Incorporated into today’s Irwin Cup over 6,000m was the 2018 Clonliffe Harriers club cross country championship at Santry Demesne. The rain of yesterday continuing into today but it was still a grand day for the country with good underfoot conditions.
Some 50 starters took to the line for this great club event. The Irwin Cup is held in great esteem by the Harriers remembering a great Clonliffe athlete and, fittingly with this weekend being the 100th anniversary of the ending of the Great War, a war hero. Bertie Irwin was a Clonliffe national mile, 4 mile and cross country champion, 1920 Olympian and had been an aviator in the first world war. It was therefore fantastic to have such a turn out today.
The club championship for the Harry Cooney Cup, presented to the club a number of years ago by the family of the late former Clonliffe great, was one by one of the club’s fantastic crop of junior athletes, the 2018 All Ireland school’s champion, Efrem Gidey in 19.07. 2nd was Adam O’Brien who 6 days earlier was 6th scorer on the Clonliffe senior team that won the Dublin cross country and brought home the Padraig Keane cup, in memory of yet another Clonliffe legend, with Sean Carrig getting back to form a solid 3rd place.
The 2018 women’s champion for the Fred Connolly Trophy was another young athlete Alannah Cooley (24.13) with Aimee Ahern 2nd and Clodagh Moriarty 3rd.
Thanks to the officials and athletes for today. The results of the Irwin Cup to follow.