After Peter McDermott’s excellent opening Clonliffe Legends article on Laro Byrne we are delighted today to post Peter’s next piece on another through legend of Clonliffe Harriers: Christy Brady.
For all who had the privilege of knowing him , Christy Brady was truly one of the most memorable
characters they ever met. Although a true Blue Dublin man to his core , Christy grew up in the tough
war time years of The Emergency and consequently, in some respects, experienced a childhood
quite similar to that of a country boy . The city then was more closely connected to the country than
it is today : as the poet Donagh McDonagh wrote : “Dublin made me and no little town/ With the
country closing in on its streets/ The cattle walking proudly on its pavements / The jobbers , the
gombeen men and the cheats”. Ricks of turf ( peat ), cut from Ireland’s many bogs , lined the main
road in the Phoenix Park in an attempt to counteract the shortage of coal due to the War.
Christy’s dad kept a number of pigs in a shed in his back garden off the Navan road . A horse was
accommodated there too . As a young boy, Christy helped his dad on their early morning rounds of
collecting left over scraps of food left out by the neighbours which were then brought home and fed
to the pigs. This inculcated a strong work ethic in him and he was proud of his humble roots. Coming
from a strong working class background , Christy was imbued all his life with a passionate sense of
social justice. He always remembered the keen hurt he felt when informed by a callous teacher in
Primary School that he would never be fit for anything except a menial , labouring job. Christy got his
secondary education in Brunswick St. C.B.S. ( the famous “ Brunner” of Paddy Crosbie and School
Around the Corner fame) and he certainly went on to prove that teacher wrong. When he
eventually reached management level in the P & T ( now An Post ) he was a very kind as well as a
very efficient and competent “boss”. Many people sang Christy’s praises as an overseer , citing the
compassionate way in which Christy helped his workers who were experiencing various problems in
their lives .
Christy’s name is now synonymous with Clonliffe Harriers and the great team he captained to win
the Club’s first true All Ireland cross country championship in 1976. For many years , there were at
least two athletic organisations in the country , the N.A.C.A. and the A.A.U. But, in1967 , the two
organisations came together and, with over 90% approval from the membership of both, they
formed B.L.E. ( Bord Lúthcleas na h-Éireann .) Clonliffe had in the past, managed to win a number of
A.A.U titles, but were they really the champions of all Ireland when another club had won the
N.A.C.A version of the same title ? Since the unification in 1967 , Donore Harrriers had won all eight
All Ireland titles ( and five or six A.A.U titles before that ! ). So Christy got them in his sights and
aimed to knock them off their perch.
But long before that , Christy had been a member of Dublin City Harriers ( D.C.H.) , possibly the most
staunch of N.A.C.A. clubs . Christy soon developed into one of the finest 800m. runners in the
country. He fondly remembered training at night in the Phoenix Park, very often in almost total
darkness. The manicured surface of the Polo Grounds was his favourite venue but he wasn’t always
allowed to train there. Many years later he could still remember small details of his runs in the Park.
He recalled stepping on a fledgling bird while he was out running in the Furry Glen and feeling so bad
as he may have killed the innocent creature. He loved doing fartlek and was a huge fan of this type
of training all his life. He studied the training philosophy of Gosta Holmer , the Swedish coach who
achieved extraordinary success using this mehod with Gunder Hagg and Arne Andersson in
the,1940s. Despite having no international competition ( due to World War 2 ) these two men ,
following the training methods of Holmer , pushed each other closer and closer to the 4 minute mile
barrier.
Christy was a loyal club man but he yearned for International competition. He was ranked in the Top
6 over 880 yards behind such luminaries as Ronnie Delaney, Derek McClean and Ian Hamilton. He
nourished the hope that his club might join the A.A.U, thereby giving him access to the international
stage . So , the young –and naive- Christy decided to put his radical proposal to the Club’s A.G.M.
Many years later, Christy often told (with a big grin ) the tale of what happened when he stood up
before the Elders of his club and proposed that they should leave the N.A.C.A and embrace
international competition. He used to say that his speech that night was “ like Emmet’s speech from
the dock” –and his fate was almost the same. “ Lucky I could run fast” , he recalled with a chuckle, ,
“otherwise I mightn’t have got out of there alive!”
The very next morning , a Saturday , Christy was up bright and early and headed for Morton’s
Optician’s shop on Berkeley Street. A portly little man, behind the counter, peered at him over his
glasses . “ Excuse me, Mr. Morton” , stammered a nervous Christy ( overawed in the presence of the
famous man ) , “ I’d like to join Clonliffe , if that might be possible”. Billly glared at him and said
nothing for a moment “ What took you so f***ing long ?“ was the eventual response . “ Come up
to Santry this afternoon and I’ll fix you up .“ Billy ,who always had his finger on the pulse of the
sport, knew well who Christy was, and was only too delighted to get him. Christy could never
understand or tolerate petty divisions in sport . Many ,many years later he attended the Morton
Games . Sadly, now in a wheelchair but with his spirit as indomitable as ever, he thrilled to see the
crowds of children participating in the relay . What gave him the greatest satisfaction was the sight
of all the kids, from so many different clubs and from so many different ethnic backgrounds, all
competing together with no small minded barriers preventing them from doing so.
Unfortunately a chronic Achilles tendon injury put paid to Christy’s international aspirations. And so
he turned to coaching and club administration. He remained a fan of Holmer’s and understood ,
perhaps , that this Swedish coach was ahead of his time . It is interesting to note that in the present
era , with so much emphasis on anaerobic threshold runs and double threshold runs , some of
Holmer’s theories, enunciated so long ago, are now once more being studied again. Holmer knew
that lactate was “ not a totally hostile substance” and placed great emphasis on what he termed
“the lactate shuttle “. He believed that by training at or just below LT pace ( or just before hitting the
OBLA point, to use modern terminology ) the best results could be achieved. He also was adamant
that an athlete should jog his recoveries , whether in an interval or fartlek session, as this recycled
the lactate , enabling the body to metabolise it and use it as a further source of energy .
Christy had his battles also with some of the Clonliffe hierarchy of that era. He suspected , rightly or
wrongly , that an effort was being made to confine membership to athletes who had attended “ the
right schools “ or who came from “ desirable, respectable areas”. This really irked Christy’s sense of
social justice. He firmly believed that Clonliffe would only be all the poorer if it didn’t accept
members from some of the new estates which were springing up on the North side of the city in the
early 1960s.
Christy was also building a life for himself . He qualified as an operative in Morse code when it was
still used as a form of communication. He secured a job in the Post Office as a Morse Code operator
and , due to his keen intelligence, efficiency and common sense approach, he quickly rose in the
ranks . Several members of Clonliffe, including our late, much loved captain Joe Cooper , worked
“ under” Christy and all sang the praises of their boss who never lorded it over them but was always
helpful and supportive.
He met his beautiful wife , Valerie, by pure chance. His friend and running mate , Tom, fancied
Valerie’s older sister Mary and asked her out on a date . Mary’s parents would not allow her to go
unless she was chaperoned by her younger sister. Tom insisted that Christy should come along as his
wing man for a double date. As soon as Christy saw the gorgeous younger sister , he was smitten .
Valerie took a little longer to be won over. She had to adjust to the fact that at times she seemed to
be playing second fiddle to Christy’s racing and training schedule. But they married young : he was
21, she was just 19. They reared four wonderful children, two sons, Paul and Alan and two
daughters ,Yvonne and Jean. ( In her youth , Jean competed for Clonliffe in the shot, discus and javelin under the no-nonsense guidance of Frances Mansfield . And Jean still runs : she takes part in
just about every one of the Club’s Grand Prix races. What Christy might say , however , if he saw his
daughter now wearing the colours of Raheny can only be imagined ! )
Christy had a grandfather from Cavan , who was a very fine footballer, and an uncle who was a
competitive cyclist and, as Christy had an inquisitive mind that was always seeking new ideas for
athletics training , he listened carefully to the training methods of people involved in other sports in
the hope that he might discover complementary forms of training for his own. With that open,
explorative mind he taught himself about many subjects. His main piece of succinct advice for
runners was “ Be specific” : that is train specifically for the demands which your particular event will
impose. “ No point in doing LSD* type training if you want to be an 800m. runner ” I used to hear
him say. One Sunday night in the Old Shebeen , I told him that I was trying to break 14:30 for
5000m. but without success. He looked at me and asked what I had done training wise that morning.
I rather proudly told him that I had done a 20 miler with the group which Laro Byrne had dubbed
The Panzers. Christy took a sip of his pint , looked at me with that mischievous glint in his eye and
then said “ You shuda stood in bed “. But then , not wanting to hurt my feelings , he proclaimed
“ You’re not training for the 5000; you’re training for a marathon but you don’t know it” Christy
made athletes think for themselves ; he would throw out a nugget of wisdom and then allow the
runner to digest it . He was also quite the sports psychologist – although he’d probably say he hadn’t
a clue what such a person was or did. He had a way of getting young, nervous runners to relax
before a race by saying things like “ Relax lads . Your man hoods are not at stake .“ Nothing like a
laugh for easing the tension.
In the Autumn of 1975 , Christy knew that he had a squad of talented young runners who could
tackle , and possibly topple , Donore . Three young members of the Club, had won the National
Junior cross-country title on three successive years ; Pádraig Keane in ’71, Frank Murphy ( “Young
Frank”) in ’72 and Jerry Kiernan in ’73. He also had Gerry Finnegan who finished second in ’74
( Gerry suffered no shame in breaking the sequence as he was beaten by a frail youngster from
Waterford called John Treacy.) He also had more experienced runners like Tony Murphy and George
McIntyre as well as a couple of very promising , fresh–out-of-school kids in the Greene twins , John
and Martin . He approached myself and asked me to abandon my marathon training plans in favour
of his cross country project . “ We have four runners in those boys ,all those Junior champions ,who
are capable of beating Donore . But we need back-up in ould fellas like yourself “ ( I was 25!)
Christy could say things like that and you would not get insulted ; something about him , perhaps the
glint in his eye or the mischievous grin on his face, made it impossible to get annoyed with him .
To cut a long tale short , Clonliffe duly beat Donore in both the Dublin and National Senior
Championships that year with the four wunderkinds duly making up the scoring team. This opened
up a new chapter ( albeit a short one ) in Christy’s life : access to the European Clubs’
Championships. As National champions , Clonliffe had earned the right to represent Ireland in the
equivalent of the Champions League ! ( Or so we told ourselves with tongues firmly in cheeks ).
Christy loved these trips to places like Villamoura , Acoteias and Milan, coming up against such
powerhouses as Sporting Lisbon , Pro Patria ( Italy ), Birchfield ( England ) and Olympique de
Marseille. It was difficult not to feel a little like the poor relations when those squads walked into
the team hotel wearing their beautifully cut club uniforms, while we didn’t even have club tracksuits
at that time . More intimidating , however , was the personnel which those clubs had at that stage .
Sporting Lisbon had Fernando Mamede , world record holder in the 10000m. back then with 27:13.
They also had one Carlos Lopez , Silver medallist in the Olympic 10000m. in Montreal and who would
go on to win the Olympic marathon title in 1984 .He had won the World Cross Country C’ship. in
1976 and would go on to win two more Golds as well as two Silvers in this event which is often
described as the most difficult race in the world to win. Birchfield Harriers had Ian Stewart,
European and British Commonwealth 5000m. Champion as well as Olympic Bronze medallist in Munich. Pro Patria had Alberto Cova , who would become European, World and Olympic 10000m.
champion in the early 80s. Coming from Milan , those Italian boys exuded class with their tailored
blazers and slacks while we were distinctly lacking in their “eleganza sartoriale”. But Christy knew
how to put his team at ease “Just because they look good doesn’t mean they can run faster than
yous. Probably just a bunch of fing posers”. But they were good – very good and , in the face of that opposition, Christy’s young team did well to finish 6 th . one year and 7 th . the next, out of fourteen teams.
At the end of race evening each team manager went along to a secluded room in the hotel to collect the money which the sponsors provided for every club in order to defray their expenses. Christy enjoyed this: collecting perhaps £1,500 in pesetas or lira gave one the impression that one had suddenly become a millionaire. Considering that 1000 pesetas were worth only approximately £1.50 and that 5000 lira was the equivalent of about £2 , it was easy to understand Christy’s mirth when he returned with notes flowing out of his pockets. On one occasion , in an Italian piazza , Christy started throwing lira notes for children to catch ! The kids were amused and delighted by the largesse of this “crazy Irishman “ and they followed him around as if he were the Pied Piper !
Christy was greatly loved by all the members of those Clonliffe teams but he became a sort of father figure for one in particular : Pádraig Keane . Christy “ minded” Pádraig ,taking him under his wing, especially when the latter occasionally drank not wisely but too well. He was amazed at Pádraig’s powers of recovery . He used to recall one race in particular, the National Road Relays Championship in the Phoenix Park where Pádraig , despite having had one or two more than was wise the evening before, came out and ran the fastest 3 mile leg, smashing the course record in the process. “ I won’t let you down Christy” were Pádraig’s last words before receiving the baton and proceeding to run a blinder. Christy enjoyed life and particularly enjoyed Sunday nights in the newly opened Clonliffe Bar ,under the terrace , grandiosely termed The Clonliffe Lounge in some quarters but better known as the Club Shebeen ( Although , just to set the record straight , we did at all times have a licence ). When Christy had a few deorums on him he loved to get up and do his party piece which was “ Ghost Riders in the Sky”. Christy would brew up a storm with this number and before the end he had everybody in the bar on their feet , swinging imaginary lassoes over their heads and belting out “ Yippee Eye Aye , Yippee Eye O” . Eat your heart out Johnny . ( Johnny Who ? ) Christy also entertained us on nights like this with his wicked sense of humour . Some of his jokes , while humorous , were also philosophical. He once drew our attention to the Eagle Monument which stands on a pillar just outside the track ( near the start of the 100m. ) “ That is the monument to The Unknown Clonliffe Harrier “ , Christy told us . “ One of the all-time greats. Never let the Club down. Gave his all for the glory of Clonliffe. Died for the cause. “ Pregnant pause. “But nobody can remember his fing name .“ Yes, Christy knew that fame was fleeting.
Christy retired from the position as Captain in 1978 but continued to be involved in the sport . He
coached the two young Dunne brothers , Paul and Brian . The latter was one of the most naturally
talented athletes that Clonliffe ever produced . ( He was also a very gifted artist ). He broke Eamonn
Coghlan’s long standing Irish Schools’ 5000m. record before obtaining an athletic scholarship to East
Tennesse State University . That college had the famous Irish Brigade at that time and were one of
the most powerful cross country squads in collegiate running. Unfortunately , Brian did not pursue
his running career and so we will never know just how far he might have gone. Paul, on the other
hand, became his coach’s son-in-law , marrying Christy’s lovely daughter Jean.
Christy suffered a stroke in 2012 which left him totally paralysed on the left side of his body. But it
had no effect whatever on his mind, speech or spirit. He became a resident of St. Joseph’s Hospital
in Raheny and proceeded to enliven and enrich the lives of all with whom he came in contact. He
regularly reversed roles by having the nurses, doctors and carers in – dare I say it ? -stitches . The
staff occasionally reprimanded him for his use of unparliamentary language while, at the same time ,
struggling to conceal their smiles and giggles. “ You’re a terrible man , Christy” was the gentle
rebuke he so often heard . His enquiring mind continued to flourish and his room was stacked with
books of an eclectic mix : biography , history , philosophy , psychology and literary fiction, all were to
be found on his bookshelves . He had a particular “grá” for the many non-nationals working in the
hospital . Sensing , perhaps , their home-sickness and loneliness , Christy took them under his wing .
He taught them Irish words, discussed their religious beliefs and traditional customs with them and
always put a smile on their lips. His old friends from Clonliffe visited him frequently. He particularly
enjoyed one beautiful sunny afternoon when most of his famous 1976 team visited him about 40
years after their historic achievement. And of course he had to have an argument with Jerry ! He
also loved to attend the Morton Games : all his love for the sport was evident from his delighted
reaction to the wonderful performances of these elite athletes. And, from the glint in his eye, as he
watched the 800m. in particular, you just knew that he was thinking “ In my prime , I’d give you lads
a close run for your money”.
It was always a pleasure to visit Christy in St. Joseph’s He would invariably be involved in some
activity, whether it was reading , painting , exercising or leading the chorus in a rousing sing-song
among the other residents. But he would break off to entertain his guest(s) and to recall the thrilling
achievements of athletes of the past . His powers of recollection remained razor sharp and he loved
to inform us of the deeds of what he called “ the great men of Clonliffe Harriers “ , men like Harry
Cooney , Sam Gray, and Jack Deegan . He retained a keen interest in “ The Black and Amber “ and
would always enquire about how things were going in the Club. “ Any good young runners coming
along ?” he would frequently ask . I remember telling him, eight or nine years ago, about a young
lad called Cathal Doyle who was showing distinct promise . I told him that Cathal had the same
physique as Ronnie Delaney ; “ You mean he has legs up to his ears, slim hips and no arse ? “ said
Christy . “ He’ll be good so” was his prediction with that ever present twinkle in his eye . Prescient
or what ? Unfortunately , he never did see Cathal fulfil his prediction . How he’d have thrilled to see
Cathal win the Morton Mile, four National Championships and perform heroically in the Olympic
Games in Paris.
Sadly, Christy passed away in October 2021. Thankfully , there was a modification in the Covid
lockdowns at that time ,so large crowds were able to attend Christy’s funeral and show their
respects for this much loved and respected man. If I said that he will always be remembered in Clonliffe, he
would probably remind me of the fate of “The Unknown Clonliffe Warrior” and dismiss my prediction as soft
sentimentality.
But the truth remains : Christy was hugely instrumental in turning Clonliffe into the serial
winners they have become : since 1976 the Club has won no fewer than 26 National Senior Cross Country
titles. It was he who set the ball rolling . But those who knew him will treasure far more the memory of his
warm , generous personality with the wicked sense of humour and how he influenced in a positive way all
those lucky enough to have come in contact with him . A man about whom it could be truly said “ When they
made him they broke the mould and tossed the clay “. We shall not see his likes again.