanley ( Na Fianna)

Team Results Tir Chonaill 121 Bandon 110 Meath 95 Borrisokane 94 Lagan Valley 67 Abbey 14

Men’s Results 100m: 1st Ciaran McDonagh (Fr Murphy’s) 200m: 3rd Joey Monaghan (Navan) 400m: 3rd Niall Matthews (Navan) 800m: 1st Colin Costello (Star of the Sea) 5000m: 4th Robbie Matthews (Dunshaughlin) 3000m Walk: 1st Michael Doyle (Tara) 3000mS/C: 2nd Rory McDonnell (Dunboyne) Long Jump: 3rd David Tobin (Trim) Triple Jump: 5th Robert Whelan (Navan) High Jump: 1st Kourosh Foroughi (Star of the Sea) Discus: 2nd Ger Nagle (Star Of The Sea) Hammer: 1st Mark Hanley (Fr Murphy’s) Javelin: 3rd Barry Kirwan (Navan) Pole Vault: 2nd Keith Doherty (Dunboyne) Shot Putt: 1st Ger Nagle (Star Of The Sea) 56lb for Dist: 3rd Larry Murtagh (Fr Murphy’s) 4x100: 2nd Joey Monaghan (Navan) Niall Matthews (Navan) Ciaran McDonagh (Fr Murphy’s) & Feilibh O Cinneide (Bohermeen) 4x400: 3rd Robert Whelan (Navan), Feilibh O Cinneide (Bohermeen), Colin Costello (Star of the Sea) & Rory McDonnell (Dunboyne)

Team Results Meath 112 Raheny 109 St Abbans 100 Tullamore 88 Menapians 81 Shercock 66 Donore 65 Galway 41

The Meath B cships will take place this Friday, 12th June 2009 at 7pm in Cushenstown.

Due to pressure of work in the Sports Development Office, who are busy processing entries for the various Leinster T&F competitions, it has not been possible to have entry for the events in advance.

Entries will be taken on the night. Events will get underway promptly at 7pm. Clubs are reminded of the necessity to provide officials on the night and of the revised qualification criteria for participation.

Philip Cogavin,Secretary
Brendan Meade,Chairman

South O Hanlon AC organised its latest 4 mile road race from the claremont stadium on Friday 5 June 09. Victory in the mens race went to Gearoid O Connor from Rathfarnham AC and Pauline Curley from Tullamore Harriers won the womens race.Team honours went to Armagh AC--- mens and Sportsworld----womens.

PHOTOS NOW ON MEATH ATHLETICS PHOTO GALLERY

COMPLETE OVERALL RESULTS

South O Hanlon 4 miles pictures

The first day of the Meath track and field championships was staged at the Fr Murphy AC track in Frayne on Saturday. The programme of events was made up entirely of throwing events. The hammer and discus competitions from under 13 through the age groups to seniors and masters were contested as well as adult shot putts and 56lbs for distance.

 The most notable result of the day was in the junior boys hammer when Conal Campion from St Andrews AC reached the qualifying standard for the European Youth Olympics. The Ashbourne athlete threw a suberb 60.65m and is looking forward to travelling to Tampere, Finland in July to represent Ireland.

Bohermeen & Dunshaughlin win Meath road relay titles.

Bohermeen athletic club hosted the 3^rd annual Meath road relay championships on Friday evening last , where most of the top athletes in the county were in action .Eleven teams took part in what has become a very popular athletic pre track season blow out for runners from middle to long distance .

Photos from the Meath 5 mile road race championship( taken by Joe Conlon, Athboy ) at Ballivor on St Patricks Day have been added

  MEATH 5 Mile Road Race Cships 2009 in Ballivor

Results have been added. Click here.

 RESULTS Meath 5 Mile Cships BALLIVOR 17 March

40th Dunboyne 4 Mile Road Race & Fun Run Sunday 29th March Featuring the Mattie McGrath Memorial Perpetual Trophy

The National Masters and Intermediate were held in Tymon Park, Tallaght last weekend in glorious sunshine and very good under foot conditions. Once again the Meath ladies kept the colours flying with medal winning performances at both an individual and team level.

President Larry Daly, Trim AC.

Chairman Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea.

Vice Chairman PJ McGrath, St Andrews.

Secretary Philip Cogavin, Fr Murphy AC.

Competition Secretary Moira Aston, Trim AC.

Treasurer Rita Brady, Navan AC.

Ass. Treasurer Robbie Byrne, Navan AC.

Registrar Martin Heery, St Brigids AC.

Development Officers Maggie Higgins, Na Fianna, Bridget Clarke, Na Fianna, John Holian Dunboyne AC.

PRO Ciaran Tobin, Trim AC.

Coaching Officer Tom Clinton, Navan AC.

Childrens Officers Domhnall O’Hanlon Moynalvey Kilcloon AC, Moira Peppard, Trim AC

National League Manager Gerard Heery, St Brigids AC.

MLSP Delegate John Holian, Dunboyne.

Leinster Delelgates Brendan Meade,Star of the Sea, Martin Heery, St Brigids AC, Adrian Costigan, Dunboyne AC.

Cushinstown AC annual indoor event for under 9s upwards has been announced. Click here for the programme.

2009 Cushinstown Indoors

Good turn out for Christmas Run 2 mile Handicap. 50 runners in all raising money for local social services. 1st Damien McDonnell 12:50 2nd Bert Gylnn 16:35 3rd John Holian 12:57 4th Jimmy Henry 17:31 5th Daniel Murphy 13: 36 6th Eileen Thoma 13:10. Fastest run Rory McDonnell 9:35. St Stephens Day, Longford 5Km Road Race, Rory McDonnell restored some pride after his disastrous run in the Meath CC, finishing a close 2nd to Mullingar Athlete & Irish International Alan Bateman. Sunday 28 Dec Meath Fell Running Oldcastle, Dunboyne AC 2nd club to St Brigids. Team Sean Kinnane, Michael Coryn, Damien McDonnell. Sean Kinnane 2nd M35 , Michael Coryn 1st M45.

Training -sen/vets Tues/Thursday 7.0; juveniles Mon/Wed 7.0. Winter League cont Jan. Fit for Life cont Jan. Club coaches preparing teams for 2009 season, taking regs now.

Contact Mark Blackwell 0872580686 or see www.dunboyneac.com.

 Christmas Run photos http://gallery.me.com/protocolsecurity#100107

A record field of runners from the throughout the north east assembled at Mullaghmeen Forest near Oldcastle for the third staging of the Meath Hill Running championships. The local organisers plotted a wonderful route through the largest planted broadleaf forest in Ireland. In a year which saw many events was marred by soggy conditions, it was a source of relief for all the athletes to find the going “good” in late December.

Recent tree felling near the summit of the race has revealed one of the finest views in the country with Lough Sheelin glistening in winter sunshine to the north and the distant Wicklow Mountains and the Slieve Blooms rising on the southern horizon. Most of the runners only managed a brief glance given the great effort required in getting there.

There were two new champions in the Meath Senior Cross country deciders at Dunboyne on Sunday 21 Dec. Robbie Matthews, Dunshaughlin AC took the Meath senior cross country title after an exciting tussle with Mark Hoey, Star of the Sea and local favourite Rory McDonnell. Team honours went to Bohermeen on countback. They were led home by the very impressive junior Darragh Rennicks.They finished equal on 30 points with an evergreen Dunshaughlin quartet, three of whom are in the masters ranks. The B grade race was won by Trim.

In the womens race two of the new generation of Dunshaughlin distance talent Shauna Moore 1st and Shauna Moran 2nd led their club victory ahead of Bohermeen. It was a unique clean sweep for Dunshaughlin with colleagues Ursula Byrne and Linda Fahy taking 3rd and 4th for a 10 point total. Navan AC won the womens B race.    

Sarah Treacy put in a very impressive performance to finish in 12th place at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on Sunday 13th Dec. She was the leading Irish finisher on a team which finished just outside the bronze posisiton.

 In the senior mens race Andrew Ledwith battled through the field after a difficult start to finish in 37th place with the national team taking 7th.

Next year these championships will be held in Santry Demesne we hope there will be plenty of local interest and support. In the meantime Sarah hopes to be in action at Dunboyne for the Meath Senior on Sunday.

Meath Awards 2008 National Medal Winners who will be awarded certificates:

 All underage athletes who won medals at National Championships will be presented with certificates noting their achievement:

Muireann Ni Scanaill St. Andrew’s AC Caoimhe Moore Dunshaughlin AC Shauna Moran Dunshaughlin AC Grainne Miggin Fr. Murphy AC Jamie Murtagh St. Andrew’s AC Darragh Costigan Dunboyne AC Aisling O’Hare Na Fianna AC Leah Kelly Fr. Murphy AC Karen Monaghan Fr. Murphy AC Michael O’Hanlon Dunboyne AC Torlach Grant Navan AC James McCabe Dunboyne AC Conal Campion St. Andrew’s AC Kourosh Foroughi Star of the Sea AC Feilibh O’Cinneide Bohermeen AC Grace O’Sullivan Cushinstown AC Maureen Farrell Fr. Murphy AC Keith Doherty Dunboyne AC

Cross Country & Road Awards: U11-13 Girls Muireann Ni Scanaill St. Andrew’s AC Boys Fergal O’Hare Na Fianna AC U14-16 Girls Shauna Moran Dunshaughlin AC Boys Simon Drumm Dunboyne AC ) Jake McDonnell Navan AC ) Joint Winners U17-19 Girls Elaine Plunkett St Brigid’s AC Boys Loughlin Campion St. Andrew’s AC Junior Ladies Sara Louise Treacy Moynalvey/Kilcloone AC Men Ciaran McKenna Star of the Sea AC Senior Ladies Mary Hanley Na Fianna AC Men Gerard Heery St. Brigids AC) Rory McDonnell Dunboyne AC) Joint winners Masters Ladies Catherine Dunne Dunboyne AC) Mary Watters Navan AC) Joint Winners Men Shane Boyle Bohermeen AC) Phelim Glynn Dunboyne AC) Joint Winners

Track & Field Awards: U11-13 Track Girls Aisling O’Hare Na Fianna AC Boys Ben Davis Dunboyne AC) Shane Joyce Cushinstown AC) Joint Winners Field Girls Leah Kelly Fr. Murphy AC Boys Darragh Costigan Dunboyne AC U14-16 Track Girls Karen Dunne Bohermeen AC Boys Seamus Lavin Dunboyne AC Field Girls Karen Monaghan Fr. Murphy’s AC Boys James McCabe Dunboyne AC U17-19 Track Girls Maureen Farrell Fr. Murphy AC Boys Feilibh O’Cinneide Bohermeen AC Field Girls Grace O’Sullivan Cushinstown AC Boys Conal Campion St. Andrew’s AC Junior Track Ladies Sinead O’Kane Dunboyne AC Men Darragh Rennicks Bohermeen AC Junior Field Ladies Lucy O’Sullivan Cushinstown AC Men Kourosh Fouroughi Star of the Sea AC Senior Track Ladies Cheryl Dolan Na Fianna AC Men Morgan McDonagh Dunboyne AC Senior Field Ladies Rose Mary Daniels Na Fianna AC Men Mark Hanily Fr. Murphy AC Masters Track Ladies Moira Peppard Trim AC Men Michael Cornyn Dunboyne AC Masters Field Ladies Moira Aston Trim AC Men Thomas Toner St. Andrew’s AC

National / World Records / Championship Best Performance: Shot Putt 18.20m Kieran Kelly (Fr Murphy AC) at the Woodies DIY National Indoor T&F Championships held in the Odyssey Arena, Belfast 26-27 January 2008 surpassing the previous National Record of 18.07m held by Paul Quirke. Participated at a Major International Championship: Lisa O’Callaghan: Paralympic Games at Beijing, China 6-17 September 2008 Sara Louise Treacy: European Junior Cross Country Championship at Toro, Spain 9th December 2007 and the World Junior Cross Country Championships at Edinburgh, Scotland 30th March 2008. Andrew Ledwith: European U23 Cross Country Championship at Toro, Spain 9th December 2007 and the World Cross Country Championships at Edinburgh, Scotland 30th March 2008.

 County Cups & Trophies 2008: The Heffernan Cup: Girls U9 Team: Na Fianna AC Na Fianna Cup: Boys U9 Team : Na Fianna AC Rod and Gun Perpetual Cup: Boys U12 team: Dunboyne AC D. O’Brien Cup: Girls U14 Team: Fr. Murphy AC The Dan Bagnall Cup: Novice Men: Bohermeen AC The Betty & Frank McDonnell Cup: Intermediate Team: Bohermeen AC Bank of Ireland Trophy: Senior Ladies: The Regan Mc Entee Cup: Senior Ladies: The Larry Daly Cup: Senior Men Team:

Meath Secondary Schools T&F Championships: Best Girl’s School : The Fagan Cup: St. Peters College, Dunboyne Best Boy’s School : Presented by Meath AAI : St. Patrick’s Classical School,

Navan Hibernian National Track & Field League: The Meath Ladies team won the Bronze medal in Division 1. The team was as follows: 1) Fiona Meade Star of the Sea AC 2) Doireann Meade Star of the Sea AC 3) Sara Louise Treacy Moynalvey / Kilcloone AC 4) Michelle Smith Dunboyne AC 5) Michelle Pilkington Dunboyne AC 6) Sinead O’Kane Dunboyne AC 7) Cheryl Dolan Na Fianna AC 8) Rose Mary Daniels Na Fianna AC 9) Jenny Reilly Na Fianna AC 10) Brigid Clarke Na Fianna AC 11) Mary Hanley Na Fianna AC 12) Maggie Higgins Na Fianna AC 13) Elaine Plunkett St. Brigid’s AC 14) Lucy O’Sullivan Cushinstown AC 15) Grace O’Sullivan Cushinstown AC 16) Sophie Kennedy Navan AC 17) Aisling Wynne Navan AC 18) Karen Healy Fr. Murphy AC 19) Sharon Monaghan Fr. Murphy AC 20) Leah Rennicks Bohermeen AC 21) Nicola Coffey Bohermeen AC 22) Mary Kate Benville St. Andrew’s AC 23) Pam Reynolds St. Andrew’s AC

The President of the Athletic Association of Ireland Mr. Liam Hennessey  presented all team members with their medals on the night.

Best Club at the T&F Championships: Juvenile Club: Cushinstown AC Senior Club: Dunboyne AC Inter Club Track & Field League: 1st Dunboyne AC 622 2nd Bohermeen AC 599 3rd Na Fianna AC 582

Well done to Andrew Ledwith (Fr. Murphy AC) running for Iona College on winning the bronze medal in the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Terra Haute, Indiana on Monday 24^th November.

The first day of the 2008 Meath Cross Country championships were held at the Fr Murphy AC club grounds near Athboy. The weather conditions and the course were in tip top condition for the even ages, novice and masters deciders.Every effort has been made to present the results accurately.even ages novice and masters results

 If anyone would like to share their photos please email them to meathathletics@hotmail.com.

Andrew Ledwith and Lucy Darcy took top honours at the SOH 4 mile road race in Navan on the eight of the eight 08.Full results here

OVERALL RESULTS

Click here for 2008 South O Hanlon 4 mile photos

CATEGORY RESULTS SOUTH O HANLON 4 MILE ROAD RACE 080808

Day 1 action 4th May 08 in Claremont

The results of the Meath post primary schools competition have been added. Schools from throughout the county took part in this increasingly popular event. Many of the competitors are now preparing for the regional schools championships.

 If anyone has any photographs or a report from this event which they want published on this site please email them to meathathletics@hotmail.com
Read On...

Torlach Grant from Navan AC was the winner of the under 17 boys 800m at the AAI under 16-19 indoor championships in Nenagh on Saturday. Grant won his heat around lunchtime in a time of 2m14.56sec and  was then required to turn out for his final within a few hours. The earlier effort  was no bother to the talented youngster who ran over 13 second faster in his final to take the national title with Liam Markham ,Ennis TC and Jonathon Philips, Roundwood AC over 3 seconds adrift. Torlach has had some very impressive performances over the indoor season including the Scottish indoors at Kelvin Hall and at the schools internationals.

In the under 19 high jump Star of the Sea athlete Kourosh Foroughi and his great rival Barry Pender from Laois club St Abbans battled it out for the national indoor title. The latest edition of the “battle of the bar” saw the two most exciting young Irish jumpers easily exceed the two metre mark. Fououghi cleared 2.05m to take silver with Pender going up another 5cm to claim the gold. The intense rivalry between these lads is encouraging greater performances which will help both make their mark at junior and senior elite level. Shane Crowley, Cushinstown AC is another of the local high jumpers who is progressing and benefitting from the coaching expertise and guidance of Dessie Gough. Shane finished in 6^th place of the under 16 competition with a 1.60m effort.

David Tobin, Trim AC was over finished fourth in the under 19 long jump with a 6.11m effort in the sixth round which was well short of his season best of 6.45m in February when winning the Leinster Junior long jump.

Next Friday 18^th April over 300 youngsters from second level schools thoughout the county will gather at Claremont Stadium in Navan for the Meath Athletics Board schools track and field championships. This event which is in its third year is organised as part of the boards development programme gives many local students an introduction to competitive track and field athletics in advance of the North Leinster and provincial championships in May. The event organisers are the renowned cross country runners Maggie Higgins and Brigid Clarke (who won team silvers in the Leinster Masters)

There was a great turnout for the Dunboyne 4 mile road race on Sunday 30 March. Tommy McDonnell from the organising club was very pleased to see an increase of 100 entrants over the 2007 figure. Top man was the Galway Cty Harrier veteran Gerry Ryan in a time of 19.16 and another experienced campaigner Pauline Curley from Tullamore took the honours in the womens race with a 22.43 effort.The Dunboyne club put on a very well organised race which was followed by some ceol provided by CCE Dunboyne and an excellent race video. The Meath Road Race series continues at Bohermeen and Navan in the coming weeks.Details on this site.

Rathfarnham A took the mens team victory and the host club were fitting winners of the womens team competition.

 AAI president Michael Heery presented the prizes after the race in the Community Centre and he himself was the recipient of a special presentation from Dunboyne AC in recognition of his magnificent contibution to Irish athletics. Tributes were paid to club man Frank Fagan who passed away recently.Full results are here

 Dunboyne 4mile 2008

Women categories

 Men Categories

2008 Meath 5 mile road cships

Meath Athletics Board

Convention Report

Wednesday 6 Feb.

Claremont Stadium, Navan.

The Meath Athletics Board 2008 convention was held at Claremont Stadium on Weds. 7^th February.

Delegates from most of the clubs gathered to elect a new board of
officers for the coming year and vote on motions covering  a variety of topics.

 Lena Heffernan,Na Fianna was elected honorary president for 2008. Lena
took over the role from another great worker and administrator Robbie Byrne, Navan who remains one of the prime movers in Claremont stadium.

 Michael Heery the President of Athletics Ireland was on hand to present the chain of offfice to Lena.
He paid tribute to the enormous contribution which she had made to her club
Na Fianna, the county board and the sport at national level. Micheal was
delighted to be involved in honouring a woman whose lifelong involvement
with athletics began in the sixties when her late husband Bob and the
president were members of the Boardsmill athletic club. Forty years on Lena is a key worker in Meath athletics and plays a very important role in the administration of  cross country and track championships. In an era when getting actively involved is actively avoided by many, Lena is busy getting things done for another generation of athletes.

    
 Status quo was the order of the day with the election of officers. The
main ingredients missing however were the four denim clad musicians from
the 1970s, the head banging and an encore of Rockin All over the World. As this process unfolded it resembled the Northern Rock financial crisis last autumn such were the number of withdrawals .

The important position of competition officer which has remained unfilled for the past few years due to difficulty getting anyone to take any such responsibility was filled. The outgoing Development Officer, Moira Aston volunteered for the post of competition secretary and her old role of development officer has been filled by two members of Na Fianna, Maggie Higgins and Bridget Clarke.

OFFICERS ELECTED 2008

Honorary President Lena Heffernan, Na Fianna.

Chairman, Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea.

Assistant Chairman, PJ McGrath, St.Andrew's.

Secretary Philip Cogavin, Fr Murphy.

Competition Secretary Moira Aston, Trim AC.

Treasurer Rita Brady, Navan AC .

Registrar Martin Heery, St. Brigids.

PRO Ciaran Tobin, Trim AC.

Coaching Coordinator Tom Clinton, Navan AC

Development Officers Maggie Higgins & Bridget Clarke,both Na Fianna.

Children's Officers Kay O'Hanlon MKAC Domhnaill O Hanlon MKAC

National League Team Manager Gerard Heery, St Brigids

Leinster Delegates Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea John Hynes, Na Fianna

Senior Cross Country Selectors: Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea Paddy Mangan, Dunshaughlin Gerard Heery, St. Brigids AC Tommy
McDonnell,Dunboyne

Juvenile Selectors: DonmhaillO'Hanlon,MKAC Ciaran Tobin, Trim AC, Brendan Meade,Star of the Sea, Philip Cogavin, Fr Murphy.

A number of motions put forward to the Meath Board were passed and will also be put forward to the Leinster AGM and the AAI Congress.

The very first motion on the agenda was from Star of the Sea. “ That a fine of 50 euro be imposed on clubs per each instance of an unregistered athlete at county board promoted events” The board chairman who referred to widespread registration irregularities last year and felt that stif penalties sent a clear signal of intent. There was broad agreement on the need to penalize transgressors and following nearly twenty minutes of debate an amended version saw the financial penalty reduced to 20 euro per athlete only and not per event entered.

Both Navan AC and Na Fiannas motion dealing with maintaining the current under age competions structure were passed and a combined motion will go to national congress in April. This topic has stirred a lot of debate throughout the country at the regional discussions recently.

 The Trim AC motion regarding team age grades for inter county and club masters competitions was carried. Navan AC proposed that the national association provide the Athletics Leader training courses free of charge to clubs was carried unanimously.

All four motions put forward by Dunboyne AC were discussed and ruled ineligible by the chairman as there was no representation from that club to propose them. A large number of motions dealing with particular aspects of local championships will be recommended to the competiton committee.

The motion put forward by Trim AC to create assistant officer positions ( registrar, coaching, development, public relations, competitions) which was aimed at spreading the workload and facilitating transition was narrowly defeated.

All clubs are reminded that there will be a meeting of the incorporating motions & nominations for the AAI Congress and the  competition committee in Claremont on 27^th February. All clubs can sent as many delegates as they wish to the competition committee but each club has only one vote and the proposal must get subsequent approval the next county board meeting.

Votes of sympathy were passed with the Roe , Cogavin and L:oughnane families.

Chairman’s Address to Meath AAI Convention

Mr. Presidents, Fellow Officers & Delegates,

Firstly on behalf of all of us I would like to thank our county president Robbie Byrne for the grace & dignity he has brought to the office of President throughout the year. On my own behalf I want to extend a special word of thanks to my fellow officers for all their hard work during the year because without their combined efforts it would be impossible to successfully run the programme of events that we have on our yearly calendar. Thanks is also due to Sharon & her staff in the Sport’s Development Programme, who do so much of the clerical work for us, which facilitates the efficient running of all our events.

Our two Presidents, Robbie Byrne (President Meath AAI) & Michael Heery (President of the Athletics Association of Ireland) are now both coming to the end of their terms of office. They both have brought honour and dignity to our sport. It was a pleasure to have Michael Heery present Robbie with of the chain of office at the Meath T&F Championships in Claremont Stadium. Michael Heery has a little less than three months left of his 3^rd and final term in office and on your behalf I want to thank Michael for all the work he has done for athletics over the past six years. He has moved the organisation forward – made it more professional, increased its profile and more importantly mended fences that were at one stage badly broken. Relationships with the Schools, Universities, Business Houses, NIAF & the Olympic Council of Ireland that were once tense are now thanks to him very close with three of the above organisations now with seats on the board of AAI. There is no doubt that with continued goodwill from all sides one body governing athletics for the whole island is now much closer than it was in pre Michael Heery days.

On the Meath County front we have had another successful year with county teams & individuals winning medals at Provincial & National level as well as representing the country in International competition. The best days for me were the high jump final at the EYOF in Belgrade where Kourosh Foroughi won the bronze medal and the National League Final where the Meath ladies team gained promotion to the Premier Division.

Since then there has been a problem with the competition committee proposing a ban on county teams competing in the T&F league but your county representatives are vigorously fighting this move. In fact at a recent Leinster meeting most of the changes proposed by the competition committee met with a hostile reception.

In the last two years our membership has increased by almost 30% - we now have the 3^rd largest membership in the country. This is due to the more active development, coaching for all levels of athletes within the county and that we have more events for all levels of athletes so that the athletics year does not end for some with just the Meath T&F Championships. At this stage I must acknowledge the help & support that we receive from our RDO Bart Rogers. Bart at this stage is an honorary Meath man with a Dublin accent. As a pure fun night, the 5k Beach Run & BBQ on Gormanston Beach on the only summer’s evening we got, was an outstanding success what with races, sand castle competition, swimming and of course plenty of the Big Al’s. While we had many successes I have to acknowledge that we messed up in the Meath Senior Men’s Cross Country Championship in so far as the first three athletes were concerned.

The other matter that disappointed me was the fact that I uncovered a large number of unregistered athletes in one club after Meath Novice Cross Country Championships. This then led to a wholesale trawl through each clubs registrations, which was extremely time consuming. I do not want to see that happening again.

Where do we go from here? I would like to see our membership growing further. It will entail building on our coaching programmes, pooling our expertise, group training, getting into primary & secondary schools and fit4life programmes. There are also areas in the county where we need to establish an athletic club. We also need more help from competing clubs at all our events so that they run smoothly and efficiently. With our level 2 course in progress we will look at maybe a level 3 course within the next 2 years.

Once again I would like to reiterate my view that we need to have one athletics body for the whole of the island governing all aspects of the sport and with this in mind I propose to invite a guest from the NIAF to one of monthly meetings so that we can explore areas of mutual benefit & increase mutual understanding. Finally I wish all our athletes, officials, county officers and club members a very successful and enjoyable year.

Brendan Meade

Development Officers Report

Meath Athletics hosted two successful and well attended schools competitions in 2007.  The track & field competition was attended by sixteen Post Primary feeder schools for te Clubs in Meath.  The emphasis once again was on encouraging participation and the fun element of the day was very apparent.

There was a 20% increase across the categories in numbers participating in the Cross Country competition in Gormanston College, and once again the event was thoroughly enjoyed by the athletes and received great coverage in the press.

Meath is recognised by the Irish Schools Athletic Association as one of the most proactive Counties in encouraging the Club/School link and other Counties are encourages to follow our lead when organizing joint events.

Possibly the Clubs could have capitalised more on the events by contacting some of the athletes who participated from their local schools and encouraging them to join Clubs.  It is difficult for Club coaches to be present on the day of competition due to work commitments, but a follow up call to the local school could be beneficial.

Many thanks everybody who helped out at the schools competitions.  Certainly it is beneficial to all to develop the Club/School link and to get to know the PE teacher in your local school. 

There was an effort prior to the County Championships to streamline the day and encourage all clubs to provide officials rather than depending on the usual officials from a handful of the participating clubs. To a large extent this was a successful initiative and the various events ran smoothly.  The social aspect of the breakfast prior to kick off was well received.  This needs to be developed going forward so that the workload on the day is fairly and evenly distributed.

Moira Aston

PRO s Report 

Meath Athletics Board Convention, Weds. 6 Feb. 2008, Claremont Stadium, Navan.

I would like to thank my colleagues on the county board who have cooperated and  assisted me during the year.  Thanks also to those clubs who have taken on board the importance of promoting the sport by their deeds and their actions throughout the past year.

There have been improvements in the public relations field by some clubs. They are aware of the great opportunities provided by the unrivalled quality of local print media operating in Ireland and taking advantage of this.

 There has been an increase in the week to week reporting of athletic events including schools athletics, club events and meet and train groups in most of the local papers. The local radio station LMFM continues to provide a forum for weekend summaries in its Monday sports bulletins.

The importance of public relations and press reporting is underlined by the commitment by AAI in the “Club Development Programme” published in Nov 2007 to provide regional seminars on this specific topic during the coming year. Lets hope that all local clubs get involved .

 During the past week I have been discussing the publication of a Meath Athletics feature with Frank Greally, editor of the Irish Runner. This will give the clubs in county Meath an outlet to a wider audience, we can use it to promote the road league and if presented properly use it to attract sponsors or develop partnerships with other bodies.

During the year a group of us met up to discuss sponsorship and promotional issues. If there are any clubs with members who have marketing expertise perhaps you could point them in this direction. The efforts by AAI to promote Little Athletics, mass participation events and fit4life gives us increased exposure and new members. We now need to make it count at club and county level.

The county athletics awards received excellent coverage in the Meath Chronicle and I am particularly grateful to Conal Collier and John Quirke for helping in this regard.

An issue which I think delegates should attend is the timing of events . Have you noticed that mid week events generally get better media coverage than weekend events. The schools cross country and schools track and field events got great coverage. The continued staging of events on Sunday means that there is big pressure to meet the Monday morning copy deadlines and we are pitching ourselves directly against the major team sports. We should be playing our best shot.

If anyone here tonight has ideas and suggestions on how to improve the sport and is willing to work for the county as a whole, I am sure the incoming committee will be all ears. If you want an up to the minute reporting and results service, if you want competitions staged and presented in a more professional manner, tonight is your night. This board needs more help.

 The committee room is the forum for constructive contributions. Unfortunately there were a number selective leakages and a tendency by some individuals to denigrate the efforts of others while taking no active part in the staging of events

I conclude by thanking the following media; Meath Chronicle, Drogheda Independent, Meath Echo, Meath Post, The Weekender, The Topic, Evening Herald and LMFM for their athletics coverage during the past year. The cooperation , support and resources of  Athletics Ireland, Bart Rogers, MLSP, Communities Online Together and in particular Sharon Boyle and her colleagues in the Sports Development Office is appreciated.

 Ciaran Tobin

TREASURERS REPORT

Treasurer Rita Brady reported that the board had a total income of 23,277.20 and an expenditure of  22,901.88 over the year. All the county championship events paid their way with good attendance figures for some of the league nights and the earlier cross country championships. There w as a deficit on the awards night and a rise in some service costs at events.

 She also explained that one of the results of the trawl of unregistered athletes was that the board donated all the procced of the penalty fines to the Comfort Fund for patients in St. Joseph geriatric hospital in Trim.

Rita Brady

Registrars Report

Juvenile memberships increased by 210 over 2006 figures. There were 1303 registerd athletes between under 10 and under 19 grade in the county, The adult membership went from 269 to 275 in the same period.

The registrar  has sent guidelines to all the clubs explaining the county and national registration, renewals and affiliation procedures.

There continues to be a worrying drop off in membership levels in the early teenage grades. However this seems to be a trend affecting most sports in Ireland at present. The involvement of Meath athletics board in the schools championships is going some way to redressing this. It is also important that the county teams remain in the national league as clubs try to bring older eeenage athletes through to junior (U/20) to senior grade.

Martin Heery

Coaching Officers Report

Tom Clinton told the meeting that there had been a lot of progress during the past year with the completion of a well attended Level 1 course in spring 2007. there was also a major uptake on the Athletics Leader course during the year. He said that he was active in the efforts to get FETEC recognition for coach education courses. He asked for the support of the clubs to this end. The provision and commencement of Level 2 training in recent 2 weeks was another notable achievement in the coaching field.

He is keen to help in any aspect of coaching with all clubs in the county and was pleased to see the revival in fortune of the Kells club after a few difficult seasons.

The November meeting of the Meath athletics board confirmed the following dates for the coming season.

26 Dec 2007,Navan AC “Paddy Hyland Memorial 10 km” start 12noon. Registration and facilities at Claremont Stadium, Commons Rd. Navan.

16 March 2008, Meath 5 mile road championship with open race promoted by Fr Murphy AC . Start 12 noon at Frayne, Athboy.

30^th March 2008, Dunboyne 4 Mile Road Race. Start 3pm. Registration and changing facilities at Dunboyne Community centre.

20^th April 2008 Cushinstown AC track and field sports at the club track near Kilmoon Cross just off the N2 8km north of Ashbourne.

16 May, Navan AC “Simon Cumbers 6km” Start 8pm. . Registration and facilities at Claremont Stadium, Commons Rd. Navan.

Tuesday 27 May,8pm. Na Fianna AC hold the Bob Heffernan Memorial 5km. Registration,refreshments,video and presentation at the  Hamlet Court Hotel, Johnstownbridge. Just off M4 at Enfield,

20 June 2008 Bohermeen 5km Registration and presentation at  Bohermeen Community centre. 8pm start.

28 June 2008 Dunshaughlin 10km. Registration, refreshments and prizegiving at Dunshaughlin Community Centre.Race video also. Race start;7.30pm.

8 August 2008. South O’Hanlon  road race. Race HQ will be at Claremont Stadium, Navan. Start 8pm.”Remember the eight of the eight 08”

14 Sept 2008.Bohermeen AC 4 mile road race preceded by childrens track races at Bohermeen Community Centre.

21 Sept 2008.Navan AC track and field sports at  Clarermont Stadium, Navan.

28 Sept. 2008.Star of the Sea  juvenile and senior cross country at Greenanstown, Stamullen. Start 11am.

• Details of the Meath Athletics Board summer road race league will be announced early in 2008.

Down the years school books, tourist brochures and guide books have consistantly referred to the plains of Meath and the river Boyne meandering towards the sea through the flatlands of north Leinster. These descriptions imply that the citizens of Meath are about as familiar with hilly terrain as the people from Holland.

But as in the case of the many hardy Dutch cyclists who tamed Alpe D’Huez and its neighbours we have in our midst a mountain running giant in the form of Gerard Heery.

Gerard who retained his county senior cross country title in Trim recently has worn the Irish singlet on numerous occasions in international hill and mountain races. He and his colleagues at St Brigids AC have put their expert local knowledge and his event experience to great use in setting a hill running course to be reckoned within the largest beech plantation in Europe at Mullaghmeen.  The course which straddles the boundary between Meath and Westmeath was in great condition for the time of year and was negotiated with gusto by runners of all ages despite the trepidations of an officer of a prominent cross country club who seemed to think that hills were an unwelcome feature of hill running.

The race took the runners along the northern edge of the wood overlooking Lough Sheelin and they sized each other up for the first two kilometers. The leading group of men included such stalwarts of the local cross country scene as the aforementioned Heery, Paddy Mangan, John Gill, Fechin Heery, Robbie Matthews,  and Dermot Farrelly. The first steep decline saw the St Brigids man make a break and he stretched his advantage on the steep incline through the forest to the summit. He took nearly  a minute out of his pursuers in the fourth kilometre to retain his Meath senior title on the hills ahead of his younger brother Fechin. A 25 point total gave Bohermeen the mens team prize.

John Gill and Paddy Mangan took the masters grades and eleven year old Gavin Maher from Dunshaughlin completed the challenging course in a great time of 24.37 to finish the top junior.

In the womens race Linda Gunning hit the front as early as the second kilometre and  emerged as first woman past the post and winner of the over 45 grade ahead of Ann Tobin. Na Fianna were led to a team victory over Bohermeen by Brigid Clarke who was closely followed throughout by club colleagues Maggie Higgins, Ann Marie McCluskey and Maureen Lowther from Trim. Another emerging cross country talent from Dunshaughlin AC , Shauna Moore was the winner of the junior race ahead of Orla Timmons. Geraldine and Kathleen Gill were the best of the senior women.

Athletics Ireland President Michael Heery and his wife Brigid were on hand to dispense refreshments at the finish and the running fraternity of the county ended the year on a high note in the shadow of the legendary cairns of Loughcrew. What started last year as a novel event for the festive season has joined the Gormanston Beach Run as one of the must do events on the local athletics calendar.

Meath Hill Running 30/12/07

Men Results:

Senior Men:
1. Gerard Heery   St Brigids   18.34
2. Fechin Heery   St Brigids    19.31
3. Robbie Matthews  Dunshaughlin  20.20
4. Derek Croal  Bohermeen  20.42
5. Blaine Rennicks  Bohermeen  21.26
6. Martin Heery  St Brigids   25.10
7. Brendan Briody  St Brigids  25.52


Junior Men:
1. Gavan Maher Dunshaughlin  24.37
2. Michael Flood St Brigids  26.50
3. Taigh Morrissey  St Brigids  28.30
4. Ian Hunter  Ratoath   29.40
5. Alex Hunter  Ratoath  29.46
6. Ross Hunter  Ratoath  33.16
7. Padraig Plunkett  St Brigids  34.35


O/35 Men:
1. John Gill  Bohermeen  19.56
2. Dermot Farrelly  Bohermeen   21.39
3. Sean Kinnan  Dunboyne  22.06
4. Tommy Maher Dunshaughlin  24.39


O/45 Men:
1. Paddy Mangan Dunshaughlin  19.20
2. Brian Cully  Trim  23.34
3. Aidan Keegan  Dunboyne  23.50
4. Ciaran Tobin  Trim  26.33
5. Philip Cogavin  Fr Murphys  38.39

Fun Runners:
1. Sean McDaid  21.47
2. Derek Hunter  33.16
3. Mick Kellett  34.59

Teams:
1. Bohermeen 25
2. St Brigids  37
3. Dunshaughlin 38

Women Results:

Senior Ladies:
1. Geraldine Gill Bohermeen  25.38
2. Kathleen Gill  Bohermeen   34.09


Junior Ladies:
1. Shauna Moore  Dunshaughlin  23.22
2. Orla Timmins  Star of the Sea  23.25
3. Elaine Plunkett  St Brigids  25.27
4. Rachel Neary  Na Fianna  27.26
5. Grainne Sheridan St Brigids  34.33


O/35 Ladies:
1. Brigid Clarke  Na Fianna  25.23
2. Maggie Higgins Na Fianna  25.24
3. Ann Marie McCloskey  Na Fianna  25.29
4. Maureen Lowther  Trim  25.38
5. Margaret Neary  Na Fianna  29.58


O/45 Ladies:
1. Linda Gunning  Bohermeen  24.38
2. Ann Tobin  Trim  26.35
3. Mary Morrissey St Brigids  28.59


Fun Runners:
1. Geraldine O'Shea 31.22
2. Jean O'Neill  31.51
3. Mary Donnelly  32.42


Teams:
1. Na Fianna  16
2. Bohermeen 29
3. St Brigids  36

2007 Meath Senior Cross Country championships

2007 Meath Meath Juvenile cross country relay championships

Meath Athletics Awards 2007

The 2007 Meath Athletics awards presentation was addressed by Athletics Ireland president, Michael Heery. He congratulated the officers and officials of the Meath board on how they conducted events during the year. He paid tribute to those who administer and coach the clubs of the county and said that the association is becoming more appreciative of the volunteer structure which is the forms the  backbone of the sport. This was recognised by the inaugural AAI Awards night which took place on Saturday 17 Nov.

The event which honoured the achivements,contributions and successes of athletes, coaches and administrators at every level of the sport in Ireland had been a great success. This was  thanks to the organisational skills of two local women, Rita Brady, Navan AC, who is a member of the AAI Finance committee and Moira Aston, Trim AC who was the event coordinator.

In his final term as President of Athletics Ireland he felt honoured to be involved in the special presentation for athletic achievement to Ciaran McDonagh and the presentation to 2007 European Youths bronze medal winner Kourosh Foroughi .

The 2007 Honorary President of Meath Athletics was also on hand to make presentations and he said that in his 60 years involvement with the sport he had met marvellous people who made a difference to their local community. As the first person to wear the new presidents chain of office he took the opportunity to publicly praise the to the lifelong contribution to the sport made by Rita Brady, Navan AC and Lena Heffernan, Na Fianna.

Presentation to Ciaran McDonagh

A special presentation was made to Ciaran McDonagh from Fr Murphy AC who retired from international athletics during 2007. During his distinguished athletics career Ciaran set numerous national indoor and outdoor long jump records from junior grade through under 21s and ultimately at  senior level. His jump of 8.07m set in 2005 at a meeting in Switzerland looks set to stand the test of time. On announcing the presentation the County athletics board chairman Brendan Meade noted that Ciaran had reached a world championship final, a very rare achievement for an Irish field event athlete.He also featured on the Irish all time lists for 60 metres and 100 metres.

 The President of Athletics Ireland Michael Heery wished Ciaran well and hoped that the association would be calling on his vast knowledge and expertise as a jumper of international renown and standard to assist with  coaching the next generation of Irish athletes.

Intrernational Achievements

There were special presentations made to three local athletes who took part in top level international events during the year .Pride of place went to Kourosh Foroughi from Star of the Sea AC who finished in the bronze medal position at the European Youth Olympic Festival at Belgrade World Youths Championship and also put in a top grade performance at the World Youths Championships at Ostrava, Czech Republic. He will be aiming to improve on his very impressive 2m11cm personal best set this year when he restarts his season at the National Indoor championships.  

Another international achiever during the year was Sara Louise Treacy, Moynalvey Kilcloon AC. She was a member of a very promising Irish junior cross country squad which finished ninth in the  European Junior Cross Country Championship at San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy. Sara is now a student at Birmingham University in England which has assembled the an outstanding team of middle distance stars this season.

The trip to the European U23 Cross Country Championship at San Giorgi su Legnano, Italy also gave Andrew Ledwith , Fr Murphy AC an opportunity to impress on the international stage.. Since returnig to his American college this autumn Andrew has made a big impression on the Collegiate Cross County scene. This weekend he took part for Iona College in the regional championships for the Eastern states.

These three dedicated and special talents are an inspiration to many local runners and a testament to the work and commitment of their clubs and coaches.

The  wonderful autumnal parklands surrounding the birthplace of  Charles Stewart Parnell at Avondale, Co. Wicklow were the setting for the first day of the 2007 Leinster cross country championships today.(28 Oct).

A strong Meath representation produced some impressive performances with the victory of the novice womens squad the top team performance. This race featured a thrilling battle for the silver between club and county colleagues Catherine Collins and Orla Timmons from Star of the Sea. They ran shoulder to shoulder over the final 150 metres from the lawns of Avondale House to the finishing shute with Collins prevailing and leading the county squad of  Timmons, Ashling O Brien, Laura Buckley and Hazel Kinsella to team honours ahead of Dublin and Wicklow.

In the masters women, the team led by former Fr Murphy athlete Lucy Darcy (2^nd overall) took team silver behind Dublin. The team which was missing a number of athletes entered for the Dublin City Marathon. The addition of Linda Fahy and Ursula Byrne of Dunshaughlin to the squad helped the cause and together with other stalward of womens masters running like Mary Watters, Ann Marie McCluskey, Ann Tobin and Marie Reilly they put in a top class effort over the hilly terrain to finish 30 points ahead of Wicklow.

In the novice mens race the team . Declan Monaghan led the team home in 15^th overall with Robbie Matthews, Fechin Heery, Pierce Fahy, Morgan McDonagh, battling their way through the field to finish fourth in the team category. They could have staked a claim for the top spot were it not for the injuries suffered in the middle of the race by two of our promising newcomers to the senior running ranks Johnny Morrissey and Daniel Treacy.

Juvenile Teams

The top team performances by Meath squads were in the under 12 boys and girls races with county bronze medals for both teams.Summary below.

U 12 girls 3^rd county-8,Scanail,9,Caoimhe Moore,24,Hannah McKeon,30,Ciara Murray,37,Sophia Maguire,46,Emma Callaghan,47,Aoife Flattery,56,Amy Coyle,52,Maria Byrne.

U12 boys 3^rd county-8 Gavin Maher,13,Gerard Duffy,14,Martin Monaghan,Kennedy,30,Jack McGowan,34,Daragh Byrne,39,Fionn Reilly,42,Patrick Peters,55,Daragh Costigan.

Read On...

CLICK HERE TO VIEW DAY 1 CROSS COUNTRY PHOTOS

Star of the Sea AC held their 19th Annual Cross Country Meeting on the lands of Mary & Brendan Meade at Greenanstown, Stamullen last weekend. The damp start to the morning did not put off the seasoned cross country runners and 700 athletes and supporters came through the gates to run over the undulating East Meath fields. Athletes from as far North as Inverness Harriers in Scotland to St Laurence O’Tooles AC in Carlow all agreed that the dry undulating course was a true test of cross-country running.

This year boasted our biggest attendance at this the first cross-country meet of the year and Star of the Sea AC would like to thank all our sponsors and helpers who help to make this the popular event that it is within the athletics calendar. The quality of the races excellent and this was evident in the number of closely contested finishes as the athletes cleared the final hill and raced down the final three hundred metres to the finish.

Star of the Sea AC juvenile coach Doireann Meade was very happy that so many of her charges came out and performed so well over this testing course. Ciaran Gallagher, however, deserves special mention as he came 2nd in the U12 Boys 1000m race. Ciaran ran a great race pacing him-self perfectly over the hill and making his move as they came with 300m to go. He pulled away from the chasing group but was not able to catch the winner Padraig Moran (Mullingar) and crossed the line for a fine 2nd place finish. The U17 Boys 4000m for the Sean Higgins Memorial Cup boasted our biggest field ever with over twenty-five finishers. This turned out to be a cracking race with the Mullingar duo of Shane Boggs and Jake Byrne going toe to toe with Cian O’Reilly Annalee AC. Boggs was trying to become the first athlete to retain this cup and while over the first lap it looked that O’Reilly had the measure of him Shane was not going to give up the cup without a fight. The two and a half lap race was going to test their stamina and as they came to the final climb Boggs had moved into a lead that he was not going to relinquish. Shane retained the cup and was followed home by O’Reilly with Byrne in third place.

 The Men’s Race over 6k also boasted our biggest ever field with 45 athletes finishing the tough course. Tom O’ Connor (Liffey Valley), a World Masters cross country medallist gave the younger guys a run for their money as he was still with them as the trio of athletes went out on their last lap. All through the race Lee Stenson (Mullingar) and Kevin Lawlor (St. Laurence O’Tooles) were fighting out the lead with O’ Connor sticking close behind them. With a lap and half to go Stenson had moved a few metres ahead of Lawlor with O’Connor a few metres further back. Kev Lawlor was not finished yet and over the last lap he found enough to win the race with Lee Stenson 2nd and veteran athlete Tom O’Connor in 3rd place.

Rennicks Cup photos here

The President of Athletics Ireland unveiled a memorial plaque and sculptor of John Davis at Santry indoor track on Friday 7th Sept. Michael Heery thanked Eddie Fitgerald, Mick Martin and George Lonergan for organising the very fitting tribute to one of the greatest coaches in the history of Irish athletics.

A programme of events on the track preceded the unveiling with 200m,mile,3km and shot putt contests. Among those taking part were athletes who were introduced to the sport by John,triathletes and paralympians.  They all described the great personality that was John and how he was always willing to guide athletes in a variety of training methods and athletics disciplines.All the speakers spoke of the warm and easy style of John whose encouragement and coaching experience was greatly valued.Michael Heery spoke of the devotion which John had to the sport and thanked Joan Davis and her family for their friendship over the years. "This tribute to John is also a tribute to the many great coaches who give so much of their time to athletics"

 His favourite piece of advice to all who came under his guidance and scrutiny was encapsulated in the inscription " Remember Technique".

We will John, because yours was unique.

South O Hanlon road race 2007 overall results and category results have now been added. Click these links to view.

Overall Results Sheet.

 South O Hanlon 4 mile category results 2007

Meath athletes in action in ESB League at Santry

Three hour heatwave

The runners who gathered for the first ever Meath Athletics beach run on Tuesday 17^th July were blessed  to have three hours in the summer of 2007 that did not feature a deluge. The event attracted support from right across the county as far as Longwood and Ballinacree.

At around seven o’clock the first arrivals jogged to the mouth of the Delvin river as they familiarised themselves with their surroundings. Gormanston Beach with the Cooleys and the mouth of the historic Boyne to the north and the light of Rockabill to the south was the wonderful setting for an event which began with juvenile races and a sandcastle competition. Then there was a senior  5km beach run to which took the 70 runners to Ben Head. There was a friendly sociable atmosphere as the runners stood around in t-shirts and shorts on one of this years rare fine evenings.

Chairman of Meath Athletics Board Brendan Meade was given great assistance by his own club colleagues from Star of the Sea AC in feeding the multitudes. Their ranks were greatly helped by the culinary prowess of county board officers Rita Brady and Martin Heery. Navigational aids and signage were arranged by the Dunshaughlins master athlete and now master of ceremonies Paddy Mangan.

Bohermeen AC, Dunshaughlin AC and the host club Star of the Sea featured prominently in all the juvenile races.  The senior event brought together regular club runners from St Brigids, Tara, South O Hanlon,Na Fianna and Trim alongside numerous meet and train runners and some new marathon converts.. The newly crowned AAI under age 800m champion Turloch Grant and young cross country star Thomas Moran acquitted themselves well on the east Meath sands.

 If ever there was a run where taking part was the all important feature this was it. Perhaps we should reflect on the real reason why most of us run. Is it not for the sheer joy of being fit and able to get up and go. The county has one of the smallest coastlines in the country but we are privileged to have some of the very best strands which are ideal for events of this nature

All those who took part were very happy with how the event was run and it is hoped that it will become a regular feature of local athletics calendar.

We all had a good bit of crack, a lovely run at a brilliant venue and great hospitality.

The weather was an unexpected bonus!

BEACH RUN PHOTOS 17 July 2007

The Meath Athletics Board staged its B track and field championships in Claremont Stadium on Wednesday evening. The championships were originally planned for Cushinstown track but were moved to Navan due to the weather conditions of recent weeks.

 The B championships were open to under 9s to under 14 who did not feature among the medallists in the recent county or provincial championships. Most of the juvenile clubs in the county were represented and there were some great performances on the night which thankfully did not feature a downpour.

The fourth round of the inter club track and field league will take place at the Navan venue on Wednesday 11^th July. There will be intense competition once again for team honours with Na Fianna and Dunboyne currently neck and neck for the top spot and Trim and Navan in close pursuit.

The league has been a major success and has provided plenty of competitive action over the past few weeks. One of the main attractions of the league is that it presents the sport to youngsters in a team environment without the pressure which sometimes exists in individual championship style events.

The Dunshaughlin 10km drew a great field from throughout the country on saturday night. The organisers decision to stge the race on a Saturday evening seems to have been vindicated by the fact that once more the numbers taking part increased substantially. The runners had the benefit of superb organisation with a very well marshalled course complete with km & mile markers, time splits,motorbike outriders, garda presence, race video agus grupa ceol.

Tallaght runner Dave Byrne went clear after the first kilometre and had a comfortable margin over his pursuers Nicky McGuinness and Mike Boyle. In the womens race Mary Hanley from Na Fianna underlined her enduring talent with a margin of over a minute to spare over her nearest rival Ann Curley with Elaine Caul and Dunboynes Catherine Dunne battling it out over the last 800m for 3rd and 4th places.

The mens and womens masters categories were keenly contested with wins for David Carey,Ben Vicivicus, Eamonn Dolan,Pat Comey,David Hawcroft,Graine Butler, Avril Fitzsimons, Linda Gunning,Mags McCreery,Elizabeth Conroy. Peter Fizsimons won the junior mens while the best placed local team was the Na Fianna women who finished third.

Mens Results

Womens Results

ESB LEAGUE PHOTOS Claremont 1 July 07

Record smashed in Tullamore

Kouresh Fourough from Star of the Sea club continued his record breaking feats with a massive 2.11 leap in the under 17 high jump. This performance confirms the form shown earlier this year with a similar record breaking effort at the provincial indoors in Nenagh.Throughout the spring Kouresh has put in big performances in county, schools and national deciders and is one of the brightest athletic talents in Ireland at present.

 Jason Tango ran out an impressive winner in the under 18 100m having sent out a signal of intent with a facile victory in the heats earlier on Saturday afternoon. Niamh Lister also from the Navan club finished third in the under 14 hammer with Trim athlete Amy Peppard close behind.   

There was a winning performance from Michelle Smith, Dunboyne in the under 19 100m ahead of clubmate Sinead O’Kane who earlier in the day claimed the long jump. Fr Murphy AC athlete Maureen Farrell won the under 18 high jump in very difficult wet conditions. At the end of the day this trio combined with Sophie Kennedy from Navan to claim a convincing victory in the 4x100m relay.

In the girls U/17 4x100m relay Lorna O’Hanlon, Laura Smith, Vanessa Hullon, Blessing Adeako put on a flawless display of baton changes to take a first provincial win in this age group.

 The Meath quartet of Ben Baxter, Cian O’Loughlin, Jason Tango and Neil Dunne were victims of some curious bureaucracy when they were deprived of the gold because all their runners were under 18s taking part in an under 19 competition.

Shane Aston ,Trim AC won the boys under 14 hammer with throw of 26m72cm and threw the discus 21m69cm for bronze at the first day of the  Athletics Leinster track and field championships in Tullamore . He followed this up on Sunday with a second place throw of 31m25 in a very hotly contested javelin competition. Andrew Lynam from Trim AC finished third in both the javelin and the hammer in the boys under 15 category of the Athletics Leinster track and field championships. In the under 18 long jump David Tobin jumped 5m81 when finishing second to St Abbans Paul Byrne.

  Turlough Grant from Navan scored a fine middle distance double when taking the 800m in a very convincing style in 2.07 and on Sunday he ran a tactically perfect race with a blistering last 200m to win the 1500 in a time of 4.25.

Other Meath results were Andrew Murtagh 1^st u/17 200m. Elaine Plunkett 3^rd u/17 800m, Michelle Smith 2^nd u/19 200m while fellow Dunboyne athlete Blessing Adeako finished in third place.  

Its that time of year again as we extend a special welcome to you all to participate in our annual 10Km Road Race and Fun Run around the roads of Dunshaughlin.

This is race No 6 on the exciting Meath Athletics road race league – It is the longest and toughest with a great tradition which includes nine Olympians and many International athletes gracing our royal roads over the past 28 years.

Last year’s winners were Martin Fagan Mullingar Harriers – 29.29 who was just home from Providence College while the Ladies race saw Mary Hanley (37.17) from Na Fianna become the first female Meath athlete to win this race since 1980 and had the added satisfaction of leading her club to the team title.

 This “friendly race” offers something for everyone – T-Shirts to first 150, goodey bags and spot prizes and a post race party. We can’t guarantee you a fast time but we will do our best to give you a good time so if you haven’t got a better offer for 7.30pm on Saturday 30th June 2007 we would love to see you

Click these links for details

Road Race Details

Take to the Roads

Star of The Sea A.C

List of officers: Honorary President: Dermot Reynolds Chairman: Colin Costello Snr. Vice Chairman: Pat Murphy Treasurer: Joe Monks Assistant Treasurer: Brian Dunne Registrar: Brendan Meade Secretary: Philomena Costello Assistant Secretary: Paula Dunne PRO: Doireann Meade Committee Members: Margaret Berrill, Feena Collins, Catherine McKenna, Barry Delaney, Peter Collins Snr. and Lorcan Murphy

Club Coaches: Philomena Costello - juvenile coach Doireann Meade - juvenile/ jumps coach Fiona Meade- sprints/ hurdles coach Catherine Collins - juvenile coach Brendan Meade - senior/ distance coach Rachel Murphy- sprints coach

Juvenile training (7-18yrs) takes place at Gormanston College athletics track on Monday evenings from 6-7pm. For further information contact juvenile coach Philomena Costello on 01-8411088. Senior and junior training vary throughout the week and venues include Ardgillan Castle and Gormanston College. For any junior or senior athletes who wish to join, information will be available on Monday nights from the club coaches or contact the senior coach, Brendan Meade, on 087-2533113.

 The club host a very successful cross country each year on the last Sunday of September. The race is one of the first cross countrys in the season and hence is a great opportunity to test fitness over a tough hilly course, over 500 people attended last year. The event caters for athletes from under 9 to masters, with the juvenile program starting at 11am while the main junior/ senior/ masters race is at 12.45pm. 2007 will be the 19th star of the sea cross country.

The club is the only athletics club along the Meath coastline. It was original founded in 1972 by Mornington man Dave Reynolds, who was a international marathon runner. The club currently has many promising athletes of all ages and has a long history of county, provincial, national and international success for both senior and juvenile athletes. Many Star of the Sea athletes have be seen to wear national singlets, which has brought huge success to the club including a European junior champion, European youth Olympic medals, world mountain running qualifiers, along with countless Celtic games and school internationals appearances.

SOUTH O HANLON AC

 President Sylvester Rowe Chairman Davy Carey Ass. Chairman Mick O'Brien Secretary Willie Twomes Ass. Secretary Adrian Moran Treasurer Tommy Clarke P.R.O. Patsy Fitzsimons Registrar Declan Byrne Club members usually meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00 at the ramparts carpark for a club run, any newcomers are welcome. SOUTH O HANLON 4 Mile Road Race will be staged on 25 August 2007 at 7pm. This is one of the premier road race in the Irish athletics calendar and is one of the races in the Meath road race league. Registration and presentation at Claremont Stadium, Commons Rd., Navan

Ratoath Athletic Club

 Phil Bateson Club Secretary E-mail : pbateson@eircom.net Ronnie Quigley Club Chairman : ronniequigley@hotmail.com Colm Keogh Club Treasurer: colm.keogh@bench.com Gerry Finnegan Coach : gerryfinnegan@gmail.com Tom Wallace PRO : tomwallace@olhausens.ie Vincent Donnelly Child Officer : vdonnelly@oceanfree.net

Training times are Tuesday night 7-8pm and Sunday Morning from 12 - 1pm at the GAA Club in Brownstown, Ratoath. Friday night from 7.30 - 8 .30 pm at Cushenstown AC grounds. There are currently around 90 members of the Ratoath Athletics Club. Ranging in age from 9 years upwards, the club caters for boys and girls, men and women. The club has had considerable success over the years, winning Meath and Leinster titles, as well as club members representing club and county in All Ireland successes. Club members also take part in Community Games track and cross country, representing parish and county with pride.

 The club would welcome new coaches and “helpers” and especially anybody who has recently moved into the area with an interest/experience in any facet of athletics, who would be interested in getting involved even for say one hour per week.

 Trim Athletic Club

 Trim AC was founded in 1972 and was originally called Yellow Steeple AC in reference to the medieval tower which overlooks the Porchfields cross country course. In recent years there has been a massive increase in juvenile membership while the masters group has also undergone a revival in fortunes. 

The club organised a meet and train group called TRIM IN SPRING in conjunction with the MLSP to enable and encourage women preparing for the Dublin Womens Mini Marathon. There is an active and successful masters section in the club which competes in a variety of disciplines locally and a lot further afield. We are currently developing youth talents at the new improved field events facilities in the Boyne CS.

 Juvenile training at Boyne Community School Monday 6pm Adult training contact Joe Brady on 0861283999 or email trimathleticclub@hotmail.com See Focus on Trim for updates. Secretary Ciaran Tobin 046 9436265 or 086 3445903 Clubtext 086 0569512 Club website http://community.meath.ie/trimathleticclub/

Chairman Joe Brady Vice Chairwoman Moira Aston Secretary & PRO Ciaran Tobin Ass. Secretary Brendan Gilligan Competition Secretary Moira Peppard Treasurer Catherine McLernon Ass. Treasurer Mairead Shortt Registrar Frank Magee Child Officer Cathy Shelly Committee: Ann Tobin, Pat Comey, Noeleen Comey, Willie Eivers, Caroline O’Keane,Conrad McGonagle.

St Brigids AC

All Juvenile athletes train from 6.30pm to 7.30pm every Wednesday evening in the St Brigid’s Park, Ballinacree. All Junior, Senior & Master athletes train at 11am on Sunday in Mullaghmeen Forest. Websitehttp://community.meath.ie/stbrigidsac/

Chairperson: Pat Plunkett Vice Chairperson: Michael Heery Secretary: Martin J Heery Treasurer: Fechin Heery Registrar: Catherine Hawdon PRO: Mary Clarke & Gerard Heery Child Protection Officer: Maureen Gilsenan Juvenile Coach: Martin J Heery Senior Coach: Gerard Heery Committee: Johnny Morrissey, Brian Morrissey, Barry Kevin, George Plunkett, Trevor Clarke & Dermot Hawdown

DUNSHAUGHLIN AC

Chairman Paddy Mangan 087 2597731 & 01 8011884 paddy.mangan@irishrail.ie Secretary Maggie Maher,49 Supple Park,Dunshaughlin,Co Meath Tel 01 8240519 Mail to tommag@iol.ie Child Officer Patricia Moore Tel 01 8250110. Training venue and times – Community college grounds – Tuesdays – 6 – 7 p.m.Thursdays – 6.30- 8pm

 Na Fianna AC

2007 Officers and Committee.... Hon Presidents; Noel Collins,Fr. Fay; Presidents; Oliver Cooney,Fr. Whittaker. Chairman; Paddy Farrell. Vice Chair; AnnMarie McCluskey. Secretary; Lena Heffernan. Treasurer;Bridget Clarke. Ass. Treas.; Timmy O Gorman. Registrar; Hilary Maye. PRO; Maggie Higgins. Child Officers; Emer Heneghan & Martin Forde. Maggie Higgins PRO Thomastown, Enfield Co Meath 0872866815

FR MURPHY AC

DUNBOYNE AC

 Dunboyne AC is situated on the Rooske Road approx 600mts from Dunboyne village. There is an 8 lane all weather floodlit track with two long jump pits a shot/putt circle and hammer and discus circles with cage. The club caters for all levels.

 Training times are sen/vet tues/thur 7pm  juveniles mon/wed 7pm sen coach Declan Horgan

Juvenile coaching is organised by teresa smith with a panel of coaches and assisants. The  throws coach is Betty Cunningham.

Club captain Tommy McDonnell.

Achievements-------World championship walk 5k 1st Bobby King meath 5mile road c/ship 1st individual Rory McDonnell and
1st team placing  voted top juvenile club in meath for 2005/2006 successes at county provincial/national level and international level Contacts--------- tommy mcdonnell 087/2534833 teresa smith. 087/9470282 .betty cunningham 087/7748430.

MOYNALVEY KILCLOON AC

The Na Fianna Athletic Club held its annual Bob Heffernan 5km at Johnstownbridge on Tuesday 29th May 8pm. There was a great attendance from throughout the region. The host club and their main sponsor the Hamlet Court Hotel laid on excellent post race refreshments and video.

Bob Heffernan Memorial Cup for senior men.was won by the excellent South O Hanlon team whic is taking on the characteristics of a good fiddle"the oulder the fiddle the sweeter the tune!!!" 

Credit Union Cup for senior women was won by Na Fianna led home by the ever consistant Mary Hanley.Bob Heffernan 5k .

Bob Heffernan Road Race 2007 PHOTOS

Road Race Results

Senior Ladies
1 Mary Hanley, Na Fianna  17.25
2 Pauline Lambe, Tullamore Harriers
3 Fiona Reid, Dunboyne
4 Hilary McGee, Lucan Harriers
5 Sharon Leonard, Tullamore Harriers
6 Hazel Kinsella, Navan

Ladies over 35
1 Avril Fitzsimons, Bohermeen
2 Maggie Higgins, Na Fianna
3 Pauline Hillard, Dunboyne

Ladies over 40
1 Bridget Clarke, Na Fianna
2 Mary Walters, Navan
3 Annmarie McCloskey, Na Fianna

Ladies over 45
1 Catherine Gorman, Unattached
2 Susan Devanney, Lucan Harriers

Ladies over 50
1 Nuala Reilly, Drogheda District

Ladies over 55
1 Eileen O'Brien, Lucan Harriers

Junior Ladies
1 Kate Clarke, Na Fianna
2 Rachel Neary, Na Fianna

Ladies Team - Credit Union Cup
1 Na Fianna 141pts
2 Tullamore Harriers 205pts
3 Dunboyne 235pts

Senior Men
1 Noel Kelly, Mullingar Harriers
2 David Fitzpatrick, Metro St Brigids
3 Phil Kilgannon, Sportsworld
4 Peter Mooney, Na Fianna
5 Mark Ro
6 Declan Fahy, Ind

Men over 35
1 John Gill, Bohermeen
2 Alan Maye, Na Fianna
3 Dermot Farley

Men over 40
1 Paul Gleeson, South O'Hanlon
2 David Carey, South O'Hanlon
3 Ed O'Connor

Men over 45
1 Paddy Mangan, Dunshaughlin
2 Tom McSweeney, Donore Harriers
3 Chris Keelings, Raheny

Men over 50
1 Ben White, Mullingar Harriers
2 Stan Woods, Ardee
3 Paddy Parrott, MSB

Men over 55 - Leo McKenna Memorial Award
1 Pat Comey, Trim
2 Patsy Fitzsimons, South O'Hanlon
3 Matt Cooley

Mens Team - Bob Heffernan Trophy
1 South O'Hanlon 22pts
2 Mullingar Harriers 22pts
3 Na Fianna 36pts

On the night of the major decider in Athens there was real champions league action of an athletic variety in Claremont Stadium. Hundreds of young athletes from around the county gathered at the Navan track for the second round of the inter club league.

The county 800 metres titles were also decided on the night when Blaine Rennicks, Bohermeen had a 4 second margin at the end of the senior race. Rennicks made a decisive break from Dunboynes Morgan McDonagh on the approach to the final bend. The emerging Star of the Sea runner Ciaran McKenna ran a very fine 2m07s to take the junior mens title. John Gill ran 2m11s to claim the masters title .

In the womens race Catherine Collins, Star of the Sea, battled it out over the two laps with the masters winner Bridget Clarke with just two seconds seperating them at the finish. Leah Rennicks won the junior womens race with a time of 2m39s.

The full results are as follows. The full results are as follows. Junior Ladies 1st Leah Rennicks Bohermeen 2.39 2nd Doireann Meade Star of the Sea 2.54 Senior Ladies 1st Catherine Collins Star of the Sea 2.25 2nd Sharon Monaghan Fr. Murphy’s 2.44 Masters Ladies O/35 1st Briget Clarke Na Fianna 2.27 2nd Maggie Higgins Na Fianna 2.35 3rd Eileen Thoma Dunboyne 2.40 Junior Men 1st Ciaran McKenna Star of the Sea 2.07 2nd Daragh Rennicks Bohermeen 2.14 3rd Felinbh O’Cinneide Bohermeen 2.21 Senior Men 1st Blaine Rennicks Bohermeen 2.04 2nd Morgan McDonagh Dunboyne 2.08 3rd Derek Croal Bohermeen 2.12 Masters Men O/35 1st John Gill Bohermeen 2.11 2nd Declan Byrne Bohermeen 2.19 3rd Michael Cornyn Dunboyne 2.22

INTER CLUB LEAGUE ROUND 2 PHOTOS

Day 2 of the MeathT& F championships in Navan saw a great victory by Dunboyne AC in the senior mens team race when Rory McDonnell led his club to the Mattie McGrath Trophy. Later in the day Tommy McDonnell presented a sponsorhsip cheque to the athletics board for the county road league.

AAI President, Michael Heery and Chairman of Meath AAI Brendan Meade presented the chain of office to incoming honorary President of Meath Athletics, Robbie Byrne from Navan AC.

Day TWO Meath track and field photos click here

Day One Meath track and field photos click here

There was a Mediteranean feel to the Morton Stadium in Santry yesterday when hundreds of pupils from Meath, Louth and Fingal gathered for the second day of the North Leinster Schools track and field championships.

 Robert Gibney , Beaufort College,was silver medallist in the senior boys long jump to add to his silver at the Meath Secondary Schools event held last month in Claremont Stadium, Navan.

Turlough Grant, Carolan College, set a pb of 2m02s when taking the silver in the intermediate boys 800m at the North Leinster schools track and field championships in Santry on Thursday 3 May. In April he set a new age group national record at the AAI indoor championships in Nenagh

Trim athlete David Tobin representing Boyne Community School, was a double winner at the North Leinster Schools Track and Field in Santry.. He won the senior boys triple jump with a 11.68m effort and the senior boys long jump with a seasons best of 6.00m. Another Boyne Community School pupil to take a gold medal was Cian Gardiner (Fr Murphy AC)who is following the great throwing tradition set by all his older brothers who were prominent in the colours of Na Fianna AC . Cian was the convincing winner of the intermediate boys hammer with a throw of 44 metres .

press reports please send them asap to meathathletics@hotmail.com

Record numbers took part in the 2007 Meath Secondary Schools T & F at Claremont Stadium. The event which was organised by the Meath Athletics Board was held in excellent weather conditions. Schools from throughout the county took part and many of the youngster will benefit from the experience over the coming weeks in the North Leinsters and West Leinsters.

Moira Aston, Development Officer for Meath Athletics praised the athletes for their enthusiastic involvement and their schools.We hope "that todays participants enjoyed their athletics experience and may join their local club . the Board looks on the event as a vehicle for bringing track and field to youngsters who are not currently taking part in club or organised athletic activity."

AAI president Micheal Heery from St Brigids AC was on hand for presentation as was the Chairman of Meath Athletics, Brendan Meade who is a very enthusiastic supporter of the schools athletics project.

FEMALE RESULTS

 MALE RSULTS

Some photos of the event may be added in the coming days.

Level One coaches progress.

The latest level one coaching programme for this region concluded at Claremont Stadium,  Navan with a back to back two day session on 28/29 April. There were thirty coaches taking part from clubs in Meath, Westmeath, Dublin and Wicklow.

Meath Athletics Coaching Coordinator Tom Clinton commended all the participants and said that he was confident that they would make a great contribution to the future development of the sport .He hoped to see them go a stage further into the level two course. He urged the clubs to consult him and their fellow coaches on issues. He hoped that their will be a better sharing of coaching resource and expertise among local clubs.

RDO Bart Rogers complimented the coaches on completion of the course which ran over four evenings and two days. He saw a full range of skills being used by the trainee coaches in the presentations, demonstrations and tuition over the final two days. In conclusion he asked all those who took part to make every effort to encourage teenage athletes and develop their love of the sport.

 He told the latest group of level one coaches that the Meath / Louth area has made significant progress in the past year in the field of coach education. The AAI coach education plan which was developed in conjunction with the National Coach Training Centre at University of Limerick was progressing very well and improving the pool of coaching talent necessary for the proper development of a new generation of athletic talent.

PHOTO LINK has been added here.

LEVEL ONE Coaching @ Claremont

The AAI 10km road championships were held in Navan on Sun.22 April.  Top Meath male finisher was Paddy Mangan, Avril Fitzsimons lead the Meath women while there were category victories for Sean Cooney and Rose Healy. Photos of the events can be viewed at this link.

The full results in senior,masters and team categories are now online in the competition section  ( RESULTS) of

www.athleticsireland.ie

PHOTO LINK has been added here.

The 2007 Meath inter club league will come into the starting blocks on Wednesday evening at 7pm. The programmes for the four nights can be viewed on these links .

The county athletics board wishes to build on the success of these league meetings. The main thrust of the league is to involve ALL age groups within ALL clubs in the county. The team aspect of the league should go some way towards involving ALL abilitity levels take a fuller role in club activities.

League Day 1

League Day 2

League Day 3

League Day 4

Middle Distance Development Races.

As part of the Dublin Athletics Board Graded Meeting series

the following Development races will take place.

Meeting No 2 April 25th at Irishtown Stadium

3000 Mtrs Men         Race Start 20.05

Meeting No 3 May 16th at Morton Stadium Santry

1Mile Women           Race Start 20.05

1 Mile Men                               20 10

Meeting No 5 June 6th at Morton Stadium

1500 Mtrs Women   Race Start 20.00

1500 Mtrs Men                         20 05.

Meeting No 6 June 27th at Irishtown Stadium.

800 Mtrs Women     Race Start 20.00

800 Mtrs Men                           20. 10

Meeting No 7 July 4th at Morton Stadium

5000 Mtrs Men         Race Start 20.10.

There will be Prize Money for the First three in each race

sponsored by Rawlplug Ireland and the Dublin Athletics

Board.

Entries close on the Saturday prior to each race

Entries to Jim Davis Race Series Co Ordinator @087 9537637

or 086 8538750

E Mail coachjdavis@hotmail.com

The development of a running track in Jamestown, Ratoath is currently well underway. A 400m 8-lane track will be laid on a 7-acre field campus, which is adjacent to the new Ratoath College. The new running track is welcome news for an area experiencing such rapid growth as Ratoath, with more and more amenities needed to serve the ever-growing population.

 The aim is that the facility would be available for the whole community, with the track for runners and walkers, while the centre pitch could be used for a variety of field games. Indeed, a number of options are being considered from existing clubs in the area, as well as proposed new activities. The location beside the new secondary school, which will open there in late 2007, should foster an increase in fitness levels of our teenagers, which is a welcome development in this age of ever-increasing levels of obesity even starting in childhood years.

 Ronnie Quigley, chairman of the Ratoath Athletic Club committee, says “The site had to be leveled and drained to specifications to ensure a top class grass running track and playing pitch in the centre of the track”. The athletics club are working in close co-operation with the Ratoath Community Centre committee, who own the remainder of the 7-acre site. Funding has been allocated from both the Department of Sports and Tourism and Meath Co Co amenity grant, with the balance from the fund-raising efforts of both committees. Ronnie also expressed great appreciation for the help received from both Cllr. Nick Killian and Mary Wallace T.D. in securing this much needed and welcome funding.

 Ronnie expects the track will be completed by the end of 2007. All Club members are looking forward to this very welcome new amenity which will cater for the whole community. Watch this space as we keep you updated on progress over the next year.

Race results have been added.

Dunboyne Road Race 2007 Results click here

PHOTO LINK has been added here.

Fr. Murphy A.C. Athboy Co. Meath First Leg of Meath Open Road Race League 2007 was held at Frayne, Athboy on Monday 19th March 2007 Click here for results

5 Mile Road Championship 2007

Bohermeen athletic club hosted the only athletic event in the North east region on Sunday last ,when the first ever Meath road relay championships took place on Bohermeen roads. Fourteen teams from six different clubs took part with most of the top county athletes in action and every athlete was very positive about the future of the event .As many remarked they had never ran a road relay before. The action began at 12-30 and despite misty rainy conditions through the entire race ,the quality of the racing was at its best .The two mile leg produced a blistering 9-50 for Dunboyne man Rory McDonnell ,Dunboyne faded out of contention in the 3rd and 4th leg as St Brigids thanks to the fastest 1-5 mile leg run by Johnny Morrisey clocking 7-43 stepped into the lead on the 2nd leg and held off brave attempts by the South 0,Hanlon A squad with David Carey clocking the fastest mile of the day in 4-58 . Bohermeens 17 year old Gearoid Rennicks clocked the second best mile of the day in 5-09 and brought the host club back into the bronze medal position ,Blaine Rennicks also posted the best half mle tine of the day posting 2-06 on the road and track finish. But thanks to a fine team running St Brigids won the first relay title from South ,O Hanlon and Bohermeen 3rd The ladies title went to Bohermeen after taking the lead on the second leg with NaFiannas Brigid Clarke posting the best 2 mile time of 12-01 on the road, Linda Gunning moved the host team into the lead on the 1-5 mile leg as she posted 9-31 and on the 3rd leg Shauna Moore of Dunshaughlin clocked 6-24 and the best mile time on the most difficult part of the loop . The final hald f mile saw Karen Dunne from Bohermene lead them home to gold with the best time of 3-01 . Bohermeen took gold from Dunshaughlin and NaFianna Brendan Meade Co Chairman thanked everyone and the clubs for attending and thanked Bohermeen for hosting the event ,which should grow in popularity in the coming years .Like wise Stephen Ball Bohermeen chairman thanked everyone and stated the event is aimed at club development In the county .

Road Relay Results 2007 @ Bohermeen

The first Meath Athletics indoor games was held at Cushinstown AC on Sunday 25th Feb. Athletes in the under 12/13/14/15 age groups took part in the competition which was organised to help their preparation for the Leinster Indoors in Nenagh on 3/4 March. Results can be viewed here

GIRLS FIELD EVENTS

BOYS TRACK EVENTS

GIRLS TRACK EVENTS

The Meath Athletics board has compiled a fixture list for the coming season. Details are correct at the time of publication. every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of content.

You are advised to check nearer to event date in case of amendments. Clubs can send publicity material to meathathletics@hotmail.com for inclusion on this site.

Click to view   FIXTURES 2007

The 3rd and final leg of the Meath Juvenile Cross Country league took place on Sunday 18th February in the grounds of Dunshaughlin Community Centre.

There were races for all ages from U/8 up to U/15.The races were similar to the previous successful legs at Na Fianna and Trim, - Short – Approx 250/300 metres –There were goodies for all at the end.- The aim was fun and participation. The first race started at 12 noon and everyone went home happy within 45 mins.An unusual feature of the course was the inclusion of fences. The next generation of Irish steeplechase runners could have made their debuts at this event. Who Knows!! Eight clubs from around the county took part in perfect conditions and if any of the participants had no previous experience of cross country they certainly had a pleasant first taste. 

PHOTO LINK has been added here.

Juvenile League Dunshaughlin 18Feb07Click to View

Convention Report Wednesday 7 Feb. Claremont Stadium, Navan. The Meath Athletics Board 2007 convention was held at Claremont Stadium on Weds. 7th February. Delegates from thirteen clubs gathered to elect a new board of officers for the coming year.

Honorary President Robbie Byrne,

 Navan AC Chairman Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea Vice Chairman PJ McGrath, St.Andrew’s Secretary Philip Cogavin, Fr Murphy Treasurer Rita Brady, Navan AC Assistant Treasurer Robbie Byrne, Navan AC Registrar Martin Heery, St. Brigids PRO Ciaran Tobin, Trim AC Coaching Coordinator Tom Clinton, Navan AC Development Officer Moira Aston, Trim AC Children’s Officers Kay O’Hanlon MKAC Domhnaill O Hanlon MKAC

National League Team Manager Gerard Heery, St Brigids

Leinster Delegates Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea John Hynes, Na Fianna

Senior Selectors Brendan Meade, Star of the Sea Paddy Mangan, Dunshaughlin Mark Leacy, South O’Hanlon Gerard Heery, St. Brigids AC Tommy McDonnell,Dunboyne Joe Brady,Trim AC Juvenile Selectors Mary Watters, Navan AC Tony Ennis, Fr. Murphy DonmhaillO’Hanlon,MKAC Ciaran Tobin, Trim AC Adrian Costigan,Dunboyne, Brendan Meade,Star of the Sea

Click here to download the reports   Officer Reports 2007

Mary Hanley finished second in the W1 competition while leading the womens team to an excellent third place in the womens masters event. 

 Other Meath finishers were Lucy Darcy 7th Brigid Clarke 26th Linda Gunning 36th Maggie Higgins 42nd Mary Watters 48th Ann Marie McCloskey 60th Marie Reilly 67th Ann Tobin 69th.

The Masters men finished fourth at the AAI masters and intermediate cross country championships in Santry Demesne. Gerard Heery led the team home in 10th place with Paddy Mangan finishing in 28th overall and well up in the M3 grade.

10 G Heery - St Brigids 28 P Mangan - Dunshaughlin 32 D Carey - South O Hanlon 34 E O Connor - Na Fianna 35 M Lacey - South O Hanlon 40 P Glynn - Dunboyne 65 J Gill - Bohermeen 97 P Glesson - South O Hanlon 118 P Farrell - Na Fianna 142 A Keegan - Dunboyne 145 A Moran - South O Hanlon 153 T Clarke - South O Hanlon 165 P Fitzsimons - South O Hanlon .

The underfoot conditions deteriorated as the day went on leaving the course resembling a rice paddy for the intermediate races.

Catherine Collins from Star of the Sea was the best place Meath runner in the womens intermediate event with Caroline Reid close behind.

CLICK for pictures from AAI Intermediate and Masters cross country Feb.2007

Leinster IndoorsClick to View

The 38th running of the Dunboyne AC Easter Sunday Road Race sponsored by LAS Security will take place on April 8th 2007. The race takes place over the normal 4 mile course around Dunboyne Village.

 The senior race starts at 3:15pm, and a juvenile race program starts at 2:00pm. Entrants can register on race day at Dunboyne Community Center from 12:30pm onwards for an entry fee of15E, or registrations can be completed on-line prior to the race for a fee of 10E at www.dunboyneac.com. Entry forms can also be download from this site and sent with the entry fee of 10euro to the Race Director; Liam Murtagh, 167 Beechdale, Dunboyne, Co. Meath. - Phone +353 (0)1 825 1614.

 Last years Men's race was won by Stephen Sharp of Belgrave Harriers in UK, and last years Ladies race was won by Pauline Curley from Tullamore, who also won the 2006 Women's Mini Marathon.

 Light refreshments & Prize giving ceremony takes place in Dunboyne Community Center immediately after the race. If you could communicate these details to the members of your club, and if possible, display the attached form in your clubhouse, it would be greatly appreciated, and hopefully, some members of your club might consider participating in this event. If you or any of your members have any queries in relation to this event, please feel free to contact me directly, or any of the contact details shown on our web-site www.dunboyneac.com

The Athletics Ireland masters indoor championships were held in Nenagh on Saturday, 20th January. Hundreds of veterans from Ireland and beyond gathered in the country’s only dedicated indoor athletics arena to contest titles in six grades over 35s to over 60s.

Una Crowley from Trim AC won both the 60m and the 200m in the W3 grade (over 45) while her club colleague Moira Peppard found the compact track to her liking with a gold en performance in the W2 200m.In the mens sprints Tom Clinton held off his great rival Tom Leech to clinch the M5 60 metres title. Later in the day Pat Comey who trained with the legendary middle distance coach Arthur Lydiard while living in Australia put his experience to good use with a great tactical victory in the M5 3000m. Bobby King from Dunboyne AC was once again the star of the mens 3km walk with the perennial Pam Reynolds from St Andrews also taking the honours in her walks category. Both of these walkers have years of national and international age group walking success to their credit.

In the field events Tony and Moira Aston from Trim AC recorded a unique family double with each of them jumping into second spot in their respective high jump competitions. Most of these will be back in action at the same venue on Sunday 28th January when the rescheduled Leinster indoors take place.

The Meath senior womens team finished second to Dublin at the Leinster senior cross country championships in Tinryland ,Co. Carlow on Sunday 21st January. The recent storms and high rainfall did not have too much of an adverse effect on the well drained course.

The versatile talents of Fiona Mahon were underlined by her excellent third place finish behind the vastly experienced international Pauline Curley from Tullamore. The other Meath team members were Fiona Reid who was 40 seconds behind in 7th place and her Dunboyne team mate Catherine Dunne ran a storming last lap to gain 5 valuable place and finish 11th. Lucy Darcy who is now a member of Dublin club, Sportsworld AC came up trumps for the county once more by finishing in 15th .On a great day for Dunboyne AC Caroline Reid and Laura Buckley completed the line up for this historic team achievement.

The depleted mens squad was led home by the resurgent Mark Rowe from South O’Hanlon in 22nd place with Rory McDonnell returning from a recent injury to finish close behind in 24th. The county team heavily reliant on the appearance and efforts of the Dunboyne trio of Declan Horgan, Morgan McDonagh and Donal O’ Mahuna .

The full results can be viewed here

Leinster Senior cross country

 Juvenile CC Relays

Paddy Joyce received an award from Athletics Leinster at their annual awards presentation in the Seven Oaks Hotel in Carlow on 6th Jan.The Meath Athletics Board congratulated Paddy at their January meeting in Claremont. Included is the presentation speech which preceeded presentation by Ronnie Quigley.

Paddy Joyce started his career in athletics within Meath with his club Cushinstown AC. He was one of the original founder members way back in 1972 and has worked tirelessly since that time to build it up to the thriving club it is today with facilities including a 400m running track and a sizable indoor training area. He became one of the leading coaches not only at county level but has also taken athletes to success at regional, national and international level. He has also achieved considerable success with an athlete in the Special Olympics.

As well as Coaching, Paddy is also one of the most competent officials around and is a constant presence at county, regional and national events. In this role he has earned the respect of athletes from all over the country.

Paddy has also served on various committees at all levels and when any competition is on he is one of the first people sought out.  He is without doubt one of the true volunteers if Irish Athletics and his work rate for both juvenile and senior athletes at all levels is phenomenal and if that was not enough, he has acted as Registrar for county Meath for the past 27 years.

Ladies and gentleman the outstanding award for Meath is Paddy Joyce of Cushinstown AC.

Meath Athletics Photo Gallery  2006 Senior Cross Country and Juvenile Relay pictures.TRIM

Sara Treacy Moynalvey- Kilcloon was Meaths best placed runner at the All Ireland Inter County cross country championships in Dungarvan Co Waterford on Sunday. Sara took the silver medal following a closely contested Junior Women’s race. A group of four athletes broke away from the field at the start with Sara leading the way from Rose Ann Galligan of Kildare and the Dublin duo of Ellen Diskin and Bryony Treston. With a lap to go the group was down to three with Bryony Treston off the pace. With half a lap to race Sara made her bid for victory and only Rose Ann Galligan could respond, the pair raced together until the final 200m where Galligan started to move away to win with a mere seven second advantage over Sara with Ellen Diskin holding on to Third. Sara can now look forward to competing on the Irish team at the European Cross Country Championships in Italy on the 10th of December.

The Junior Men produced a great team effort to take the Gold medals lead home by Daniel Treacy from Moynalvey-Kilcloon in 14th place with all six runners in the top 35.

Meath Senior Ladies and Men’s teams both took the Silver medals in Grade B. Meath Placings Junior Ladies: 2. Sara Treacy- Moynalvey 18. Catherine Collins - Star of the Sea

 Junior Men: Team Gold 14. Daniel Treacy - Moynalvey 20. Donagh Humphrys - Star of the Sea 28. Johnny Morrissey – St Brigid’s 30. Tom Behan – Star of the Sea 33. Anthony Smyth – Bohermeen 34. John Carroll – Star of the Sea 37. John O Sullivan – Star of the Sea Senior Ladies: Team Silver grade B 23. Mary Hanily – Na Fianna 35. Avril Fitzsimons – Bohermeen 38. Brigid Clarke - Na Fianna 52. Maggie Higgins- Na Fianna Senior Men: Team Silver Grade B 50. Gerard Heery – St Brigids 62. Garreth Coughlan - Crusaders 63. Mark Roe – SOH 71. Mark Lacey – SOH 78. John Gill - Bohermeen 83. Declan Monaghan – Fr Murphys 88. Morgan McDonagh - Dunboyne 91. Mark English –Mullingar 94. Dermot Farrelly- Bohermeen

The 2006 Meath Athletics awards were presented by AAI president Michael Heery and Meath Athletics chairman Brendan Meade at the Old Darnley Hotel, Athboy on Sunday 19 Nov.

 Michael Heery expressed his optimism with the new development plans of the association and hoped that the appointment of Regional Development Officers would help progress the sport in the area and wished Bart Rodgers the North East RDO who was in attendance well in his efforts. The AAI is committed to sending teams to all future junior u/23 and senior international championships. He was confident that some of the rising stars of the local scene will be selected to represent Ireland on these teams. He is eagerly looking forward to the County Senior Cross Country championships in Trim given the performances of recent weeks by Meath clubs and individuals in the Leinsters and on the roads.

Brendan Meade was very happy with the achievements of the county mens senior squad in the National T & F league. He hoped that the men and women will continue their progression in 2007. He was impressed with the team spirit and sees this as important in the effort to maintain the involvement of older teenagers and young adults in competitive athletic activity.Twelve out of sixteen local clubs were represented on these teams.The summer league was a very worthwhile effort as it gave an extra outlet to the majority of registered athletes of all ages and abilities with the team ethic to the fore.

Click here to view    2006 Awards Winners

UNDERAGE RESULTS from Leinster Cross Country at Mullingar

NOVICE AND MASTERS RESULTS from Leinster Cross Country at Mullingar

LeinsterCC@BelvedereHousePictures from Leinster Cross Country at Mullingar

Meath intermediate,junior and even age cross country championships

The second day of the Meath cross country championships was organised by St Brigids AC at Loughcrew, today,15 October. The course in the shadow of the Sliabh Na Caillaigh inspired  great performances from over 300 athletes contesting intermediate, junior and even age categories.

Rory Mc Donnell from Dunboyne added the county intermediate title to his novice victory achieved in Frayne earlier this month. Mc Donnell who has made very good progress this year led his club to team honours was followed over the line by Declan Monaghan and Morgan McDonagh. The womens equivalent was won by Mary Watters from Navan ahead of the Na Fianna duo of An Marie McCluskey and Suzanne Harris.

In the junior womens race there was a one two for Star of the Sea with Orla Timmons and Catherine Collins to the fore as individual as well as leading their club to team honours. Blaine Rennicks  who has been enjoying considerable success in 400m and 800m races showed his versatile talents by taking the junior mens race ahead of Johnny Morrissey from the host club St Brigids.

In the juvenile races the boys and girls individual and team titles were rotated between Dunshaughlin ,St Brigids, Dunboyne, Ratoath , St Andrews,Na Fianna , Kells and Bohermeen. Many of the young medallists at Loughcrew and Frayne will be in action at the Leinster championships at Belvedere House, Mullingar next Sunday 22 October and at Avondale House, Rathdrum on 5 November. The county teams to contest these events will be announced this week .

Girls: U10 1. Niamh Gallogly, Dunshaughlin: 2. Aoife Flattery, Kells: 3. Zoe Walsh, Navan:  Teams: 1. Bohermeen: 2. Dunshaughlin: 3. Fr Murphys.  U12   1. Laura Murray, Dunshaughlin: 2. Bevin Usher, Dunshaughlin: 3. Emma Troy, Fr. Murphys. Teams: 1. Dunshaughlin: 2. St Bridgets: 3. Fr Murphys.  U14  1. Kate Clarke, Na Fianna: 2. Karen Dunne, Bohermeen: 3. Rachel Neary, Na Fianna.  Teams: 1 Na Fianna: 2. Dunshaughlin: 3. Bohermeen.  U16 1. Elaine Plunkett, St Bridgets: 2. Aoife Moroney, Na Fianna: 3. Laura Smith, Dunboyne:  Teams: 1. Dunboyne.  U18  1. Sinead Kennedy, Dunshaughlin: 2 Lucy Chapman, St Bridgets:  3 Mary Kate Benville, St Andrews.

Women

Junior  1. Orla Timmons, Star of the Sea:  2. Catherine Collins, Star of the Sea:  3. Laura Buckley, Dunboyne. Team: 1. Star of the Sea.  Intermediate. 1 Mary Watters, Navan: 2. Ann Marie McCluskey, Na Fianna, 3. Suzanne Harris, Na Fianna. Teams: 1. Na Fianna.

Boys:  U10  1. Aaron Kiernan, St Bridgets: 2. Kevin Gilsenan, St Bridgets. 3. Darragh Costigan, Dunboyne.  Teams  1 St Bridgets:  2 Bohermeen:  3. Dunboyne. U12  1. Fergal O Hare, Na Fianna:  2. Fionn Reilly, Kells:  3. Conor Duncan: Ratoath:  Teams 1. St Brigets: 2. Dunboyne: 3 Na Fianna: U14  Joint 1st Thomas Moran, Kells & Simon Drumm, Dunboyne: 3 Conor Coyne, Dunboyne  Teams  1 Dunboyne 2 Kells 3 Fr Murphys  U16  1. Darragh Rennicks, Bohermeen: 2. Cian O Connor, Ratoath:  3 Turlough Grant Navan.  Teams: 1. Ratoath 2 Bohermeen  U18  1. Loughlin Campion, St Andrews: 2 Eanna Bailey, St Andrews:  3. Chris Carroll Fr Murphys. 

Men

Junior 1. Blaine Rennicks, Bohermeen 2 Johnny Morrissey St Bridgets: 3. Anthony Smith, Bohermeen   Intermediate  1. Rory Mc Donnell, Dunboyne: 2. Declan Monaghan, Fr Murphys: 3. Morgan Mc Donagh Dunboyne: Teams:  1 Dunboyne: 2. Bohermeen     

Meath Cross Country Results uneven ages,novice and masters

Click here to view FRAYNE 2006 Photos Meath Athletics Photo Gallery

Cross Country titles decided

 The Meath Cross Country season began on the fields of Frayne when the Fr Murphy athletic club hosted the uneven ages, novice and masters championships. Over 400 athletes from all over the county ran for individual and team honours over the well drained course which showed no signs of the recent rains.

Rory Mc Donnell continued his successful transition to the adult ranks with a commanding performance in the novice mens event. The Dunboyne athlete who represented Ireland at the World Junior mountain running championships in New Zealand last year went from the gun and lead his club to the novice team title ahead of Bohermeen. In the course of todays race Rory lapped his father Tommy who was on his way to a bronze in the over 55 category The womens novice title went to Catherine Collins from Star of the Sea who like Rory was also taking her first adult cross country title.

In the masters mens race Alan Maye, David Carey, Paddy Mangan, Tommy Clarke, Eddie Reid and Ollie Payne were victorious in their age grades and are all looking forward to the Leinster masters championships later in the month where the county team should be very well placed in the battle for team honours. South O Hanlon and Dunshaughlin won the over 35 and over 45 team races respectively.

Mary Hanley, Mary Watters and Ann Tobin took the category titles in the womens 35,40 and 45 grades. The Na Fianna womens squad of Mary Hanley, Brigid Clarke and Maggie Higgins were convincing winners of the master women team title.

In the juvenile races some of the top young runners of recent seasons returned to cross country action with strong performances and look well set to acquit themselves well in the forthcoming provincial deciders in Mullingar and Rathdrum.

Ciaran Mc Kenna , Cian O Connor, Turlough Grant , Thomas Moran  were among the top runners in the boys races with the Ratoath and Dunboyne clubs showing strength in depth in all the team grades.

In the girls races there were team wins for Trim, Dunshaughlin and Bohermeen and individual wins for Caoimhe Moore, Karen Dunne, Elaine Plunkett and Sinead Kennedy.

The next cross country action in Meath will be the even ages and intermediate cross country championships at Loughcrew on Sunday 15 October . 

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Hibernian League Final Photos

The finals of the Hibernian National Athletics League took place in Tullamore Harriers stadium on Sunday 20th August. Athletes from the top club and county teams in Ireland gathered to contest the 2006 Premier and First Division finals for men and women. Both the Meath mens and womens teams had shown great commitment and team spirit in the previous rounds of the league at the University of Limerick in July and earlier in August at Cork Institute of Technology. The placings on both days set the squads up well in the pool rankings coming into the finals.

At the end of Sundays events there was a second place finish for the mens team and a promotion to premier division action for 2007. The experienced throwers on the team were influential in point scoring in Tullamore. There are a number of emerging junior talents in the other mens events who have a bright future ahead of them. The womens team which has an even stronger emphasis on youth finished the league in fourth spot and should be in the shake up for divisional honours with another season under their belts.

The days action commenced in the hammer circle where team captain Mark Hanily, Fr Murphy AC lead by brilliant example with a comfortable margin of victory . Hanily launched the hammer out to 53.69 metres in the second round of the competition from the same circle in which his equally talented father Paddy won another national masters title last weekend.

 The Meath dominance in the throwing cicles continued with a double of victories for Ger Nagle from Star of the Sea AC who had over two metres to spare over his nearest rivals in both the shot putt and the discus. His visit to the throwing cage resulted in a 44.74 effort in the discus which saw off Corkman, Pavel Hazler.  In the fifth round of the shot he threw 12.38m to finish well ahead of Damien Crawford of Derry and Joe Nagle, Leevale AC, Cork. The season of great throwing results for the East Meath club which is more noted for its middle distance strength continued when Barry Delany threw 7.11 to give him a margin of half a metre over Mick O’Donovan of Bandon in the 56lb for Distance.

Minutes earlier on the track there was a great effort from US scholarship athlete Richard Byrne  in the 800m. He was just touched off in the final strides by Joe Warne from Bandon in a time of 1min59secs. He later ran a gutsy second leg in the 4x400m relay.

Bobby King from Dunboyne AC celebrated his 61^st birthday by storming round the 3000m walk in a time of 13m39s. This was another remarkable performance by the World and European medallist who was only a second behind top junior walker Paul Fitzpatrick. The rejuvenated and recovering Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC ) who was involved in a traffic accident on the eve of his Olympic final in Athens in 2004 turned in a classy performance of race walking to take overall victory.

Fellow race walker Micheal Doyle, Cushinstown AC put in a very spirited and committed effort in the 400m hurdles. This event reputed to be the toughest of all track events given its requirement of strength and endurance did not daunt the Rathfeigh man.

Emerging juvenile sprint talent Mark Morgan from Cushinstown was third in the 100m in a time of 11.36  behind Rudi Moore, City of Derry and Philip Daly, Shercock AC. Versatile Mark then dashed off to throw the javelin and his throw of 37.14 metres was good enough for 6 team points. Rory McDonnell from Dunboyne who ran an excellent 5km last Wednesday night took second spot in the mens 5000m where victory went to a member of West Waterford AC ,Sandis Bralitis who is one of the top long distance runners in his native Latvia.

In the mens 200m Dunshaughlin sprinter Adrian Toolan finished fifth with  run of 24.15. Robert Tobin of Trim AC finished in the same position in the triple jump with his best jump since the Leinster Juniors last May. Declan Monaghan of Fr Murphy AC was called up for the 1500m as replacement for the late withdrawal of Colin Costello and recorded a seasons best of 4m36s.

There was an epic battle in the 400m where Blaine Rennicks secured third place with a 50.97 second performance behind Pajo Hamilton of Derry and Kevin Walsh ,Belgooly/Togher.

In the 4x100m relay injuries incurred by Ratoath duo Colm Keogh and Niall Finnegan  resulted in relay specialists Adrian Toolan and Mark Morgan being joined by Robert Tobin and Declan Monaghan and they managed to bring the baton home in fifth place. The 4x400m team gave it their very best against a top Cork amalgam from Togher and Belgooly clubs. Blaine Rennicks gave the team a great lead out from the gun passing over to his Bohermeen colleague Richard Byrne. On the third leg Adrian Toolan battled it out with City of Derry who were closing in our overall placing. On the anchor leg young Mark Morgan ran a valiant leg but was held off by the experienced Cork finisher.

In the womens competion the youngest member of the team,Mary Kate Benville set a high standard for the days proceedings by recording  a time of 18.14 in the womens sprint hurdles. Mary Kate was second in this race and was a vital part of the 4x100m relay team later in the day.

Mary Hanley gave a masterful display in brave, committed distance running when she took control of the 3000m after 2 laps to run out a comfortable winner in 10m27s .

Mary had a half a minute to spare over the next athlete Siobhan O Doherty from Borrisokane in the Division One competition. Later in the day her sister Bridget Clarke ran very good time of 4.58 in the 1500. During the week the Na Fianna sisters took top prizes in their categories in the Castlepollard 5km.

Grainne Meade from star of the Sea secured five points for the team when throwing the shot  8.07 metres and getting fourth spot. Later in the day her sister Doireann jumped a seasons best in the long jump of 5.16m. She attributed this change in fortune to a recent amendment in her approach run.

Alison Daniel from Na Fianna doubled up in the triple jump and javelin. The top juvenile has made an impressive transition to senior competition this summer and her 10.06 jump took her into fourth place while she propelled the senior javelin out to 24.70 and a fifth place finish.

Back on the track Michelle Smith, Dunboyne AC ran 13.10 in the 100m and was outdipped by Leinster juvenile rival Francesca Revelle from Wexford. She also took part in the 200m and finished third with a time of 27.07. Her club colleague Sinead O’Kane was fifth in the 400m hurdles a fine effort for an event debut. Sharon Monaghan was similarly placed in the 800m and claimed four points towards the team tally.

Jenny Reilly continued her season of top class performances with a leap of 1.55m in the high jump. During the current league Jenny took top points at Limerick and Cork and won the national under 19 title in July. Another young member of the team to put in a great performance was Lucy O’Sullivan from Cushinstown. Lucy finished the 1500m walk in 8m37s just five seconds adrift of the experienced Ann Marie Kane.

The womens hammer was a very hotly contested battle which saw just 1.27metre separate the top three. Aisling Wynne threw consistently in and around the 39 metre mark and emerged in third spot with a best effort of 39.83 securing six points in the bag for the team.

The 4x100m team of Mary Kate Benville, Sophie Kennedy, Sinead O’Kane and Michelle put in a great performance  to run 52.43 in a tight race against County wexford and City of Lisburn. However the 4x400m relay was a bridge too far for Sophie,Sinead and Michelle combined with Sharon Monaghan at the end of a long day.  Fatigue took its toll in the last womens track event but they gave it every ounce they had left.

All in all this competition has been a brilliant exercise for these teams. They are essentially junior teams and it has been very encouraging to see the commitment and loyalty shown to the county squads in what is generally accepted as an individual sport. This type of team event has an very important role in a county such as Meath where it is important for young athletes from clubs with small senior track and field memberships get to compete together. This years efforts by both teams and the management group will go some way to encourage our 2007 Premier men and perhaps Womens Division One honours.