October 2024

 

The club organised a very successful National School Cross Country event at the start of October with large numbers in each race. Many children running a cross country race for the first time. 

The Even aged county championships were held in Caherciveen at the start of the month Cathal O Connor and the Vickers brothers all won hard earned medals.

Ryan Vickers was competing in the All-Ireland combined schools event in Athlone. Primarily known as a middle distance and cross country runner, he made light of these extra events making the 60 metre hurdles, long jump and Shot Putt look easy on top of his stronger events the 200. His last event the 800 was his strongest event where he made up a lot of ground on the leaders to take gold. A tremendous achievement for this talented athlete. Hs followed this up the following day with a 2nd placing in the county u 15 cross country championships. 

Another very talented athlete won gold at these events. Cathal O’Connor was winner of the u-13 event to add to a very successful year winning medals on the track and Community games.

Isaac Vickers won the U-17 event and Arthur Fitzgerald won silver in the masters category. Well done also to our other athletes who competed Edison and Ethan in the U-9. Hazel and Amelia U 11 and Ethan and Darren U 11 while finishing out of the medals can be very proud of there efforts.

August 2024

 

Kevin O'Shea on winning the discus at the community games this weekend. This completes a very successful season for him. He already won discus and javelin titles at the Irish schools in June and repeated this in the all ireland club championships in July. Other medal winners included Roisin Daly in the 100 metres and relay and Tadhg Mannix in the ball throw. 

Mike O’Connor was our only representative in the National Masters championships where he won the walk

Well done to all

July 2024

 

In July Farranfore Maine Valley athletes showcased impressive talent over recent weeks, competing across multiple events and achieving noteworthy results in national and regional championships. The season remained intense as several athletes took on three competitions last weekend, displaying their dedication and skill.

In Templemore, Conor McCarthy represented the club at the Munster B Championships in the 800 meters. Conor delivered a strong performance, finishing 3rd with a time of 2:11, narrowly missing his personal best. This achievement followed his victory in the 1500 meters two weeks earlier at the Kerry Community Game.

In, the Juvenile National Championships commenced in Tullamore, where Kevin O’Shea excelled in the U-16 discus. After years of placing 2nd and 3rd, Kevin claimed his first All-Ireland club championship title with a powerful first-round throw of 44.50 meters, maintaining the lead through to the final round. Ryan Vickers also defended his national title in the U-15 800 meters with a strong front-running performance, finishing in 2:06 to take gold. In the U-16 800 meters, Isaac Vickers, despite a season marked by injuries, managed a 4th place finish in a time of 2:02 in challenging wet conditions. Isaac also recently earned a bronze medal for Munster in the Tailteann Games 4x400 relay, rounding out a season of success.

Additional recent achievements included Cathal O’Connor, Roisin Daly, and Tadgh Mannix, all of whom earned medals at the Kerry Community Games. At the following Juvenile National Championship events, Ryan Vickers took 5th in the 100 meters, showing his versatility even outside his preferred distance. Niamh O’Shea delivered a solid discus performance, coming close to her personal best and placing 4th in a tough field.

Kevin O’Shea continued his winning streak, capturing gold in the javelin with a dominant throw, while Ryan Vickers achieved 2nd place in the 200 meters despite sustaining a muscle injury, which unfortunately forced him out of the final. Roisin Daly and Niamh O’Shea rounded off their competitions by representing Kerry in the All-Ireland leagues, where Kerry finished 4th overall. Both athletes contributed in multiple events, with Roisin’s relay team placing 2nd and Niamh finishing 5th in both the discus and javelin.

June 2024

 

The All-Ireland Schools Championships in Tullamore saw remarkable achievements from several young athletes, each balancing the challenges of rigorous schedules and tough competition. The event took place over Friday and Saturday, with Kevin O’Shea first up on Friday, competing in both the javelin and discus. Due to an unfortunate scheduling overlap, he had to juggle both events simultaneously, leaving little room for record-breaking efforts. Nonetheless, he secured two All-Ireland titles within just 15 minutes, winning the javelin by a commanding 10 meters and the discus by 7 meters—an impressive feat despite the challenges.

On Saturday morning, Ryan Vickers encountered a similar scheduling conflict with only 45 minutes between his 100 and 800-meter races. Despite the time crunch and a strong headwind during the 800 meters, he performed admirably, taking 2nd in the 100 and claiming victory in the 800. Later, he contributed to a bronze medal win with his relay team and led St. Brendan’s Killarney to win the overall Minor Boys team prize. Coach Arthur Fitzgerald, who guided the team, then left to join the Kerry team in Navan the next day, marking an eventful weekend for all.

Conor McCarthy faced stiff competition in the U-16 mile, holding his own in a challenging field despite competing above his age group. He maintained pace until the final lap, an experience that will undoubtedly aid him in future competitions.

The club athletes who competed at the Munster Championships in Castleisland over the weekend also showcased strong performances, gaining valuable experience in a record-breaking turnout of nearly 2,500 athletes. While medals proved elusive, Timothy Madden competed in both the High Jump and Shot Put, and Hazel Culloty and Cathal O’Connor demonstrated resilience in races with large fields. Lauren O’Sullivan and Aoife Daly placed well in the U-10 Long Jump, while Ethan and Jacob Madden each performed strongly in their respective events.

A week later, five athletes traveled to Waterford for the Munster Club Championships, returning with an impressive haul of three gold, two silver, and three bronze medals, along with several personal bests. Ryan Vickers dominated the U-15 category, winning both the 200 and 800 meters on Saturday, and securing 2nd in the 100 on Sunday. Kevin O’Shea set a new U-16 javelin record, surpassing a 2005 milestone, and took bronze in discus. Niamh O’Shea earned silver in the U-18 discus with a near-personal best throw, while Isaac Vickers and Conor McCarthy each set personal bests in their events.

May 2024

 

The recent athletics season proved to be a thrilling series of events, marked by impressive performances, personal bests, and record-breaking moments. The County Juvenile Athletics Championships took place in Castleisland on May 5th and 6th, showcasing a very high standard of competition. Medals were hard to come by, yet several athletes secured podium finishes. Notably, Elliot Lyne claimed 2nd in the Long Jump, while Fiadh White earned 3rd in the U-9 Javelin. Cathal O’Connor delivered a standout performance, winning the 600 meters by an impressive five-second margin. Lauren Fleming finished 3rd in the 60 meters, and Timothy Madden achieved 3rd in the Shot Put. Among other notable results, Ryan and Isaac Vickers both took 1st in the 800 meters, Conor McCarthy won the 1500 and finished 2nd in the 800, and Roisin Daly topped the 200 meters and finished 2nd in the 100. Niamh and Kevin O’Shea also shone, each winning their respective discus events. The club’s relay teams competed admirably, with strong performances across various age groups.

On May 12th, the Senior County Championships were also held in Castleisland. Natasha Myers emerged as a key competitor, winning the 200 meters and setting a new personal best to place 2nd in the Long Jump. She additionally secured 4th place in the 400 meters. Niamh O'Shea demonstrated versatility by winning the discus and taking 2nd in the Shot Put, while her father, Sean, placed 2nd in the Shot and 3rd in the discus.

The Munster Schools Championships in Templemore saw five club athletes representing their respective schools with impressive results. Ryan and Isaac Vickers, representing St. Brendan's Killarney, both won their 800-meter races, with Ryan adding a win in the 100 meters and leading the 4x100 relay to victory. Kevin O'Shea broke a 25-year-old record in the javelin by adding four meters to the previous mark and also claimed victory in the discus. Conor McCarthy, running for Tralee CBS, placed 3rd in the U-16 mile, while Niamh O'Shea, competing for Mercy Mounthawk, narrowly missed the podium in the discus.

At the National Community Games in Meath, the club saw two athletes representing Kerry. Cathal O’Connor won silver with his team in the U-14 Cross-Country Relay, adding to his gold in the county championships. Conor McCarthy achieved 4th in the U-16 marathon and led Kerry to team gold. He also earned his first individual gold, finishing the 7 km race in just over 25 minutes. Natasha Myers represented the club in the Munster Championships in Templemore, earning 2nd in the 200 meters, 3rd in the 400, and 4th in the Long Jump.

Cha

April 2024

 

The first week of April saw the start of the Outdoor Track and Field season. Natasha Myers representing MTU made the long trip to Belfast to compete in the Intervarsity Championships. She performed brilliantly setting 2 PB’s in both Long Jump and 200 metres in which she set an MTU record.

David Kenny was competing in the world race walking tour in Podebrady in the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to finish the race despite being up with the leaders at 14K Mark.

The Vickers brothers were competing in the National Championships in Athlone. Ryan competed in the 60 metres on Saturday and ran brilliantly to qualify for the final where he finished 6^th in a new PB. This is a tremendous performance from Ryan showing amazing versatility being able to compete at a National level ranging from 60 metres to 3 Kilometres over cross country.

On Sunday he returned for the 800 where he finished 3^rd in his heat. Unfortunately, he was 1/100 of a second from qualifying for the final where he just eased approaching the line over the last few metres. Isaac making a return from last years lay off qualified for the final in the U-16 category. In a very fast race he finished 5th which was an excellent performance given the circumstances.

Conor McCarthy represented his home parish of Ballymacelligott in the Kerry Community games 7k marathon in Currow. Defending his title from last year he lined up with the hope of again representing his county at national level. The pace was quick from the whistle with a breakaway group of 3 forming at the 2km mark. They went through the 5km mark in just over 18min, with Conor being pushed all the way by C. Duffin from Spa Muckross. They were still neck and neck at the 6k mark and it took a blistering 3min flat last kilometre before Conor gained the advantage and pulled away to take the win by 10m from a determined Duffin in second and Billy Naughton in third. Conor beat his previous best over the Currow course by 3min. He now goes on to run for Kerry in the Nationals in Gormanstown, Co Meath on 25th May.

On Saturday Conor ran in the Tralee Park run and was the first finisher home out of 248 runners in a time of 19mins.

At the county athletics awards in Killarney David Kenny, Jerome Crowley, Ryan Vickers, Roisin Daly and Kevin O’Shea all won awards and former Olympic Athlete Gillian O’Sullivan was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

We had a number of athletes competing at the very popular Kerry Colleges athletics championships on the 23rd. Roisin Daly came 2nd in the Intermediate 100 metres. Well done to Roisin who was part of the U-16 Kerry Team  that won the Munster championships the previous weekend.

Conor McCarthy also came 2nd in the intermediate 3000 metres. This was Connor's first run over this distance and looks to have a bright future as he will be underage again next year. This marked a very successful April for him, following up on his impressive win in the Kerry Community Games Marathon in Currow

Samuel Scroope was the final runner in action and he came 2nd in the Intermediate 400 metres and was part of the St. Brendans Killarney team that won the overall shield. Niamh and Kevin O'Shea competed for Mercy Mounthawk but just finished out of the medals.

Congratulations to Michael O Connor on completing his 100th Parkrun recently in Killarney.

 

 

March 2024

 

After their heavy schedule last weekend in the Munster Indoors on the previous week Conor McCarthy and Ryan Vickers competed in the Munster Schools Cross Country championships in Waterford. Ryan finished 2^nd in the Minor Boys qualified for will for to the All-Irelands. Ryan led the St. Brendans Killarney to 3^rd place in the team competition. Congratulations also to their coach Arthur Fitzgerald for some excellent results in the team competitions where they medalled in 3 out of 4 competitions. Conor despite conceding almost 2 years to some of his competitors finished in 32^nd of almost 80 runners in the Intermediate category.

Michael O Connor competed in the Killarney parkrun walking it in an impressive 31 minutes. Michael who along with Jerome Foley and Jim O’Shea will compete in European Masters Championships at the end of the month. Laura Bradley was the 1^st female across the line.

Our under 16 relay team were in action in the Munster championships in Nenagh on the 2nd. Samuel Scroope started running an excellent 1^st leg against a very strong Leevale team. He handed over to Conor McCarthy who along with Isaac Vickers ran excellent legs that ended with Ryan taking the baton with a 4 metre lead which he held comfortably to the end. They finished in a time over 1 min 40 sec just over a second outside the existing record. They now head to Athlone in 3 weeks’ time for the All-Ireland finals. Well done to the 4 lads and coach Jerome Foley.

At the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships Ryan Vickers came 3^rd in the Minor Boys race

We had a number of medallists at the Munster Indoor Schools championships on the 13^th Ryan Vickers won the Minor boys 60 m and followed this up with another gold in the 400 metres. Roisin Daly came 2^nd in the Intermediate 60m and Isaac Vickers won the Intermediate 600 metres. To finish a very successful day off Niamh and Kevin O’Shea both came 2^nd in the Shot Putt.

We had 3 athletes competing in the European Masters Championships in Torun in Poland on the week of the 16th. Jim O’Shea came home with a silver in the Long Jump and Bronze in the High Jump. He narrowly missed out on a medal in the Pentathlon where a stumble at the hurdles cost him valuable points. Michael O’Connor competed in the 3K walk finishing second only 5 seconds behind the winner from Slovenia. He came 3^rd in the 5K walk and along with St. Brendan’s David Kissane was part of the Irish team that won gold ahead of Germany and France. Jerome Foley was the busiest of our athletes competing in the 200, 400 and 800 as well as being part of the 4 x 200 relay team. Jerome’s best performance was in the 400 where he finished 3^rd in his heat but unfortunately only 2 qualified for the semi-final.

The younger generation of athletes were competing in Athlone where our u-16 4 x 200 team were competing the All-Irelands. The team of Samuel Scroope, Conor McCarthy and the 2 Vickers brothers were running in the 2^nd heat. They were pipped for 1^st place by Dublin outfit Mid-Sutton. The final was a very tight affair with the lead changing hands my times during the 4 laps. Any one of 5 teams could have won the race, our lads finished in an excellent 3^rd knocking over 3 seconds off their time from the Munster championships.

 

 

 

February 2024

The Munster Masters took place on the 5^th. Pirette O’Shea took part in her first championships and performed exceptionally well finishing 3^rd in both 200 and 400 metres. Sean O’Shea won the Shot Put title and Jerome Foley also took home gold in the 800.

David Kenny started the new year on a winning note on the 18th February. He secured yet another National Title in the National Indoor Championships in the 5 K walk in a very quick time of 19 min 30 sec.

The Munster Indoor Athletics championships were held in Nenagh on the 24^th/25^th . We had 4 athletes competing.  Conor McCarthy was the only competitor on Saturday running the 1500 metres finishing in 9th place in the U 16 category. On Sunday both Conor and Samuel Scroope lined up in the 200 metres. Both finished 3rd in their respective heats but missed out by less than .2 of a second to make the final. 

Both lined up for the 800 metres shortly afterwards along with Isaac Vickers. Samuel finished in 5th place in his heat and Conor 4th with both setting PB's. Isaac, who missed most of last year due to injury made up for lost time winning in another PB of 2.06. Younger brother Ryan continued from last year's heroics winning the U 15 800 in a very quick 2.09 to win comfortably. He later lined up in the 60m and finished 2nd just .03 seconds behind the winner. 

Well done to all the athletes who had a very successful outing and also to their coach Jerome Foley. 

David Kenny had his first outdoor event in Spain the weekend. Unfortunately he was unable to finish the race, which was unfortunate as he was on course to smash his personal best after 15 K. Hopefully he will manage this in his next race. 

David also received a well deserved award from the Killarney Urban Council for his sporting achievements last year.

Conor McCarthy and Ryan Vickers competed in the Munster Schools Cross Country championships in Waterford on the 27^th . Ryan finished 2^nd in the Minor Boys and qualifiedfor the All-Irelands in March. Ryan led the St. Brendans Killarney to 3^rd place in the team competition. Congratulations also to their coach Arthur Fitzgerald for some excellent results in the team competitions where they medalled in 3 out of 4 competitions.

Conor despite conceding almost 2 years to some of his competitors finished in 32^nd of almost 80 runners in the Intermediate category.

 

 

January 2024

 

 

Jan 24

 

The 1^st of January saw our athletes compete in the Annual Beaufort 5 and 10K races. Dermot Dineen ran in the 10K while Sam Scroope, Brendan Lynch and Kevin O’Shea ran the 5K

Four of our athletes took part in the National Masters championships in Athlone on the 13th. Michael O 'Connor was first to compete where he took gold in the 3K walk. Shortly after Sean O'Shea finished 2nd in the Shot Put only 10cm behind the winner. Jerome Foley finished 3rd in his category in the 800 metres. The performance of the day came from Dermot Dineen who rand a storming last 200 metres to take 3rd in the O-45 800 metres in a new personal bet of 2 minutes 11 seconds to get his first National Medal.

At the end of the month Tiernan Lynch on won the 5K run in the Annual Kerins-O Rahillys 5K/10K run last Sunday in a time of 10 Minutes. Conor McCarthy finished an excellent 9th in the North Munster Schools championships in Pallaskenry in the Intermediate category. Conor who is underage again next year qualified for the Munster Schools Cross Country Championships at the end of Feburary.

 

December 2023

 

The finals of the uneven cross county championships were held in Navan on Sunday 3^rd December. The club was privileged to have 2 athletes running in the Boys U-15 both representing Kerry and Munster. A huge field of nearly 150 runners were on the start line. The large crowd meant that both Conor McCarthy and Ryan Vickers had a difficult first 400 metres. After that both picked off the runners ahead of them and moved well up the field. In a strong finish Ryan finished a very impressive 6^th in a time of 12 minutes 11 seconds. In a very bunched field Conor finished in 60^th just 1 minute behind, both recording very fast times over the hilly 3.5 kilometre course.

Munster comfortably won the provincial award with Kerry finishing a very creditable 6^th place. Well done to both athletes who are due a well-deserved break after a long year that started in last February with the Indoor season. Huge thanks to Jerome Foley for all his coaching of these athletes this year in what has been one of the most successful the club has ever had at provincial and National level.

The same day in Killarney Samuel Scroope won the Junior Parkrun in his first run with Tomas Lynch right behind him. Ethan and Amelia O Sullivan along with Liam and Matthew Smyth were in the Tralee run.

On the 17^th  December David Kenny had another magnificent performance in the 20K walk in the World Race Walking Tour 2023 which was held in Dublin. This event attracted almost 250 athletes from 27 countries. David finished 4^th and was the first Irishman home. David who currently works as an engineer in Middleton trains every morning at 5.30 AM and a time of 1 hr 21 minutes is exceptional in these circumstances. His mentor Michael O Connor also competed in the National Masters 10K walk and finished first in the O70 category with a very fast time of 63 minutes.

The 62^nd running of our annual St Stephens day road races took place last Tue. Conditions were near perfect as it was calm and dry. The 2K run for children under 12 and their parents took place first. Over 40 children and parents took part in this which was almost double last years entry

 A very large crowd of 293 runners took to the start line of the 5K event. Oisin Spillane was the clear favourite and he took the lead early.

Climbing up the hill before the 1 K mark he had Tommy Arthur from Kenmare former winner James Ledingham from Kilkenny, Oisin Murray from An Riocht and local athletes David Kenny, Ryan Vickers and Conor McCarthy all in touch.

Hannah Steeds was in the lead in the ladies section closely tracked by last years winner Niamh O’Mahony. As the race reached the half way stage the race was still in the balance on the hill before the railway crossing Oisin Spillane started to assert his authority and slowly pulled away to win by 40 metres to cross the line in 14 minutes 44 seconds. This is an improvement of 40 seconds from last years time.

With this rate of improvement Mark Hanrahan’s record time of 14.38 will be under serious threat next year. Oisin Murray of An Riocht ran brilliantly to finish 8 seconds behind. Local athlete, Olympic Race Walker David Kenny ran a sensational time of 15.09 to finish in 3^rd. This was David’s first time running a race in over 7 years so his achievement is all the more remarkable. James Ledingham  from Kilkenny finished 4^th  in a time of 15.18 which would have won last years race. Tommy Arthurs came 5^th and was the first Junior across the line.

In the ladies race Bridget Dennehy ran a storming second half of the race to take the title in 16.42 ahead of Hannah Steads with last years winner Niamh O’Mahony having to settle for 3^rd this time round.

Tomas Kiely from North Cork win the U 17 event in 16.56.

Emma Flynn won the girls U 17 in an exceptionally quick time of 18.32 seconds.

Other category winners were

Ella Murphy ladies U 20

Jan Swiechowicz  O 40

Aislinn NiDhomnnaill O 45

Emer McAuliffe O 50

Caroline Murphy O 55

Ann O’Leary O 60

Carmel Mac Domhhnail 0 65

Joe O Connor O 40

Karl Linehan O 45

Gearoid Pierse O 50

Robert Purcell O 55

Kevin Griffin O 60

Michael Mangan O 65

Michael O Connor O 70