West Waterford AC sign lease to develop new athletics track in Dungarvan

West Waterford Athletic Club recently signed a lease with St Augustine’s College to develop a new 8-lane athletics track in Dungarvan.

West Waterford AC press release... "In 1842 Irish Augustinian Friars established Villanova University in the USA, one of the most prestigious Universities for Track and Field in the world. This is the University where Irish Olympic Gold medallist Ronnie Delany, Eamonn Coghlan and Sonia O’Sullivan along with a host of other Irish international athletes all studied and competed.

St. Augustine’s College, Dungarvan is steeped in athletics tradition lead by the Brother Patrick Lennon OSA. The school is listed 4th in an Athletics Ireland “Top Irish Athletics Schools of All Time”.

Both St. Augustine’s College and West Waterford A.C. have nurtured the talents of many students who have excelled on both the national and international stage over many years. The Friary has been the home of West Waterford A.C. since the club was founded in 1994, hosting numerous County, Provincial and National athletics cross country championships as well as club training sessions and the annual primary school sports.

School Principal John Keane, Bro Patrick Lennon OSA & members of West Waterford AC

February 27th 2026 will be remembered as a red letter day in the history of the club and St Augustine’s College as it was the date a lease was signed between both parties for a parcel of land for West Waterford AC to construct an 8 lane athletics facility.

Such a facility will serve all the athletic clubs in the region as well as schools and the wider West Waterford community.

Principal of St Augustine’s College John Keane stated “Everyone in the St. Augustine's school community are delighted with the news of this fantastic project. It will provide excellent opportunities for the students in our college and the people of Waterford. I would like to thank the members of West Waterford Athletic Club for their commitment to this development and the Augustinian School Trust for their generosity in providing access to the site. We look forward to working together to deliver this athletics track and facilities over the coming years”.

Olympian and West Waterford AC Trustee Jamie Costin stated “Having travelled the world as an athlete and competed on many different athletics tracks, it has always been a dream to have an athletics track and field facility in Dungarvan. Such an amenity will provide opportunities for the next generation of children in the region to try the various disciplines the sport has to offer. There is a long road ahead before this project is delivered however with the support of Waterford City and County Council and the wider community we can construct a facility that we can all be truly proud of.”

To mark the occasion of signing the lease, the club made a special presentation to their club President Brother Patrick Lennon OSA.

Br Patrick Lennon OSA, Kate Veale, Tom Leahy

West Waterford AC will now move to the design phase before submitting a planning application to Waterford City and County Council in the coming months.

If you are interested in supporting this project please email wwactrackdevelopment AT gmail DOT com or contact any member of the committee.

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Analysis... This is a major development for athletics in Waterford and east Cork. There are existing 400m athletic tracks in Waterford City, Cork City and Clonmel but they are all quite a distance from Dungarvan. It's 30kms or a 30 min drive from Youghal to Dungarvan so it's not hard to imagine this new track having a big impact on athletics in east Cork.

It costs something like €1.5 million to develop a new athletics track so this is quite an undertaking for the club. West Waterford AC already hosts the second largest 10-mile road race in Ireland so that should hopefully fund part of it over time.

There will obviously be some government sports grants in the mix along the way but signing the lease is an important first step in what will probably be a long journey.

How long will it take? West Limerick AC developed an athletics track in Newcastle West in Co Limerick over the last decade. The final feasibility study for the project was published in 2016 and the track opened in 2023... i.e seven years.

If we apply the same criteria to Dungarvan then we get a completion date of 2033.