2025 Review

 2025 was a very successful year for the club with 4 athletes representing Ireland. Our athletes

medalled in every major championship Juvenile indoor and Outdoor, Senior and Masters both

Indoors and Outdoors. The club ran a very successful Cross-Country race for the local

National schools and also Track and field championships in May. A lot of our athletes

competed for the first time at the local championships.

Aoife Daly medalled in the Speed Bounce at the county championships

Fionn Murphy, Niamh O Sullivan and Fiadh White performed excellently at the county Track

and Field championships. Neilidh Kennedy won a hard-earned medal at the County Cross

Country Championships. St Stephens day brought out a record crowd for the Road Race with

over 500 registering for the run. Almost 80 runners took the line for the 2k Children’s fun

run. With Oisin Murray and Sorcha Nicdomhnail winning the mens and womens events

respectively.

Below are a list of the many achievements by our club athletes

Roisin Daly

Roisin consistently reached finals at the highest levels. She won county medals, medalled at

Munster level in the 100m and 200m, qualified for national finals, and set personal bests

along the way. She narrowly missed medals at national championships and contributed to

Kerry teams at the All-Ireland Leagues.

Natasha Myers

Natasha impressed across multiple championships, earning podium finishes in long jump at

county, Munster level. She set personal bests at Munster Championships and consistently

placed among the top athletes in her events. She was the clubs sole representative at the Inter-

varsity championships where she set broke the Tralee MTU record.

Niamh O Shea

Niamh won county junior and senior championships in the discus. In the schools

championships she came 1 st in the North Munster Championships and came 2 nd in the

Munsters and 5th in the All-Irelands. She was also part of the Kerry National League team

David Kenny

David delivered another superb year of race walking at national and international level. He

won the Men’s 20km event at the Gran Premio de Marcha Atlética in Spain in 1:22, claiming

his first international victory of the year. Domestically, he made it four consecutive National

Senior Indoor titles in the 5000m walk and later won gold in the National 10,000m Race

Walk, setting a new PB of 39:39.93 and earning his 10th national medal. David also placed

11th in a very strong international field in the Czech Republic despite extreme heat.

Unfortunately, illness forced his withdrawal from the World Athletics Championships in

Tokyo, but his season remained one of the strongest of his career.

Ryan Vickers

Ryan enjoyed an outstanding year across cross country, indoor, schools and national

competitions, establishing himself as one of the club’s leading middle-distance athletes. He

qualified for the Munster Cross Country Championships after competing in the South

Munster event in Cork. Indoors, Ryan played a key role in a hugely successful Munster

Indoor Championships, winning gold in both the 800m and 1500m, adding silver in the

200m, and helping the club relay team to gold alongside Sam, Conor and Isaac.

At national level, Ryan won All-Ireland gold medals in the U16 indoor 800m and 1500m

with dominant front-running performances. His Munster Juvenile Championships were

particularly notable, winning both events and breaking championship records that had stood

for 40 years. He also won the junior 800m at the Munster and All Ireland Schools

Championships and anchored the junior relay team to gold. Ryan represented Munster at

Inter-Provincial Schools and later Ireland at Schools International level in Derby, gaining

valuable experience. To round the year off he medalled in the All-Ireland Cross Country and

Schools Multi-Events Championships

Cathal O’Connor

Cathal made major strides throughout the year. He won county Track medals, took silver in

the Munster Juvenile 800m and followed it with gold in the 1500m, an exceptional

achievement at his first Munster Championships. He later claimed bronze at the National

Track and Field Championships in the U14 1500m and added another national bronze while

representing Currow/Currans at the Community Games in the 800. He also added County and

Munster Cross Country medals finishing 3 rd in the U 14 race rounding of an incredible

successful year.

Kevin O’Shea

Kevin was a standout performer in the throws, breaking records at every level. He won

county, Munster and national medals in both javelin and discus, winning 4 National gold

medals At the Munster Juvenile Championships, he broke the U17 javelin record, and at the

National Championships in Tullamore he smashed the championship record by over two

metres, breaking the 60m barrier for the first time. Kevin represented Munster at Inter-

Provincial Schools, winning the javelin convincingly, and later represented Ireland at Schools

International level, finishing second in challenging conditions. He finished his season by

representing Ireland again at the Scottish National Championships, winning javelin gold and

discus silver.

Isaac Vickers

Isaac’s year was exceptional and culminated in international representation. He qualified for

secure Munster Indoor relay gold. Individually, he won double gold at Munster Indoors in the

800m and 1500m. At the National Indoor Championships, Isaac won the U17 800m in a

superb 1:55, cutting six seconds off his PB and ranking him among the top U18 athletes

worldwide.

Outdoors, Isaac won the Intermediate 800m at the Munster and All-Ireland Schools

Championships and later qualified for the European Youth Olympics by running 1:52 in

Belfast at the British Milers Club meeting. He was selected for Team Ireland at the European

Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje, where he competed strongly. Still only 16, Isaac finished

the year ranked No.1 in Ireland for U18 800m and also won the Tailteann Games 800 metres

beating younger brother Ryan into 2 nd Place

Samuel Scroope

Samuel qualified for Munster schools Cross Country, set indoor PBs, earned county medals,

and later won bronze in the U20 800m at the Munster Championships and was part of the

relay team that won the Munster Championships

Masters Athletes

Harrison Joseph made a very impressive debut as a masters athlete. Winning county and

Munster Championships in the Shot Put and also medalling in the Weight for distance.

Michael O Connor won the 5K and 10K walk at the National Championships. Jim O Shea

won both Long and High jump at the National championships in July. Dermot Dineen broke

the magical 3-hour barrier while running the Frankfurt Marathon

2024 Highlights

 

The Farranfore Maine Valley AC enjoyed a highly successful year in 2024, with athletes excelling across various disciplines and age groups. 

November saw the launch of Athletic Scribblings :- a history of athletics in the Farranfore area. This was written by 2 club stalwarts Jerome Crowley and Jim O'Shea.

Key Highlights of our athletes:

·  Kevin O'Shea: Dominated in throwing events, winning All-Ireland Schools titles in discus and javelin. He also secured gold in the javelin at the All-Ireland Club Championships and the Kerry Community Games.

·  Ryan Vickers: Showcased exceptional versatility. He won All-Ireland Schools titles in the 800m and Multi-Events, and secured national club titles in the 800m and in won medals in the National cross country championships. He also won county and Munster medals in Track and Cross Country

·  Conor McCarthy: Conor excelled in middle-distance running. He won the Kerry Community Games 7km marathon, placed 3rd in the Munster Schools Mile, and achieved multiple personal bests in the 800m and 1500m. He won National medals in Community games in both Marathon and 1500

·  Isaac Vickers: Returned from injury with strong performances, winning the Munster Indoor Schools 600m and placing 5th in the National Indoor 800m. He also won the Munster Schools 800 metres and along with Samuel Scroope, Conor McCarthy and Ryan Vickers won a bronze medal in the 4 x 200 metre relay

·  David Kenny: Continued his dominance in race walking, securing another National Indoor 5k Walk title. Injury robbed him of a chance of competing in the Olympics in Paris. He returned to form winning the National 20K race walk title before christmas

·  Other Notable Achievements:

o   Cathal O'Connor: Won the County Juvenile 600m, earned silver in the Community Games Cross-Country Relay, and achieved strong results in the county and Munster Cross country Championships.

o   Roisin Daly: Won medals at the Kerry Community Games and the Kerry Colleges Athletics Championships.

o   Natasha Myers: Won 200 metres at the county championship and was 2nd in long jump. Also represented MTU and the Intervarsity championships

o   Niamh O'Shea: Excelled in discus and shot put, winning county titles and placing well in national competitions.

o   Sean O'Shea: Secured a silver medal in shot put at the National Masters Championships.

o   Jerome Foley: Won gold in the 800m at the Munster Masters Championships.

o   Jim O'Shea: Earned medals in long jump, high jump, and pentathlon at the European Masters Championships.

o   Michael O'Connor: Won gold in the 3k walk at the National Masters Championships and placed well in the European Masters 5k walk.

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.