New Offaly athletics award celebrates memory of late Ferbane stalwart

The Offaly Athletics Awards Ceremony took place on Saturday, 8 November in the Tullamore Court Hotel.

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of a new trophy celebrating the memory of a late Ferbane woman who gave a lifetime of commitment to athletics.

The Marian Feehan award was presented to the club with the highest participation across the major Offaly athletics events, relative to their club membership and the inaugural winners were Naomh Mhuire Athletics Club, Daingean.

It was a night of celebration in a year marked by strong performances, teamwork, and community spirit. Master of Ceremonies Brendan Carroll guided the evening to perfection in his brilliant composed and controlled manner. Brendan introduced newly elected Offaly Athletics Chairman Neil Davidson, who formally opened proceedings.

Neil welcomed distinguished guests including Athletics Ireland President Bríd Golden, Athletics Leinster Chairperson Catriona Duffy, Offaly Athletics Honorary Presidents Lucy Smith and John Cronin, Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council John Leahy, and special guest David Gillick.

In his address, Neil congratulated his own predecessor Darren Butler, on the growth and development of Offaly Athletics during Darren's term of 11 years at the helm including the establishment of eight new clubs, bringing the county total to ten. Neil thanked all involved in organising the many events throughout the year and expressed the value of and commitment of our many volunteers who dedicate huge time and effort to provide the wonderful competitions within the county. He acknowledged the support for Offaly Civil Defence at our many competitions and thanked Ger Rogers and the newspapers for media coverage. He thanked Dermot Egan of Healthy Offaly for securing sponsorship of the 2025 5K race series.

Guest presenter David Gillick awarded medals and trophies across a broad portfolio of competitions: the Offaly Novice, Intermediate, and Masters Cross Country Championships; Offaly Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships; Offaly Road Championships (10K, 4 Mile, 10 Mile, and Half Marathon); the Healthy Offaly 5K Series; and the Offaly Endurance Race Series. All competitions offered competitive opportunities and reinforcing inter-club camaraderie.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Marian Feehan award. This is the first year that Offaly Athletics has introduced this award, which has been most kindly presented by Jude Feehan in honour of his late wife, Marion, whom is remembered so fondly by all in Offaly Athletics.

Marian dedicated 45 years of service to Ferbane AC and Offaly Athletics until her untimely passing in 2021. The award itself was designed and created by Celtic Roots Studios, inspired by Marion’s lifelong ethos of nurturing young athletes and encouraging active participation. It celebrates the three cornerstones of Offaly Athletics: Seniors, Juveniles, and Volunteers. Offaly Athletics will be forever thankful to Jude and his two sons Max and Deema for this award and in turn the athletes in Offaly will fulfil Marian’s legacy.

It is presented to the club with the highest participation across the 5K Series, the Endurance Series, and the Cross Country Championships, measured relative to club membership.

Athletics Ireland President Bríd Golden presented the award and delivered an engaging address reflecting on her personal ties to Offaly and Tullamore. She highlighted the county’s strong and very impressive participation rate -approximately one in every forty residents is a club member and encouraged clubs to continue building on this momentum. Brid congratulated everyone present at the awards, to the many other members and stalwarts involved in athletics and competition in Offaly. Brid closed the ceremony to a very loud applause to the announcement of the deserving and popular winner of the Marian Feehan Trophy - Naomh Mhuire AC, Daingean.

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Thanks to the Award Committee of Brendan Donagher, Tracey Burns, Pauline Colgan, Adrian Delaney and Mary Daly; the Tullamore Court Hotel for excellent service and the beautiful meal; David Gillick for attending and presenting the many awards.

The next fixture on the Offaly Athletics calendar is the Offaly Senior Cross Country Championships in the Faithful Fields in Kilcormac on Sunday the 30^th of November.