Double delight for Louth's Ace AC as Lorcan Forde Dunne gets Olympic call and Eimear Cooney wins all-Ireland gold

Irish Independent

14-07-2025

The 17-year-old will compete in the 1500m, having met the qualifying time standard earlier this season. The EYOF is Europe's largest multi sport event for young athletes and the action gets under way on Monday next.
Forde Dunne has been a member of Ace AC for many years and has competed regularly at local, provincial and national level since he was eight years of age.
Last weekend he added to his list of achievements with a bronze medal in the All-Ireland U18 1500m in Tullamore.
Due to large entry numbers, the event was split into two heats, with medals awarded on time, and Forde Dunne won the first heat in 4:03, which was the third fastest overall.
He will now focus on preparations for the EYOF, where he will line up against Europe's top underage athletes.
Also competing in the Ace colours last weekend was U19 athlete Eimear Cooney, who closed out her juvenile track career with two major performances.
On Saturday evening she won bronze in the U20 Morton Mile at the Morton Games in Santry and less than 24 hours later she travelled to Tullamore and captured gold in the U19 1500m at the All-Ireland Championships.
Cooney has medalled in every national final she entered this summer and now progresses to the senior ranks.
Meanwhile, fellow Ace runner Daniella Adebola completed her final ever juvenile track race with a strong showing in the U19 200m at the All-Irelands. She ran a personal best of 25.74sec in the heats to qualify for the final, where she placed fifth in the country.
Adebola has made steady progress all season, recording personal bests across multiple sprint distances.
Overall, it's been yet another extraordinary few weeks for Ace AC, with national medals, personal bests and an Olympic selection, marking one of the club's most successful ever periods.