Main pic: Coach Mark Connolly with another successful Finn Valley cross country team.
Finn Valley AC has been named as the Athletics Ireland Cross Country Club of the Year for 2024.
This is a ‘seriously momentous day’ for the club and a testament to the hard work and effort put in by athletes and coaches alike over recent months.
Finn Valley AC will be officially presented with the Kennedy Cup for the best cross country club at the forthcoming Athletics Ireland Juvenile Star Awards at the Mullingar Park Hotel on April 12.
“This is a proud day for everyone involved at Finn Valley AC,” said club chairman Dermot McGranaghan.
“From the club’s early days in the 1970s, Finn Valley AC has been a proud and successful participant in cross county championships.
“Finn Valley AC has long since been a leading light in the tough and demanding discipline of cross country running. This award is for all of those who continue to work tirelessly across all our age groups, from athletes to coaches to parents, all of whom we need to work in tandem.”
In December, at the National Novice and uneven age in Tramore, Waterford, Finn Valley AC had a superb day.
Sean McGinley was crowned the national novice cross country champion – following in the footsteps of FVAC’s Joe Byrne who won the title in 2002.
Sean led the FVAC men to fifth spot, joining him on the team were: Oisin Toye, Jon-Jo Doherty, Darren Toland, Barry Gallagher and Shea Carlin.
Odhran McBrearty was the U17 silver medalist with the U19 boys – Ciaran McCarroll, Lorcan Byrne, Padraig Corry and Paraic McDermott – taking team bronze.
In the U11 boys, Zach McKinley won individual silver and Shay McHugh was 12th with the pair leading the team to bronze, joining by Darragh Coyle, William McGlinchey, Ruairi Moss and Brody McMenamin.
The u11 girls also took bronze with Caitlin Gillespie, Sorcha Cunningham, Erin Moy, Ceola McGlinchey, Ellen Rose Carlin and Muireann Burke toeing the line.
Bronze too for the U15 girls team of Darcie Clarke, Andrea Reid, Aimee McElchar, Saorla Gilligan, Leah Kenny, Abi McGeehan and Jessica Lafferty.
In Irvinestown at the National Senior and Even Age Championships, Amy Greene won the U23 individual silver and qualified for the European Championships, where she represented Ireland. Amy also won silver in the Irish Universities Championships too.
Darcie Clarke led the charge as the Finn Valley U14 girls won gold, backed up by Saorla Gilligan, Caoimhe McNeill, Aoibhinn Greeene, Kate McMenamin and Ciara McCusker. They took Ulster Championship team silver but upgraded in Irvinestown.
There was a team bronze for the FVAC U18s in Irvinestown, where Odhran McBrearty, Ciaran McCarroll, Lorcan Byrne, Paraic McGettigan, Jamie Gallagher and Padraig Corry were in action and they won Ulster team golds.
The U16 girls missed team medals by only two points – Aimee McElchar, Andrea Reid, Nia Byrne, Abi McGeehan, Holly McNulty, Leah Kenny having previously topped the charges in Ulster.
At the National Juvenile Relays, FVAC took U13 Gold with Caoimhe McElhinney, Jasmine Barrett-Doherty, Ciara McCusker and Caoimhe McNeill in action on a day when there was silver for the U11 boys, silver for the U11 girls and bronze for the U15 girls.
Finn Valley AC won the two individual and team golds at the Donegal Senior, the path paved by Sean McGinley and Amy Greene.
Amy was joined by Leoni Cooke, Catriona Devine and Karen Gallagher with OIsin Toye, Jon-Jo Doherty, Ryan Quinn, Mark McGinley and Gerard Gallagher joining Sean.
There has been plenty to shout about from our club masters and at the British and Irish Masters XC, Catriona Devine’s silver helped Ireland to team gold, Kay Byrne earned bronze and team gold with Jon-Jo Doherty taking a team silver.
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