Youth and experience were called upon for the men’s defence of their division one crown.
However, this would be hard as injuries and other commitments ruled out of many of our stars from the recent national championships.
Masters athlete Dave Moore kicked off proceedings with a strong second place in the Pole Vault. He later displayed his versatility and grit with a commendable fourth place in the weight for distance. A good haul of points from Dave who was competing with an injured hand.
Club stalwart Colm Bourke soon followed with full points in the Long Jump, registering a best jump of 6.83m on what was a short and tricky runway.
Colm later added another victory in the triple jump, with a club record of 13.96m. An excellent day’s work from the Sligo native.
It was then onto the track where Simon Devenney came out of retirement to take on the men’s 1500m walk. Eight minutes and 39 seconds later, Simon crossed the line in second place. Raheny had started the day well.
Back on the field, strongman Liam Granville took third place in the Shot Putt and second in his preferred event, the Discus.
Soon after, Liam’s DCU compatriot Oisín McCorry battled hard to finish second the 400m Hurdles. Oisín embodied the Raheny Shamrock spirit when he soon lined up for the men’s 400m. A third place finish and a rest were well earned by Oisín, however his day wasn’t over yet.
The hardened club men soon handed over to four of our newest athletes as Fionn DeWilde, Giacomo Ancinelli, Ollie Macauley and Erik Sammon took to the track for the 4x100m Relay.
The young team finished fourth against some experienced senior squads. Ollie would later finish fifth in the 200m while Fionn would take fourth in the 100m.
Erik would take to the sky to secure fourth place in the High Jump. All four athletes are a product of St.Fintan’s, recruited by Club President Paddy Noonan and are now having their speed honed by club coach Kay Bannon.
Another athlete of Kay’s, Stephen Morgan swapped starting blocks for the Javelin, taking fourth place.
Conall Rogers comfortably controlled the 800m, taking the win in 1:59.04. The Belvedere College man has been a vital component of this year’s league team and he will look to repeat his strong league performances in next week’s national under-23 championships.
In the other middle distance event, the 1500m, Luiz Maciel Melo finished third, narrowly missing out on second after a thrilling home straight sprint finish with Brian Kelly, a multiple national medallist, of St.Abban’s AC.
Luiz’s fellow South American, Juan Ignacio lined up for the 5000m. The Chilean never looked troubled as he cruised to victory in 14:53.45, securing valuable points for the squad heading in the last event, the 4x400m relay.
Coming into the final event, Kilkenny City Harriers were, avoiding total disaster, champions elect.
Raheny’s final placing was not so clear cut; sat in third, just a couple points astray of Lagan Valley AC and under pressure from St.Abban’s of Carlow in fourth, going home empty handed was a very real possibility.
However, cometh the hour cometh the men. The team of Oisín McCorry, Luiz Maciel Melo, Conor Duffy, and Conall Rogers did enough to ensure a medal, when finishing fourth in 3:41.60.
A tense wait followed as the final points were tallied and extra points subtracted. The team, braced for bronze were gifted a pleasant shock when the result was announced – second place.
Despite the track season beginning to wind down ahead of the Paris Olympics, 2025 is already in the minds of team management.
With some exceptional young talent waiting in the wings, and a hopeful full clean bill of health amongst the rest of the squad, a return to the Premier Division of Irish Athletics is the goal and a very real possibility.