43 years ago this weekend...The International Military Championship in Ballincollig

St.Patrick's Day 1969. Some 7,000 people gathered in Ballincollig to watch the Olympic 5,000m champion Mohammed Gammoudi from Tunisia take part in the International Military Cross-Country Championships. The article below was written by John Walshe in 2009 for the Evening Echo and is reproduced here with his kind permission...

FORTY YEARS AGO (John Walshe)

St Patrick’s Day in 1969 fell on a Monday and the weekend was marred by torrential rain and gale-force winds. But despite the inclement weather, around 7,000 spectators braved the conditions and headed to Ballincollig where they witnessed an inspirational performance by an Irish Army team who finished second in the International Military Cross-Country Championships held over a gruelling course.

And they were also privileged to see one of their own, 22-year-old John Buckley from nearby Blarney, not only lead the Irish team home but also notch up an illustrious victory over the man who had won the Olympic 5,000 gold just five months before, Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia.

Today, John Buckley is the proprietor of the well-known sports shop that bears his name just across from the Christy Ring Bridge on Mulgrave Road. The enthusiasm for the sport is as great as ever, the runners’ physique still remains and it’s hard to believe four decades have passed since that famous day

Known as the CISM Meeting, the International Military Championship had at last come to Ireland in 1969 and the eight national teams taking part included squads from Tunisia and Morocco, the latter having finished in the top three for the previous six years. There was also a prominent team from the United States selected from all branches of the armed forces. It included former indoor three-mile record holder Tracy Smith from California and Bill Clark, runner-up in the previous year’s Boston Marathon.

But unquestionably the star attraction was Gammoudi, the defending champion. Born in Sidi Ach, Tunisia, he was one of the pioneers of the African long distance running revolution that would change the face of the sport forever. One of the favourites for the 10,000m at the previous October’s Mexico Olympics, Gammoudi was out-sprinted by Naftali Temu of Kenya and Mamo Wolde from Ethiopia, leaving him with the bronze medal. A few days later, in the final of the 5,000m, three runners were in contention at the bell with Gammoudi leading Temu and another Kenyan, Kip Keino. The last lap was run at a furious pace, and although the two Kenyans gave charge, Gammoudi held on to his lead to win the gold.

The Irish challenge for Ballincollig was made up in the main from members of the FCA, as John Buckley explains. “I suppose you could say we were headhunted because of our running talent, I can’t say we did much military training,” he recalls with a smile. “We felt we had a very good team with the likes of Sean O’Sullivan who was the National champion, Tom O’Riordan, Danny McDaid from Donegal, Kildare-man Jim Timoney and of course Matt Murphy from Rising Sun.”

At the start of that winter’s cross-country season, Buckley had two main aims - to make the Irish national team for the International (now World) Championships in Glasgow and to get on the Irish military team for Ballincollig. His training had gone well, clocking up an average of 100 miles a week. Made up of ten sessions, it included a long run plus an interval and hill session. “I worked as rep for Bachelor’s at the time so I was away two nights a week but when at home I trained with the likes of Ritchie Crowley, Pat O’Connell, Jerome O’Leary, Haulie Madden, Tim O’Donovan and my brother Denis.”

Buckley was in great form coming up to the All-Ireland but came down with a bad ‘flu the week of the race. Against his better judgement he decided to run but finished well down the field and was controversially omitted from the Irish team for Glasgow. One week later, in the trial for the military team, he felt a good deal better and came in third. “I really wanted to prove a point in Ballincollig so there was a fair bit of pressure coming up to the race,” remembers Buckley. “There was great hype in the build-up with Gammoudi coming. I had met him two years earlier in Luxembourg and had my photo taken with him and his brother, who also ran.”

On the Sunday morning when Buckley woke early and heard the rain beating on the window, he was happy. It would make the race more a test of stamina rather than speed and he preferred it when the going was soft. “I felt good before the race, the confidence was high and of course we had huge support on the day which gave us all a boost.” Buckley got away with the leaders and as the race progressed he knew from the crowd that the Irish team were in with a chance of making the medals. He was the leading Irishman and ahead of Gammoudi which really spurred him on.

Up front, the Moroccans were well in control with the 22-year-old unknown Ou Moha Bassou defeating his countryman Haddou Jabor by a foot in a thrilling sprint to the line. Hannachi of Tunisia and Joachim Leiss, the West German holder of the European 1,500m indoor title, finished within three second of the winner to take the third and fourth spots.

The winning time was 32 minutes and 32 seconds with Buckley crossing the line just 23 seconds later for a brilliant ninth position, two places ahead of his team-mate Sean O’Sullivan with Gammoudi following in 12th place. Tom O’Riordan came in 15th, Matt Murphy 19th, Jim Timoney 25th, Danny McDaid 26th, another Corkman, Pat O’Connell 42nd and the late Eddie Spillane 46th. When the points were tallied the Irish had a total of 105, giving them the silver medals ahead of Tunisia, France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium and the fancied USA who never got to grips with the conditions.  “I was delighted with my finishing position and of course the silver team medal was the icing on the cake,” recalls Buckley.

Writing the following week in the Sunday Independent, John Comyn described the Corkman’s race as “one of the greatest performance I have seen by an Irish athlete in an international event.” Comyn also commented on the huge crowd who braved the elements which proved “that there is still a great following for the sport in Cork.”

John Buckley would go on to win the All-Ireland Inter-Clubs and Inter-County titles in 1972 and then, almost 20 years later, become World Veterans champion three times over in the M45 age-group. But that wet and muddy day exactly 40 years ago on the fields of Ballincollig where he defeated the famous Mohammed Gammoudi must surely rank as one of his finest moments.

Looking back 40 years...Cork X-Country 1972

This article was written by John Walshe and appeared in the Evening Echo at the start of 2011. This month is now the 40th anniversary of this particular race and the article is re-produced here with John's kind permission...

John Hartnett, John Buckley and Donie Walsh

40 YEARS AGO - MEMORABLE CORK CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
By John Walshe (Evening Echo)

On the first Sunday of January 1972, the Cork BLE senior, youths and women’s cross-country championships took place at Grange, outside Fermoy. It was a meeting eagerly awaited by athletics fans as it featured a showdown between three of Cork’s greatest-ever distance runners - John Hartnett, Donie Walsh and John Buckley.

The reason that the championships were held so late in the season was to facilitate the afore-mentioned Hartnett and Walsh who, along with Billy Bolster, were home on holiday from their respective American universities. Hartnett and Walsh attended Villanova and both came with impeccable cross-country pedigrees.

In March 1970, Hartnett had won the International Junior title at Vichy in France while later that year Walsh finished second to the legendry Steve Prefontaine at the NCAA championships. Five months before that Grange fixture, Walsh had also set an Irish 10,000m record of 28:52.6 at the European Championships in Helsinki.

Buckley did not chose the scholarship route, instead remaining at home where he carved out a special niche for himself on the cross-country circuit. At the age of 19 the St Finbarr’s man was already a county senior champion and in March 1969 he had the distinction of beating the then Olympic 5,000m champion, Mohammed Gammoudi, at the International Military Championships held at Ballincollig.

So, in ideal conditions, the scene was set for an epic encounter before a large attendance at the well laid-out course outside Fermoy. But first, two other county championships had to be decided. The youths (under-18) race was over three miles and here victory went to Gene Mealy of Leevale who led home John McSweeney (Blarney) and Denis Hartnett, brother of John, from Grange. In fourth was Tim Goulding (Ovens) and two places behind came a future Olympian, Liam O’Brien from Midleton.

Mealy – now the South-Western Regional Secretary of SIPTU – was backed up by Michael Carey, Pat Duggan and Brian O’Neill and they led Leevale to what would turn out to be a clean sweep of team titles as they defeated Grange by nine points with St Finbarr’s taking third.

Maire Buckley, who had finished second in the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, added the County Senior title in impressive fashion with Joan Fleming (St Finbarr’s) and Tracy Roche (Grange) taking silver and bronze. In a close team contest, Leevale again packed well to defeat St Finbarr’s by just three points. Buckley was ably backed up by Mary Crowley (4th), Freda Horgan (9th) and Alison O’Keeffe (10th).

As the field of 61 toed the line for the start of the 7½ senior race, all eyes were on local man Hartnett. From the gun, the pace was fast with the 22-year-old Grange athlete at the head of affairs. Already, runners were strung out with only Buckley, Bolster, the St Finbarr’s pair of Ritchie Crowley and Finbarr Long, and Hugh Parnell of Leevale managing to stay in contact. Walsh, who had been out of competitive action with a leg injury for a month before, was dramatically back in 10th place and his chances of retaining the title had vanished. 

Into the second mile, Hartnett had shaken off all except the resolute Buckley who astonishingly was managing to stay in his shadow. For the next four miles they ran shoulder to shoulder with Buckley even applying the pressure on a number of occasions as Hartnett suffered briefly from a stitch. But with a mile to go the Grange star put in a hard surge while negotiating a climb and Buckley’s gallant challenge faded, leaving Hartnett to cross the line with around 100 yards to spare after 36 minutes and 38 seconds of running.

Walsh – as he did so often in a glittering career – finished stronger than everyone else to take the bronze with Crowley fourth and Long (winner of the Youghal Round-the-Houses five-mile race two nights before) in fifth. With Parnell running out of his skin in sixth position, further superb packing by Leevale saw Pat O’Riordan, Jack O’Callaghan and Tony O’Leary take seventh, eight and ninth positions with their final scorer, Dick Hodgins, making a comeback after injury, closing in the team in 11th. It had been one of the great days in the annals of the Leevale club and, as the Evening Echo reported on the following Wednesday, the three cups were duly filled in Pa Johnson’s Pub that Sunday night. 

For the three main protagonists, that Olympic year of 1972 brought varying fortunes. Shortly after returning to America, Hartnett ran indoor times of 8:35 for two miles and 13:29 for three. Later in the year he established an Irish 5,000m record of 13:43.0 when finishing ninth behind Dave Bedford’s European record of 13:17.2 in the AAA Championships at Crystal Palace.

In Munich, suffering from injury, he was eliminated in the heats of the Olympic 5,000m. He would go on break Ronnie Delany’s Irish mile record with a time of 3:54.7 and on a memorable night run a mile in 3:56.3 on the old Mardyke grass track at the Cork City Sports.

Walsh also suffered injury problems on his return to Villanova and just missed out on the Olympic qualifying time for the 10,000. Deciding to go for the marathon instead, he targeted the Irish championships in Athlone which he won in an outstanding 2:15:21. At Munich, despite suffering from ‘flu symptoms, he gamely tried to go with the leaders before drifting back to finish 47th in 2:31.

For Buckley, the fact that he was able to stay with Hartnett for so long showed the form he was in. He duly won the BLE National C-C at Clonmel to add to the Southern Region and Inter-Counties he had already won that season. The International (now World) Championships were held in March at Cambridge and there Buckley finished sixth of the Irish team in 62nd position.

Remarkably, the following day he turned out in another cross-country race organised by the London-Irish club at Parliament Hill Fields and ended up only 11 seconds behind John Bicourt of Belgrave Harriers, one of Britain’s representatives later that year in the Olympic 3000m steeplechase.