Reports

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Intercounty Track & Field League

 

Preliminary Round - Morton Stadium, Santry, Dublin - Sunday, 25 June 2023

 

Men's 4x100m team in Santry
Men's 4x100m team in Santry
Women's 4x100m team in Santry
Women's 4x100m team in Santry
Men's 4x400m team in Santry
Men's 4x400m team in Santry
Women's 4x400m team in Santry
Women's 4x400m team in Santry
 
 

The Louth senior men’s and women’s athletics teams performed very well in the recent preliminary round of the National Intercounty League at the Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin. Both teams comfortably advanced to the final, which will be staged in Tullamore on Sunday, 13 August.

 

The men’s team finished in third place behind Galway and Kildare, but ahead of Sligo, East Cork and Monaghan. The women’s team also finished third in what was a slightly tougher group – behind Tipperary and Galway, but ahead of Kildare, East Cork, Sligo and Monaghan.

 

Michael Alajiki (Dundealgan) and Conn Bonar (Dunleer) won the triple jump and 400m hurdles respectively, while shot putter Isabelle Adel (Dundalk St Gerard’s) was the women’s team sole winner. Emma Conway (Redeemer) also impressed, as she set a new Louth record when taking second place in the hammer.

 

A host of athletes finished in the top three in their events. On the men’s team these included Euan Canniffe (Boyne – 2nd javelin and 3rd discus), Thomas McGrane (St Peter’s – 2nd hammer), Seán Reilly (St Peter’s – 2nd 800m), Anthony Dillon (Dunleer – 3rd 100m), James English (Drogheda & District – 3rd 200m), Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District – 3rd 400m) and Shea O’Donnell (Ace – 3rd 1500m). In addition, the 4x400m team of Charlie Sands (Ardee & District), Reilly, O’Donnell and Bonar came home in third place, while Tiernan Lennon (Dundealgan), Tadg Reilly (Dunleer) and Stevie Wong (Drogheda & District) also contributed valuable points to the team score.

 

Top three finishers for the women’s team included Amy McTeggart (Boyne – 2nd 100m hurdles, 2nd long jump and 2nd javelin), Rosemary Gibson (Blackrock – 2nd pole vault and 2nd weight for distance), Eimear Cooney (Ace – 2nd 1500m), Áine Cotter (North East Runners – 2nd 3000m), Tara O’Connor (Dundalk St Gerard’s – 2nd high jump) and Kya Mothiram (Ardee & District – 3rd discus). There were also strong performances by Daniella Adebola (Drogheda & District), Dearbhlá Allen (St Peter’s), Rachel Culligan (Dundalk St Gerard’s), Anastasia Drakoulaki (Drogheda & District), Erika Juozapaitė (Blackrock), Victoria Ovie (Dundalk St Gerard’s) and Mary Scanlon (Blackrock).

 

With both the men’s and women’s teams having proved that they have the potential to finish among the medals in the National Intercounty League Final, competition for places on those teams is sure to be keen over the coming weeks. This will undoubtedly add spice to this year’s Louth Championships, which are due to be held at the Lourdes Stadium in Drogheda on Tuesday, 18 July.

 

Detailed results are available on the 2023 Results page.

 

 

2020 Highlights

 

Aoife Mundow after her win and Irish record in the 24 hours race in Athens, Greece
Aoife Mundow after her win and Irish record in the 24 hours race in Athens, Greece
Gina Akpe-Moses (no. 1) winning the 60m in Kuldīga, Latvia
Gina Akpe-Moses (no. 1) winning the 60m in Kuldīga, Latvia
 
 
2020 was an unusual year for sportspeople throughout the world. The athletes of County Louth were no exception, as the indoor track and field season was terminated abruptly in March, the outdoor track and field season was restricted to a handful of competitions – mainly in late summer and early autumn – and only a few cross country events and road races were staged during the year.
 
Nevertheless, there were several excellent performances by athletes from the county in 2020, as the majority sought to take full advantage of the limited competition opportunities available to them.
Highlights during the indoor season earlier in 2020 included the performances of three women in the 60m, all of whom dipped under the 8 seconds barrier.
 
Gina Akpe-Moses (Blackrock AC) led the way with a stunning victory at the Katrīnas Kauss Meet in the Latvian town of Kuldīga in January. Her time of 7.37 seconds was a personal best (PB) and a new Louth record.
 
Patience Jumbo Gula (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC) equalled her PB with a clocking of 7.44 seconds at the National Senior Indoor Championships in the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Dublin in March, while Sophie Gartland (Ace AC) ran 7.93 seconds at the Leinster U20 Indoor Championships at the same venue in February.
 
Another hugely significant performance at the start of the year was that of Aoife Mundow (Drogheda & District) in Greece in January. She set a new Irish record of 231.376km to win the 24 hours race at the Athens International Ultramarathon Festival. This was the 9th best performance in the world in 2020 and ranks 73rd on the global all-time list.
 
Kate O’Connor (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC) set two PBs during 2020, both of which also improved her own Louth records. She recorded 8.88 seconds for the 60m Hurdles at the English Indoor Combined Events’ Championships in Sheffield in January and then registered 13.84m for the Shot Putt at the Athletics Ireland Field Events’ Festival in Santry, Dublin, in August.
 
Aoibhín McMahon (Blackrock AC) also had an excellent day at that Field Events’ Festival in August, as she set PBs of 13.22m in the Shot Putt and 40.70m in the Javelin.
 
14-year-old Erinn Leavy (Dunleer AC) clocked a very fast 2:14.85 for the 800m at the Morton Live Juvenile Meet in Santry in September. This is an extremely impressive time for one so young – it’s a performance of which most female 800m runners of any age would be proud.
 
Michael Alajiki (Dundealgan AC) was the only male athlete to set a Louth record in 2020. He leapt 14.36m – and 14.40m wind-assisted – to win the silver medal in the Triple Jump at the National Senior Championships in Santry in August. This is also a new Irish U18 national record.
 
Garry Campbell (Dunleer AC) ran an impressive 3:50.21 for the 1500m at an NIA Live Indoor Meet in Dublin in January, while Tadhg Donnelly (Drogheda & District AC) was the top man at a range of distances from 1500m to 10,000m during the outdoor season. Donnelly’s best performances came at the National Senior Championships in Santry in August and at a Northern Ireland Winter Graded Meet at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast in December. In the former he clocked 3:53.96 for the 1500m to finish 6th in the final; in the latter he ran 30:19.63 for the 10,000m – less than 3 seconds outside the Irish U20 record, which has stood since 1970.

 

 

Louth U14 to U19 Track & Field Chmpionships

 

Bush - Saturday, 15 August 2020

 

The first track and field competition in County Louth in 2020 took place on Saturday, 15 August, at the Bush track. The participants in the Louth Championships for the U14 to U19 age groups were rewarded with a glorious sunny day as they battled for county honours. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer events than usual were on the programme, but the quality of performances was high.

 

Kārlis Kaugars (Dunleer) set a championship best performance in the U16 Boys’ Shot Putt, as he threw 12.57m with the 4kg implement. Andrew Rosbotham (Dundalk St Gerard’s) also impressed, recording 11.81m with the 3kg shot to take the U15 Boys’ title.

 

Two performances in particular stood out among the female shot putters. Kya Mothiram (Ardee & District) threw 11.01m with the 2.72kg implement to take the U15 title, while Enya Silkena (Dundalk St Gerard’s) had a winning throw of 10.82m with the 2kg shot in the U14 age group.

 

Silkena also had the longest jump of the day in the girls’ Long Jump, despite being in the youngest age group. However, she was put under pressure by Tara O’Connor, as the Dundalk St Gerard’s pair finished one-two in the U14 event with leaps of 4.89m and 4.81m respectively.

 

Most impressive in the boys’ Long Jump were Kārlis Kaugars, who completed an U16 field events’ double with a 5.35m leap, and Jamie Wynne (Dundalk St Gerard’s), who jumped 5.45m to take the U19 title.

 

Three of last year’s sprint champions were crowned county champions again for 2020. Gráinne Moan (Dundalk St Gerard’s) took the U14 80m, Anastasia Drakoulaki (Drogheda & District) triumphed in the U16 100m and Hannah Reilly (Blackrock) retained the U19 100m title.

 

There were some cracking performances in the 800m, with several fast times being recorded despite the stiff breeze. Erinn Leavy (Dunleer) clocked a superb 2:16.1 to win the U15 Girls’ title, while Anna Faulkner (Ace) and Seán Reilly (Blackrock) also impressed with victories in the U17 Girls’ (2:21.4) and U15 Boys’ (2:08.9) races respectively.

 

The race of the day was arguably the U16 Boys’ 800m. No fewer that 13 athletes lined up for this event, in which victory went to Cian Gorham (St Peter’s) in a very fast time of 2:02.6. He was pushed all the way by Neil Culhane (Ace) who clocked 2:04.2 for silver, while Danny Nugent, another Ace athlete, took bronze in a time of 2:07.4.

 

Detailed results are available on the 2020 Results page.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track & Field League

 

Final - Tullamore - Saturday, 20 July 2019

 

Men's and women's teams in Tullamore
Men's and women's teams in Tullamore
Women's 4x400m team in Tullamore
Women's 4x400m team in Tullamore

 

 

The County Louth senior men’s and women’s athletics teams enjoyed another great day at the National League Final in Tullamore on Saturday, 20 July.

 

The women’s team recorded their best ever result, as they finished fourth in the top-tier Premier Division – a significant improvement on their previous best of seventh place, which was achieved last year.

 

The ever-consistent men’s team finished sixth in Division One once again – the same result as in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Only once before have the men recorded a higher finish, and that was back in 1994 when they were runners-up in what was then known as Division Two – the equivalent of Division One nowadays.

 

Leading the way for the women were two athletes who won their events – Abbie Sheridan (Ardee & District) in the her first ever outing in the 3000m Steeplechase – her time of 11:22.20 was a new Louth record – and Erika Juozapaitė (Blackrock) in the Triple Jump, who recorded a personal best of 10.38m. Not unlike Sheridan in the steeplechase, Juozapaitė had never competed in the triple jump prior to this year.

 

There were impressive second place finishes for Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners) in the Shot Putt with 9.32m and Liene Kaugare (Dunleer) in the Javelin with a personal best of 29.88m, while Maria Smith (Dundalk St Gerard’s) sped to third place in the 100m in a time of 12.91.

 

The ten other athletes on the women’s team also performed very well and contributed valuable points to the overall score of 83 points, which was a mere three points off the bronze medal winning County Tipperary team. These were Neasa Reilly (Dunleer), Nicola Welsh (Dunleer), Rosemary Gibson (North East Runners), Moya McCabe (Drogheda & District), Abigail Tegart (Drogheda & District), Kelly Breen (Blackrock), Sarah Clarke (Blackrock), Ashling Mathews (Blackrock), Anna McArdle (Glenmore) and Mary Scanlon (Blackrock).

 

Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District) recorded the highest finish for the men’s team with an excellent second place in the 200m in a time of 23.31 into a strong headwind. Four young athletes recorded fine third place finishes, all with personal best performances – Anthony Dillon (Dunleer) in the 100m (11.40), Oliver Gormley (Dundealgan) in the 110m Hurdles (19.96), Peter Meegan (Dunleer) in the 3000m Steeplechase (10:44.98) and Jamie Wynne (Dundalk St Gerard’s) in the Triple Jump (11.65).

 

The men were also well served by the rest of the team – Finn Reilly (Dunleer), Darren Weldon (Ardee & District), Conor Matthews (Dunleer), Dónal McEntee (Dunleer), Tom McGrane (St Peter’s), Tom Cummins (Drogheda & District), Kevin Oladunjoye (Dundealgan), Eoghan Smyth (Blackrock), Colin Gibson (North East Runners), Shane Larkin (Drogheda & District), Cormac Canning (Drogheda & District), Destiny James (Dundealgan) and Jonathan McCabe (Ace).

 

Incidentally, two of this year’s men’s team – Tom McGrane, who also managed both the men’s and women’s teams, and Jonathan McCabe – competed for the County Louth men’s team in the 1994 National League Final. Hopefully it will not be too long before the present-day men’s team get closer to matching the level of their counterparts from 25 years ago. In the meantime, the Louth women continue to improve year-on-year and only a fool would discount their chances of making further progress in 2020.

 

Detailed results are available on the 2019 Results page.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track & Field League

 

Round 2 - Morton Stadium, Santry, Dublin - Sunday, 30 June 2019

 

Women's 4x100m team in Santry
Women's 4x100m team in Santry

 

 

The County Louth men’s and women’s teams enjoyed another superb day in the second round of this year’s National Track and Field League which was staged recently at the Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin. The women’s team finished second of the six teams competing in the top-tier Premier Division in Dublin while the men’s team were third best of the six teams in Division One.

 

After the completion of the two qualifying rounds, the Louth women are ranked second overall of the twelve Premier Division teams nationwide and the county’s men are ranked fourth of the twelve Division One teams. This mean that both teams are comfortably among the top eight teams who advance to the National League Final in Tullamore on Saturday, 20 July.

 

The stars of the show for the Wee County in the second round were the Blackrock AC pair Erika Juozapaitė and Aoibhín McMahon. The former won the Long Jump and Triple Jump in some style while the latter enjoyed an impressive double victory in the Shot Putt and Javelin. Louth’s other event winner in Dublin was Eoghan Smyth, another Blackrock field eventer, who soared to victory in the High Jump.

 

This total of five event wins compares favourably to the corresponding fixture last year, when four individual victories were recorded by County Louth athletes.

 

Several athletes also scored highly by finishing second in their events – Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners) in both the 400m Hurdles and Pole Vault, Abbie Sheridan (Ardee & District) in both the 1500m and High Jump, Mary Leech (Drogheda & District) in the 3000m, Darren Weldon (Ardee & District) in the Hammer, Tadhg Donnelly (Drogheda & District) in the 800m, Maurice McMahon (North East Runners) in the 5000m, Vitalijus Nikiforovas (Drogheda & District) in the Javelin, and the 4x400m team of Edward McEntee (Dunleer), Tom Cummins (Drogheda & District), Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District) and Finn Reilly (Dunleer).

 

Third place finishes were recorded by Maria Smith (Dundalk St Gerard’s) in the 100m, Mary Scanlon (Blackrock) in the 100m Hurdles, Emma Conway (Dundealgan) in the Hammer, Anthony Dillon (Dunleer) in the 100m, Destiny James (Dundealgan) in the 110m Hurdles and Edward McEntee in the 400m Hurdles.

 

The other athletes competing in the red of Louth also played their part and can be proud of their performances; among them were Ciara Reilly (Dunleer), Rosemary Gibson (North East Runners), Cliodhna Nolan (Ace), Kirsten Doherty (Blackrock), Aoibheann Carolan (Ardee & District), Róisín Coade (Drogheda & District), Muirne O’Connor (Drogheda & District), Tom McGrane (St Peter’s), Jamie Wynne (Dundalk St Gerard’s), Colin Gibson (North East Runners), Conor Matthews (Dunleer), Enoch Elewa (Blackrock) and Niall Brady (Glenmore). McGrane had a busy day as he was also the manager of both the men’s and women’s teams.

 

Three other County Louth athletes – Oliver Gormley (Dundealgan), Peter Meegan (Dunleer) and Kevin Oladunjoye (Dundealgan) – were also in action in Dublin, where they competed as guests.

 

A keen sense of anticipation now runs through the County Louth athletics community as they look forward to the National League Final in Tullamore later this month.

Detailed results are available on the 2019 Results page.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track & Field League

 

Round 1 - Mary Peters Track, Belfast - Sunday, 19 May 2019

 

Men's 4x100m team in Belfast
Men's 4x100m team in Belfast
Women's 4x100m team in Belfast
Women's 4x100m team in Belfast

 

 

The County Louth men’s and women’s teams got off to a superb start in this year’s National Track and Field League when the first round was staged at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Sunday, 19 May.

For the second successive year the women’s team is plying its trade in the top-tier Premier Division while the men’s team is operating out of Division One. The men finished second in the points table in Belfast and lie in third place overall; the women did even better by coming out on top in Belfast and they also lie in third place overall. This puts both teams in a very strong position to be among the top eight teams overall after the second round on 30 June and hence to qualify for the final in Tullamore on 20 July.

The stars of the show for the Wee County were teenagers Kate O’Connor and Aoibhín McMahon, both of whom were making their debut for the county senior team. The former won the 200m and Long Jump in some style while the latter enjoyed an impressive double victory in the Shot Putt and Javelin.

Both teams were a blend of youth and experience, as the other five athletes who won their events in Belfast were all over 30 years old, with no fewer than three of them now in their fifties! John Kierans won the Shot Putt and finished runner-up in the Javelin, Darragh Greene won the 1500m and helped the 4x400m quartet to second place, and Brendan Rogers won the 3000m Walk and took third in the Weight for Distance. In addition, Nicola Welsh won the 3000m and Geraldine Finegan was victorious in the Pole Vault.

This total of nine event wins compares very favourably to the corresponding fixture last year, when only two individual victories were recorded by County Louth athletes.

Athletes who recorded second place finishes in their individual events included Maria Smith (100m), Neasa Reilly (800m), Israel Olatunde (100m), Declan Toal (5000m), Edward McEntee (400m Hurdles), Eoghan Smyth (High Jump) and Darren Weldon (Hammer).

Among those registering third place finishes were Catherine Rogers (1500m Walk), Abbie Sheridan (High Jump), Erika Juozapaitė (Triple Jump), Andrew Kelly (200m), Finn Reilly (400m), Tadhg Donnelly (800m) and Destiny James (110m Hurdles).

Other athletes who contributed strongly to the points total on the day were Kelly Breen, Sarah Clarke, Róisín Coade, Emma Conway, Mary Leech, Ashling Mathews, Seoda Matthews, Shauna McMahon, Ciara Reilly, Hannah Reilly, Niall Brady, Anthony Dillon, Conor Durnin and Kevin Oladunjoye.

Two other County Louth athletes – Rosemary Gibson and Mary Scanlon – were also in action in Belfast, where they competed as guests.

Clubs from right across the county – from Drogheda and District in the south to Glenmore in the north – were represented on the Louth teams, with Dunleer and Blackrock supplying almost half the athletes between them. Ardee and District, Dundalk St Gerard’s, Dundealgan, North East Runners and St Peter’s can also be proud of the contribution their athletes made on a very successful day for athletics in County Louth.

Detailed results are available on the 2019 Results page.

 

 

Louth Juvenile Track & Field Chmpionships

 

Bush - Saturday, 11 May and Sunday, 12 May 2019

 

There were some excellent performances both on the track and in the field at the recent Louth Juvenile Championships at the Bush track.

 

Dunleer’s Karlis Kaugars was particularly impressive as he set new championship best performances in the U15 Boys’ High Jump (1.60m), Shot Putt (14.40m) and Javelin (52.64m). For good measure, he also won the Long Jump title with a leap of 5.22m

 

The High Jump also saw CBPs from Blackrock’s Eoghan Smyth in the U19 Boys’ (1.85m), Tara O’Connor of Dundalk St Gerard’s in the U13 Girls’ (1.53m) and Glenmore’s Elliott Nichols in the U12 Boys’ (1.25m).

 

The other CBPs rewritten at the Cooley venue were by Blackrock’s Aoibhín McMahon in the U17 Girls’ Javelin (40.64m), Enya Silkena of Dundalk St Gerard’s in the U13 Girls’ Javelin (30.01m) and Boyne’s Oliver Carolan in the U12 Boys’ Long Jump (4.16m).

 

On the track, sprint doubles in the 100m and 200m were recorded by Blackrock girls Hannah Reilly (U19) and Kirsten Doherty (U17), with Reilly also winning the 100m Hurdles and Long Jump (4.56m). In the U16 sprints, there were also double victories for Leon King Abor of Boyne in the boys’ events and Sophie Gartland in the girls’. Dundealgan’s Israel Olatunde is focussing on the shorter sprint this year and he enjoyed a very impressive victory in the U19 Boys’ 100m.

 

Dunleer pair Finn Reilly and Ciara Reilly both excelled over one lap to take the U19 400m titles, recording time of 52.9 and 1:03.5 respectively.

 

The U19 Boys’ 800m was one of the highlights of the weekend, with Cormac Canning of Drogheda & District striking gold with a fine 2:01.2 clocking. Abbie Sheridan of Ardee and District was equally impressive in winning the U19 Girls’ 800m in a time of 2:21.5.

 

Niamh Brady of St Peter’s was the fastest across all age groups in the girls’ 1500m, despite being only in the U15 category. Her time of 5:03.8 was an excellent performance for one so young.

 

The talent on display across all events bodes very well for next month’s Leinster Juvenile Championships when several Co. Louth athletes will be hoping to finish in the medals and qualify for the Nationals in July.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track & Field League

 

Final - Tullamore, Co. Offaly - Sunday, 19 August 2018

 

Men's and women's teams in Tullamore
Men's and women's teams in Tullamore

 

 

Sunday, 19 August, was a historic day for athletics in County Louth as the county’s men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded their best ever performances in the Athletics Ireland National League Final, which, as usual, was staged in Tullamore.

 

The women’s team had qualified for the final of the top-tier Premier Division for the first time ever, taking their place among the top eight teams in the country. On the day they scored a total of 68 points to finish in seventh place. The previous best performance by the Louth women’s team in the Premier Division came back in 2014, when they finished in tenth place overall.

 

The men’s team also performed very well to finish sixth in the Division One final with a total of 78.5 points. In 2014 and 2017 the Louth men had also finished sixth in this final, but with significantly lower points totals – 69 in 2014 and 68 in 2017 – so this year’s performance can justifiably be regarded as the best ever.

 

The most impressive individual performance on the day came from Emily Rogers (St Peter’s) who finished joint first in the women’s High Jump. Second place finishes were recorded by Karen Costello (Dunleer) in the women’s 3000m and, for the men’s team, by Kieran McGrath (Drogheda & District) in the 800m, Conor Matthews (Dunleer) in the 1500m and Conor Durnin (St Peter’s) in the Triple Jump. Mary Leech (Drogheda & District) and Eva Cummins (Boyne) also scored strongly for the women’s team, finishing third in the 1500m and 3000m Steeplechase respectively, while Brendan Rogers (St Peter’s) crossed the line in third place in the men’s 3000m Walk.

 

The other athletes on both teams also played their part with some excellent performances and can be very proud of their contribution to the teams’ success.

 

Seoda Matthews (Dunleer), Shauna McMahon (Blackrock), Katelyn Quinn (Glenmore), Nicola Welsh (Dunleer), Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners), Sharon Olatunde (Dundealgan), Catherine Rogers (St Peter’s), Róisín Coade (Drogheda & District), Rosemary Gibson (North East Runners), Ashling Mathews (North East Runners), Ciara Reilly (Dunleer) and Mary Scanlon (Blackrock) all performed strongly for the women’s team.

 

The men were well served by Tom Cummins (Boyne), Anthony Dillon (Dunleer), Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District), Shane Larkin (Drogheda & District), Lee McGuinness (Drogheda & District), Conor McMahon (Ardee & District), Kevin Olandujoye (Dundealgan), Darren Weldon (Ardee & District), Eoghan Smyth (Blackrock), Gabriel Bell (St Peter’s), George Maas (Dundalk St Gerard’s) and Tom McGrane (St Peter’s). McGrane also acted as manager of both the men’s and women’s teams.

 

A noteworthy feature of the Louth teams in the National League Final was their diversity in the sense that they included athletes ranging in age from 15 to 58 from no fewer than ten clubs across the county – a diversity which undoubtedly contributed to their history-making performances at the County Offaly venue.

 

Detailed results are available on the 2018 Results page.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track & Field League

 

Round 2 -Morton Stadium, Santry, Dublin - Sunday, 8 July 2018

 

Women's 4x400m team in Santry
Women's 4x400m team in Santry

 

 

Following their excellent start to their 2018 National League campaign in Belfast in June, the County Louth senior men’s and women’s track and field teams did not disappoint in their second round fixture at the Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin, on Sunday, 8 July.

The women’s team, who had only been promoted to the Premier Division this year following their second place finish in Division One in 2017, were particularly impressive this time, as they topped the points table among the seven teams competing in their group in Dublin. The men’s team also held their own in a very competitive group of six teams in Division One.

Most importantly, both teams qualified for next month’s final in Tullamore by finishing among the top eight teams overall – the women were ranked sixth and the men seventh after the two qualifying rounds. In both cases they were comfortably ahead of the teams ranked ninth and lower, for whom the 2018 National League is now at an end.

This is a particularly meritorious achievement by the women’s team, who have generally plied their trade in Division One. In their only previous campaign in the top tier – back in 2014 – they finished tenth overall after the first two rounds and hence did not advance to the final. The men’s team have been regular finalists in Division One in recent years, but have yet to earn promotion to the top flight.

Four athletes scored maximum points by winning their events in Dublin – Nicola Welsh (Dunleer) in the 1500m, Emily Rogers (St Peter’s) in the High Jump, Amy McTeggart (Boyne) in the Long Jump and Conor Durnin (St Peter’s) in the Triple Jump.

Several athletes also scored highly by finishing second in their events – Amy McTeggart in both the 100m Hurdles and Javelin, Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners) in the Pole Vault, Shauna McMahon (Blackrock) in the Discus, Ruarcán Ó Gibne (Boyne) in the 800m, Darren Weldon (Ardee & District) in the Hammer, Brendan Rogers (St Peter’s) in the Weight for Distance and the 4x400m team of Kelly Breen (Blackrock), Nicola Welsh, Amy McTeggart and Orla O’Connor (Drogheda & District).

Third place finishes were recorded by Maria Smith (Dundalk St Gerard’s) in both the 100m and 200m, Orla O’Connor in the 800m, Karen Costello (Dunleer) in the 3000m, Catherine Rogers (St Peter’s) in the 1500m Walk, Conor McMahon (Ardee & District) in each of the 110m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles and Long Jump, Anthony Dillon (Dunleer) in the 100m, Lee McGuinness (Drogheda & District) in the 200m, Eoghan Smyth (Blackrock) in the High Jump and Tom McGrane (St Peter’s) in the Shot Putt. McGrane had a busy day as he was also the manager of both the men’s and women’s teams.

The other athletes on the teams also played their part and can be proud of their performances; among them were Seoda Matthews (Dunleer), Rosemary Gibson (North East Runners), Sharon Olatunde (Dundealgan), Hannah Reilly (Blackrock), Niamh Fussey (St Peter’s), Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District), Cormac Canning (Drogheda & District), Jamie Shiels (Boyne) and Destiny James (Dundealgan).

 

Detailed results are available on the 2018 Results page.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track & Field League

 

Round 1 - Mary Peters Track, Belfast - Sunday, 24 June 2018

 

Women's 4x100m team in Belfast
Women's 4x100m team in Belfast

 

 

The County Louth senior men’s and women’s track and field teams got their 2018 National League campaign underway in glorious conditions at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on the last Sunday in June. The women’s team were up against six other teams in the Premier Division, having won promotion from Division One last year, while their male counterparts faced seven other teams in Division One for this first round fixture.

The women proved that they were more than capable of making an impact in the top grade, as they finished second on points behind Dundrum South Dublin AC. The men’s team also performed very well as they finished third on the day behind City of Lisburn AC and County Meath. Both teams go into the second round fixture at the Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin, ranked sixth overall and so are on target to qualify for the final by finishing among the top eight teams.

Two athletes scored maximum points by winning their events in Belfast – Emily Rogers (St Peter’s) in the High Jump and Tom McGrane (St Peter’s) in the Shot Putt. McGrane had a busy day as he was also the manager of both the men’s and women’s teams.

Several athletes also scored highly by finishing second in their events – Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners) in both the Pole Vault and Shot Putt, Mary Leech (Drogheda & District) in the 1500m, Shauna McMahon (Blackrock) in the Discus, Conor McMahon (Ardee & District) in both the High Jump and Long Jump, Ruarcán Ó Gibne (Boyne) in the 1500m, Conor Durnin (St Peter’s) in the Triple Jump and Darren Weldon (Ardee & District) in the Hammer.

Third place finishes were recorded by Karen Costello (Dunleer) in the 3000m, Emily Rogers in the Hammer, Katelyn Quinn (Glenmore) in the Javelin, Lee McGuinness (Drogheda & District) in the 200m, Conor McMahon in the 400m Hurdles, Darren Weldon in the Discus, Brendan Rogers (St Peter’s) in the Weight for Distance and the 4x400m team of Lee McGuinness, Kieran McGrath (Drogheda & District), Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District) and Ruarcán Ó Gibne.

The other athletes on the teams also played their part and can be proud of their performances; among them were Maria Smith (St Gerard’s), Kelly Breen (Blackrock), Orla O’Connor (Drogheda & District), Hannah Reilly (Blackrock), Eilish Brady (St Peter’s), Rosemary Gibson (North East Runners), Sharon Olatunde (Dundealgan), Sarah Clarke (Blackrock), Nicola Welsh (Dunleer), Shane Larkin (Drogheda & District), Tom Cummins (Boyne), Kevin Oladunjoye (Dundealgan) and Anthony Dillon (Dunleer).

 

Detailed results are available on the 2018 Results page.

 

 

Co. Louth delegates and board members at Athletics Ireland Congress 2018
Co. Louth delegates and board members at Athletics Ireland Congress 2018

 

Athletics Ireland Congress - Carrick-on-Shannon - 28 April 2018

 

The biennial Athletics Ireland Congress was held in Carrick-on-Shannon recently. Georgina Drumm of Mountpleasant AC was re-elected unopposed as President of the sport’s national governing body and will now serve for a second two-year term. Dunleer AC’s Fintan Reilly was elected to both the High Performance committee and the Coaching and Development committee, while Ciaran Doyle of Drogheda and District AC was elected to the Juvenile committee.

 

County Louth had a strong representation at Congress with Simon Allen (North East Runners), Dermot Barry (Glenmore AC), Pat Cheshire (Dunleer AC), Christian Maas (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC), Kathleen McConnell (St Peter’s AC), Tom McGrane (St Peter’s AC), Deirdre McTeggart (Boyne AC), Catherine Muckian (Dundealgan AC) and Micheal Mulligan (Dunleer AC) also in attendance as delegates.

 

The Wee County had one motion on the agenda and this was passed unanimously. As a result of this successful motion, U12 and U13 teams will now run a 4x200m rather than a 4x100m relay in indoor championship competition.

 

A County Louth amendment to a County Kilkenny motion also met with unanimous approval from the delegates, who numbered almost 200 in total. This means that the newly introduced women’s weight for distance event will now be on the programme for U23 athletes, as well as for the U20, Senior and Masters age groups as originally proposed.

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League

Final - Tullamore - 20 August 2017

 

The County Louth senior athletics teams enjoyed a very successful day in Tullamore on Sunday, 20 August, when they did battle in the final of the National League. Both men’s and women’s teams were competing in Division One of this All-Ireland competition and both matched their previous best performances. In 2016 the women had finished seventh and the men eighth, but there was a clear improvement by both teams this year.

 

The women led the way by finishing second of the eight teams who had qualified for the final, matching their achievement of 2013, while the men finished in sixth place, as they had previously done in 2014. By finishing second, just one point ahead of the County Kerry team, the Wee County’s women’s team earned promotion to the top-tier Premier Division for next year’s competition.

 

Heptathlete Amy McTeggart (Boyne) contributed very strongly to the women’s success, winning the High Jump, and finishing second in the 400m and third in the Triple Jump. The other individual victory went to Shauna McMahon (Blackrock) in the Shot. Another heptathlete, Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners), scored good points by finishing second in the Javelin and third in the Pole Vault. Two other athletes enjoyed a top three finish in their individual events – Emma Cheshire (Dunleer), who was second in the Long Jump, and Niamh Belton (Dundalk St Gerard’s), who came home third in the 200m.

 

The women’s 4x100m team of Cheshire, Belton, Kelly Breen (Blackrock) and Bláthnaid Donnelly (Drogheda & District) also finished in third place, pipping their counterparts from Kerry by less than one hundredth of a second, which proved decisive in deciding the second of the two promotion places. Had the teams even dead-heated for third place in that race, it is Kerry who would have won promotion instead of Louth.

 

Of course, with such a tight margin between the teams, it is not just the 4x100m team who deserve special mention. The contribution of the remaining four athletes on the team was also of vital importance, as Nicola Welsh (Dunleer), Erin McHugh (Drogheda & District), Seoda Matthews (Dunleer) and Emma Conway (Dundealgan) all played their part on a great day for athletics in County Louth.

 

The star performer for the men’s team was Conor McMahon (Ardee & District), who was joint first in the High Jump. Oisín Ó Gibne (Boyne) finished second in the 800m, as did Darren Weldon (Ardee & District) in the Hammer. Ruarcán Ó Gibne (Boyne) came home third in the 3000m Steeplechase and the other third place finisher for Louth was Lee McGuiness (Drogheda & District) in the 200m.

 

As was the case for their female counterparts, every single point earned by the Louth men’s team was of vital performance in securing their sixth-place finish, as the seventh placed team, Slí Cualann from County Wicklow, finished with the same points total only to lose out to Louth under the league’s tiebreaking rules. Hence the points earned by the rest of the men’s team – Gabriel Bell (St Peter’s), Sam O’Neill (Drogheda & District), Pat Cheshire (Dunleer), Tom McGrane (St Peter’s), Jonathan Rice (Dundealgan), Stephen Kelly (Drogheda & District) and Andrew Kelly (Drogheda & District) – were every bit as important.

 

Women's results:

 

100m Hurdles
5 Seoda MATTHEWS Louth County/Dunleer 1:13.14

4x100m
3 Louth County 52.21

1500m
4 Nicola WELSH Louth County/Dunleer 5:04.13

400m
2 Amy McTeggart Louth County/Boyne 1:03.21

3000m
4 Erin MCHUGH Louth County/Drogheda & DIstrict 10:42.32

200m
3 Niamh BELTON Louth County/Dundalk St Gerards 27.00

800m
5 Nicola WELSH Louth County/Dunleer 2:29.03

100m
5 Niamh BELTON Louth County/Dundalk St Gerards 13.47

400m
6 Louth County 4:25.68

High Jump
1 Amy MCTEGGART Louth County/Boyne 1.55

Shot Putt
1 Shauna MCMAHON Louth County/Blackrock 9.94

Hammer
6 Emma CONWAY Louth County/Dundealgan 16.66

Triple Jump
3 Amy MCTEGGART Louth County/Boyne 9.95

Pole Vault
3 Geraldine FINNEGAN Louth County/NER 1.90

Javelin
2 Geraldine FINNEGAN Louth County/NER 26.60

Discus
4 Shauna MCMAHON Louth County/Blackrock 26.54

Long Jump
2 Emma CHESHIRE Louth County/Dunleer 4.99

 

Men's results:

 

110m Hurdles
7 Jonathan RICE Louth County/Dundealgan 21.57

400m Hurdles
6 Conor MCMAHON Louth County/Ardee & District 1:07.14

4x100m Relay
6 Louth County 45.46

1500m
4 Sam O'NEILL Louth County/Drogheda & District 4:34.15

400m
6 Gabriel BELL Louth County/St Peters 53.66

3000m Steeplechase
3 O'GIBNE, Ruarcan Louth County/Boyne 10:23.63

200m
3 Lee MCGUINNESS Louth County/Drogheda & District 22.78

800m
2 O'GIBNE, Oisin Louth County/Boyne 2:00.84

5000m
7 Stephen KELLY Louth County/Drogheda & District 16:33.32

100m
8 Andrew KELLY Louth County/Drogheda & Disrict 11.80

4x400m
6 Louth County 3:41.06

Hammer
2 Darren WELDON Louth County/Ardee & District 23.55

Long Jump
4 Gabriel BELL Louth County/St Peters 6.34

Shot Putt
7 Tom MCGRANE Louth County/St Peters 8.55

High Jump
1 Conor MCMAHON Louth County/Ardee & District 1.75

Discus
6 Tom MCGRANE Louth County/St Peters 20.29

Triple Jump
7 Conor MCMAHON Louth County/Ardee & District 11.40

Javelin
8 Darren WELDON Louth County/Ardee & District 19.58

56lb for Distance
5 Pat CHESHIRE Louth County/Dunleer 3.87

 

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League
Final - Tullamore - 7 August 2016

 

Following some very impressive individual performances and, more importantly, a great team effort in the qualifying rounds earlier this summer, the Athletics Louth men’s and women’s track and field teams both qualified for the Division One final of the National League. The final itself was staged in Tullamore on Sunday, 7 August – a day on which the distinctly autumnal conditions were not conducive to top class performances.

 

The standard of competition in the final was very high but, nevertheless, a number of the Louth athletes managed to finish in the top three in their events. Drogheda & District AC pair Lee McGuiness and Mark O’Shea claimed second place in the 200m and 1500m respectively, a feat which was matched by Boyne AC pair and cousins Amy McTeggart and Niamh Kelly in the High Jump and Shot Putt respectively. 

 

McTeggart also finished third in the 400m, as did Sam O’Neill (Drogheda & District) in the 800m, Mark Rogers (St Peter’s) in the 400m Hurdles, Dunleer AC’s javelin throwing siblings Liam and Niamh Connaughton, Geraldine Finegan (North East Runners) in the Pole Vault and Emma Cheshire (Dunleer) in the Long Jump.

 

The Louth men’s team finished in eighth place overall with Conor McMahon (Ardee & District), Andrew Kelly and David Walsh (both Drogheda & District), Mubarak Ishola, Gerry McArdle and Moses Opebi (all Dundealgan), and Conor Durnin, Martin McGrane, Tom McGrane and Brendan Rogers (all St Peter’s) also contributing to the points total.

 

The Wee County’s women’s team went one better than their male counterparts to finish seventh overall. Valuable points were scored by Róisín Coade, Mary Leech and Erin McHugh (all Drogheda & District), Seoda Matthews (Dunleer), Laura Mathews (North East Runners), and Eleanor Hoey (St Peter’s).

 

A number of other athletes had represented Louth in the qualifying rounds in Dublin in June and in Belfast in July, and their performances helped both men’s and women’s teams qualify for the finals. These were Shauna McMahon (Blackrock), Eva Cummins, Oisín Ó Gibne and Zoe Shiels (all Boyne),  Orla O’Connor (Drogheda & District), Niamh Belton (Dundalk St Gerard’s), Jonathan Rice (Dundealgan), Garry Campbell, Shane Cheshire and Darragh Greene (all Dunleer), Paul McGlynn (Glenmore), and Emily Rogers (St Peter's).

 

Full results are available on the Results 2016 page.

 

 

Celtic Games 2016

 

The Celtic Games took place the day before the National League final. Swansea in Wales was the venue this year for the annual triangular track and field international at Under 18 and Under 16 level involving Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It proved to be a great day for Ireland as the boys and girls in green won six of the seven trophies on offer: U18 Boys, U18 Girls, U16 Girls, Overall Boys, Overall Girls and Overall Team. There were no Louth athletes on the team this year, but Ciaran Doyle of Drogheda & District AC was the team manager and Kathleen McConnell of St Peter’s AC was the coach for the shot putt and javelin events.

 

 

 

Some of the Louth athletes in Belfast
Some of the Louth athletes in Belfast

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League
Round 2 - Mary Peters Track, Belfast - 17 July 2016

 

 

Well done to all the Louth clubs who came together for the AAI National League. Both the men's and women's teams finished in the top eight in Division 1 and hence have qualified for the final in Tullamore on Sunday, 7 August!

 

Division 1 Men Points


1 St. L. O'Toole A.C. 220
2 Finn Valley 215
3 Wexford 212
4 Meath Athletics 211
5 An Riocht A.C. 196
6 Antrim Combined 193
7 Athletics Louth 187
8 Bandon Striders 186

-------------------------
9 Tallaght 172
10 City of Derry Spartans 149
11 Laois County 145
12 Dooneen A.C. 138
13 County Monaghan 125
14 Sli Cualainn 124

 

Division 1 Women Points


1 Kerry Athletics 228
2 Sli Cualainn 202
3 Donore Harriers 195
4 Kilkenny City Hrs 192
5 Sligo A.C. 172
6 Athletics Louth 172
7 Lagan Valley AC 170
8 Antrim Combined 160

-------------------------
9 Youghal A.C. 158
10 Menapians A.C. 149
11 Dooneen AC 135
12 Tallaght A.C. 118
13 Tullamore Harriers 114
14 Laois County 111
15 County Monaghan 108

 

Athletics Louth results

 

110m/100m Hurdles
4 75 Mark Rogers Athletics Louth/St Peter's 17.09
5 91 Niamh Kelly Athletics Louth/Boyne 18.41

 

3000m Walk
4 75 Gerry McArdle Athletics Louth/Dundealgan 25.01

 

400m Hurdles
2 75 Mark Rogers Athletics Louth/St Peter's 60.10
4 91 Seoda Matthews Athletics Louth/Dunleer 72.86

 

4x100m Relay
5 75 Athletics Louth 46.42
3 91 Athletics Louth 52.83

 

1500m
2 75 Garry Campbell Athletics Louth/Dunleer 4.07.94
2 91 Mary Leech Athletics Louth/Drogheda & District 4.53.81

 

400m
6 75 Shane Cheshire Athletics Louth/Dunleer 57.64
5 91 Amy McTeggart Athletics Louth/Boyne 63.38

 

200m
3 75 Lee McGuinness Athletics Louth/Drogheda & District 23.08 (-0.6m/s)
2 91 Emma Cheshire Athletics Louth/Dunleer 26.13 (+0.8m/s)

 

800m
3 75 Mark O'Shea Athletics Louth/Drogheda and District 1.59.77
3 91 Orla O'Connor Athletics Louth/Drogheda & District 2.24.49

 

5000m
2 75 David Walsh Athletics Louth/Drogheda & District 16.32.32

 

3000m
5 91 Laura Matthews Athletics Louth/North East Runners 11.13.52

 

100m
5 75 Moses Opebi Athletics Louth/Dundealgan 12.06
6 91 Eleanor Hoey Athletics Louth/St Peter's 14.09

 

4x400m
4 75 Athletics Louth 3.36.68
4 91 Athletics Louth 4.17.49

 

Hammer
3 75 Tom McGrane Athletics Louth/St Peter's 18.74
4 91 Eleanor Hoey Athletics Louth/St Peter's 19.93

 

Long Jump
4 75 Conor McMahon Athletics Louth/Ardee & District 6.00
2 91 Emma Cheshire Athletics Louth/Dunleer 5.10

 

Pole Vault
3 91 Geraldine Finnegan Athletics Louth/North East Runners 2.00

 

Shot Putt
3 75 Mark Rogers Athletics Louth/St Peter's 10.42
2 91 Shauna McMahon Athletics Louth/Blackrock 9.21

 

High Jump
4 75 Conor McMahon Athletics Louth/Ardee & District 1.60
1 91 Amy McTeggart Athletics Louth/Boyne 1.65

 

Discus
6 75 Tom McGrane Athletics Louth/St Peter's 20.53
2 91 Shauna McMahon Athletics Louth/Blackrock 26.08

 

Triple Jump
3 75 Conor Durnin Athletics Louth/St Peter's 13.07
4 91 Geraldine Finnegan Athletics Louth/North East Runners 9.29

 

Javelin
5 75 Moses Opebi Athletics Louth/Dundealgan 27.25
2 91 Amy McTeggart Athletics Louth/Boyne 29.49

 

56lb Weight for Distance
3 75 Brendan Rogers Athletics Louth/St Peter's 4.08

 

Mubarak Ishola and Jonathan Rice (both Dundealgan) were also on the men's team - they both ran in the 4x100m.

 

Full results are available on the Results 2016 page.

 

Some of the Louth athletes in Santry
Some of the Louth athletes in Santry

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League
Round 1 - Santry - 12 June 2016

 

Once again the clubs in the Wee County came together to form teams for the Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League.

 

Many thanks to the athletes from Ardee and District, Blackrock, Boyne, Drogheda and District, Dundalk St Gerard's, Dundealgan, Dunleer, Glenmore and St Peter's who took part.

 

The men's team exceeded expectations to lead the pool right throughout the day. After the top 15 events where taken into account, the men were in third place with just a point separating the first three teams - which puts them in a good position for Round 2 on July 17th. Our women's team placed fifth and are ready to move up again in Round 2.

 

There were individual wins for Conor Durnin (St Peter's) in the Triple Jump, Liam Connaughton (Dunleer) in the Javelin, Conor McMahon (Ardee & District) in the Long Jump and Amy McTeggart (Boyne) in the Javelin.

 

There were second place finishes for Darragh Greene (Dunleer) in the 800m, Mark Rogers (St Peter's) in the Pole Vault and Tom and Martin McGrane (St Peter's) in the Hammer and Shot Putt respectively. For the women's team there were second place finishes for Mary Leech (Drogheda and District) in the 3000m, Emily Rogers (St Peter's) in the High Jump and Shauna McMahon (Blackrock) in the Discus.

 

Third places were achieved by Lee McGuinness (Drogheda and District) in the 100m and 200m and also by Mark Rogers in the 110m Hurdles and High Jump along with Amy McTeggart and Niamh Kelly (Boyne) in the Triple and Long Jump respectively.

 

Also competing well and scoring valuable points for the team were Gerry McArdle and Moses Opebi from Dundealgan, Zoe Shiels, Eva Cummins and Oisín Ó Gibne from Boyne, Mark O'Shea, Orla O'Connor and Róisín Coade from Drogheda and District, Niamh Belton from Dundalk St Gerard's, Seoda Matthews from Dunleer and Paul McGlynn from Glenmore.

 

Full results are available on the Results 2016 page.

 

2016 AGM

The 2016 AGM was held on Monday, 18th January 2015. Details of the newly elected officers are on the Contact Us page.

 

The following motions were passed at the AGM:

 

1. That the longer races for the U9 and U10 boys and girls in the Louth Track and Field Championships be changed to 300m (U9) and 500m (U10), in line with the National Children's Games races for these age groups. In the event that heats are required due to numbers the result to be decided by time.

 

2. In Cross Country, only an athlete who wins the Intermediate Championship will be re-graded to Senior status.

 

3. That Athletics Louth reintroduce summer juvenile track and field competitions to be held on weeknight evenings in July and/or August at suitable venues to provide club athletes with more opportunities to compete post-county and provincial championships.

 

4.  Athletes who have lost their county Novice or Intermediate status for at least 5 years can apply to be re-graded. The meeting to consider re-grading applications will be held once per year at the September county board meeting.

 

5.  That the position of County Competition Secretary be divided into two:  1) Cross Country and Road & 2) Track and Field.

 

 

Louth contingent at 2015 Celtic Games
Louth contingent at 2015 Celtic Games

Celtic Games 2015

There was a strong County Louth involvement in the Irish team in the 2015 Celtic Games, which were staged on Saturday, 1 August. This is an annual international track and field match at Under 16 and Under 18 level between Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with the venue rotating between the three countries. This year it was the turn of Scotland to act as hosts and the event was staged in Grangemouth, near Falkirk, in central Scotland.

 

Patience Jumbo Gula (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC) enjoyed a magnificent victory in the U16 Girls’ 200m. Her winning time of 25.18 seconds was faster than her personal best of 25.33, although it was aided by a wind marginally over the allowable limit of 2.0 metres per second. She finished 0.39 seconds clear of Welsh athlete, Gabrielle Fakande, and 0.49 clear of the Scot, Kate Johnstone.

 

Patience was also part of the Irish U16 mixed 4x100m relay team, which was unfortunately disqualified due to a baton change outside the changeover zone. However she did have the satisfaction of leading the Irish U16 Girls’ team to victory in the match against their Celtic rivals.

 

It should be noted that Patience will still be eligible to compete in the U16 age group in next year’s Celtic Games, which are due to be staged in Wales.

 

Liam Connaughton (Dunleer AC) was in action the U16 Boys’ Javelin and he performed very well to claim second place with a throw of 49.69m behind Scottish athlete Alex McFarlane, but ahead of Wales’s Max Holland. Just like Patience, this young athlete has a very promising future ahead of him – he recently recorded a new championship best performance when setting a personal best of 52.85m with the 600g implement to win the Irish U16 title.

 

The Irish U16 Boys’ team finished in second place overall behind the hosts.

 

Four officials from County Louth also travelled to Scotland with the Irish team. Georgina Drumm (Mountpleasant AC) played a key role as the Celtic Games co-ordinator. Ciaran Doyle (Drogheda & District AC) and Kathleen McConnell (St Peter’s AC) were both throws coaches, while Angela McDonald (St Peter’s AC) was the long jump coach.



2015 AGM

The 2015 AGM was held on Monday, 12th January 2015. Details of the newly elected officers are on the Contact Us page.

 

There will be some changes to the Louth Cross Country Championships as a result of motions passed at the AGM. It is planned to review these changes in 2017.

 

1. The distance of the Senior Women's race increases from 5000m to 6000m.

 

2. The number of scoring team members increases from 3 to 4 in the following races/categories:

 

(i) Novice Women;

(ii) Intermediate Women;

(iii) Over 35 Masters' Men;

(iv) Over 35 Masters' Women.

 

3. A new team race is introduced in the Over 50 Masters' Women category with 3 athletes to score.

Daniel Finley (lane 5) finishes 5th in the 100m in Tullamore
Daniel Finley (lane 5) finishes 5th in the 100m in Tullamore

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League

Final - Tullamore - 3 August 2014

 

On Sunday, 3rd August 2014, the Louth Senior Men’s track and field team exceeded expectations to finish in sixth place of the eight teams in Division One in the National League Final in Tullamore. With a total of 69 points, they were a mere two points off fifth place and only seven points behind fourth place, but were a clear ten points ahead of the seventh placed team. This is the team’s best result since the county re-entered the fray of National League competition in 2012. The results in the various events were:

 

100m  5th Daniel Finley (St Peter’s) 11.95;

200m  7th Jamie Shiels (Boyne) 25.07;

400m  4th Jamie Shiels (Boyne) 53.13;

800m  3rd Garry Campbell (Dunleer) 1:53.82;

1500m  6th Mark O’Shea (Drogheda & District) 4:11.47;

5000m  7th Luke Finley (St Peter’s) 20:43.53;

110m Hurdles  3rd Mark Rogers (St Peter’s) 17.63;

400m Hurdles  7th Jonathan McCabe (Boyne) 1:11.23;

High Jump  4th Daniel Finley (St Peter’s) 1.65;

Pole Vault  3rd Mark Rogers (St Peter’s) 2.40;

Long Jump  6th Jonathan McCabe (Boyne) 4.78;

Triple Jump  6th Daniel Finley (St Peter’s) 11.66;

Shot  5th Tom McGrane (St Peter’s) 9.29;

Discus  4th Mark Rogers (St Peter’s) 25.71;

Hammer  5th Tom McGrane (St Peter’s) 18.35;

Javelin  4th Aaron Finley (St Peter’s) 38.49;

Weight  7th Aaron Finley (St Peter’s) 4.23;

4x100m  5th Athletics Louth – Daniel Finley (St Peter’s), Fintan Reilly (Dunleer), Mark Rogers (St Peter’s), Jamie Shiels (Boyne) – 47.39;

4x400m  3rd Athletics Louth – Jamie Shiels (Boyne), Mark O’Shea (Drogheda & District), Mark Rogers (St Peter’s), Garry Campbell (Dunleer) – 3:34.98.

 

It should be noted that the times and distances recorded in several events were adversely impacted by the very wet conditions which prevailed earlier in the day.

 

Great credit is due to all ten athletes, team manager Fintan Reilly among them, for their excellent performances. It had been feared that the county was fielding a significantly weakened team due to the unavailability of some of those who had been considered for selection, but these fears were confounded by those who proudly wore the red of Louth on the day.

 

The team’s achievement is all the more praiseworthy when it is considered that Mark Rogers was also competing in the Senior Men’s Decathlon, in which he won the bronze medal, in the National Combined Events’ Championships which were scheduled alongside the National League Final. This meant that it was unrealistic for Mark, who is habitually Louth’s top points scorer in league competition, to represent the county in his three strongest events in the League Final. The parallel scheduling of the two competitions did put Louth at a disadvantage, as no other team in the Men’s Division One Final had any of their athletes competing in the Combined Events’ Championships.

 

Eleven other athletes also deserve credit for playing their part in the National League qualifying rounds in Sligo (managed by Pat Cheshire) and Athlone (managed by Fintan Reilly) and thus helping Louth to qualify for the final. These are Luke Callaghan (Boyne), Patrick O’Grady and David Walsh (both Drogheda & District), Jack Boylan, Pat Cheshire, Shane Cheshire, Patrick Connolly and Darragh Greene (all Dunleer), Scott Dorian (St Gerard’s), and Conor Durnin and Brendan Rogers (both St Peter’s).

 

The Louth Senior Women’s team had finished in second place in Division One in last year’s National League Final and thus earned promotion to the Premier Division for this year’s competition. Managed by Ciaran Doyle, they did very well against tough opposition in the two qualifying rounds and ended up being ranked in tenth place overall, missing out on one of the eight spots in the final by just a few points. However they were comfortably clear of the relegation zone and easily retained their Premier Division status for 2015.

 

The thirteen women who contributed to this fine achievement were Joy Akpe-Moses and Annabelle Morris (both Blackrock), Amy McTeggart and Deirdre McTeggart (both Boyne), Pamela Howard, Mary Leech and Orla O’Connor (all Drogheda & District), Helen Cheshire and Nicola Welsh (both Dunleer), and Chloe Finley, Niamh Fussey, Emily Rogers and Frances Rogers (all St Peter’s).

 

Both the men’s and women’s teams have improved their league standing each year since 2012 and, with athletes born in 1999 becoming eligible to compete as seniors for the first time in 2015, it should be quite realistic to target a top-eight finish for the women in next year’s Premier Division and a top-three finish for the men in Division One.

 

Some of the Louth athletes in Athlone
Some of the Louth athletes in Athlone

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League

Round 2 - Athlone - 22 June 2014

 

Louth clubs came together once again for Round 2 of the AAI National League in Athlone on Sunday 22nd June 2014. Our ladies just missed out on qualifying for the Final, finishing in 10th place overall, but comfortably retained their place in the top-tier Premier Division for 2015. Our men finished in 7th place overall to qualify for the Division One Final for the second year in a row.

 

Many thanks to the athletes from Blackrock AC, Boyne AC, Drogheda & District AC, Dunleer AC, St Gerard's AC and St Peter's AC, and hope to see all the men out again for the Final in Tullamore on Sunday 3rd August.

 

Premier Division - Women

 

100m - 7th Joy Akpe-Moses 12.95 (+1.0 m/s)

200m - 6th Niamh Fussey 27.19 (+1.6 m/s)

400m - 5th Amy McTeggart 1:01.76

800m - 4th Nicola Welsh 2:24.11

1500m - 5th Mary Leech 5:00

3000m - 4th Pamela Howard 10:42.68

100m Hurdles - 3rd Niamh Fussey

400m Hurdles - 2nd Annabelle Morris 1:05.00

1500m Walk - 5th Helen Cheshire 9:54

High Jump - 1st Emily Rogers 1.70

Long Jump - 5th Joy Akpe-Moses 4.91

Triple Jump - 4th Chloe Finley 10.07

Shot Putt - 2nd Frances Rogers 10.08

Discus - 6th Frances Rogers 20.84

Hammer - 5th Emily Rogers 16.15

Javelin - 3rd Amy McTeggart 28.48

4x100m - 7th Athletics Louth 51.87

4x400m - 2nd Athletics Louth 4:06.63

 

Division 1 - Men

 

100m - 2nd Conor Durnin 11.68 (+1.6 m/s)

200m - 4th Shane Cheshire 24.10 (+0.8 m/s)

400m - 4th Garry Campbell 54.45

800m - 2nd Darragh Greene 1:54.81

1500m - 3rd Jack Boylan 4:23.58

5000m - 2nd Patrick O'Grady 16:17.36

110m Hurdles - 1st Mark Rogers

400m Hurdles - 1st Mark Rogers 57.45

3000m Walk - 1st Scott Dorian 19:15

High Jump - 1st= Daniel Finley 1.65

Long Jump - 2nd Conor Durnin 6.13

Triple Jump - 1st Conor Durnin 12.67

Shot Putt - 3rd Tom McGrane 9.76

Discus - 2nd Daniel Finley 26.72

Hammer - 2nd Tom McGrane 17.72

Javelin - 1st Aaron Finley 42.79

56lb Wt Dist - 2nd Brendan Rogers 4.41

4x100m - 3rd Athletics Louth 46.19

4x400m - 1st Athletics Louth 3:30.82

 

Some of the Louth athletes in Sligo
Some of the Louth athletes in Sligo

 

Athletics Ireland National Track and Field League
Round 1 - Sligo - 18 May 2014

Louth clubs came together once again for the AAI National League in Sligo on Sunday 18th May 2014. Our ladies stepped up to Premier and acquitted themselves very well amongst the best of the athletes in the country and will push hard for a place in the final. They currently lie in 9th place overall, just 4 points behind the 8th place team.

Our men exceeded expectations with some top class performances and will look forward to consolidating their position in the next round. They currently lie in 7th place overall.

There were many highlights in particular a stunning run by the ladies' 4x400m team.

Many thanks to the athletes from Blackrock AC, Boyne AC, Drogheda & District AC, Dunleer AC and St Peters AC, and hope to see all out again for Round 2 on June 22nd.

Premier Division - Women

200m - 4th Niamh Fussey 27.25 (+1.7 m/s)
400m - 6th Amy McTeggart 1:05.02
800m - 4th Orla O'Connor 2:24.05
1500m - 4th Pamela Howard 5:03.25
3000m - 5th Nicola Welsh 11:22.27
100m Hurdles - 2nd Niamh Fussey 16.62 (-2.2 m/s)
400m Hurdles - 1st Annabelle Morris 1:06.66
High Jump - 3rd Amy McTeggart 1.55
Long Jump - 3rd Annabelle Morris 4.85
Triple Jump - 5th Chloe Finley 9.40
Shot Putt - 5th Deirdre McTeggart 6.70
Discus - 4th Deirdre McTeggart 17.97
Javelin - 3rd Amy McTeggart 24.96
4x100m - 5th Athletics Louth 53.20
4x400m - 2nd Athletics Louth 4:08.62

Division 1 - Men

100m - 1st Daniel Finley 11.96 (+0.3 m/s)
200m - 2nd Shane Cheshire 24.68 (+0.9 m/s)
400m - 2nd Shane Cheshire 55.75
1500m - 3rd Patrick Connolly 4:31.75
5000m - 3rd Patrick O'Grady 16:56.97
110m Hurdles - 1st Mark Rogers 17.92 (-1.3 m/s)
400m Hurdles - 1st Mark Rogers 59.60
3000m Steeplechase - 3rd David Walsh 11:07.90
High Jump - 1st Mark Rogers 1.50
Long Jump - 4th Luke Callaghan 4.99
Triple Jump - 2nd Daniel Finley 10.37
Shot Putt - 2nd Tom McGrane 9.33
Discus - 2nd Pat Cheshire 19.52
Hammer - 3rd Tom McGrane 19.38
Javelin - 3rd Daniel Finley 39.03
56lb Wt Dist - 3rd Pat Cheshire 3.79
4x100m - 2nd Athletics Louth 48.74
4x400m - 2nd Athletics Louth 3:49.23

 

 

Congratulations to the Louth team of Nicola Welsh, Mary Leech, Pamela Howard and Karen Costello (pictured left) who won the inter-county team gold medals at the Leinster Novice Road Race Championships in Gowran on Monday 5th May 2014. There was also individual success for Pamela and Nicola who finished in second and third places respectively.

Louth County Pre Championship Event Friday 20th April 2012 6.30pm Bush Track

Congratulations to all the athletes , coaches and families who travelled to Bush Track for the Pre Championship Event on Friday 20th April. It will be a night that will be  remembered for a long number of years, the event started in sunshine and finished with hail stones with a temperature akin to winter.

The young athletes performed tremendously well with some great results, however the night was brought to an abrupt close when the conditions worsened again. Results have been posted out to clubs with some surnames missing from the well battered paperwork, please feel free to let me know what they are and I will update immediately. georgina.drumm@gmail.com

Sterling work was done by the officials to get as much done as was possible, thanks to all.

See results section for full list of completed events.

Woodies DIY Day 3 & 4 2011

Day 3 & 4 Woodies DIY Juvenile Track & F
Microsoft Word Document 25.0 KB

Woodies DIY Juvenile Track & Field Championships 2011

Juvenile Track & Field Championships of Ireland 5 Gold, 6 Silver, 4 Bronze for Louth Athletes .

Athletic Association of Ireland Juvenile
Microsoft Word Document 57.0 KB

Woodies DIY Juvenile Indoor Championships Results Updated Nenagh 2011

Woodies DIY Irish Juvenile Indoor Champ
Microsoft Word Document 30.5 KB
Masters and Junior Cross Country 21st No
Microsoft Word Document 26.0 KB
County Senior Junior Masters Track 2010.
Microsoft Word Document 26.0 KB
Cross Country Championships 31st October
Microsoft Word Document 25.5 KB
Athletics Louth County Awards night 2010
Microsoft Word Document 30.5 KB