Lupton and Egan take Offaly Intermediate Cross Country titles

Denise Egan Ferbane AC and Tom Lupton Ballyskenach AC are the Offaly Intermediate Cross Country Champions for 2023. It was a double victory for Denise in this year's championships having taken the Offaly Novice title last week. Tom, who recently transferred from Portlaoise AC was 2nd Novice on the same occasion so a very successful season so far for both athletes. .

The ladies 5k race was the first event of the day, and after the recent torrential rain, the clear blue sky was a welcome sight for the organisers and athletes alike.

Once again the Egan family played a crucial role in ensuring the success of this cross country event, especially given the challenging weather conditions. From early morning they were out preparing the carpark field, which had become almost inaccessible due to the unfavourable weather conditions. On behalf of Offaly Athletics and all the competing clubs, we thank: Pat Egan and his entire family and extended family of 15 hard workers who not only set the scene, but gave great support to the athletes as they raced on the excellent run course.

Intermediate Ladies

Sarah Flanagan Tullamore Harriers led the 37 ladies on the 3 lap - 5k course, with Denise in close chase for the entire race. Sarah was Intermediate winner last year so she ran as a guest - and provided a superb pacemaker for Denise. 3rd lady home was Aisling O'Connor from Edenderry AC who like Sarah, was running as a guest having taken the title a few years ago.. Ailbhe McDonnell Ferbane AC was 2nd Intermediate Lady and 3rd was in form, Carmel Murray Birr AC.

In the team competition, it was a clear win for the Ferbane ladies on 21 points with Birr AC 2nd team on 49 points and Tullamore Harriers AC 3rd on 51 points, narrowly edging out Naomh Mhuire AC who scored 53 points.

Full Ladies Results:

Sarah Flanagan (guest) Tullamore Harriers AC 20.28

Denise Egan Ferbane AC 20.31 1st Intermediate Lady

Aisling O'Connor (guest) Edenderry AC 21.07

Ailbhe McDonnell Ferbane AC 23.28. 2nd Intermediate Lady

Carmel Murray Birr AC 23.42. 3rd Intermediate Lady.

Michelle Mullaney (guest) Tullamore Harriers AC 24.05

Edel Waldron Ferbane AC 24.13

Lynn Mooney Tullamore Harriers AC 24.19

Lisa Murphy Naomh Mhuire AC 24.21

Carmel Farrelly Birr AC 24.38

Rita Daly Tullamore Harriers AC 24.45

Denise Coghill Ferbane AC 24.58

Catriona Guinan Ferbane AC 25.11

Emer Guilfoyle Tullamore Harriers AC 25.32

Emma Hart Naomh Mhuire AC 25.48

Mairead Scally Naomh Mhuire AC 25.51

Vanessa Connolly Naomh Mhuire AC 26.01

Christina O'Meara Birr AC 26.12

Louise Dunne Naomh Mhuire AC 26.32

Susan Bourke Birr AC 26.36

Lorna Dardis Birr AC 26.46

Mags Grennan Tullamore Harriers AC 26.53

Marie Sweeney Birr AC 27.09

Paula Lowry Birr AC 27.11

Hilary Duncan Tullamore Harriers AC 27.13

Gemma Loftus Naomh Mhuire AC 27.29

Jane Farrell Edenderry AC 28.05

Breda King Birr AC 28.11

Elizabeth McNevin Edenderry AC 28.39

Marcella McNevin Edenderry AC 28.45

Janie Buckley Edenderry AC 29.48

Grainne McManus Naomh Mhuire AC 30.12

Freda McNamee Naomh Mhuire AC 31.12

Aisling Farrell Naomh Mhuire AC 31.49

AnnMaria Egan Ferbane AC 32.11

Michelle Madden Naomh Mhuire AC 33.32

Kathleen Delaney Birr AC 39.06

Intermediate Ladies Teams

1st Ferbane AC - 21 points - Denise Egan, Ailbhe McDonnell, Edel Waldron & Denise Coghill

2nd Birr AC - 49 points- Carmel Murray, Carmel Farrell, Christina O'Meara & Susan Bourke

3rd Tullamore Harriers AC - 51 points- Lynn Mooney, Rita Daly, Emer Guilfoyle & Mags Grennan

4th Naomh Mhuire AC - 53 points- Lisa Murphy, Emma Hart, Mairead Scally & Vanessa Connolly .

Intermediate Men

The Intermediate Men's 8k race was a competitive and exciting event. Tom Lupton of Ballyskenach AC set a strong pace from the beginning, with Barry Minnock from Tullamore keeping the pressure on. The Minnock brothers, Barry and Kevin, performed admirably and secured 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Brendan Donagher of Naomh Mhuire AC had a solid run, finishing 4th and leading his team to victory with 24 points closely followed by Tullamore Harriers AC in second place (25 points) and Edenderry AC (74 points) in third.

Intermediate Men Results:

Tom Lupton Ballyskenach AC 29.28 1st Intermediate Man

Barry Minnock Tullamore Harriers AC 29.34 2nd Intermediate Man

Kevin Minnock Tullamore Harriers AC 31.29 3rd Intermediate Man

Brendan Donagher Naomh Mhuire AC 31.57

Kevin Looby Naomh Mhuire AC 32.16

Darren Bermingham Naomh Mhuire AC 32.28

Brian Duffy Edenderry AC 33.02

Daniel Molloy Tullamore Harriers AC 33.07

Ger Cleary Naomh Mhuire AC 33.24

Patrick McCarthy Ballyskenach AC 33.39

Declan Murphy Naomh Mhuire AC 34.15

Darren Butler Tullamore Harriers AC 34.27

David Hollywood Tullamore Harriers AC 35.09

Dermot Egan Ferbane AC 35.14

Glen Finlay Tullamore Harriers AC 35.19

Shane Origan Tullamore Harriers AC 36.33

Jason McDermott Tullamore Harriers AC 36.5

David Breen Edenderry AC 36.54

Tim Camon Ferbane AC 37.08

Shaun Bull Edenderry AC 37.18

John Kirwan Naomh Mhuire AC 37.38

Sean Reynolds Tullamore Harriers AC 38.01

Joe Carroll Ferbane AC 38.06

Michael Connolly Birr AC 38.46

Peter Bennett Tullamore Harriers AC 39.16

Kevin Brazil Ferbane AC 39.19

Declan Milne Birr AC 39.33

Patrick Claffey Kilcormac Killoughey AC 41.32

James Dooley Ferbane AC 41.34

Garrett Gary Naomh Mhuire AC 41.46

Mark Conway Ballyskenach AC 42.16

Finbar Redmond Edenderry AC 42.21

Ian King Birr AC 42.43

Ciaran Todd Naomh Mhuire AC 42.55

Mattie Flanagan Naomh Mhuire AC 43.02

John Kenny Ferbane AC 43.44

Richard Dolan Birr AC 46.58

Alvaro Fernondez Birr AC 46.59

Team Results:

1st Naomh Mhuire AC - 24 points - Brendan Donagher, Kevin Looby, Darren Bermingham & Ger Cleary

2nd Tullamore Harriers AC - 25 points - Barry Minnock, Kevin Minnock, Daniel Molloy & Darren Butler

3rd Edenderry AC 74 points - Brian Duffy, David Breen, Shaun Bull & Finbar Redmond

Well done to everyone who competed and best of luck to all our Seniors in Day 3 of the Offaly Championships next Sunday.