29/06/2026
As we near the end of the T&F season for 2026, we were delighted to have our biggest number of athletes to date qualify for the All Ireland Championships in Tullamore at the weekend.
Busiest lady of the weekend (and possibly most unlucky!) was Lauren McGhee coming away with 4th place in the U14 Shot, 4th in the U14 Hammer and 5th in the U14 Discus. Lying in the bronze medal position after 5 rounds of the shot, she was desperately unlucky to be overtaken, missing out on silver by just 10cm and bronze by 9cm. A huge year for Lauren where she became Munster Champion and earmarked herself as a thrower to watch going forward.
Quinlan Hennessy had a strong showing in his first All Ireland competition and indeed in his first year in this event, finishing in 7th place in the U14 High Jump. In an exceptionally high standard of competition he showed that he is well capable at this level and will look forward to next season with great confidence.
A big PB for Liam Walsh saw him finish 12th in a high quality 3000m U16 final. A young man who has grown in confidence all year, managed his race and pacing perfectly to crown a great year where he represented both his club and school at All Ireland level, just rewards for his hard work and commitment.
Aidan Gallagher and Roisin Mongey both competed in the Hammer Finals with Aidan making the Top 8 in Ireland and finishing 7th and Roisin just missing out on the Top 8th taking 9th place. Both have made great progress with their throws this year and were rewarded with a spot in Tullamore. Well done lads!
Neasa Cluney has had a difficult year from an injury perspective so it was amazing to see her fit and healthy taking 5th place in the U16 2km Walk. Training is not the same without seeing Neasa go through her laps with a cheery wave to all our other groups dotted around the track!
Declan Vandi, fresh from his Tailteann Games exploits, was unlucky not to qualify for the U16 800m, an event which is always of high standard. He will look forward to the 200m as current Munster Champion in 2 weeks time.
Our last competitor of the weekend was Richard Melbourne in the U16 Shot, managing to come close to his PB on the big stage ๐