From Galway City harriers All-Ireland Uneven Age Cross-Country Coleraine.
Unfortunately this event will be remembered not for the great performances of many athletes but for the total incompetence of the organising club & the officials in running the event. From the minute we entered the University of Ulster campus we were met by a sense of confusion & lack of planning. There was nobody directing traffic towards car parks, registration or changing rooms, however they were collecting the €10.
On arriving on the course we immediately found out that the 800m course for the under 11’s was in fact nearer 1200m. Eventually the officials accepted that the start would have to be moved. The designated start could not cope with 50 athletes let alone 200 nine & ten year olds. The girls under 11 race was first up & the poor children were herded to four different start positions before the race was started. The children were hysterical, crying & disorientated at this stage. The officials had lost control of the start & eventually the race got under way without an official start. The under 11 boys start was not much better. In fact all the races up to & including the under 17 boy’s race were false starts.
Eventually two of the races were voided the under 13 boys & under 15 girls. However in fairness the first eight races should have been voided. Many of the younger athletes were competing in their first All-Ireland. Many of them will never compete again. I’m sure most parents were shocked at how their children were treated. Athletics has always been seen as a nice sport for children. However that illusion is gone forever.
I would like to apologise to all the Galway City Harriers athletes & parents that travelled to Coleraine for the treatment that was dished out on Sunday. This was an awful day for athletics in Ireland, however normally the National cross-country is a positive experience. A very strong email has been sent to the AAI on behalf of G.C.H. regarding the even. Liam Hennessy the President of Athletics Ireland has confirmed that a full enquiry will be held and corrective action put in place.
The G.C.H under 11 girls and boys teams travelled to Coleraine as Connaught champions & they had high hopes of doing really well. Our girls were very upset by the time their race started and couldn’t perform up to their very best. However they all ran their hearts out. Maeve Moran led the team home in 28th place, followed by Sarah McDonnell 55th, Emma Connolly 98th & Cliona NiChochlain 112th. Roisin Flynn had been well up at half way but was unable to finish because of the upset. The girl’s team finished in 10th place.
The boy’s team lived up to the billing as one of the favourites for the team title. They had a poor start but picked up places throughout the race and finished very strongly. Bronson Kelly led the team home in 16th place with Liam Costello 25th, Paraic Commins 36th, Luke O’Shaughnessy 69th, Rory Murray 86th and Peadar O’Flatharta 122nd. The team finished just 7 points off Gold in 3rd pace with 146 pts,
Behind Tullamore Hrs 139pts & DSD 141pts. Bronson & Liam also picked up bronze medals with Connaught & Bronson, Liam, Paraic & Luke picked up silver medals with Galway in the county section.
The under 13 boys race was declared void but John Maher, Keegan Kelly. Fiachra O’Cochlain & Calum Maclaren all ran good races with John inside the top 30.
Maebh Brannigan ran a great race in the under 13 girls age group finishing 14th. Laura Ann Costello was next finisher in 57th place, Orla Gaffney 85th, Aisling Ni Fhlartarta 87th and Tara Healy 105th. The girls did really well to finish in 5th place in the team event. Maebh picked up a silver medal with the Connaught team.
Alanna Lally ran a superb race in the under 15 girls event to finish 2nd to Dundrum South Dublin athlete Siobhan O’Cleirigh Buttner. Alanna is at least 18 months younger than the winner. However this race was also voided due to a faulty start.
Michelle Maher again ran a really good race to finish 21st in the under 17 girls event. Disaster struck our under 17 boys team shortly after the start of their race. Keith Fallon, Adrian Hardiman & John Gillane were all brought down after 100m. However shaken but not stirred they got up & finished the race although slightly the worse for wear. Only Cian Corcoran escaped the melee at the start and finished a very creditable 42nd. The team finished in 14th place.
The club was represented in the Men’s Novice race by two former juvenile 800m stars Eddie Costello & Brendan Glynn. Both ran good solid races.