East Cork AC win National Intermediate Cross Country Championships

The Athletics Ireland National Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held this year in Galway on Sunday the 11th of February 2018. In the men's team competition, East Cork AC finished in first place to take the national title!


Place Club Positions Points
1 East Cork A.C. 1, 11, 20, 23 ...55 pts
2 Celbridge A.C. 14, 15, 17, 18 ...64 pts
3 North Sligo A.C. 3, 16, 22, 49 ...90 pts

Not only did the club take the title but Michael Harty (#207) of East Cork AC finished in 1st place to win the National Intermediate title.

The East Cork AC members taking part were....
207 30:39 1 Michael Harty East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C. Cork
208 32:30 11 Kevin O Brien East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C. Cork
205 34:05 20 Nick O'Donoghue East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C.
210 34:17 23 Brian Harty East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C. Cork
211 35:03 31 Frank Hayes East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C. Cork
206 35:09 33 Shane Harrington East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C. Cork
275 36:03 42 Diarmaid Collins East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C. Cork

Full results at http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/results/

Photo courtesy of Nick O'Donoghue of East Cork AC.

Aoife Cooke of Youghal AC wins National Intermediate Cross Country title

The National Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held in Galway last weekend and Aoife Cooke of Youghal AC won the women's title. This adds to the National Novice title that she won in December of 2015 in Dungarvan.

Aoife Cooke's victory came almost 39 years after her aunt, Mary Dempsey (now Sweeney), won the same race over a snow-covered course at Rockwell College in February of 1978.

Aoife also led the Cork team to Gold with a score of 27 points, two points ahead of Dublin on 29.

As you can see below, East Cork AC and Youghal AC turned out in numbers for this race and Youghal managed to take a team Silver.

ID Time PositionName Club Name Club Team County Team
274 20:01 1 Aoife Cooke Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C. Cork

207 21:10 5 Fiona Santry East Cork A.C. Cork
276 21:43 9 Ruth Millerick Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C. Cork
273 22:33 12 Evelyn Cashman Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C. Cork

272 22:50 15 Deirdre Ansbro Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C. Cork
206 22:57 16 Eadaoin O'Neill East Cork A.C. Cork
278 23:18 18 Louise O'Brien Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C. Cork

275 23:50 23 Julie Keneally Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C. Cork

211 24:20 26 Michelle Ahern East Cork A.C.

279 25:18 33 Margaret O'Mahony Youghal A.C. Youghal A.C

Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
2 Youghal A.C. 1, 9, 12, 15 37

County Team ...Points
1 Cork 1, 5, 9, 12 ...27

In the men's race, East Cork AC were in action and managed to field a full team to take a very respectable 5th place.

43 29:41 14 Kenneth Kelleher East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C.
59 31:17 26 Andrew Sheehan Leevale A.C.
38 31:19 27 Shane Harrington East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C
39 31:39 33 Brian Harty East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C
44 32:26 44 Kevin O'Leary East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C.

5 East Cork A.C. 14, 27, 33, 44 ...118

As you can see above, there were 5 men from Cork taking part. As six were required for a county team, Cork were not presented in the inter county competition.

Full results as always on the Athletics Ireland website.

Poor turnout for the Munster Intermediate Cross Country Championships in Enniskeane...Sun 7th Feb 2016

The Munster Athletics Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held in Enniskeane in West Cork on Sunday the 7th of February 2016. The numbers taking part however were very poor.

In the Intermediate mens race, there were just 18 men taking part. There were three club teams all from Cork and not one full team from any other county. Cork was the only county to field a full team and obviously won Gold.

1 Darren Molloy Leevale Cork
2 Donal Coakley Leevale Cork
3 Kevin Moore Dundrum Tipperary

1 Leevale 1, 2, 12, 17...32 pts
2 East Cork 7, 8, 9, 10...34 pts
3 St.Finbarr's 5, 13, 14, 18...50 pts

1 Cork 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9...32 pts

In the Intermediate Womens race, the numbers were even lower with just 9 present. The only club to field a team was An Riocht AC from Co.Kerry. Despite the fact that the event was held in Co.Cork, not one club from Cork managed to field a team. Think about that for a second...the race is in Cork, only four women from Cork take part in it and there are no Cork clubs in the team results.

1 Fiona Santry East Cork Cork
2 Sharon Cahill An Riocht Kerry
3 Niamh Clifford Star of the Laune Kerry

1 An Riocht 2, 7, 8, 9...26 pts

1 Cork 1, 4, 5, 6...16 pts
2 Kerry 2, 3, 7, 8...20  pts

The Junior men was even worse with just two present...two...from all of Munster. The only positive numbers were from the Junior Women who managed 18.

It's a bit like the cross country season was over a few months ago and someone forgot to tell the organisers.

The full results can be seen HERE

Results of the National Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships...Sun 24th Jan 2016

The Athletics Ireland National Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships were held this year in Dundalk on Sunday the 24th of January 2016. The numbers turning out were mixed with a very good attendance in the Masters events while the Intermediate Championships were pretty poor.

First off, the Masters (those aged 35 and over). The numbers here were pretty good and obviously reflect the growth in the number of masters nationally.

In February of 2015, this event was held in Tuam, Co.Galway and they got 223 men and 140 women in the masters. This year, the numbers for the masters were 255 men (+14%) and 196 women (+40%). In 2015, there were 20 club teams and 8 county teams in the O35 mens section. In 2016, that was 23 club teams and 8 county teams. In the mens over 50 section, that increased from 7 club teams and 5 county teams to 10 club teams and 6 county teams.

The womens O35 changed from 16 club teams and 11 county teams to 19 club teams and 9 county teams. The womens over 50 changed from 7 club teams and 5 county teams to 7 club teams and 6 county teams.

Overall, very positive and a growth in what were already good numbers. Perhaps the number of counties could have been higher but still a good turn out.

These are some of the medals picked up by club athletes from Cork and Kerry...

Masters Men...
Masters Men O35.....1st Tim Twomey Leevale A.C. // 3rd Tim O'Connor An Riocht A.C.
Masters Men O60.......1st Neillus Aherne Midleton A.C.

In the Mens O35 section, St.Finbarr's AC from Cork finished 3rd out of 23 teams.
Men O35 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 Donore Harriers 11, 14, 18, 26.... 69 pts
2 Rathfarnham W.S.A.F. A.C.5, 12, 39, 40..... 96 pts
3 St. Finbarrs A.C. 15, 22, 24, 67...... 128 pts
4 North Belfast Harriers A.C.10, 30, 35, 55...... 130 pts

The Cork O35 team finished second out of 8 county teams.
Men O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Dublin 5, 11, 12, 14, 18, 26...86 pts
2 Cork 2, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24...99 pts
3 Donegal 4, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45...213 pts

Masters Women...
Masters Women O35........2nd Karina Teahan St. Finbarrs A.C.
Masters Women O50......1st Niamh O'Sullivan An Riocht A.C.
Masters Women O60.......1st Carmel Parnell Leevale A.C. //  2nd Majella Diskin An Riocht A.C.

The Cork Womens O35 team finished 3rd out of 9 county teams.
Women O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Dublin 1, 5, 12, 13...31 pts
2 Laois 3, 8, 21, 43...75 pts
3 Cork 15, 19, 38, 41...113 pts

The results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.....Master Men (35-64), Master Men O65 & Masters Women

*****
Intermediate Men...
The Intermediate Cross Country Championships however were a different story. Last year in Tuam, there were 76 men and 55 women. This year, it was 85 men and 53 women...about the same. It's in the teams however that the poor numbers are really reflected. In the mens section in 2015, there were 10 club teams and just 3 county teams...Dublin 1st, Cork 2nd and Offaly 3rd. This year, there are 11 club teams but still only 3 counties....1st Clare, 2nd Dublin, 3rd Laois. Cork as the second largest county in terms of club membership was unable to field an Intermediate team of just 6 men.

Intermediate Women...
In the womens Intermediate competition, the numbers were poor also. There were 5 club teams and 5 counties represented in 2015. This year, the number of club teams went up to 7 but the number of womens county teams went down to just 2.........Dublin 1st and Cork 2nd. Think about that for a second. It only requires 4 women for a county Intermediate team..........and there are just two counties represented. It's not like the event was held up at the top of Donegal and way down in West Cork, it was in Dundalk. Where is Co.Meath? Kildare? Louth!

There are some serious problems with this Intermediate cross country competition. Back in early December of 2015, there were 208 men and 89 women in the National Novice Cross Country Championships. It seems as if people just aren't interested in the Intermediate competition. Time to call it a day?

The results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.....Intermediate Men, Intermediate Women

Photos.....
1) Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has a large gallery on Facebook (account required to view)
2) Lisa Shine has a video clip on Facebook HERE

Results & Photos of the Cork County Intermediate & Novice B Cross Country Championships...Sun 18th Oct 2015

The Cork County Intermediate & Novice B Cross Country Championships were held near Macroom on Sunday the 18th of October 2015. The numbers taking part were low except for the Men's Novice B race.

In the Intermediate Women's race, there were only 13 runners taking part and that was actually an increase of 2 on the 11 in 2014. After the first third of the race, those taking part were mostly running on their own for the rest of the race. There were only two teams present, the same as last year.

Intermediate Women
1    Niamh Moore    Cork Varsity
2    Carly Cooke    Cork Varsity
3    Aoife Carroll    Mallow

L-R...Carly Cooke, Niamh Moore & Aoife Carroll

Intermediate Womens Teams
1    Cork Varsity     1, 2, 10, 12    25
2    St. Finbarr's     7, 8, 9, 13    37

In the Intermediate Men's race, there were 19 taking part...down from 30 last year. There were 3 teams compared to 4 in 2014.

Intermediate Men
Pos     Name     Team Name
1     Lothar Wyrwoll     Cork Varsity
2     Donal Coakley     Leevale
3     Chris Mintern     Leevale

L-R...Donal Coakley, Lothar Wyroll & Chris Mintern

Intermediate Mens Teams
1     Leevale     2, 3, 6, 10     21
2     Mallow     8, 11, 12, 14     45
3     St. Finbarr's     5, 13, 17, 18     53
In the Women's Novice B race, there were 16 taking part compared to 24 last year. The number of teams was the same...three.

Novice 'B' Women
Pos     Name     Team Name
1     Jessica Bruton     Leevale
2     Joanne McCann     Mallow
3     Debbie Mc Carthy     Riverstick Kinsale

1     St. Finbarr's     4, 6, 8, 14 ...32
2     Midleton     7, 9, 10, 12 ...38
3     Mallow     2, 11, 13, 15...41

The Men's Novice B race had the largest field of the day with 52 taking part (66 in 2014). There was also a modest representation from the clubs with 7 teams taking part (9 in 2015).
1     Alan O'Brien     Eagle
2     Mark Walsh     Leevale
3     Liam Tracey     Watergrasshill

L-R...Liam Tracey, Alan O'Brien & Mark Walsh

Novice 'B' Mens Teams
Pos     Club     Positions     Points
1     Leevale     2, 5, 11, 12     30
2     Eagle     1, 15, 19, 26     61
3     Watergrasshill     3, 4, 27, 31     65
4     Midleton     9, 13, 22, 29     73
5     St. Catherine's     10, 17, 21, 30     78
6     St. Finbarr's     7, 14, 20, 43     84
7     West Muskerry     18, 32, 35, 36     121

The full results of all 4 races can be found HERE.


As for why the numbers were so low? Perhaps it was the Ireland-Argentina Rugby Game in the Quarter Final of the World Cup? Maybe the face there were no Juvenile events meant the parents stayed away? In terms of conditions, it couldn't have got much better as it was overcast and dry.

Photos.....
1) There are 200+ photos on the Running in Cork Facebook page HERE

Results of the Cork AAI Intermediate & Novice B Cross Country Championships...Sun 19th Oct 2014

Cork Athletics Board Cork  Cross Country Championship in Castlelyons, NE Cork

Top 3 mens in the Cork Intermediate Cross Country...Michael Dullea 2nd, Michael Harty 1st & Owen Casey 3rd

Intermediate  Men...1 Michael Harty, East Cork AC), 2 Michael Dullea, Skibbreen AC, 3 Owen Casey, Leevale AC
Team...Leevale AC (Owen Casey, Anthony Mannix, Andrew Sheehan, Conor McKaulley)  22pts, 2nd St.Finbarrs AC 45pts, 3rd Mallow 51pts

Top 3 women in the Intermediate XC...L-R Fiona Santry 2nd, Niamh Allen 1st & Ronnie Barry 3rd

Intermediate Women 1 Niamh Allen, UCC AC, 2 Fiona Santry, East Cork AC, 3 Ronnie Barry,   Bandon AC

Mallow AC ladies team retain their Intermediate title

Teams...1st Mallow AC (Lorna Davy, Noreen Hurley ,Aoifa Carroll, Mairead Mulcahy) 22pts, 2nd East Cork AC 34 pts  

Novice “B” Men...1 Ian Dorgan (St.Finbarrs), 2 Dennis O’Driscoll (St Finbarrs AC), 3 Paul Deane, Clonakilty Road Runners AC
Teams....1st St. Finbarr's AC 64pts, 2nd Eagle AC  68pts, 3rd Leevale AC 71pts

Novice “B” Women...1st Ruth Mellerick, Youghal AC, 2nd Mary FitzGerald, Carrig Na bhFear AC, 3rd Edel O.Connell, Carrig na Bhfearr AC
Teams...1st Carrig Na BhFearr AC 22pts, 2 Midleton AC 47pts, 3rd St.Catherine's AC 73pts

The full results are available on the Cork AAI website

Photos...
1) Mick Dooley of Eagle AC has some team photos HERE

Cork teams to the fore at the Munster Intermediate Cross Country...

The Munster Juvenile Uneven Age & Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held last Sunday, the 11th of November 2012 at Carriganore, WIT, Co. Waterford.

In the womens event, three clubs from Cork took the first three team prizes while the Cork team won the inter-county competition.

Intermediate Women...Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 Midleton AC 2, 6, 7, 16 31
2 St. Finbarr's AC 4, 8, 11, 14 37
3 Mallow AC 12, 13, 17, 22 64
4 Clonmel AC 10, 15, 19, 27 71
5 Waterford AC 20, 24, 28, 29 101

County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 2, 3, 4, 6 15
2 Tipperary 5, 10, 15, 19 49
3 Waterford 1, 20, 24, 28 73


Intermediate Men
Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 West Limerick AC 8, 13, 14, 22 57
2 Leevale AC 3, 9, 23, 25 60
3 Dundrum AC 4, 21, 24, 32 81
4 St. Finbarr's AC 16, 19, 20, 33 88
5 West Waterford AC 31, 36, 38, 44 149
6 Mallow AC 10, 40, 53, 57 160
7 Youghal AC 45, 52, 54, 58 209

County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 16 49
2 Tipperary 4, 7, 17, 21, 24, 32 105
3 Clare 2, 12, 18, 27, 29, 30 118
4 Limerick 8, 13, 14, 22, 35, 37 129
5 Waterford 1, 11, 31, 36, 38, 44 161

The full results can be found HERE

Results of the Cork AAI Intermediate X-Country - Sun 4th Dec 2011

Cold wintery conditions greeted the runners for this cross country race near Watergrasshill. The womens race over 4 kms was first with three St.Finbarr's athletes leading the field. It was all square at the front until the last lap when the eventual winner Martina Kiely pushed on to win by a large margin.

The mens race over 8 kms was more closely contested with Allen Whitaker of St.Finbarrs AC taking the title. Overall, St.Finbarrs went on to win both the mens and womens team prizes as well.

The full results are HERE

Results of the Cork County Intermediate & Masters Cross Country...16th Nov 2008

These Cross Country races took place in the Clonakilty Showgrounds on what was a mild day. For the men, the course was 8 laps of a roughly 1km loop....i.e. 8 kms, although a few GPS watches later suggested it might have been a little closer to 9kms! ;o)

As you would expect at this time of year, there was a few muddy patches although overall, the ground was pretty firm, even a little bit too stony and hard in places.

Photos.......I have a set of 72 photos of the Mens race up on this website.

Results.......The results are now up on the Cork AAI website.

Upcoming event....Sun 16th Nov...AAI Cork Intermediate & Masters Cross Country
The AAI Cork Intermediate and Masters (O35) Cross Country championships will take place next Sunday, the 16th of November at the Showgrounds in Clonakilty, Co. Cork. I presume it will be signposted from the main road into the town.



The first race takes place at 12 noon. The closing date for entries is Wednesday, the 12th of November so if you are interested and you are a member of an AAI registered club, contact one of the officials in your club asap.