Latest news with #AceAC
Irish Independent
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Louth athlete Lorcan Forde Dunne shines on European stage in scorching Skopje heat
The youngster represented Ireland at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje, North Macedonia, where he had to cope with exceptionally hot conditions of 35 degrees. Nevertheless, he produced a superb performance when finishing eighth against some of Europe's top young athletes - a proud moment for Lorcan, his family and the club. Meanwhile, back home last week in Drogheda's Lourdes Stadium at the Louth U20 and Senior Championships, Ace AC's Adam Russell took on both the 200m and 400m events in the Senior Men's programme. His efforts were rewarded with a bronze medal in the 400m, a fantastic achievement at Louth senior level. Sean Daly also competed well in the Senior Men's 100m, continuing to show strong form. Jamie O'Reilly won the U20 1500m and placed third overall in the Senior race after a well timed and disciplined run. In the Women's 800m, Ace AC athletes dominated from start to finish after U18 athlete Sholah Lawrence won both the U20 title and the overall race, followed by U17 athlete Chloe Cooney in second and Ciara O'Connor - also only U18 - impressing in third, making it a clean sweep for the club. In the Men's 800m Adrian Black took bronze in the O45 category. Adrian has now medalled in this event three years in a row, testament to his consistency and dedication. Neil Culhane and Shea O'Donnell represented Ace AC in the 1500m at the National AAI Games last week and both athletes competed strongly, with Neil securing a podium finish in third place with a time of 3:59.68. Shea followed closely behind in fifth, crossing the line in 4:01.65 after a determined race. On Sunday in Tullamore, the National Senior Inter-County Championships brought success for a youthful Louth Senior Women's team, who secured a national bronze team medal. Ace AC athletes Daniela Adebola, Sholah Lawrence, Chloe Cooney and Eimear Cooney all played their part, competing across various events and representing the club with distinction.
Irish Independent
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Double delight for Louth's Ace AC as Lorcan Forde Dunne gets Olympic call and Eimear Cooney wins all-Ireland gold
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.
Irish Independent
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Drogheda ACE athletes Nugent and Cooney shine at U23 and U20 National Championships
Athletics Ace AC's Maeve Reynolds in action at the Blackrock AC's beach races last Thursday. Danny Nugent marked a major milestone in his athletic career winning bronze in the 5000m at the U23 National Championships. Last weekend top athletes from across the country made their presence felt at the U23 and U20 National Championships, with standout performances from Ace AC's Danny Nugent and Eimear Cooney, both of whom secured national medals in their respective events. Danny marked a major milestone in his athletic career by winning his first ever national medal in the 5000m at the U23 National Championships. At 19 years old, he clinched a hard fought bronze medal in an impressive time of 14.47. This result is a testament to his discipline and consistent training. Due to his relatively young age, Nugent still has a few years left to compete in this category. Danny has been an Ace AC member since he was a young child and now also trains with the Dublin Track Club. He is a perfect example of how hard work and perseverance pay off. Meanwhile, Eimear continued to build on her impressive season securing another national medal, this time, a silver in the U20 1500m. Fresh off her success at the U19 National Championships, where she claimed silver in the 3k, Eimear showcased her versatility in the shorter distance. Competing against older athletes, 17 year old Eimear made her move with 250 meters to go, when she surged into the lead. In the final 50 meters she was overtaken for gold by a late push. Despite this, she finished comfortably in second, securing an impressive silver. Eimear's performance speaks volumes about her ability to compete at the highest level, even when faced with older athletes. In other results, U19 Shea O'Donnell competed in the U20 1500m, narrowly missing out on a national medal after finishing in an agonizing fourth place. The race was decided by just hundredths of a second, with Shea giving a strong performance in a sprint finish. Racing against older athletes, Shea showed tremendous promise and he will be hoping for an even better result next week, when he competes in his own age category at the All-Ireland finals. Additionally one of the club's most successful athletes over the past few years has been Neil Culhane. Neil faced a tough field in the U23 men's 800m. After qualifying for the final finishing second to Nick Griggs earlier in the day, he raced hard but ultimately finished outside the medal positions in the final. It was still a solid performance against some of the country's top middle distance runners. In other Ace AC news, some of the younger Ace AC athletes competed in very poor condition in the annual Blackrock beach Races last Thursday with some good performances. Medals were awarded to the top six in each race. In the U10 race, Cathryn Cumming was fourth in the girls race while Ruairi Cooney was sixth in the boys U12 race, while Hannah Black, Sophie Black, Finn Murphy, Maeve Reynolds, Aidan O'Connor, Muireann Chamass and Adam Cumming all competed well. Meanwhile Ace AC's Angela Kearney and daughter Maeve Nolan successfully completed the Achill half marathon over the weekend. Overall the future looks bright for Ace AC and we can expect even more success from these young stars in the seasons to come.
Irish Independent
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lorcan is the golden boy as Ace AC takes Nationals by storm with medal hat-trick
The outstanding individual performances were handsomely rewarded with one brilliant gold, a silver and a bronze and there were impressive showings from other young athletes. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the hard work that Ace AC's athletes put in, with all athletes under the age of 17 needing to qualify through the highly competitive Leinster Championships. Leading the way was Lorcàn Forde Dunne, who will be hoping to be selected in the coming days for the Ireland team for the European Youth Olympics. He delivered a thrilling performance to claim the U18 3,000m All-Ireland title. The race was split into two heats and that meant that the medallists were decided on times. Lorcàn ran the second heat, knowing exactly what he had to do to secure victory. With a determined group of five athletes breaking away early, Lorcàn picked up the pace with one lap to go and, showing strength and focus, he surged ahead in the final 400m to clinch the gold medal with a fast time of 8:36. This victory secured Lorcàn's second All-Ireland title of the year, following his Indoor 1500m win in March, and the two sensational performances solidify his position as one of Ireland's brightest young distance runners. Minutes after Lorcàn's win, Ace AC turned its focus to Eimear Cooney and she secured a national silver medal in the U19 Girls 3,000m. In a race dominated by Louth based athletes, Cooney fought bravely alongside Dearbhla Allen from the Dromiskin club St Peter's. While Dearbhla pulled away for the win, Eimear maintained a strong position, finishing in second place with a commanding performance. This latest achievement adds to Eimear's already impressive record of national podium finishes, and she continues to be one of the most consistent performers in her age group in Ireland. ADVERTISEMENT One of Ace AC's top field athletes, Jaheim Humphrey, picked up the club's other medal at the championships when he claimed a great bronze in the U17 discus competition. The Leinster champion threw a personal best of 40.19m, securing his first ever National medal. Jaheim, who is relatively new to the event, has shown incredible promise and will undoubtedly continue to rise in the ranks of Irish discus throwers. Outside of the medals, one of the standout stories of the weekend was the performance of Caoimhe Carolan, who became the first young Ace AC girl to qualify for a final at the national level apart from the club's successful group of older, established athletes. In the U13 Girls 600m Caoimhe showed incredible grit to finish just short of her personal best in a time of 1:44.82, securing 12th place in Ireland. Caoimhe has broken new ground for the club and became another role model for younger athletes aspiring to make it to the National stage. Her qualification through the Leinster Championships and her performance in the final is a huge milestone for Ace AC's future. Daniel Hanley has shown serious improvement over the last 12 months and he also represented the club at the Nationals in the U17 Boys 800m, where he ran in the second of two heats. The race was tactical, with athletes bunched together for much of the first 600m before a fast last 200. Daniel fought hard in the final stretch, gaining invaluable experience in what was a really challenging race. Meanwhile away from the National Championships, other Ace AC athletes competed well in the Irish Miler event in Santry on Saturday, with Shea O'Donnell securing a new 1500m PB of 3:53. Sholah Lawrence and Daniele Adebola also both ran very well at the competition.
Irish Independent
03-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Jubilant Ace AC pair medal at All-Ireland Schools finals
Drogheda Independent Today at 06:30 It's been another strong week for athletes from Ace AC, with members delivering solid performances at both national and provincial events as well as at the BMC in UK. At the National Schools Championships, two Ace AC athletes earned bronze national medals while representing their schools. Firstly Eimear Cooney, competing for Sacred Heart Drogheda, took bronze in the Senior Girls 1500m with another fine display. Eimear completed the distance just one second behind the second-place athleted with a time of 4:36.79. Shea O'Donnell is one of the club's most consistent performers and he rarely fails to deliver results at the highest level. He was running for St Mary's DS Drogheda and also earned national bronze in the Senior Boys 1500m with a time of 4:02.23. Both Eimear and Shea will be strong favourites for national club medals later in the season. While these were schools results, both athletes train with Ace AC and continue to impress at national level. There was further success at the weekend, this time in the younger age groups at the Leinster Championships, where Caoimhe Carolan joined an illustrious group of female Ace AC athletes who have won provincial medals, claiming second place in the U13 Girls 600m. The Tullyallen-based athlete came through her heats with a strong time of 1:50 and secured the vital silver medal with a 1:44 personal best in the final. U17 athlete Chloe Cooney travelled to Loughborough in the UK on Saturday to compete in a BMC meeting and continued her strong return from injury, recording a season's best time of 2:16 in the 800m. Chloe has improved her time in each of her last three races and is clearly moving in the right direction. Elsewhere, out on the road, Danny Nugent won the Monasterboice 4-Mile Race, putting in a solid performance over the distance. Also competing in the same event were U8 Finn Murphy and U9 Millie Roche who both raced well and successfully completed the distance despite their young ages.
