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€117K Grant Announced for Craughwell AC!
The club is absolutely delighted to learn yesterday that it has been awarded a LEADER grant of €117,000 towards the provision of a toilet block and community room on its 8-acre grounds adjacent to Craughwell national school.
Provision of toilets for our large membership is 1 of the priority needs of the club and this grant is a massive boost for the club’s ambitious development plans.
The grant is the second LEADER grant approved this year, with funding of €15,000 granted in January towards the recently completed perimeter walking pathway around our grounds.
The application for funding for the building was a more complicated process and the club had to go through a rigorous procurement process via the eTenders website. The club appreciates the diligence and assistance of the officials in both Galway Rural Development and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the work done by one of the parents in the club Kieran Quinn of Sean Dockery & Associates who steered the club through the procurement process.
The club are in the process of raising additional finance for the project – primarily in the form of a loan from Community Finance Ireland but also will be driving some fundraising towards it.
Parents are again encouraged to support our club Lotto which is a cornerstone of our facility funding. You can sign-up for as little as €20 which would leave your account every 10 weeks.
The club’s policy is to fund the development primarily with grants and debt – and our Lotto income is a key part of repaying that debt. The result is that we can provide facilities immediately to current members rather than fundraising for years and providing them when perhaps the children whose parents funded them have left the area.
The grant-aided building is not the only part of imminent development plans – the club has applied for a Sports Capital Grant for extending its sprint track into a J-track and all going well with the grant process, work would start on that early next year. The club also has a grant of €72,000 towards a 36x24m sportshall which it hopes to commence once the toilet block and community room project is complete.
Results of Day 1 Galway Senior T&F
Eva Whyte and Ava Finn who
placed 2nd and 1st in the Junior Women's Long Jump
at Day 1 of the Galway Senior Track & Field Championships in Dangan
Well done to all of our athletes who competed yesterday in the first day of the Galway Senior Track & Field. Individual results are available online here.
After the first day of action,. the club lies second in the provisional team rankings on 73 points - only 6 points behind GCH. Provisional team rankings are here:- teamscores.d1.pdf. Let me know if any mistakes!
Day 2 takes place next Thurs 30th May with the following events:
- 3000m Women / 5000m Men
- 200m
- 800m
- 400m hurdles
- 4x100m
- 4x400m
- High jump
- Triple jump
- Discus
- Weight for distance
International Call-Up for Jack Miskella!
Best of luck to Jack Miskella who competes in his first Irish international this weekend in Antrim. Jack was selected for the Irish Universities team that will be taking on Scotland on Saturday in the annual international track & field meet between the 2 countries.
He becomes the 22nd athlete to come through the juvenile ranks of the club and gain selection for international duty. To represent your country in any sport is one of the highest honours a sportsperson can aspire to so well done Jack on a fabulous achievement.
Sometimes when people hear of international selection, they don’t realize the effort and commitment it takes to get to that level. Jack started running first way back in primary school where the earliest record on our website (the history of the club!) shows him placing 72nd in the 3rd/4th class 800m at the Galway Primary Schools Cross Country finals in 2008. The followed year he ran 2.19.96 in the U12 Boys 600m at the Connacht Indoors 2009 and placed 91st in the 5th/6th class 1000m at the Galway Primary Schools Cross Country finals in 2009 and 98th in 2010.
Jack won’t mind me saying his primary school performances didn’t set any headlines and he is in good company ... as I can recall listening to an interview with 1 of Ireland’s greatest ever milers Marcus O’Sullivan who won 3 World Indoor 1500m titles and became the first man to run 100 sub-4 minute miles but says that when in first year in Secondary School he was considered too small and not good enough to be selected for his school’s cross country team.
Jack dropped the sport in secondary school but took it back up in TY year and has made mind-blowing improvements since then and is posed to break the 2 minute barrier for 800m any day soon plus the 4 minute barrier for the 1500m.
Most of the 736 participants in the recent 5k Series race held in Craughwell can testify to Jack's talent as they watched his back fade into the distance when he blazed to victory in the men’s race in an exceptional time of 16:37. His obvious talent for middle and long distance running is honed by incredible dedication to training and his international selection is a very well-deserved recognition of this.
Well done Jack!
Timetable for tonight's Galway T&F
Galway Senior, Masters and Junior Track and Field Championships
Thursday May 23rd ,
Dangan , NUI Galway track
TIMETABLE
Track order of events will be
7.10pm 100m hurdles (Ladies)
7.15 110m hurdles (Men)
7.25 100m
7.35 Race walks
8.00 400m
8.15 1500m
Order- Ladies races followed by men
Field events
7.05 Long Jump.
7.10 Shot Putt
7.40 Javelin
Check in from 6pm
Athletes Shine at National Senior League
County Galway Women's team who contested Round 1 of the
Premier Division of the National Athletics League at the weekend
Back row: Leanagh Gilligan , Ailbhe Miskella, Ellie Cronin, Mary Barrett, Laura Nally,
Nicole Walsh, Maeve Curley, Rachel Finnegan, Sarah Finnegan (manager)
Front row: Freya Bohan, Aoibhinn Farrell, Aisling Joyce, Sinead Gaffney, Aisling Keady, Lydia Doyle
(missing from photo Arlene Earls and Caoimhe Kelleher)
Several athletes from the club represented County Galway in round 1 of the National Senior League held in Templemore on Sunday. There were many impressive performances from Craughwell AC athletes on both the Galway women’s team in the Premier Division and the Galway men’s team in Division 1 with the women's team topping the Premier Division table at the end of the day and the men's team in 3rd place in Division 1.
The women’s team was managed by Craughwell AC’s Sarah Finnegan and included the following athletes from the club - Ailbhe Miskella (3000m steeplechase), Aisling Keady (long jump and 4x100m), Arlene Earls (4x400m), Ellie Cronin (high jump), Freya Bohan (javelin, 4x100m and 400m), Leanagh Gilligan (long jump and triple jump), Maeve Curley (race walk), Rachel Finnegan (400m hurdles), Sarah Finnegan (100m hurdles and triple jump) and Sinead Gaffney (800m and 4x400m).
The men’s team was managed by Castlegar AC's Sean McDermott and included the following athletes from the club - Ben Garrard (400m, 800m and 4x400m), Daniel Callanan (long jump, triple jump and 4x100m), Gavin Cooney (800m and 4x400m), Jack Miskella (1500m and 4x400m), Jerry Keary (high jump and 4x100m), Kyle Moorhead (3000m steeplechase), Ronnie Warde (200m and 4x100m) and William Fitzgerald (5000m).
There were many fine performances from both teams throughout the day. Most notable fro Craughwell AC on the day was the club record of 13.20.61 set by Ailbhe Miskella in the 3000m steeplechase despite a fall on the first time through the water jump, and a very good early season run by Sinead Gaffney coming close to her own club senior record with a time of 2:21.32. Full results are below:
i will update this article later today with a more detailed report.
Superb Performances at Connacht Schools T&F
Pres Athenry's Sean Noonan in action in the Senior Boys 800m
at the Connacht Schools Track & Field in Athlone
Athletes from the club enjoyed tremendous success at the Connacht Secondary Schools Track & Field Championships which were held last Thursday in Athlone. While official results are not yet available, the following provides a summary. I will up date when official results are made available and in the meantime if anyone is missed or incorrectly reported below, please let me know.
The race of the day was the Intermediate Boys 3000m where Calasanctius’ Sean Cotter just pipped Pres Athenry’s Ross McGuinness on the line with both athletes recording an impressive time of 9:36, while Leanagh Gilligan (St Brigids) was also very impressive with a 5.35m leap to win the Senior Girls long jump, a big PB for Leanagh and the second best jump ever by a female athlete in the club only marginally behind Sinead Treacy’s club record of 5.44m set in 2015. Leanagh followed it up with a fine 10.58m leap to win the triple jump. Ryan Gallagher (St Raphaels) leaped an impressive 5.97m to take silver in the senior long jump while Jerry Keary (GTI) made a welcome return to action to take silver in the senior high jump with a 1.85m leap. Patrick Noonan (Pres Athenry) posted 4:29 to take 4th place in the senior 1500m while Calasanctius’ Eva Whyte took a brace of medals with silver in the Senior Girls triple jump with 8.98m and bronze in the long jump with 4.25m. Arlene Earls (St. Brigids) and Catherine Noonan (Pres Athenry) also claimed bronze in their events with Arlene in the 800m and Catherine in the 3000m. Sean Noonan (Pres Athenry) raced to a fine time of 2:10 in the Senior Boys 800m.
St Raphaels' Ryan Gallager who won the silver medal with an impressive 5.97m
in the Senior Boys long jump at the Connacht Schools Track & Field in Athlone
In the Intermediate grade, Kyle Moorhead (Pres Athenry) raced to double glory in the 1500m steeplechase in a fine debut time of 4:50 and in the 800m in 2:11 while Luke Burke (Pres Athenry) claimed silver in the long jump. St Brigids’ Lauren McNally took the Connacht title in the javelin with an impressive 24.75m while Aoife Kelly (Pres Athenry) went over 9m to take silver in the triple jump with 9.18m. Aleisha Larkin (St Raphaels) took silver in the long jump with a leap of 4.76m followed by Sophie O'Brien (Coláiste Bhaile Chláir) in 4th place with 4.55m. Sophie later took silver in the high jump with a 1.45m clearance. Ciara Sheppard (Calasanctius) recorded a solid 5:50 in the Intermediate Girls 1500m
The junior grade saw impressive high jumping with Pres Athenry duo Jade Moorhead and Evan Hallinan taking the Connacht titles with leaps of 1.50m and 1.55m, while Evan also claimed a second title in the triple jump with 10.40m and Jade raced to 4th place in the 200m. Fauve Aylmer (St Raphaels) took the Connacht title at her ease in the 800m with a 2:28 time while Siofra Davis (Pres Athenry) claimed double bronze in the high jump (1.45m) and in the 75m hurdles. Ryan McDonnell (St Brigids) posted a massive PB of 4.98m to take 4th place in the long jump.
Pres Athenry's Leonore Church and Jade Moorhead, Minor and Junior Girls High Jump Champions
,and Sophie O'Brien (Coláiste Bhaile Chláir) Intermediate Girls High Jump silver medalist
at the Connacht Schools Track & Field
In the minor grade, Pres Athenry’s Leonore Church was in sublime form when taking the Connacht title with a 1.50m clearance while Evan Quinn (St Brigids) was also in top form when taking the Connacht title in the Minor Boys long jump. Ella Lyons (Pres Athenry) completed a fine day for athletes from the club with double bronze in the 75m hurdles and in the long jump with a 4.28m leap.
Review of cracking day 2 at Galway T&F
Alana Grogan (U15 Girls 2k Walk Champion), Tara Morgan (U14 Girls Javelin bronze medalist)
and Aoibhe Fahy (U15 Girls Javelin Champion) at the Galway Championships in Dangan
A little late in getting this report up. Craughwell AC had another marvelous day of track and field at day 2 of the Galway Championships in Dangan where the U13 to U19 age groups were in action on SUnday 12th May.
Ellie Cronin was the star performer on the day with triple gold medals in the U16/17 Girls high jump, 100m hurdles and 250m hurdles as well as silver in the 4x100m relay. It was a good day also for Freya Bohan with double gold in the U18/19 Girls javelin and shot putt and double silver in the 100m and 400m, and for Saoirse Pierce who won the U16/17 250m hurdles in a tight battle as well as silver in the high jump in a PB of 1.50m. Additionally several athletes secured championship best performances when taking the Galway titles in their events including Darragh Kelly in the U13 Boys high jump with a leap of 1.57m to break the previous record of 1.45m jointly held by Evan Hallinan and Lukas Schukat, Ella Farrelly in the U13 Girls long jump with a leap of 4.38m to breaking the previous record of 4.30m held by Claire Ryder, Evan Hallinan in the U15 Boys triple jump with a leap of 10.80m to break the previous record of 10.01m held by Lukas Schukat, and Fauve Aylmer with a brilliant 5:08.98 to break the championship record in the U15 Girls 1500m and going on later to take the 800m title. Versatile Alisha Larkin leaped an impressive PB of 4.81m in the Long Jump to claim Silver and later added bronze in the 100m. Oisin Davis dictated the pace in a tightly grouped field in the u16/17 1500m on his way to win Gold in 4.36. Later in the day, Oisin added 800m Gold with a PB time of 2.08 in an exciting finish.
Craughwell AC Summer Camp Flyer
See attached flyer for all of the details on the athletics fit4fun summer camp.
Numbers will possibly need to be restricted and will be filled on a first come first served basis .. so please book earler to avoid disappointment.
Craughwell AC Supporting Our Supporters
With elections approaching again, the club wishes to highlight the fantastic support that we have received from many local politicians for our athletics facility development since we purchased the 8-acre athletics site in 2014 and in particular the financial support and votes that we received when Galway County Council took the access roadway into the facility into their charge in 2015.
At the time, these councillors collectively contributed €21,000 of their notice of motion funds to bring the roadway up to a standard so that it could be taken in charge by the County Council.
That effort was led by Councillors Moegie Maher and Peter Feeney with super cross-party support from 12 other councillors in several electoral areas in the county including Michael Fahy RIP, Gerry Finnerty, Joe Byrne, Shane Donnellan, Gabe Cronnelly, Malachy Noone, Sean Canney, Anne Rabbitte, Frank Kearney, Jimmy McClearn, Tim Broderick and Martina Kinane. Many of these councillors are seeking re-election in the forthcoming council elections with Anne Rabbitte seeking election to the European Parliament.
Our club straddles three of the local election areas and we would like to wish those seeking election success in their campaigns. The club would never be so cheeky or political to suggest to our members who to vote for. But we do like to give credit where credit is due and want to highlight the fantastic support we have received from these councillors in recent years. And it is with sadness that the club remembers Michael Fahy at this time, may he rest in peace.
FIT4FUN Summer Camp 2019
Time to start thinking about Summer Camps for the kids.
Well we certainly know it is nearly Summer time in Galway with the glorious weather we have been having.
All our primary schools will be finishing up before we know where we are and what then????? -- weeks of boredom. We can alleviate that and break the monotony. Are you looking for an activity break? Are you a member of an athletics club? If not then come along and see what you are missing. Club members (from any club) why not bring along a new friend - this may be the sport they having been looking for.
We are FIT4FUN and would love you all to come and join us. We have fun, games and you can learn new events. Camp is run by qualified coaches and experienced older athletes who are ready and willing to share their knowledge and expertise with you and still enjoy a good laugh along the way.
The Summer Camp will be held on two different weeks over the summer break and we cater for children from Junior infants to 6th class.
Camps will be taking place as follows
July Mon 15th - Fri 19th 9.30am - 2.30pm
Aaugust Mon 12th - Fri 16th 9.30am - 2.30pm
Flyers will be distributed via email to local national schools in the next few days. They can also be requested directly from me. Drop an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. We will also have a copy available on our website.
If you would like a paper copy of application form. I can be contacted at email address as above or phone number. 087 9390366.
Looking forward to two great weeks of Fun and learning and hopefully lots of sun
Timetable for Galway U13-19 T&F Sun 12th May
Please click on image for printable version.
Incredible Day at Galway U9-12s Championships
Craughwell AC took part in huge numbers at the Galway U9-12 Track & Field held in Dangan last weekend with some incredible results. Highlights included a championship record for Lauren Kilduff when she raced to gold in the U12 Girls 60m Hurdles in a time of 11.91. It was the first of many Galway titles for the club in particular for the U12 Girls who took 6 Galway titles in the relay, hurdles, sprint, long jump, high jump and javelin. The Craughwell U11s were also superb on Sunday taking medals in each of the U11 events. Out of the 24 paired and 6 relay podium positions, the U11s featured on the podium 15 times – taking an incredible half of the places available.
Full details of the athletes finishing in the top 4 are as follows: