Tullamore Harriers contribution recognised with presentation of major Athletics Ireland award

TULLAMORE Harriers vast contribution to Irish athletics was recognised with the presentation of a major award on Wednesday afternoon.

The biggest and longest established club in Offaly athletics, Tullamore Harriers were given a special award for exceptional services to Irish athletics at the national awards held by Athletics Ireland in the Crown Plaza, Santry.

Club chairperson Adrian Curley was thrilled to accept the award from his predecessor, the president of Athletics Ireland, John Cronin.

The award was in recognition of the club's considerable running achievements as well as the fantastic facilities they have developed.

Athletics Ireland acknowledged the achievements of Olympians Pauline Curley and Gordon Kennedy along with national senior champions, Mick Neville, John O'Toole, Eoin Hannon, Cormac Troy and Ann Marie McGlynn – nee Larkin and racing with Letterkenny AC in Donegal, McGlynn was named on the Irish team for the forthcoming European Senior Cross Country Championships in Turin on December 12 after a super fourth place finish in the national event last weekend.

In particular, the award honours the pivotal and central role the club has played in Irish athletics since the late 1970s..

It was the first members, privately owned club to develop a state of the art tartan track back in the early 1980s and with an impressive club house, stand and spectator and athlete facilities, it has played host to many top events each year.

Tullamore Harriers has previously hosted the national senior championships and has hosted many other big national and provincial championships on an annual basis for several years.

The citation read out about Tullamore Harriers outlined many of their achievements and milestones, as follows:

Tullamore Harriers (founded 1953)

* Nine young men met under a streetlight in Tullamore on the night of November 13th, 1953 and moved into the warmth of Clarke’s Barber shop and formed the club. They ranged in ages from the late teens to the early twenties.
* All having been members of another club; their initial objective was to form a club bearing the name of the town and to be able to enter and compete in events of their choosing. History shows many more objectives achieved since.
* The first chairman was John Dowling who would later serve as President of the GAA from 1988 to 1981.
* An application for membership to the Offaly County Board of NACA succeeded only on the casting vote of the chair Brother J B Kenny a prominent athlete with Dublin City Harriers in the early 20th Century.
Early on two of the founders Noel Gowran and Paddy Larkin combined with Brendan O’Shea who joined in the first year, to lead the Tullamore Harriers members through an odyssey of development and through their foresight and wisdom they left a huge legacy which has been maintained and expanded on by the current leaders and membership along with those in between.
* Noel Gowran served as Chairman from 1970 to 2008 and was the first National Champion winning titles at 15 miles and the Marathon in 1957/1958. Noel RIP who passed in 2016 was the first Irish man under 2 hours 30 minutes for the marathon.
* Paddy Larkin RIP served as secretary from the initial meeting until his passing in 2006. Paddy was a hugely charismatic character and was the catalyst and instigator for so many of the achievements over the first half century.
* Brendan O’Shea served as treasurer from 1954 to 2007 and guided the club finances during this period of amazing activity. Brendan O’Shea is joint Club President, achieved his 90th birthday this year and is still a sounding board for the current leaders and members.
* A lot of fundraising activities took place in the early years ranging from innovative ideas like selling ice cream at sports they attended, forming a Variety Group to the famous Dancing carnivals which attracted patrons from far and wide.
* After moving around several venues in the town, the dream of having a permanent home finally took root with the purchase of land at the current site at Spollanstown/Charleville Road in 1962 with the stated objective of building a sports stadium to “rival anything in the Provinces” declared the local paper.
* It was not until the early part of the next decade that after a long campaign, permission was finally granted by the authorities to develop on the site. Having spent the sixties trying to get permission to progress, by the end of the seventies the pavilion and the synthetic track were in place.
* The financing of these major developments was raised by the volunteers who ran the social events in the pavilion which opened in 1972. The committee running this worked on a 7-day cycle starting each Monday night with a review of the last week and planning for the next week meeting, with activities on each of the following six days. This routine continued for several decades. Harking back to the “Carnival” days these events attracted patrons from far and wide.
* The track opened in 1979 and was the 305th synthetic track built in the world at that stage but uniquely it was the first that was privately owned, the others all owned by their respective governments.
* Over the years the Tullamore Harriers home in Spollanstown has been further enhanced by a trackside club house containing a gym, meeting rooms and facilities including a catering/viewing area for conducting track and field competitions, an international hockey pitch, a tarmac 625m running circuit, and extensive grass area for training and a self-contained tarmac parking area. The stadium itself is a natural arena sheltered by a stunning hedge of well-maintained trees.
* Hosting events has always been in the ethos of the club. Outside of the stadium the famed Quinlan Cup (which has featured the Whos Who of Irish Athletics) was first held on cross country in 1958 moved to the road in 1968, and after a break from 2000 to 2014 has returned as one of Irelands premier half marathons. Over the years the club has hosted National Cross-Country events and continues to host Offaly schools’ cross-country events within the confines of the property.
* Since opening of the track in 1979 countless events at all levels from Club to International level have been hosted. It has been the home of the All-Ireland schools for more than three decades and many of the Juvenile Championships over the years. As a result, many young athletes who have progressed in our sport or have moved onto others have many happy memories of their days in the stadium.
Again, the constant theme, this hosting has been facilitated thorough the voluntary efforts of many volunteers. Outside of athletics the club has hosted and supported many other events for the local community and beyond and raising funds for charities including a long running annual Christmas morning event.
* As well as being a major provider of competition facilities the club has produced many great athletes; Olympians Pauline Curley 2008 Marathon, Gordon Kennedy 2000 4x400 relay squad member. Joining Pauline, Gordon, and Noel Gowran RIP as National Senior Champions are Mick Neville RIP, John O’Toole, Eoin Hannon, Cormac Troy and Ann Marie McGlynn (nee Larkin), there have been multiple internationals at all levels.
* Today, Tullamore Harriers are lucky to have a vibrant membership (many of them second and third generation) under the leadership of Tom Beatty, Adrian Curley, Sharon Larkin and Liam Hennessy who have received the baton first held by the founding fathers nearly seven decades ago and are continuing with the same vision and ethos that has run through the veins of the club over that period.
* Kevin Corrigan produced a book detailing the history of the club in 2018. It is fitting that at the launch Brendan O’Shea and the legend that is Mick Hayden were made honorary Presidents of Tullamore Harrier and are here with us today.