Patsy McGonagle enters Hall of Fame as Donegal athletes honoured by Ulster Athletics

Patsy McGonagle was inducted into the Ulster Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night.

At the Ulster Athletics annual awards night at the Four Seasons Hotel, McGonagle was bestowed with entry into the Hall of Fame.

McGonagle, who managed the Irish athletics team a record 68 times in a 25-year spell from 1992 – a span that included four Olympic Games – has been instrumental in the development and success of Finn Valley AC.

During a quarter of a century at the helm of the national team, the Donegal man oversaw unprecedented success including Irish athletes winning 2 Olympic medals, 9 World Championship medals and 27 European Championships medals.

There were several Donegal award winners on Friday to go alongside McGonagle’s Hall of Fame Award.

Mark English was named as track athlete of the year; Summer Lecky was the field athlete of the year; and Brendan Boyce was the international of the year.

Ben Carr, Riona Doherty and Aine Wilkinson (Finn Valley), Cormac O’Donnell (Lifford Strabane) and Sean McGinley (Olympian) were honoured for achievements.