Cathal Doyle was welcomed home to Clonliffe Harriers last night at a special reception held in the club’s premises in Morton Stadium. The Olympic 1500 semifinalist was greeted by a huge turnout of fellow club members when he arrived for the reception. The club’s young juvenile members, proudly wearing their ‘ Doyler Olympic Games’ T-shirts formed a cheering guard of honour from the doorway up the stairs into the club’s bar. On entering the bar Cathal and his parents, Olive and Michael, were greeted by a standing ovation.
Arrival video:
Club secretary Stephen Bateson welcomed the Doyle family and the entire Clonliffe community to the event. There then followed a speech by the club Captain Noel Guiden who recounted Cathal’s journey to Paris from joining the club as a U/14 athlete right up to his competing in the Olympic Games semi-final in Paris, on behalf of the club he congratulated Cathal and thanked Cathal for bringing an entire club on this fantastic journey. This was followed by a slideshow of the journey. The club president Mick Kearney then conferred honorary life membership of Clonliffe Harriers on our Olympian and presented him with the Clonliffe Harriers’ gold medal.
In attendance on the night were Cathal’s coaches throughout his time with Clonliffe, Mick Fogarty, Noel Guiden, Brian McDonald, in spirit no doubt – Joe Cooper, Peter McDermott, Gerry Cullen and Alan O’Neill, fellow clubmates and members of Cathal’s training groups, the club’s coaches, committee members, former club presidents Paddy Marley and Tommy Griffin and what seemed like hundreds of excited cheering juvenile athletes. It was a very special Clonliffe Harriers night.
