Emphasis on Irish at ‘Parkrun Abú’ at Grand Canal Way in Tullamore last weekend
The sun came out on Saturday and 100 participants attended Parkrun Abú in Tullamore.
Parkrun Abú is a parkrun with a special emphasis on the Irish language. The briefing was given first in Irish and then in English. Gearóid Oman, the run director, joked that there would be time penalties for anyone not speaking Irish as they crossed the finish line. Gearóid encouraged participants to say “Maith Thú” (well done) to one another as they greet each other throughout the course.
A total of 100 people attended the event, the biggest crowd at Grand Canal Way parkrun apart from the occasion when Sonia O’Sullivan was a special guest. Some of the volunteers were fluent Irish speakers, and many competitors chatted with them after the run. Gearóid said he greatly appreciated the number of people who made an effort to use a few words of Irish and who tried to have conversations through Irish.
We had visitors from London and Dublin, as well as people from Portarlington taking part for the first time. Gearóid thanked all the volunteers who helped with this event and who work every week to make parkrun possible in Tullamore.
This was the 221st Parkrun in Tullamore.
The were first timers and 24 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 6 different clubs took part.
The event was made possible by 10 volunteers: Ann Marie Sullivan, Albha Oman, Sandra Busteed, Suzanne Pearson, Gearóid Oman, Deirdre Oman, Brenda Were, Aisling Cotter, Paul Maher and William Hayes
Full results and a complete event history can be found on the The Grand Canal Way parkrun, Tullamore Results Page