Famous first remembered in Westmeath athletics

On St Patrick’s Day 1934, Frank Mills of Slanemore, Mullingar became the first athlete from Westmeath to capture the National Senior Cross Country title.

The race was run in Thurles and marked a significant first at national cross-country level.

The Mills name would become prominent in the formative years of Mullingar Harriers in the 1970s and Frank’s son, Eric, was a regular on club teams at both cross country and road races across the country.

Another son, Kingston, who would become a household name in his professional capacity during the Covid pandemic, also had strong links to the club, and was the first winner of the Westmeath Cross Country Championships following the formation of Mullingar Harriers, winning the 1976 race.

Kingston went on to represent Ireland in European Championships and other international events before injury curtailed his athletic career in the early 1980s.

Eric’s family also turned their hand to running and played an active part in the club during their school years and regularly ran with teams in national and Leinster competitions.

When David Burke won the National Senior Cross Country Championship in 1995, combining with Cormac Finnerty, his brother John, and Tom McGrath to also win the team event, they paid a visit to Frank Mills to mark the first Westmeath success in the event since 1934.

Fast forward to current times, and the reigning senior cross country senior champion is of course Cormac Dalton, to bridge the 90-year gap back again to Mullingar.