Impressive Tullamore Harriers displays at All-Ireland Schools Track & Field Championships

It was a standout weekend for Tullamore Harriers athletes as they proudly represented their schools at the prestigious 123.ie All Schools Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday, 30^th and 31^st of May on home ground at the Tullamore Harriers Stadium. With impressive performances across sprints, jumps, and middle-distance events, our young athletes showed resilience, talent, and great promise for the summer season ahead.

Sprints and Jumps – Senior Girls.

Three of our top juvenile athletes flew the flag high in the Senior Girls category. In the Long Jump, Katie Deverell (Tullamore College) and Eimear Cotter (Killina Presentation SC) both delivered personal best performances in a fiercely competitive field. Katie opened the event with a superb 5.65m jump, taking an early lead, while Eimear followed closely with a PB of 5.42m. Though neither improved on their marks in later rounds, Katie secured the silver medal on countback, having matched the winning distance but edged out due to a shorter second-best jump. Eimear’s 5.42m initially placed her joint fourth, but she finished fifth overall after countback. Both athletes have made excellent progress this season, and their results speak volumes about the work they’ve put in.

Pictured above: Alisha Maher with dad Eamonn at the All Ireland Schools Championships.

Alisha Maher (Tullamore College) also had a busy and successful day in the sprints, despite recently overcoming a chest infection. In the Senior Girls 100m, she clinched a bronze medal in 12.25 seconds. Just 90 minutes later, Alisha returned to the track and delivered a stunning performance in the 200m, taking another bronze with a new outdoor personal best of 24.96 seconds, further improving the club record she already holds.

Middle Distance and Steeplechase

Tullamore Harriers' middle-distance squad also shone brightly, particularly in the steeplechase events, with a clean sweep of medals in the Intermediate category. In the Intermediate Boys Steeplechase, Patrick Duffy (Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore) took silver in 4:34.78, closely followed by Ronan Keaney (Patricians Newbridge) who grabbed bronze in 4:35.99. The Keaney family's success didn’t stop there. Ronan’s twin sister Rachel Keaney (Newbridge College) stepped up in the Intermediate Girls Steeplechase, running a huge personal best of 5:12.84 to win bronze. Ally Duffy (Moate CS), competing in her first All-Ireland and training with the Harriers’ middle-distance group, competed in the Junior Girls 1500m and raced her way to a bronze medal with a PB of 4:39.97.

Unfortunately, Adelyn Walsh was unable to compete due to illness, but her determination and commitment mean she’ll be back in action before long.

It was a fantastic championship outing for Tullamore Harriers athletes, with medals across multiple events and age groups, personal bests, and club records falling. Congratulations to athletes, and all their coaches and schools for the tremendous work behind the scenes. The future looks very bright as these talented young athletes now turn their focus to the upcoming Leinster and National competitions.

Ballyskenach 5K win for Nadine

Well done to our 34 athletes who made the trip to Roscrea for the Ballyskenach 5K on Friday evening, the 30^th of May. Despite the miserable weather, the event drew a strong turnout with over 400 finishers. A big thank you to Ballyskenach AC for hosting another excellent race.

As we near the finale of the 2025 Healthy Offaly 5K Series, this proved to be a highly successful evening for the club, with both the men’s and women’s team prizes going to Tullamore Harriers.

Nadine Donegan was first lady, in 17.47 with a clear lead ahead of 2nd placed Grace Reilly (18.27) and Michelle Keenan of Ballyroan, Abbeyleix and District AC who was 3rd (18.52).

1st man was Jac Hopkins in 15.05 but our leading Tullamore men weren't far behind with Kevin Minnock 4th, Barry Minnock 6th, Barry Mooney 8th and Jonathan Dunne 9th.

Our age group winners on the night were: Evelyn Herlihy 1st in the O45 category and Barry Minnock 1st O50

Pictured above: Nick McGowan at the Ballyskenach 5K.

Tullamore Harriers results:

Men's Team - 1st place - Kevin Minnock, Barry Minnock, Barry Mooney and Jonathan Dunne.

Ladies Team - 1st place - Nadine Donegan, Evelyn Herlihy, Charlotte Abbott and Michelle Mullaney.

Kevin Minnock 0:15:48

Barry Minnock 0:16:29

Barry Mooney 0:16:37

Jonathan Dunne 0:16:39

Eoin Brennan 0:17:10

Gary Whittle 0:17:33

Stephen Murphy 0:17:35

Nadine Donegan 0:17:47

Darren Butler 0:17:58

Padraig Berry 0:18:06

Eimhin Kenny 0:18:10

Daniel Molloy 0:18:40

Glen Finlay 0:19:10

Nick Mc Gowan 0:19:15

Alan Heffernan 0:19:16

David Hollywood 0:19:31

Brendan Abbott 0:19:35

Alan Mitchell 0:19:48

Evelyn Herlihy 0:20:01

Diarmuid Herlihy 0:20:11

Francis Mollen 0:21:24

Charlotte Abbott 0:21:27

Michelle Mullaney 0:21:52

Finian McDermott 0:21:59

Elysia Mc Cormack 0:22:34

Enda Golden 0:22:42

Tara Mckinney 0:23:25

Dave Dunican 0:23:25

Naomi Galvin 0:24:42

Pat Kennedy 0:24:54

Helene Rouget 0:25:59

Michael Kinsella 0:26:40

Olive Mannion 0:27:33

Bernard Doheny 0:36:00

Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon

Congratulations to Evelyn Coughlan and Emily Grennan who took part in the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin on Bank Holiday Sunday, June 1st. Now in its 43rd year, this iconic 10K event drew a massive turnout of over 20,000 participants running through Dublin City.
Evelyn had a very solid run, finishing 6th overall in a time of 37:05, while Emily followed closely behind, securing 12th place with a strong 38:33.
Well done, ladies.

Munster Masters Track and Field Championships

Well done to Olive Mannion who competed in the recent Munster Masters Track and Field Championships. Olive came away with a total of 6 gold medals!! She topped the O60 age group in the 100m,200m,400m, Javelin, Shot Put, and WFD and recorded PBs in both the Shot Put and Javelin.

SEE NEXT: Honest Offaly fight hard to limit damage against superior Clare

Fixtures

Friday 6^th June – Colin Dunne Primary Schools Track & Field, Tullamore Harriers

Saturday 7^th & Sunday 8^th June – Leinster Master Track & Field Championships @SETU Carlow.

Friday 13^th June – Naomh Mhuire AC 5K @8pm

Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th June – Leinster Juvenile U12-U13 Track & Field Championships @ Tullamore Harriers AC

Tuesday 17^th June – Peter English 625, Tullamore Harriers.

Sunday 22^nd June – Jack Cox 10K, Kilcormac

Senior Training

Training Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.40pm to 8.30pm. For any enquiries contact club captains Glen 0868275228 or Rita 0868386687