Great Tipperary athletics man remembered - Inaugural hosting of Bernard 'Pinky' O'Neill Cup

This year the County Masters for both women and men takes place in conjunction with the County Junior and Senior Track and Field Championships in Templemore on Sunday April 23.

The family and friends of Bernard O’Neill (affectionately known to all as “Pinky”) have donated a perpetual cup to the Tipperary Athletics County Board. It is envisioned that the cup will be competed for annually at the County Masters Track and Field Championships.

Track and Field was one of Bernard’s great loves and he enjoyed some outstanding performances as a sprinter and long jumper. He acquitted himself with some distinction at county, provincial and national levels, making the podium at numerous Masters grades. Pinky was putting the finishing touches to his training for the 2022 National Outdoor Championships when he was taken suddenly.

It is a fitting tribute to a great family man, friend, clubmate and masters athlete that we can remember Pinky each year in competition, as the masters representatives from each club compete for this very fine cup. Pinky would have been the first person to encourage older athletes to have a go on to the track and he would love to know that there will be a cup that bears his name being competed for on an arena he loved so much.

So, who will be the first recipients of this fabulous cup on April 23? Entries are now open on Entry4Sport and it will be the combined total points of both the women’s and men’s masters events that will decide the winners, so every club has a great chance of winning this perpetual cup. The Masters competition is for all athletes over the age of 35 on April 23 and there will be competition for all the usual categories.

The list of events includes 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 3k Walk, 3,000m for masters over 65, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Putt, Discus, Hammer and Weight for distance.