Sean McMullin honoured by Irish Masters

Congratulations to Sean McMullin on being presented with the Tadhg Lynch Perpetual Trophy by the Irish Masters Athletic Association at its AGM last Saturday. This award is made annually in recognition of an athlete who has made a major contribution to Masters Athletics over a number of years.

Tadhg Lynch was one of the founding members of the Irish Association in the 1970s and was well known in the European Masters Athletic Association until his untimely death in 1991. As both a competitor and official, his contribution to Athletics and to Masters Athletics in particular was immense.

Sean is the first current member of Mullingar Harriers to receive the award, though founder member and first chairman, Sean Cooney, received it in 2016. The award was first presented to Eamonn Coghlan on being the first over 40-year-old to run sub-four minutes for the mile in 1994, so Sean is in very good company indeed.

Athletics Leinster B Cross Country

A new event in Leinster, the Athletics Leinster B Cross Country Championships took place in a cold but dry and beautifully sunny Stradbally Hall in County Laois last Saturday afternoon. Stradbally Hall is better known as the venue for the Electric Picnic Music Festival in September. Obviously the attendance last Saturday couldn’t match the 70,000 that attended Electric Picnic in the autumn, but there was still a great buzz in the air and the inaugural event was very well received and is sure to grow in the coming years.

It was confined to those that didn’t win an individual, club or county team medal in Leinster cross country last autumn, and that meant that most in Mullingar Harriers were ineligible to compete but we still had two girls in action. Maria Gouldsbury went out fast in the U11 girls 1,000m and remained in contention for much of the race, finishing well up in the big entry and was delighted with her race. Chloe Duggan led out the U13 girls 1,500m at a very fast pace, which quickly stretched the field and though she had to reduce her pace midway and surrender the lead, she still battled on well and finished strongly and was also pleased with her race.

Tianna and Eleanor qualify for All-Ireland Schools Finals

Competing in the Munster Schools Cross Country last Friday in Waterford, Tianna O’Leary finished third and Eleanor Kiernan ninth in the junior girls 2,500m, securing automatic qualification for themselves and their Ursuline Convent (Thurles) team at the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country at the same Waterford venue in March. There, they’ll meet up with fellow Mullingar Harriers members Caoimhe Kilmurray and Grace Byrne (Loreto Mullingar) in the Intermediate girls, the Coláiste Mhuire Intermediate boys team including Conor Sherwin, Jamie Wallace, Conor Liston, Jorge Martin, Luke Greene and Daniel Hickey, the Coláiste Mhuire Senior boys team including Diarmuid Fagan and Ross Killalea, and Aimee Wallace (St Finian’s College) in the Senior girls, who all qualified from the Leinster Schools Cross Country in Santry three weeks ago. So there’ll be plenty of Mullingar interest to cheer for at the All-Ireland Schools Finals in Waterford.

Big weekend of indoor action ahead

This coming weekend, the Leinster juvenile indoors will take place in Athlone. This is the first chance for most juvenile members to compete indoors this year and Mullingar Harriers will have a squad of 63 competing in a total of 128 individual events and we wish them all the very best of luck.

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