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The Irish Sun
03-08-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Cathal Doyle lands thrilling 1500m gold as stars shine at Irish Championships in Santry
Cathal Doyle delivered a brilliant finish to win a stacked 1500m final at the Irish Athletics Championships, while Sarah Lavin and Mark English celebrated their 10th national titles STAR POWER Cathal Doyle lands thrilling 1500m gold as stars shine at Irish Championships in Santry CATHAL DOYLE reigned supreme in the men's 1500m at the Irish Championships in Santry yesterday. The Clonliffe Harriers ace saw off a top-class field that included Andrew Coscoran and Nick Griggs Advertisement 3 Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers AC after winning the senior men's 1500m Irish national 3 Sarah Lavin of Emerald AC, Limerick won the 100m hurdles final at Morton Stadium in Dublin 3 Senior women's 400m champion Sophie Becker of Raheny Shamrock AC with her medal during day two of the 153rd National Track & Field Senior Championships at Morton Stadium And there was also joy for Sarah Lavin who claimed the spoils in the women's 100m hurdles showpiece. Mark English claimed gold in the men's 800m at Morton Stadium. But the race of the day was the men's 1500m — and it did not disappoint the masses. Coscoran, Griggs, Darragh McElhinney, Callum Morgan, and Shane Bracken all in contention with Doyle. But the Clonliffe man made the decisive move with 200m to go and he never relinquished the lead as he held off Coscoran in a time of 3:53.60. Advertisement Coscoran clocked 3:53.84, while Griggs was just behind them in 3:53.80. Lavin also impressed in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.92 to claim her TENTH national title. She saw off silver medallist Molly Scott in 13.61 as Sarah Quinn claimed bronze in 13.84. But Limerick sprinter Lavin was not the only one to claim a tenth title in Santry — as Mark English joined her. Advertisement The Donegal man crossed the line in the 800m decider with a time 1:48.76 after biding his time to rush home. Ian McPhillips pushed him closest but had to settle for second in 1:49.26, with Andrew Thompson claiming bronze with 1:49.93. Tragic Losses in Bodybuilding: Remembering Lorena Blanco and Other Fallen Athletes And English said: 'I felt great. I was a little bit nervous coming into the race because there's a bunch of guys that train together so I knew it was going to be a difficult race but I had a plan and I executed it.' Elsewhere, Sophie Becker won the women's 400m. Advertisement The Raheny woman crossed the line in 52.87 to make it three national titles in the last four years. Rachel McCann and Cliodhna Manning followed in 53.19 and 53.99 respectively. While Coscoran did not claim glory in the 1500m, he did at least take gold in the 5000m. The Star of the Sea AC star out-kicked defending champ Brian Fay to win in a time of 13:34.14. Fay clocked 13:34.92. Advertisement Leevale's Niamh Allen won the women's 5000m in 15:35.90 and was followed home by clubmate Anika Thompson who set the pace for much of the race, ultimately crossing in 15:40.56. Fiona Everard of Bandon AC completed the Cork 1-2-3 in 16:04.36. Bori Akinola claimed his first national senior 100m title in style, clocking 10.29 to add to his indoor 60m crown from earlier this season. Ciara Neville won the women's 100m to secure her first outdoor sprint title since 2019 — clocking 11.44. Advertisement Jack Raftery clocked a winning time of 45.71 in the men's 400m. Alex O'Neill claimed her first national senior title in a thrilling women's 800m final, crossing the line in 2:04.53. Laura Nicholson won the women's 1500m race in 4:13.32. Adam Nolan powered to victory in the men's 110m hurdles, claiming his first senior title with a time of 14.24. Cara Murphy won her first 400m hurdles title in 59.85. Advertisement Niall Carney broke through to claim his first senior 400m hurdles title, coming on the back of Thomas Barr's era of dominance that saw him win 12 of the last 14 runnings. Carney crossed for gold in 54.87. Reece Ademola became just the second Irish athlete to post a leap of eight meters or longer in the men's long jump. The Cork athlete produced a huge attempt to reach eight metres. Nicola Tuthill continued to shine by securing her fourth senior outdoor title in the women's hammer throw with an Under-23 record. The UCD athlete saw three throws go out over the 70m mark, with her best and last attempt of 71.75m breaking her own record. Advertisement Niamh Fogarty added the discus title to her shot put victory. Matthew Callinan Keenan won the men's Pole Vault, claiming his third outdoor title in just four years with a winning height of 4.80m. Sean Mockler won the men's hammer with a best throw of 65.62m. Lauren Callaghan soared to her first senior outdoor title in the women's long jump, landing a winning leap of 6.24m in doing so.
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Clodagh Finn: The Irish tennis ace you've probably never heard of
As the women's final gets underway at Wimbledon today, let's give a celebratory shout-out to the only Irish woman ever to take the title: Lena Rice from Tipperary. It's now fairly well-known that this woman with the powerful serve beat May Jacks in two sets to take the singles title in 1890 so, why then, is there so little about the record-breaking player who beat her earlier that year? A few weeks before, in May, Louisa Martin defeated Lena Rice in the final of the Irish Championships at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, a tournament on a par with Wimbledon at the time. On that occasion, Miss Martin, to use the deferential tone adopted in news reports, 'played up better' than Miss Rice to take the singles title. It was no one-off. Louisa Martin was Djokovic-esque in her achievement; like him, she won 24 Major titles — though not all singles — in a brilliant career that earned her international recognition. Here is a summary of those dizzying stats: Between 1886 and 1903, she won 15 Major singles titles, five doubles and four mixed doubles championships, and she was a three-times finalist at Wimbledon (1898, 1900 and 1901). Tennis historian and author of The Concise History of Tennis (2010) Karoly Mazak went so far as to rank her 'world number 1' for six of those playing years, but even in the pre-Open, pre-ranking days of the late 19th century her game was considered exceptional. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading Writing at the time, English tennis correspondent A Wallis Myers said of her: 'She has been unfailingly to the fore at the premier meetings, always a doughty warrior, armed at all points to meet any kind of attack. There is no better-known member of the Fitzwilliam Club, and among the roll of ladies who have given their best to promote the true interests of the game in Ireland, hers must inevitably go down to posterity.' Stellar career Her singular career, however, did not go down to posterity or, at least, not until recently. That Myers appraisal from Lawn Tennis was quoted in a revelatory piece on RTÉ Brainstorm last week in which Aoife Ryan-Christensen recalled the heyday of Irish tennis and the Irish Open, once an important stop on the tennis calendar. There are other references, including a very impressive account of her stellar career by Mark Ryan on but it still feels as if we have not made enough of a woman who was exceptional in her field. As Ryan puts it: 'Given the successes she consistently achieved at the highest level during the period 1885-1903, in particular in singles events, Louisa Martin can arguably be considered Ireland's greatest ever female lawn tennis player.' If you trawl back through the archives, that little-known fact breaks through in several unexpected places. It's a wonderful surprise, for instance, to discover a sketch of her in a 1896 summer edition of The Gentlewoman, 'the weekly illustrated paper for women' founded in London just six years before. She is shown wearing a long skirt, a cinched blouse and a straw hat as she steps forward to take a shot. 'Louisa Martin can arguably be considered Ireland's greatest ever female lawn tennis player.' How women, often wearing brimmed hats and skirts that brushed the ground, played tennis at all is a wonder, but Louisa Martin must have faced extra challenges as one of the few women who had an overhead serve and a serve-and-volley game. Rise to fame Born Mary Louisa Martin to Edith Agatha Martin and the Reverend George Henry Martin on September 3, 1865, in Newton Gore, Leitrim, Louisa (as she was known) was a teenager when lawn tennis was enjoying something of a golden age in Ireland in the late 1880s. It's not entirely clear when she began to play — perhaps while visiting her grandparents in Cheltenham — but by 1884 she was good enough to make it to the finals of the Cheltenham Championships. She lost to Edith Davies in three sets, but she was already making waves. The Field Lawn Tennis Calendar said that while Davies carried off the title, 'she was very hardly pressed by Louisa Martin, who, if able to practice with good players, will be able to hold her own with the very best of the ladies'. It wasn't long before she did just that. Two years later, she returned to win the championship and repeated the feat in 1887 and 1888. By then, her name was enough to draw a crowd, or so the Belfast Newsletter suggested in its coverage of the Irish Championships in late May, 1887. It reported that the 'the audience was larger than on the previous day no doubt in anticipation of the match between Miss Louisa Martin and Miss Lottie Dod'. Despite showing 'exceptionally brilliant form' in that season's practice matches, Martin lost to Dod because of 'nervousness', a trait singled out more than once to explain her few losses. In the Irish Championships of 1892, though, Louisa Martin evened the score when she beat Lottie Dod, then considered unbeatable. The sports journal Pastime ran this account: 'Scarcely anyone expected Miss Martin to win, but win she did. She started with great dash and decision, the court — somewhat slow and heavy from thundershowers — appearing to suit her admirably, and proving just as unsuitable to her opponent's style of play. The consequence was that Miss Dod had no time to get into her stroke, and the set was quickly won by Miss Martin by 6-2." Her opponent won the second set and it looked like she might take the third too, but a thunderstorm stopped play; the short reprieve revived Louisa Martin who won the game, 'her play all round being of a very high order'. We get a tiny peephole into her private life, courtesy of the Evening Herald, in late May 1896, which recounted that Louisa's niece, Madge Stanuell, was visiting the tennis champion at her country home at Grange Bective, Co Meath, when she fell from a horse but happily escaped serious injury. Lena Rice from Tipperary is the only Irish woman ever to have won the title at Wimbledon. Madge Stanuell's aunt on the other side of the family was Florence Stanuell. She was also a gifted tennis player who teamed up with Louisa to win a number of doubles championships. Not only were the aunts good at tennis, but they were also talented hockey players. Louisa, known as 'Loo' to friends and family, was also something of a character, according to her great-nephew Peter Bamford. She farmed some of the land she inherited and, at times, blew the harvest money to bring Peter's mother Evelyn to London as her chaperone. 'This was all part of Aunt Loo's fun,' he writes, 'as she was about 55 and her 'chaperone' about 17. My mother had many tales of these excursions, which took place about 1920 and later. On one occasion Aunt Loo acted scared of the traffic in Oxford Street and made a 'holy show' of her chaperone, finally they took a taxi to cross the street.' There's another newspaper snapshot that speaks of the connections between sportswomen of the time. Buried deep in the social columns of April 1938 — three years before she died — is a line telling us that Louisa was a guest at the wedding of Tyrone golfing pioneer Rhona Adair's daughter. When Rhona Cuthell married William Aylmer Clarke that year, Louisa Martin was among the congregation wearing 'a saxe blue felt hat with a tailored suit of navy blue'. As one of the world's most famous tournaments draws to a close today, let us also pay tribute to this one-time finalist and greatly overlooked tennis great. Read More Jennifer Horgan: We need to find room in our hearts for the people of Sudan
Irish Independent
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Concern over state of slip-ways at National Rowing Centre raised at AGM
However, Williams said that rowing must continue to maintain and stretch the standards. 'That's the passport to continuing to be supported.' After some lively discussion at the Sport Ireland campus, the 38 delegates passed just three of the proposed rule changes. They reinstated the men's novice eight for the Irish Championships; tightened rules on club rowers competing overseas and allowed a later entry date for competitions. Hugh Carvill, ex-Queen's University and a member of Lady Victoria and Neptune, was elected company secretary. The one controversy of the day came right at the end. Chief executive Michelle Carpenter had spoken of the recent success at the European Championships and the very welcome improvements to the National Rowing Centre, and the prospect of new staff members. She said that improvement to the slips at the National Rowing Centre, from which rowers race, was 'a long-term project'. Skibbereen delegate and former board member TJ Ryan said that the slips issue must be addressed, as events could not be held if the current situation continued. 'If we can't run an event due to the slips being inoperable we are letting down the athletes.' The ESB controls the lake on which the course is laid, and Carpenter told the Irish Independent that 'factors beyond our control' were relevant in the slips issue, where the pontoons are not meeting the high level of the water. She said the ESB had a remit to keep the fish alive and to retain sufficient water for drinking. Rowing Ireland was working with them. There are worries about the upcoming Cork regatta. 'We will do everything in our power to make it work,' Carpenter said. International competition for Ireland continues next weekend. Para rower Tiarnán O'Donnell will compete at the World Cup regatta in Varese in Italy from June 13 to 15. He is the sole entry for the Ireland team, which will travel in numbers to the final World Cup in Lucerne from June 27 to 29.
Irish Times
01-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Seán Doggett sets 400m record to take gold at Schools Track and Field Championships
Every year since 1916, the Irish Schools Track and Field Championships have produced some standout results, oftentimes markers of international success, and Seán Doggett was among those to grab the spotlight in Tullamore this weekend. The two-day event, where over 1,000 athletes qualified from 392 schools across the country, saw championship records broken in several events, none more impressively so than Doggett's 47.22 seconds in the senior boys 400 metres. Despite windy conditions, the 18-year-old smashed the previous mark of 47.66 set by Brian Gregan in 2008. For Doggett, a student at Coláiste an Éachréidh in Athenry, it also continued his impressive rise in the event, which he only started racing in 2023. Last year, he became the youngest Irish athlete to compete in a senior European Championships, featuring in the men's 4x400m relay in Rome. Doggett, co-coached by his father Stephen, was one of the runaway winners at the weekend, beating Christopher Lynch (Belvedere College) who was second in 49.29, with Conor McDonagh (St Attractas CS, Tubbercurry) third in 50.5. READ MORE Maria Zakharenko (Avondale CC) also stamped her authority on the senior girls 400m race to take the title in 55.58. Ben Skyes (Grosvenor GS, Belfast) on his way to winning the intermediate boys 100m event. Photograph: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile In the senior boys 100m event, Belvedere College's Cillian Doherty took the top spot in 10.86, with Elena O' Sullivan (Regina Mundi, Cork) winning the senior girls race in 11.96. Ben Skyes from Grosvenor GS, Belfast took the intermediate boys 100m title in 10.72, equalling the championship record. European Under-18 medallist Joe Burke from Our Lady's Templemore showed his class in the senior boys 200m, securing gold in 21.52. The senior boys 1,500m was won by Lorcan Benjacar (Ard Scoil Rís) in 3:58.12, and in the intermediate girls 3,000m, Emma Hickey from St Mary's, New Ross (9:28.14) and Freya Renton from Sacred Heart, Westport (9:33.87) both ran under the previous championship record of 9:49.82. Renton then flipped the tables on Hickey to take the 1,500m title in 4:30.59. In the field, Michael Kent from Good Counsel College, New Ross also cleared a new championship record of 4.55m in the senior boys pole vault, with European Under-18 gold medallist Thomas Williams (Coláiste Dún an Rí, Kingscourt) dominating the senior boys hammer with a best of 62.30m. One of the long-standing records to survive the weekend was John Treacy's senior boys 5,000m mark of 14:17.0, set in 1974, with Cillian Gleeson from Coláiste Chiaráin, Leixlip giving it a good rattle to win in 14:19.66. Faye Mannion (Coláiste Muire, Clare) and Freya Bateman (Mount Mercy, Cork) who took first and second respectively in the intermediate girls 800m event. Photograph: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile Meanwhile Sharlene Mawdsley is in line for the biggest pay-day of her career after finishing fifth with a season best of 51.12 in the 400m event at the third Grand Slam Track meeting in Philadelphia. Victory went to Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic in 49.12, the Olympic and World champion already having claimed the Grand Slam title in Miami, worth $100,000. Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain originally finished second, but was disqualified for a lane infringement. Mawdsley will also run the 200m event on Sunday evening, where the combined placings decide the Grand Slam prizes, fifth place still worth $20,000. Sophie O'Sullivan has also qualified for the NCAA Track and Field Championships, winning her regional 1,500m in 4:08.21, in what is her last season at the University of Washington. Mark English will also look to continue his good form at the Palio Città della Quercia meeting in Italy on Monday, two days after he improved his own Irish 800m record to 1:44.34 to win the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Friday.
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
McSharry secures her place at the World Championships
Olympic bronze medallist Mona McSharry secured her place at the World Championships in Singapore in July by winning the 100m breaststroke final at the Irish Championships in her return to competitive racing for the first time since the Paris Games last summer, the Sligo swimmer was pushed all the way to the wall by Enniskillen's Ellie time of 1:06.87 was well outside of her best, while McCartney was just one-tenth of a second behind and the same length of time outside of qualifying for the worlds. 'That might have been what I needed' "It's exciting. It wouldn't be as fun if I was just out there by myself, so I definitely love a little bit of a push," McSharry said after her victory."Honestly, that might have been what I needed, was a little bit of a race just to kind of get me over the line."McSharry has just recently returned to training after fulfilling her dream of winning an Olympic medal."I was honestly a little bit worried coming into it," she added."I'm just back and it's not an easy time to do, to qualify for Worlds."I never try and take that for granted and I knew I was going to be kind of restarting in a sense and trying to build my way back up."It's definitely a good starting point, my first couple of races since the Olympics, so we're just kind of getting a feel for it again." McCartney 'honoured' to race McSharry McCartney is one of the up and coming hopes for Ulster and Irish swimming. She chalked up two golds and a bronze at the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games and the 20-year-old has qualifying times for both the European under-23s and World University Games this race her favourite event, the 200m breaststroke, later in the championships."It's my first time under that 1:07 mark. I only went under 1:09 this year so it's a big drop for me," she said."Going that fast and having such a tight race against Mona, it's always an honour to race her so it gives me good confidence for the 200m hopefully."She also has one eye on the Commonwealth Games next year."Glasgow would be great. I didn't get to go to Birmingham so it's always an honour to represent Northern Ireland."You don't get many opportunities, and I have such a fond memory of going to the Commonwealth Youth Games, so if I were to be able to go to Glasgow it would be an honour to represent Northern Ireland again." Wiffen and Shortt continue to impress Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen continued his good form taking the 400m freestyle title to add to the 800m he won on swam a Championship record and World Championships qualification time of 3:46.87 and now looks forward to the 1500m freestyle on Wednesday."It was tough, coming into this I thought I was going to be quite fast in the 400m," admitted Wiffen."I'm disappointed, to be honest. I've got to drop seven seconds to be within the top of the world for the LA Olympics."I think it's pretty doable. I'm just going to get back training, I think that's what it's showing me, in this racing I'm not as fit as I thought."Eighteen-year-old John Shortt from Galway continued his incredible week with an outstanding swim in the 200m backstroke semi-final. The National Centre Limerick swimmer smashed his Irish Senior and Junior record, the Championship record and was under the qualification time for the World Championships. His time of 1:56.61 ranks him sixth in the world this year.
