If you'd rather place an order by talking to one of our cheerful order desk clerks, please call 1-888-232-4444 (USA and Canada only) or 250-383-6864. From Europe, ring our UK order desk clerk at local rate number 0845 230 9601 (UK only) or 44 (0)1865 722 113.

Athletics in Drogheda 1861-2001

by Joe Coyle

367 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1719; ISBN 1-4120-1341-0; US$29.00, C$35.00, EUR23.00, £15.77

Meticulously researched and pitched towards general readership, social and sporting life is entwined. Step back in time and be uplifed by true heroes, men and women.

Read more!

about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or table of contents      catalogue info

About the Book Athletics in Drogheda 1861-2001 tells the story of how the modern sports of track & field, cross country and road racing made their seperate ways to the Boyneside town of Drogheda in Co. Louth. It chronicles the social conditions that initially confined such activities to a small section fo the community. Generally, the population outside of the upper classes could spectate, but they were frozen out of participation. The book explains why. Gradually, with changes in society and the development of organisations like the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA, the sport was embraced by the masses in a plethora of urban and rural clubs. In Drogheda the sport was a major crowd pulling activity until the 1960s ushered in a fundamental change int he Western World's lifestyle. The story of how Drogheda men and women became county, national and international athletic stars is relayed through a combination of events, social comment and individual profiles of the more prominent characters. The narrative encompasses the start of the twenty-first century.

---

About the Author Joe Coyle was born the eldest of six children in 1940. The family lived in Drybridge, on the west side of Drogheda. Always involved in sport, he played many games, including all codes of football, winning a Leinster Colleges medal with Drogheda CBS in 1957. He played on various underage teams with Lourdes Rangers and Glen Emmets in the Louth Minor leagues, gaining representative honours. He finished second in the Louth Novice Mile on the opening day of Lourdes Stadium in 1961 and the followinf November won the country Novice cross-country championship. In March 1962, he was a scoring member of the Lourdes A.C. team that brought the first ever Senior cross-country championship to Drogheda. Following a lengthy absence from athletics, he returned in 1984 to compete as a vet with Lurdes. Seven weeks after having a heart pacemaker implanted in 1995, he recorded 97 minutes for the Guinness half marathon at the Phoenix Park. He is a founding member of Drogheda & District A.C. He still runs. In 1965 he married Sheil McCullough, Dyer Street, in the centre of town. Now retired, they both continue to share a keen interest in athletics.

---

Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

FOREWORD

Sport is a wonderful catalyst through which people can share, be part of the craic, have a common agenda that needs no explanations. Psychologists could have a field day telling us what purpose it serves and why sports personalities are respected in their communities. And they are. Some sports, particularly team games, draw large public support and many of the players are thus readily recognised in their home town. But not all sports are contested in concentrated theatres of cheering fans. Acclaimed New Zealand sports journalist Norman Harris, in his informed eulogy on middle and distance running, "The Power and Glory", asserts that "the running track has produced some of the most dramatic episodes in all sport". Many of the most demanding challenges in athletics are conducted in scattered locations, often witnessed by a meagre audience and frequently remote from the home patch. For this reason some real sports heroes mingle daily in their communities, the relevance of their exploits not recognised.

This story is largely unknown to the general public. It chronicles a record of extraordinary deeds by otherwise ordinary Drogheda men and women in the field of sport; specifically, competitive athletics. It recalls the chaotic first attempt at a meeting in town; the strange story behind the "Great Duleek Bazaar Cup"; it tells of how Bothar Brigha's Paddy Coyle came to be leading a rain sodden European Marathon championship in Helsinki in 1971; how at Thurles in 1939 Sunnyside's Billy Gavin became Drogheda's only Irish mile champion; you Marisa Smith, from Beamore Road, confronting the might of the globe's sprinting powerhouses at the world T&F championships at Plodiv, Bulgaria, in 1990; Moran Terrace's chirpy Keith Kelly demolishing the Kenyans to win the American Colleges cross-country title in 2000 at Iowa; the gestation, in 1956, of the phenomenally successful Lourdes A.C. under the direction of Kevin Connolly; Termonfeckin's gritty Eilish Foyle smashing the marathon three hour barrier in 1991, the only local woman to do so.

And it tells much more. The petty political squabbling that blighted the sport for over a hundred years. The selfless line of unsung heroes stretching from Henry Dean in 1861, that glued the sport together locally, the innovation and communal spirit of the factory leagues, the enigma that is the Lourdes Stadium, the struggle for women to be allowed to compete at athletic meetings, the stirring local triumphs and gallant failures. Always to the backdrop of the incredible dedication, character and bravery of that small portion of the community that houses our competitive athletes.

Competitive athletics is one of the toughest sports. The huge personal investment in work and emotion makes it very much a self centred activity. Athletes cannot rely on team mates to carry them on the day, Any deficit in training, or even slight injury, is cruelly exposed. Emil Zapotek, the legendary Czech distance runner, once complained in exasperation after an awards ceremony; "They keep saying, 'My Zapotek, you have such talent.' They never ask about the hours of hard work, the training."

Why do athletes behave the way they do. It does not come easy and relatively few survive beyond brief experimentation. The discipline of a daily routine, out in weather extremes, enduring aching limbs, regularly confronting the fear of the starting gun. Psychologists point to an eclectic bag of probabilities; a sense of achievement, a feeling of well being, dispersion of anxiety, a supportive camaraderie of fellow athletes, exercising some control over the direction of one's life. And happy fantasy. Who has not secretly dreamt of approaching the finishing line, demoting the local champion to second place, in front of an applauding community. One of the reasons why we acclaim our athletic achievers may be because they demonstrate that our fantasies can be made real. They are our neighbours, or they may be from the next village. We could be like them, if we tried. Maybe tomorrow, next week, we will start. In the meantime they will do it for us, and we will be excited by the possibility.

The greatest sporting names all start at the same point. They start in their own street, the school, the local club. This account is about those athletes who lived in the general confines of Drogheda. It is about the men and women who used what talents they possessed in the athletic arena to bring widely acclaimed honours to our town. Throughout the generations a considerable number of local families made significant contributions. That may come as a surprise to many in our community. It as all the more appropriate that we note our recognition.

I have been involved in sport for over fifty years. To keep this story concise, and readable for the general public, I laid down certain parameters. I confined the account to senior competitive athletes. who have made an impact on the sport. Some became nationally known figures, others competed with local clubs to the best of their ability. There were many outstanding juvenile athletes in the locality over the years but it is a transient phase of the sport, almost impossible to fully research. For that reason I have excluded all reference to juveniles, except those who stayed into senior competition. For the same reasons I have left out anyone who did not participate in competitive events, or who did not show up in written records.

There is some mention of international milestones, which are relevant to the period and will be of interest to the general sports reader. All reference to names, events, crowds, weather, community conditions and extraneous material used, has been factually gleaned from written records of the period, from interviews with over two hundred people and from exhaustive trawls of libraries.

I am fully aware that any text carries the slant of the author. I possibly have missed out something, or someone, in my research. Some may feel that I did not attach due attention to their contribution. For any such oversight I apologize. But I believe that it was necessary to get this history written before the material that exists passes into antiquity.

********************** CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE..................................................1860-1900

CHAPTER TWO..................................................1900-1930

CHAPTER THREE................................................1930-1955

CHAPTER FOUR..............................1956 - Lourdes Athletic Club

CHAPTER FIVE....................Lourdes Stadium: A Monument to Neglect

CHAPTER SIX.........................................The Golden Sixties

CHAPTER SEVEN..............................................The 'Split'

CHAPTER EIGHT................................................1970-1980

CHAPTER NINE.................................................1980-2000

CHAPTER TEN.................................Drogheda's Women Athletes

CHAPTER ELEVEN............................................The Veterans

**********************

ST. MARY'S HARRIERS ATHLETIC CLUB

St. Mary's Harriers Athletic Club was first mooted by local sports enthusiast Andy Wogan. Deeply involved in Gaelic affairs he could see that there was little for young men to do on long winter nights. Those who had some energy saved from the hard toil of the day congregated in 'ceili' houses or, wether permitting, rambled out on country roads anxious to freeze out the 'pub' as an option. Drawing on the Society's membership he organised training runs on the fields and roads around Beabeg. In late 1908 he formalised a club with the intention of entering cross-country races. In a short time he had a team of committed runners looking to compete.

In March 1909 St. Mary's Harriers linked out in the GAA National Novice C.C. championship at Clonskeagh, Dublin, and shredded the form book by taking the third place bronze medals from fifteen established clubs. In JAnuary 1910 the new Drogheda outfit challenged the reigning National Junior (currently called Intermediate) champions, Celtic Harriers, Dublin, to a five mile race at the Showgrounds, Windmill Lane. The event was advertised and previewed int he press and much local interest was aroused.

On race morning the rain poured down, only easing an hour before the start at 2:30 pm. The Dubliners attacked from the start on the sodden turf with their lead man Vernor setting a blistering pace and their team packing near the front. However, with half the distance covered the Drogheda men, having weathered the intimidatory early rush, were coming through strongly. tHe local cheering rose and rose and amidst intense excitement Richie Walsh was first across the line, winning by thirty yards from 'Jackser' Grogan. Joe McHugh, W. Walsh (Richie's brother), T.F. Gibbons and Richard Duff finished in that order for maximum points for St. Mary's. The first Celtic runner was W. Vernor in 7th place. It was an impressive display by the locals.

Competitors and officials retired to St. Mary's club base over Frank Bateson's premises, 10, James Street, for an enjoyable social evening of refreshments and friendly banter. The Dubliner's caught the train home in little doubt that their title would be under threat in two months time. And so it proved. In March 1910, again at the Clonskeagh venue, St. MAry's Harriers took the town's first and only GAA National Athletics team title to Drogheda when they won the All-Ireland Junior Cross-Country championship. The scoring Drogheda team was R. Walsh, J. Grogan, J. Mchugh, T.F. Gibbons, R. Duff and T. Campbell.

The success of the club attracted more members. In October 1911 a well attended General Meeting elected the following committee to administer athletics in the town:

President : A. Woogan, Hon. Secretary; F. McDonough, Captain: J. Grogan, Vice-Capt; P.J. Watters, Committee; P. Brogan, J. McDonnell, James Kelly, T.F. Gibbons, C.E. Greene, C. Flood, J. McKeown.

The club's 7 mile handicap road championship from Gormanstion to Drogheda was set for Sunday , 10th December. The prizes for this now annual event were top rate. The winner received a perpetual solid silver cup and gold medal with gold and silver medals going to the next five finishers. A special award was given to the first novice home. That same year twenty athletes were officially group photographed in full club racing gear with their cache of medals. With ever changing community priorities in this troubled period St. Mary's Harriers kept the sport going as best they could. Surprisingly, after such an auspicious start, interest in cross-country faded but the club stayed active in road races and track and field.

The individuals of the championship team went their separate ways. Richie Walsh, one of two brothers from Ardcathm was the star of the team. He had a useful turn of speed which he used in goof effect for St. Mary's at local sports meetings over the 440 and 880 yards distances. Grogan was a good distance competitor on road and track and is credited with the GAA 10 miles road 'championship' at Navan circa 1911. He later turned his attention to football with the local 'Stars' team where he became a stalwart in upholding the 'ban' on foreign games. T.F. Gibbons, Slane, acquired accreditation as an official GAA handicapper and starter. In the following years he officiated at many athletic events in Louth and Meath. Duff, from Hand Street, and Campbell, Mornington, appear to have quietly disappeared from the active scene. Finally, Joe McHugh continued as an active distance runner for a number of years. In 1915 he was to central figure in a remarkable story.

**********************

Dave Reynolds (noted 2002)

Dave Reynolds was twenty-four years of age when he became only the third Drogheda man ever to gain a full Irish international senior athletics vest after Jimmy Collins, 1931, and Paddy Coyle, 1969. The story of how he represented his country is a tale from those great 'Chariots of Fire' Days of the amateur, before money became the dominant influence governing international athletics from 1980 onwards.

For twenty-five years from 1969 the Berchem Marathon, run int he Belgian port city of Antwerp, was a fixture on the European athletics calendar. A race for top distance men in Belgium, Holland and Germany it was also an invitational race for national teams. In 1971 BLE received an invite to send an Irish team. For cost reasons BLE decided to send two individual entries. Reynolds was approached just four weeks before the marathon by BLE International Secretary Eddie Spillane to check his availability. The wily Willie Dunne, Donore Harriers, who ran for Ireland in the 1960 Rome Olympics, was selected after a tense debate the BLE Executive picked the drogheda man in preference to a more experienced Cork candidate.

On written confirmation of his selection Reynolds reported to Santry Stadium on the Sunday before the race. He was loaned an Irish track suit, which he was told to give back as soon as he returned. He was given a green Irish international vest, which he could keep. He was given a separate badge of the national shamrock motif, which he was to arrange to have sewn on the front of his vest. Dunne and he were given return flight tickets Dublin-Brussels and they were given written instructions on how to get to the race from Brussels and how and when to get back to the airport.

When they arrived in Brussels they boarded a train fro Duffer, a small town near Antwerp. On arrival they were met by an Irish man, Paddy Cuddy, from Aughnacloy in County Tyrone, who had married a local girl and stayed in Beligium after the war. He arranged their accommodation. Although they were racing the following day the athletes were obliged to stay a further four days because 'six day' return flights were the most economic that BLE could purchase. Cuddy had arranged for the Belgian coach of the local Duffer A.C. to give the Irish runners information during the race. there was one small hitch - the Belgian coach had few words of English.

Not surprisingly,in the heart of sports mad Europe, the marathon was a big event locally. There were 118 starters, a huge field in those days. Commencing at 7pm on a September evening darkness came quickly and most of the distance was run under the street lighting of the city. The course was flat, incorporating some difficult stretches of cobbles, but Reynolds' abiding memory is of the enthusiastic crowds lining the entire course and their encouragement to the runners. He has never experienced anything like it.

The two Irish men were in close contact through much of the race but as the field settled after the early miles they were not sure what was happening up front. They could see the flashing blue lights of the official lead car ahead in the gloom but could see little else with the crowds thronging the way. They did not know how many runners were ahead of them. Approaching twenty miles the Belgian coach, who had been darting from point to point on a bicycle, rode up to the, gesticulated and shouted 'treee', 'fooor'. Dunne and Reynolds correctly interpreted this to mean that they were holding third and fourth places. Two French men had slipped away early in the race and one was tiring badly. Dunne caught him first to move into second place and the Drogheda runner passed him a short time later to go clear in third place. But the French man's team mate Caraby held off the strongly finished Irish pair to win in two seconds under 2 hr 20 mins with Reynolds clocking 2hrs 23 mins 24 secs, just nineteen seconds behind Dunne. The following day the first three finishers were paraded in front of 20, 000 crowd attending a track and field meeting in the Heysel Stadium, Brussles, later the scene of the tragic Liverpool-Juventus football match in 1985. They did a lap of honour and were introduced trackside to the legendary Belgian athlete of the day Emile Puttemans. Most importantly for the lads they were given envelopes which covered their expenses. If they had finished outside of the top three they would have been out of pocket money because of their enforced extended stay in Belgium. It was a performance of outstanding bravery on an international stage by the young Lourdes A.C. a trait that was to be his trade mark in a distinguished athletic career. When the athletes returned to Dublin the were met by Spillane, who particularly congratulated Reynolds because the international Secretary had cone out on a limb at the BLE Executive to have him selected. Reynold's time in Belgium makes him the second fastest Drogheda marathon runner over, after club mate Paddy Coyle.

Dave Reynolds was born in 1947 and continues to live at his home place in Mornington on the south east of Drogheda. In 1963 he joined Cement Ltd. Boyne Road, as a n apprentice fitter. Initially, he had an interest in cycling, winning a beginners league in Meath, where the sport was strong. He was brought into athletics by the fatherly Jack Bowden for the firm's team in the revamped factory league in 1965. He competed in the mile. He joined Lourdes A.C. when approached to do so by a neighbour and friend Frank Bowie, five years his senior but with whom he shares a common birth date.

In 1966 Reynolds was promoted from novice to senior grade in the space of two weeks. Having finished sixth in the Louth Novice C.C. championship he was then runner up in the Intermediate championship to Ardee's Francie McGahon. Lourdes A.C. won the Intermediate club title and under the C.C. rules at the time the entire six scoring team members were upgraded to Senior, irrespective where they had finished in the Intermediate race. This rule was changed in later years but not before it had severely damaged athletics in the county, with many young men drifting away because of the premature step up in class.

But Reynolds was not deterred and quickly made progress as a senior athlete. By 1969 he had represented Louth at all grades over the country and that year he captained the country to win the Leinster Novice C.C. championship at Tullamore. Earlier in the year he made a significant personal breakthrough when he won the prestigious Raheny 9 mile open handicap road race. He also ran his first marathon when he recorded 2 hrs 47 mins 17 secs in the national championship at Thirles. The following year he declared for Meath and ran Liam Kealy. Kilkenny, very close for the Leinster Intermediate C.C. championship at Mountmellick, Co. Laois. He continued to ambition when he won the Louth senior C.C. championship from a strong field and led Lourdes to a four in a row team title.

In 1976 the Drogheda man was involved in another unusual marathon story. That year the Ulster Open Marathon was run over an out and back course, starting and finishing at Strabane, Co, Tyrone. Such courses are easy to measure and steward. the half distance of 13.1 miles is measured out to the turn and returns to the start point which is also the finish line. Reynolds was with a group of four runners leading at twenty miles. He felt good and struck for home opening a 300 yards advantage over local favourite Neilly McDaid, Letterkenny A.C., brother of international Danny. Approaching the finish McDaid was catching the leader. Although tiring Reynolds was comfortably ahead. He was astonished and angry to be waved in through the finish line to complete a 500 yard circuit of a local park. On the second visit to the finish line Mcdaid was close enough to outsprint the Drogheda man by one second, 2.40.20 to 2.40.21. The Lourdes athlete thought it irregular on reflection that the official race car had stayed with the local runner when Reynolds went into a substantial lead. Because of the slow time recorded the Drogheda contingent did a rough car miles check of the course which they found to be almost twenty-eight miles, was in excess of the official 26 miles 385 yards.

Throughout the seventies Reynolds was a member of all the great winning Lourdes' squads over road, track and country. He was one of the scoring quartet that brought a national club gold medal to Drogheda for the first time when Lourdes A.C. won the Irish Intermediate C.C. championship at Killeshin, Co. Laois, in 1980. The following year he left Lourdes on the most amicable of terms. e had initiated Star of the Sea Athletic club in 1972 to cater for young athletes in East Meath and he moved into the country with a view to resurrecting BLE senior standards. He served as county board chairman for a period. In 1981 he won the Meath senior C.C. championship from a strong field. He finished the 1981 season by running an excellent 2hrs 25 mins 19 secs in the second Dublin city marathon, a race won by Boston marathon winner Neil Cusack, Limerick. He was an innovator in creating Royal County Striders A.C. a progressive but short lived idea to have Meath senior athletes run outside the county as a club team. He did not compete as a veteran. He retired from athletics in 1985 at thirty-eight years of age. Temperamentally and physically Reynolds was a classic distance runner. Small and compact with a well balanced running style he was immensely strong. Curiously, for a successful competitor he did not conform to the specialist rules. He never drank during a race, claiming that it made him sick, and he ate much closer to start time than was recommended. But he never had a problem with distance when he got in adequate training. At his peak he ran 70 miles a week, steady on grass, road and beach. He did a bi-weekly session of 20 x 220 yds at 72-73 secs., with a lap jog recovery in Lourdes Stadium. He never broke sixty seconds for a quarter but he could churn out repetitive five minute miles for a long way. He has a number of ten mile runs close to fifty minutes on his record and that is fast running by any criteria.

He continues to work in the Drogheda FAS office having joined the company at Dundalk in 1974 when it was called ANCO. He has trained greyhounds for thirty years and is well known nationally at dog tracks around the country. In later years he took up golf and plays off a handicap of 14, although he was down to 12 when he won the Laytown & Bettystown President's prize in 1999. He retains a passing interest in athletics. He believes that the fun run culture of the eighties and nineties has damaged the organisation of the sport. He sees charities as big winners out of the mass tart road events but he believes that the era created chaos with a move away from club membership. He says that "there is little of the discipline, loyalty and mutual support that the club environment encourages when athletes are running as individuals."

In 1978 he married Rita Matthews, Clogerhead. They have three children. Dave Reynolds richly deserves his place in local sporting history. He is the epitome of the focus and club loyalty that created such camaraderie and brought such success to Lourdes A.C. Generous and honest in his assessment of his peers he tends to play down his own achievements. But they are considerable. They are on the record for all to appreciate.

**********************

CHAPTER EIGHT Drogheda's Women Athletes

It was a sight to behold. Sunday 11th June 2000, 3 pm, Merrion Square at the heart of Dublin. The upstretched hand of President Mary McAleese fired the starting pistol. Anavalanch of women poured forward on a 10,000 metres circuit of the city street. All ages, all abilities, all shapes and sizes, sporting the complete spectrum of leisure attire. Some in racing knickers and bras, others in oversizes baggy tracksuits. from elite runners stretching to the walking backmarkers. From seven per cent body fat to a stone or two in excess. It was a magnificent scene of female camaraderie.

Drogheda was well represented in the throng. Scores of privately hired coaches had bused them up. The Women's Mini Marathon was first run in 1983 and is the biggest event of its kind in the World. it is a full social day that ends with a meal, a few drinks and the craic on the way home. It is an annual pilgrimage for many women throughout the country. At the finish in Stephen's Green first home, from an international field, was Cork's Sonia O'Sullivan. A unique millennium day. Ireland's woman President officiating, 39,277 women completing the course and the race won by Ireland's greatest ever athlete, male or female. Four months later O'Sullivan had the country spawning ulcers as she was heartbreakingly beaten by a stride for the Olympic Gold medal in Sydney.

But women did not always have such freedom of expression, or acclaim. I took a long struggle for females to be allowed to compete, much less be accepted as serious athletes.

**********************

CHAPTER SIX The Golden Sixties

The nineteen sixties started a dramatic change in Irish social mores. The five day working week released more leisure time and with it came an ever growing list of attractive options on how to use that time. The pub was moved centre stage as a communal centre. During the sixties the 'ballad boom; and the opening of 'singing lounges; in every country village saw the national consumption of alcohol rise by 240% in ten years. It became socially acceptable for both sexes to meet at these venues.

Large purpose built 'ballrooms' sprung up to accommodate hordes flocking to the new showband phenomenon. The arrival of national TV brought receivers into most homes and international culture, fashion, feminism, cars, reduced working hours, the rising value of the spending pound all contributed to create the nucleus of a freer more inquisitive, mobile and interactive community. As ever there were downsides to this progress.

Although foisted on most people the requirement to walk, cycle or run, was an accepted part of daily life and was inherently healthy for the maintenance of heart, lung and joint functions. There commenced a drift towards an 'easier' enjoyment of leisure time than embracing active games. The car became the new bicycle and the new 'social centres' were exciting places to meet friends. Up to this competitive athletics, always a tough pastime, drew spectators and communal appreciation even at town and village level. That changed. Athletes continued to be respected for their dedication but the crowds dispersed. In a short period the short became a participants' activity. The potential pool of athletes, always a tough pastime, drew spectators and communal appreciation even at town and village level. That changed. Athletes continued to be respected for their dedication but the crowds dispersed. In a short period the sport became a participants' activity. The potential pool of athletes in this new world scarcely developed beyond that, 'potential.' It was inviting to 'spectate' at home with national and international sporting occasions on the 'box'. It became possible to join a 'mini terrace' in the pub with a few pints in hand. It had been an early hobby horse of Connolly to warn of the dangers to health from the 'couch potato' syndrome.

---

Catalogue Information

---