Martin Egan was the most famous of the Egan family of athletes from the little village of Shanaglish, in South Co. Galway.
In 1945, Martin, his brothers Jack and Michael and sister Angela in just one weekend won 9 All Ireland Championship medals.
In 1946, Martin aged just 26 smashed a 59-year-old Irish record, set by Tom Conneffe, for the four mile distance by recording a time of 19 minutes 38.3 seconds.
Martin was a member of the NACA body and was selected to run in the 1948 London Olympic Games. However, due to a split in Irish athletic bodies, he chose not to take part.
Martin was always a quiet and modest man and he would only, if asked, recount tales of race meets from years gone by. In his later years he was happiest working on his farm, tending his sheep, living a quiet and peaceful life.
Throughout his life Martin received many awards and tributes for his contribution to Irish Athletics, to name but a few:
1976 - Galway County Sports Star Award
1977 - Galway County Board Hall of Fame Award
2000 - Honoured by the Irish Olympic Council
So, in an effort to honour and keep his memory alive we are introducing, “The Martin Egan Memorial 10K Road Race.” This race was previously known as the Beagh 10K Road Race and is in its third year. It has attracted large fields in its two previous runnings and an even larger crowd is expected on Sunday, 11 March 2012 @ 1:30PM.
Registration before and refreshments after the race will be at Beagh Community Centre, just off the old N18 outside Gort on the road down to Limerick. Turn right at Marcus Motors and the Beagh Community Centre is down on the left about half a mile.
A chrildrens race (U12) will also take place on the day. Each child will receive a medal for their participation.
The overall winner will recieve a Perpetual Cup. There are prizes for all other caterogies including Junior male and female prizes.
Contact Margaret Walsh at 087-9917961 or walshmags@yahoo.com for more details.
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