The sixth race in the 2013 Grand Prix series, the O’Connor cup, took place last night in Santry Demesne. Thankfully the rain held off and conditions were good if not a little windy for the 50 athletes who toed the line for the 4 mile race.
David Brady, fresh from a 2.52 marathon and apparently running with an injury, set the early pace and took the lead through the first lap, with Conor Keane, Sean Doran and Darren Reilly in close pursuit.
Conor Keane took up the running on the second lap and opened a decisive gap on the rest of the field with Darren Reilly and Ernie Ramsey both making a welcome return to racing after injury moving up a few places to take 2nd and 3rd place. A close finish in the ladies race saw Bernadette Kiernan finish ahead of Bernie Bryne by 3 seconds. The winner in the handicap was Desie Shorten with David Brady (Not the Raheny one) in second place and Jeremy Chapman in third.
The presentation took place in the club bar afterwards, and once again thanks to Caroline and Paddy for teas, coffees and the usual spread of biscuits and cake. Our thanks to the race sponsors “Dads army” and to Maurice McCrohan who sponsored some of the spot prizes. Thanks also to the number of officials who turned up on the night to help out, and to Maurice and Johnny for measuring and marking out the course.
Next race in the series is on the 20th June, the Michael Murphy 5 mile over 5 miles in Malahide. The Cricket club have allowed us to use their facilities again, so the presentation will take place after the race in their club bar. It is an open handicap, slower runners will go off first. Race will start at 8.00 sharp as the park will close by 9.00pm
