‘A friend to so many’: Finn Valley AC mourn Kathleen Merritt

Finn Valley Athletic Club has paid tribute following the death of Kathleen Merritt, one of the club’s earliest medal winners.

A native of Ard McCarron in Ballybofey, Kathleen died at St Joseph's Hospice, Hackney, in east London, following a prolonged battle with illness.

A daughter of the late Liam Merritt, a former Ulster cycling champion who was an early member of the Finn Valley AC committee, she was introduced to the sport by her father.

Finn Valley AC was formed in the autumn of 1971 and on the club’s second day to compete, at the Donegal Novice Cross Country Championships in October ’71, Kathleen led the new club to under-11 team gold. On that afternoon, Kathleen was the individual silver medallist, finishing just ahead of Kay McGowan, who took bronze.

Kathleen went on to represent Ireland at Cwmbran, Wales in 1977 alongside Sheila McMenamin, Sharon Reid and Geraldine Gillespie

In 1976, she became the first Finn Valley athlete to win a Donegal shot put title and four years later was the first female athlete from the club to win a county javelin title. She held the county shot put record for a period.

Kathleen Merritt, Geraldine McNulty and Bernadette Merritt

During a memorable period for the club in the 1980s, Kathleen was a key member of Finn Valley squads that competed regularly in the British League. In 1988, Finn Valley reached the final.

At the New River Stadium in Haringey - mere miles from where she slipped away to her eternal reward this week - Kathleen helped Finn Valley to a fourth-place finish. In the shot put, Kathleen was fifth in an event won by Yvonne Hanson Noretn from Hallamshire who went to the Olympic Games in Seoul the same year.

“Although based in London in recent years, she stayed in constant touch with the club,” said Finn Valley AC Chairperson Patsy McGonagle, who visited his former athlete at St Bartholomew's Hospital in recent weeks. “It was with deep sadness that we learned of her passing this week. She had a lifetime involvement in athletics from the age of seven.

“Rosaleen and I visited last month, basically to say goodbye. We recalled so many happy memories, races, people and occasions. She was a friend to so many of us and we will always retain the happiest memories of a girl who began running races on the green at Ard McCarron.”

At the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Kathleen acted as a volunteer alongside a group from Finn Valley and proudly wore the blue and white.

McGonagle conveyed the club’s sympathies to her partner Martin and the extended Merritt family.