Secretaries Report to A.G.M. of West Waterford A.C on Thursday
13th April 2023
Each year we gather as a club to review the past year and set targets for the year ahead. Thankfully we can report on a full return to events in this post Covid era and while numbers in the races in 2022 were down on past years we got the ball rolling with a new look summer series and organised events that we feel people wish to run and participate in. With our training groups who work hard all year to support our regular runners and also providing “Lets Run” programmes for complete beginners there is much work going on to promote athletics in Dungarvan and the surrounding areas. With positive Membership numbers already this year we feel 2023 will be a year where people want to get out, meet up again and as a club we are looking forward to the year ahead.
APRIL 2022
In April 2022 Micheál Power continued his steady progress in Tulsa College in the USA when he was named American Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the month following his recording of the second best time in his University of Tulsa’s history at 5,000mts when he recorded 13.29.57.
Lucy Holmes also competing at the Irish Varsities won a gold medal in the 1,500 mts competing for MTU in a time of 4.42.30 while Pat Hennessy was 4th in the National 10k Championships in the Phoenix Park in a time of 31.41.
The Colligan League sponsored once again by Mark Mason continued with the 5 Mile hills, 2 laps and 3 laps on offer and on the final night Philip Harty, Amy Moloney took the Hills titles while Margaret Whelan and Linda Foley were the winners in the 2 lap and 3 laps.
April 2022 will however be a remembered for the sad loss of 1 of our own as Paula Collins passed to her Eternal Reward during this month. Indeed it was the first of 3 of our members lost during this past year with the sad death of Paul Brunnock in early January and also Colm Ryan just this week. We would like to pass on our sincerest condolences to all 3 families at this sad time. All 3 were very active members of our club and are all sorely missed.
MAY 2022
May saw the start of our newly constructed Summer Series of 6 races with first getting underway in Ballinroad with the AHS Tuning Ballinroad 5k. The local soccer club Ballinroad A.C. benefitted from proceedings while 173 runners and many more walked the course on the night. The winners were Noel Murphy Waterford A.C. and Kelly Fitzgerald West Waterford A.C.
At the county T & F championships in WIT Raivis Zakis took a silver medal in the 800mts while an online shop to buy club gear was launched by the club through Wexford company Bodibro.
The second race of the Summer Series the Round Tower Ardmore 5 mile had 143 competing and the winners were Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers and Roisin Mc Laughlin Grange/Fermoy.
At the Munster outdoor T & F Championships held in MTU Cork Mark Blackwell took a silver medal in the Junior Mens 3,000mts in 10.21 while Saoirse Quinn also took a silver in the Junior Ladies discus and Micheál Power qualified for the Collegiate 5,000 mts finals where he had an excellent run to finish 6th in 13.31. Kate Veale continued her preparations for the upcoming National Race Walking Championships competing in La Coruna in Spain over the 20k distance.
JUNE
At the Dungarvan Leader 5 mile race held in Dromana Sergiu Ciobanu and Roisin Mc Laughlin
were again successful from the 130 runners in the night. Meanwhile details for the Eurofins Greenway Half Marathon were announced with entries to open on July 1st and the event to take place on Saturday 3rdt September at 9am. We are delighted to have Eurofins on board and with their support the Community Air Ambulance was selected as the charity to benefit from the race
At the National outdoor T & F Championships held in Santry Kate Veale competing in the 5,000 mt distance took her 7th National outdoor title and her 17th in total. Lucy Holmes finished 2nd in her heat thereby qualifying for the final of the 800mts where she gained valuable experience finishing 7th on the day in 2.15.14.
At the Doocey’s Oriel Bar 5 Mile Race in Ballymacarbry 113 took part and the winners were Dermot Gorman Carrick On Suir A.C. and Kate Veale West Waterford A.C. while a donation was made from the proceeds to the Aisling Kennedy fund. (A young local girl who was knocked down by a school bus).
JULY
At the Deise College Dungarvan 10k 112 runners participated in 1 of the oldest races in the locality with the 38th staging of the race. This time Pat Hennessy West Waterford was successful while Angela Mc Cann (Clonmel A.C.) had to battle hard to beat Kate Veale on the night.
Lucy Holmes had a fantastic run in the 800mts under 23 an the National Outdoor Championships in 2.14.91 while Kate Veale competing at the AI games in Tullamore in the 3k walk took victory in 13.21.09.
Ballinameela was the venue for the 6th and final race of the Summer Series and with proceeds from the race going towards the Community Centre and the local G.A.A. club a great crowd of 132 runners participated with Sergiu Ciobanu taking his 3rd victory of the series in 15.10 while Fiona Santry East Cork A.C. was a clear winner of the ladies in 17.43.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
While August may have been a quiet month on the Athletics front September made up for it with the holding of the Eurofins Greenway Half Marathon where 540 runners completed the 13.2 mile course where Pat Hennessy again took victory and Niamh Staunton St Abbans A.C. won the ladies event. Mens and Ladies team prizes were won by John O’Rourke, Dermot Gough and Dermot Ryan while the ladies team was made up of Eveleen Drohan, Ciara Burke and Liz Nyhan and €2,000 was donated to the Community Air Ambulance.
At the 21st Annual World Masters Mountain Running Championships held in Clonmel Joe Gough competing in the 0/65 category took a team gold medal finishing 4th in his category.
Details for the upcoming Forde’s Daybreak Winter League were announced with Kevin Forde once again keeping his generous sponsorship going. Online registration was opened with details of the 11 night league with 6 nights before Christmas and 5 nights after Christmas commencing on the 16th November.
The cross county season got underway and thanks in no part to the efforts of James Veale at the county senior and Junior Cross Country Championships held at the Friary College West Waterford were represented by both men’s and ladies teams. Pat Hennessy had a great run taking the senior title from 2 Ferrybank runners , Calum Hurley and Andrew Connick. West Waterford took home bronze team medals with Pat joined by Garry Cantwell, Padraig Healy and Conor Coleman. Kelly Fitzgerald claimed her first county senior ladies title from Louise Morgan, Ferrybank and Aisling Ferguson, Waterford A.C. Kelly led her team to club gold along with Eveleen Drohan, Nicola Moroney and Tara Ni Reachtagáin while Mark Blackwell took a well deserved silver medal.
OCTOBER
Following consultation with Joe and the family of Paula Collins it was decided the the club would purchase a memorial bench for Paula. In conjunction with Johnny Brunnock, trails officer for the Waterford Greenway a suitable site for the bench was chosen close to Paula’s home in Ballinroad. Jamie Mills completed the installation and on 1st October family, friends and members of West Waterford A.C. gathered in Ballinroad to remember Paula and complete a 5k walk in her memory. Following a few words form our Chairman Tom and Johnny Landers representing St Pat’s Ladies Football team the walk was completed and we gathered back at the bench to hear Fr Michael Collender say a few prayers and dedicate the bench to Paula in what was a sad but lovely ceremony.
At the county novice cross county again we had men’s and ladies teams participating Sean Curran won a bronze individual medal and team silver along with Sean Stilwell, Mossie Keogh and Yev Chizhikov. Angela Tobin claimed an individual bronze and team gold with Tara Ni Reachtagáin, Jessica Saunderson, Sofia Stefanoff and Aisling Cusack completing the team.
At the European 50k Championships held over a a hilly course Raivis Zakis representing his home country of Latvia finished in the top 30 while Kate Veale competed in 2 National Championships in 2 European countries when she walked the Dutch and the Swiss races and gold was the reward in both.
At the County Masters Cross Country in the Friary Raivis Zakis won gold ahead of Sean Stilwell (silver) and Mossie Keogh (bronze )with these 3 men taking the team gold with silver team medals going to Yev Chizhikov, Michael Dunford and Liam Clince. For the ladies Nicola Moroney and Angela Tobin won gold and silver medals while along with Aisling Cusack and Onra Power they combined to take team gold.
At the Open Cross Country Championships held in Abbotstown Joe Gough finished 3rd O/65 cementing his place on the 5 man O/65 team for the upcoming Irish Masters team for the Europeans in Santry in November.
Lucy Holmes competed in the Munster Cross Country at Novice level and took a fantastic victory on the day and was unlucky not to lead her team to medals but unfortunately they were just outside in 4th place while the men’s team finished in 6th position.
Following Micheál Powers excellent season and his high race positions he was awarded with the prestigious title of American Mens Runner of the week, a coveted award for College athletes in America.
NOVEMBER
The 27TH Annual Murray’s Pharmacy Brickey 5k run was held with an entry of 130 and proceeds going to the Brickey Juvenile club. Niall Shiel of St Killians A.C. and Kate Veale were victorious on the day.
The Fordes Daybreak Winter League got underway with huge numbers participating from the start.
At the National Under 23, Junior and Senior Cross Country Championships held in Donegal Lucy Holmes had another great run finishing 7th and hoping that this would be good enough for selection to the Irish team for the upcoming European Championships in Turin, Italy.
The 14th Annual Turkey Trot was hosted by the Marine Bar and once again helped to raise €3,720 in aid of Dungarvan Community Hospital in association with the local organising committee. 154 took part between runners and walkers with Noel Murphy (Waterford A.C) and Kate Veale taking the wins here.
DECEMBER
The 1ST December saw entries open for the upcoming John Treacy Dungarvan 10 Mile Road Race scheduled for the 5th February. For this year the entry limit was set to 3,750 and the chosen charity, the Children’s Ambulance Charity Bumbleance.
At the All Ireland Novice Cross Country held in Conna Lucy Holmes the Munster Champion finished in 4th position overall and once again we had team representation with Lucy, Angela Tobin, Nicola Moroney and Nicola Saunderson participating. Our mens team of Sean Curran, Garry Cantwell, Conor Coleman and Sean Stillwell also performed with distinction on the day while Joe Gough went to Clarecastle, Co Clare to participate in the Munster Marters Cross Country and took home a silver medal in the O/65 category.
At the National Senior 20 and 35k Walks Championships Kate Veale was in action and as both races were incorporated into 1 she took another National gold for the 20k and continued to finish the 35k also in the gold medal postion.
At the Winter League Charity Night for Guide Dogs for the Disabled over €1,800 was raised by the runners on the night while at the St Stephens Day run in association with the Mercy Cancer Appeal over €4,000 was raised as 2022 came to a close.
JANUARY
Micheál Power once again brought joy to all involved in running when competing for his college at an Indoor Invitiational meet in Arkansas he borke the magic 4 minute barrier for the mile distance and Micheál became only the second ever Waterford native to do so emulating David Mc Carthy who broke the mark in 2012 in Boston when he ran 3.55.75 while on this occasion Micheál clocked 3.58.76. He went on to record another pb in Iowa of 7.50.12 for the 3,000mts.
On Sunday 15th January the Kiely Monumental Colligan Cup was held with victory this year going to Ballymacarbry man James Ryan as he finished first after the clock struck zero. First lady after the clock was Grainne Dwyer and the Victor Mullins Shield for first newcomer went to Jamie Hynds.
Joe Gough had entered a new age category of O/70 and in Athlone he won a gold medal breaking the 1,000 mts record.
FEBRUARY
Our biggest day of the year took place on the 5th February when we once again hosted 1 of the largest events in the country with the holding of the John Treacy Dungarvan 10. It is well documented that this event could never take place without the co-operation of many many people and to mention them all would take too long but a special mention for all our stewards who give their time each year and without whom this race could not take place A record 2,800 runners crossed the finish line with first place going to William Maunsell Clonmel AC. in 49.52 with the ladies race going to Mary Mulhare, Portlaoise A.C. in 55.48. Again the big beneficiary of the race was the Childrens Ambulance Charity Bumbleance when between the runners and organisers €8,500 was donated.
On the same night the prize-giving for the Winter League took place in the Park Hotel and Kevin Forde was there to present the prizes to the many prize-winners on the night. Phil Coffey and Tara Ni Reachtagáin were crowned winners in the short and long route distance respectively for 2023. The league was a huge success again this year with numbers up on previous years. 155 signed up for the short route and 299 in the long.
At the Munster Indoor T.& F. in Nenagh Kate Veale continued her winning ways breaking a 25 year old record set by Gillian O’Sullivan in the 3,000 mts distance. Doireann Hickey and her sister Eabha competed In the Junior event with Doireann finishing 2nd the day. Kate also went to the 123 National Championships and here she broke her own 3,000 mt record setting a new National record of 12.40.04 and won her 20th national title. Doireann Hickey finished 5th in the same event. Lucy Holmes qualified from her heat to take part in the 800mts final where she finished 5th but more importantly set a new pb of 2.10.66.
Joe Gough in the 0/70 category broke the European record for 800 meters recording a time of 2.24.01 at the national masters indoors . Joe also won the 200 and 400mts setting new Irish records as a result. Joe also went to the National Intermediate and Masters Cross Country where he took his first ever gold medal in cross country finishing first in his age group. Pat Hennessy competed in the Intermediate event where he won a fantastic bronze medal.
MARCH
At the Munster Road Racing Championships held in Quilty Co Clare we had 2 athletes taking part with Damien Murphy finishing a creditable 11th in the Novice/Senior combined event and Joe Gough winning a gold medal for O/70 on the road this time. While guesting at the Leinster indoors Masters Championships Joe broke his own European record in the Mens 800mts with a time of 2.23.33. Joe then went to Torun Poland and here he won 2 more World Titles to add to his medal haul taking gold in the O/70 800mts and going on to take a second gold in the 1,500 setting a new Irish record in a time of 5.36.
At the National 20k Race walking Championships which was held in conjuction with a Race meeting in Slovakia Kate Veale set herself a target of 1.39 to qualify for the upcoming European Race Walking Championships. Kate was just outside the 1.40 mark but with the consolation of winning her 21st Senior title. Kate will have another chance to rectify this at a race meet in Poland and all at the club wish Kate all the very best in her pursuit of the time qualification.
The Mason Mortgages Financial Services Colligan League got underway with record numbers participating. In total we have 140 entries which hopefully is a good sign for our upcoming Summer Series.
This brings us right up to date with club events for 2023 so in conclusion I would like to thank my fellow officers for their help and support over the past year with special mention to Ray Burke for all the hard and often unseen work he puts in behind the scenes. This year also to Declan who had taken on the task of treasurer and who actually seems to enjoy the challenge of taking us into the 21st century with regards to banking and has the patience of a saint for these matters.
Thanks as always to our outdoor staff of Conor, Jamie and John without whom we just could not hold our races. I would also like to sincerely thank all our training crew of Jim Fleming, Claire Kennedy, Tom Leahy, Linda Guilly, Mick Concannon and Michael Coakley who are all on board to help out. To James for all the work he does on the notes and fixtures on the website, looking after cross country teams and entries and of course keeping social media updated at all times. Thanks also to Kelly Fitzgerald who had come on board to help out with the Instagram account. Thanks to our loyal stewards and sponsors who have supported us over many years, we are extremely grateful and finally I would like to wish the incoming committee well in the year ahead.
Ann Dunford
Secretary West Watererford A.C.
