The National XC course in Abbotstown played host to the All Irelands over the weekend, as the top Juvenile, Junior & Senior athletes took centre stage. The club enjoyed some big performances with Sarah Healy crowned U16 All Ireland Champion (her seventh Club XC title), whilst Amy Rose Farrell (2nd U20’s) & Oisin Kelly (8th U16’s) pitched in with fine individual runs. All three athletes were rewarded with their efforts and will go on to represent Ireland in the coming months at various International events. In total, we had ten athletes competing in various age groups

First up was the boys U12 team with most of them sampling competition at this level for the first time. They had a fine showing with Sean O’Riagain (who was running up a year) leading the team home, followed closely by Robert O’Brien, Shane Van Zuydam, Killian Curran, Oscar Canavan & Niall O’Shea. It’s been a great XC season for the lads, gaining vital experience and lots of enjoyment along the way. Well done to them all.

James O’Brien was running up a year in the Boys U14 race and again had a fine showing in what was a fairly lively pace from the start. James held his own and had a strong finish. The race will hold him in good stead for the U13’s in Dundalk in a few weeks. Well done James.

Next up was Sarah Healy in the girls U16 4000m. And once again, she was in tremendous form, taking full control of proceedings from an early stage and comfortably winning out. Sarah’s performances are hugely consistent as she remains unbeaten in her age group at National XC level over the last six years. She also led the Dublin County team home to 1st place and will lead the Irish U16 team at the annual Celtic XC championships in Wales in early January. Congratulations to Sarah on another fine victory in what is already a very impressive Juvenile career.

Oisin Kelly was running in the boys U16 4000m and after a couple of fine performances (including two schools XC victories over the last few weeks), hopes were high for a solid run. He didn’t disappoint with an outstanding 8th place finish. He was never outside the top 10 at any point during the race and was also part of the Dublin team that took overall County honours and third in the provincial competition. He will also go on to run with the Irish squad at the Celtic games in Wales in early January. Not a bad day’s work for Oisin. Well done again.

Amy Rose Farrell was last up for the club, having made a late decision to run in the U18/U20’s race. The stakes were high as this race was also the pre-qualifier for the Irish Junior XC Squad who race in two weeks. After a steady enough first 1200m, she took on the running, splitting the field with only Sophie Murphy (DSD) staying with her. Both athletes came up the last hill together with Sophie making the deciding break with around 600m to go to take victory whilst Amy Rose held on for a fine second place overall and top U18 athlete in the field. Given that she has three more years at this level it was a great effort and she has automatically qualified for the Irish Junior squad that will head to Italy on December 11th. Well done to Amy Rose

A big thank you to all the athletes, parents & coaches for their hard work and dedication over the last four months. Next up are the Uneven All Ireland age groups on Sunday 11th December in Dundalk IT.