Home Page For Bandon Athletic Club

"A Photographic Jog Through the Past" is still available from committee members for anyone wishing to purchase a copy.

Registration: Anyone wishing to training or compete with the club in 2007 needs to have their membership paid so please see the treasurer at a training session if you have not already paid. (Membership Form)

Road Race: The Donough Coughlan Memorial '5' mile road race on New Years Eve went off very successfully with Alan O'Shea of Bantry A.C winning in a fast time of 24mins and 36 sec, Ravis Zakis of West Waterford A.C was 2nd with local athlete Sean Conroy of Leevale A.C who was home from college in Chicago finishing in 3rd place. The women's race was won by Laura McCreesh of Sale Harriers in a time of 28mins and 25 sec, Bandon A.C member Carmel McCarthy was 2nd with Catherine Keohane of Leevale 3rd.

Munster Juvenile Indoor Pentathlon, Munster Masters Indoor Championships, Nenagh 30th Dec 2006

The first competitions of the 2007 calendar got underway a couple of days before the year started! There was 3 juveniles in action in the pentathlon but despite some good performances they all finished outside the medals. In the Girls U14 Phil Healy finished in 5th place, while in the Boys U15 Mark Sugrue finished 5th with Patrick McSweeney 6th.

A large number of medals were won in the Masters Championships with medal winners including Liz Coomey, Ann McCarthy, Carmel Crowley, Kate Coveney, Patrick McSweeney, Liam Reilly and Gerry Healy while the ladies team also won the 4*200m relay. (Full Results)

Masters Women's team were 3rd team in the Inter-Club competition with Carmel McCarthy finishing 2nd individual. (Full Results)

All-Ireland uneven age Juvenile Cross Country Championships Athlone 9th Dec 2006

Despite good performances from Aisling Everard, Lynda O'Donovan, Ciaran Everard and Mark O'Sullivan there was no medals won by Bandon in the second day of the All-Ireland Cross Countries. It’s a great achievement to compete in an All-Ireland and you did your club proud so well done to Aisling, Lynda, Ciaran and Mark.

The All-Ireland Juvenile Cross County Championships was held in Dungarvan on the 26th Nov and while the conditions underfoot were heavy going the weather was perfect for cross country running. With high standard and huge numbers in the races, medals were always going to be hard to win and so proved the case. The first race of the day was the Girls U12 and Bandon had two athletes in action in this race. Aisling Everard and Seana Coveney both put in great performances but finished outside the medal placing. The Boys U14 team (Sipke O'Shaughnessy, Mark O'Sullivan, Ciaran Everard, Mark Sugrue, Patrick McSweeney and John Lucey) put in some great performances as the team finished in 7th place in the Inter-Club competition. The Cork Boys U14 team were 2nd and this included Sipke O'Shaughnessy, Mark O'Sullivan and Ciaran Everard. In the Girls U18 race Lynda O'Donovan ran a very strong race and she was rewarded with a Bronze medal as part of the Cork team in the Inter-County competition. Well done to Lynda and everyone else who competed, it’s a great achievement to qualify for an All-Ireland and you did your club proud.

All-Ireland Junior and Senior Cross County Championships, Dungarvan 26th Nov

In the Junior women's race Franchesca Aesert finished in 17th place and was part of the Cork team who won Bronze. Carmel Crowley finished in 15th in the Senior race and was a member of the Cork team who finished just outside the medals in 4th place.

In the Dublin Marathon recently Bandon had 6 members in action and all successful completed the course. Joe O'Sullivan was the first Bandon athlete home in a time of 2:56, John O'Sullivan finished in 3:09, Eoghan O'Leary finished in 3:17 with Matthew Geden just behind him in 3:18, Pat O'Sullivan running his first marathon finished in 3:53 and Bryan Good also running his first marathon finished in 4:34:25. Well done to the six of them.

Left to Right John O'Sullivan (3:09:09), Joe O'Sullivan (2:56:39), Eoghan O'Leary (3:17:56), Bryan Good (4:34:25, first marathon), Matthew Geden (3:18:36), Pat O'Sullivan (3:53:04, first marathon)

It was a bitterly cold and wet day with the going heavy under foot but there was some good performances from Bandon A.C members regardless. The club had winners in four of the races, Grainne Lucey and Matthew Draper winning the U9 races while Aisling Everard won the U11 race and Ciaran Everard won the U13 race. There was also top 3 placing for Fiona Everard, Mari Dineen, Travis Coomey and Brian Everard. Others who ran well included Fiacra Harrington, Aoife Lucey, Toni Chatterton, Patrick McSweeney, John Lucey and Barry O'Driscoll. (Full results)

County Juvenile 'B' and Junior & Senior Cross Country Championships, Carrignavar.

In the Juvenile 'B' races there was individual medals for Oisin O'Tuama, Robert O'Sullivan, Ronan Duggan, Anthony Hennessy, Alan Coleman and Barry O'Driscoll. In the Inter Club competitions the Boys u12 and U18 both won Gold while the Girls U12 narrowly missed on a medal. In the Junior races the Junior women's team were led home by Franziska Jaesert in 5th place as the team won Gold. Carmel Crowley was 5th in the Senior Women's race. (Full Results)

The second day of the Munster Juvenile Cross Country Championships was held in St Augustine’s College Dungarvan Co Waterford on a beautiful afternoon. The first race of the afternoon was the girls U9 and what a performance here from Grainne Lucey who had another great race to finish in an impressive 8th place, others from Bandon who ran well included Mari Dineen, Fiona Everard, Kellie Scannell and Erin Kingston but the team finished outside the medals. Grainne was also part of the Cork team who were 3rd in the Inter County competition. In the Boys U9 race Matthew Draper finished in an excellent 5th place with Colin Kingston also doing well in this race. Matthew also won a Gold medal as part of the Cork team in the Inter-County competition. The Girls U11 attracted a massive field of girls and Aisling Everard put in a great performance to finish in 7th place, Aisling also won a Gold medal as part of the Cork team. Aisling's Bandon A.C. team mates were Kate Toner, Sinead Caulfield, Lisa Lovell and Sinead Mulcahy but unfortunately the team were outside the medals. In the Boys U11 there were good performances from Fintan O'Shaughnessy, Brian Everard, Colin Kingston, Brendan Whyte and Kelvin Stone but the team were outside the medals. In the Boys U13 Ciaran Everard was the sole Bandon competitor and finished in 15th place. In the Boys U15 Sipke O'Shaughnessy was the first Bandon athlete home and he finished in 19th place winning a Silver medal as part of the Cork team. Mark O'Sullivan, John Lucey and Tadhg O'Donovan also ran well but the team were outside the medals. In the Girls U17 Lynda O'Donovan finished in 18th place with Kate Harte and Valerie Lynch also running well, Lynda O'Donovan won a Silver medal as part of the Cork team in the InterCounty competition. Aisling, Sipke and Lynda have now qualifed for the All-Ireland Cross Country to be held in Athlone on the 10th Dec so wishing them all the best of luck on the day. (Full Results)

The Munster Juvenile Cross County Championships were held Tralee recently with a number of Bandon A.C members making the trip. While the weather and track conditions were excellent the audience of a large number of sheep who occasionally wanted to compete made for an interesting event. The Girls U10 was the first race of the day and here Grainne Lucey had another great run, despite competing up an age group finished an excellent 23rd place, Lisa Lovell also a great race and finished in 36th place. There was also good performances from Kirstie Scannell, Sinead Caulfield, Rochelle Scannell, Saoire O'Leary and Roisin Coveney but unfortunately the team finished outside the medals. Brian Everard was the only Bandon athlete in the Boys U10 race and he finished in an excellent 18th place.
In the Girls U12 race Aisling Everard was the first Bandon athlete home and despite competing up an age group finished she finished in 26th place, there was also good performances from Shauna Coveney, Kate Toner, Aideeen Caulfield and Aoife Lucey but the team finished outside the medals. In Boys U14 race Sipke O'Shaughnessy finished an excellent 16th place, Mark O'Sullivan was 24th and with good performances from Mark Sugrue, Ciaran Everard, Patrick McSweeney and John Lucey the team finished in 3rd place in the Inter Club competition. Mark O'Sullivan and Sipke also won medals as part of the Cork team who were 1st in the Inter-Country competition. In the Girls U18 Lynda O'Donovan who was competing up an age group had a great run and finished in 18th place. Lynda won a Silver medal as a member of the Cork team who were 2nd in the Inter-County competition. The Boys U14 team and Lynda O'Donovan in the U18 girls have now qualified for the All-Irelands so wishing them all the best of luck on the day. In the Novice races, Franchesca Aesert was 12th and she also won a Silver medal as part of the Cork team in the Inter-County competition, others who competed in this race but finished outside the medals were Grainne Caulfield and Kate Coveney. In the Novice Men's event Mark Lehane won a Bronze medal as part of the Cork team while he was also 8th individual in the U23 category where he was also part of a successful Cork team, this time winning a Gold medal. Mark and Franchesca have qualified for the All-Ireland's which will be held in Athlone in Dec, wishing them the best of luck. (Full Results)

The Cork County Juvenile Cross Country Championships were held on the 8th Oct 2006 in horrendous conditions with heavy rain fail persisting throughout making it tough going for the athletes but regardless there was some impressive performance from Bandon A.C. members. The Girls U9 was the first juvenile race of the day, here Grainne Lucey was towards the front for most of the race and finished in an excellent 6th place just 1 place ahead of fast finishing Mari Dineen, with Kellie Scannell, Fiona Everard and Ciara Weldon also finishing well they won team Silver medals. In the Boys U9 Matthew Draper had a great run and finished an excellent 5th but unfortunately the team of Matthew, Dylan Scannell, Fiacra Harrington and Cian O'Connell finished outside the medals. Bandon had another individual medal winners in the Girls U11 race as Aisling Everard finished in 5th helping the team to 3rd place. The rest of the team being Kate Toner, Aideen Caulfield, Sinead Caulfield, Caroline Murphy, Lisa Lovell, Sinead Mulcahy, Roisin Coveney and Kerin Chatterton. Good solid running from the Boys U11 ensured the team of Fintan O'Shaughnessy, Edward Aherne, Colin Kingston, Brian Everard won team Bronze medals. The Girls U13 team of Phil Healy, Seana Coveney, Toni Chatterton and Aoife Lucey unfortunately finished just outside the medals. In the Boys U13 race Ciaran Everard was Bandon A.C. sole competitor but he didn't let that affect him as he ran a great race to finish 2nd and win an individual Silver medal. Sipke O'Shaughnessy in 8th place was the first Bandon athlete home in the Boys U15 race and with Mark Sugrue, Mark O'Sullivan, Conor Pullin, John Lucey and Patrick McSweeney all running well they won team Silver medals. In the Girls U17 Lynda O'Donovan won an individual medal finishing in 4th place and helped the team win Gold. The rest of the team were Kate Harte, Grace Lynch and Mary Kenneally.In the Boys U17 Anthony Hennessy and Barry O'Driscoll ran well but finished outside the medals. Also on the same day were the County Novice Cross Country Championships. The women's race was won by Bandon athlete Franchesca Aesert with Ann McCarthy 3rd and Siobhan Dineen in 5th, with Kate Coveney and Liz Coomey also running well the team won Gold medals. In the men's race Bandon also had the winner, with Mark Lehane making a welcome return to competitive running to take the Gold. Mark was also 2nd in the U23 category (Full Results) (Some Photos)

A smaller than usual number from Bandon A.C contested the Cork County Championships in Youghall recently so while medals were in short supply there was a number of excellent performance on the day. Individual medal winners included Sipke O'Shaughnessy (3rd Boys U14), Mark O'Sullivan (4th Boys U14) and Lynda O'Donovan (3rd Girls U18). The Girls team of Sinead Caulfield, Grainne Lucey, Lisa Lovell, Saoire O'Leary, Fiona Everard, Kirstie Scannell, Rochelle Scannell and Roisin Coveney were 2nd in the Girls U10 Inter Club Competition. The team of Sipke O'Shaughnessy, Mark O'Sullivan, Mark Sugrue, Ciaran Everard, Patrick McSweeney and John Lucey were 1st in the Boys U14 InterClub competition. The Boys U10 team of Robert O'Sullivan, Oisin O'Tuama, Fintan O'Shaughnessy and Edward Aherne were just outside the medals as were the Girls U14 team of Elizabeth Prout, Caroline Sugrue, Aine Weldon and Emma Lovell. The Girls u12 and Boys U10 didn't have full teams but there was some good performances here from Aisling Everard, Shauna Coveney, Aoife Lucey, Brian Everard, Matthew Draper and Fiacra Harrington. Well done to everyone who competed and congratulations to everyone who won a medal. (Full Results) (Some Photos)

In total contract to the West Cork Championships, the E.B.S. sponsored West Cork Schools Cross Country was held in torrential rain in Clonakility a couple of days later. With huge numbers in some of the races it was a real test for a lot of the athletes involved. Bandon had a good number of members in action. Lynda O'Donovan won the 4th year girls race and some of others who performed well included included Elizabeth Prout, Emma Lovell, Toni Chatterton, Aine Weldon, Mark O'Sullivan, David O'Brien, John Lucey, Patrick McSweeney, Sipke O'Shaughnessy, Mark Sugrue, Lynda O'Donovan, Grace Lynch, Conor Pullin, Shane Conway, Anthony Hennessy and Barry O'Driscoll. Well done to all who braved the weather!

In glorious sunshine in the the West Cork Cross Country Championship in Dunmanway recently there was wins for Robert O'Sullivan and Lynda O'Donovan and some impressive performances from a number of other Bandon A.C members. In the Girls U10 Sinead Caulfield finished in a great 2nd place with Rochell Scannell just behind in 3rd, Grainne Lucey 6th, Kirstie Scannell 8th, Mari Dineen 9th, others who ran well in this race included Roisin Coveney, Lisa Lovell, Fiona Everard, Kellie Scannell and Ciara Weldon. In the Girls U12 Aisling Everard who was competing up an age group had a great race to finish 2nd, Shauna Coveney was 5th, Aideen Caulfield 6th, Kate Toner 9th, Aoife Lucey 11th and Kerin Chatterton 23rd. In the Girls U14 Elizabeth Prout had an impressive run as she finished in 2nd place, Toni Chatterton was 7th, Aine Weldon 9th, Emma Lovell 12th, Orla O'Regan 15th. In the Girls U20 Lynda O'Donovan was the sole competitor from Bandon and although competing up an age group had a great run and a comfortable win. In the Boys U10 Matthew Draper was 5th with Brian Everard 10th, Dylan Scannell 17th and Fiacra Harrington 22nd. In the Boys U12 Robert O'Sullivan had a great race, always at the front of the pack he took control of the race with 200m to go and ran on to a great win, Fintan O'Shaughnessy was 5th in the same race. In the Boys U14 Sipke O'Shaughnessy was 3rd, Mark O'Sullivan 6th, Mark Sugrue 7th, Ciaran Everard 10th, John Lucey 14th and Patrick McSweeney 15th. In the Boys U20 there was great runs from Anthony Hennessy who was 3rd and Barry O'Driscoll who was 6th. In the U8 races there was good performances from Travis Coomey (3rd), Ronan Lucey (6th) and Fionn Harrington (8th). In Senior Women Siobhan Dineen was 2nd while in the Masters Womens race Sharon Toner was 2nd with Liz Coomey 3rd. In the Senior Mens race Paul Matthews was 4th. A number of Teams were also among the medals; Girls U10 1st, Girls U12 1st, Girls U14 2nd, Senior Women 1st, Boys U14th 2nd. (Full results)

Individual medal winners included Sinead Caulfield, Aisling Everard, Mark O'Sullivan and Lynda O'Donovan while the Girls U10 and Girls U12 teams were amongst the team prizes. (Complete Results) (Some photos)

Tom Laffan finished in 24th place and Joe O'Sullivan finished in 32nd place, Matthew Geden finished in 152nd and Bryan Good finished 171st. There was 446 finishers in all categories so well done to all.

In the All-Ireland Master's Championships recently there was some impressive performances. Liz Coomey won 3 Golds and 1 Silver, Anne Kelly-McCarthy won 1 Gold and 2 Bronze, Collete Tuthil won 1 Gold and 2 Bronze, Tom Laffan won 1 Gold and also finished in 4th place in 2 other events, Gerry Healy won 1 Gold, Liam O'Reilly won 2 Silvers, Pat Muclachy finished in 4th and 5th place in his 2 events. The men's relay team of Pat, Gerry, Tom and Liam won Gold. Well done to all. (Full Results)

Joan Healy and Sarah Bradfield were both in action for Ireland in the Celtic International in Waterford on the 12th. Sarah had a great win in the U18 Discus and Joan was 4th in the 100m, Joan was also a member of the Irish 4*100m relay team which was also 4th. Well done to both of them.

All-Ireland 'B' Championships, Combined Events Championships 30th July Tullamore

Medal winners included Grainine Lucey, Mighty Okafor, Ronan Sheehan, Oisin O'Tuama, Robert O'Sullivan, Mari Dinneen, Kately Cross, Rachel McCarthy, Aoibhean Harte, Aisling Everard, Cian O'Connell, Matthew Draper and Thomas McCarthy. Full Results Shortly

AAI Juvenile U9-U13 Championships of Ireland CIT, 16th July 2006 In total contract to the older age group the All-Ireland Juvenile Championships for the u9-u13 age groups was held in blistering heat in CIT track recently with Bandon Athletic Cub having 6 athletes in action. All of these athletes had qualified for the All-Irelands by finishing in the top 4 in their events in the Munster Championships. Results included Laura McSweeney who left it late in winning the U12 Shot, lying in 3rd place with one throw to go, she produced her best throw of the day to win the Gold medal, Laura also competed in the Ball throw where she finished in 11th place. Lynn Bradfield was involved in a close fight in the U13 Shot where she won a Silver medal. In the U13 Long Jump Toni Chatterton finished narrowly outside the medals in 5th place, just 5cm behind 3rd place. Promise Okafor won a Silver medal in the U12 Long Jump. In the U13 age group Great Okafor qualified for the hurdles finals where he finished 7th but he later won a Bronze medal in the 80m Sprint with Ronan Sheehan also qualifying for that final where he finished in 7th place

AAI Juvenile U14-U19 Championships of Ireland Tullamore, 8th & 9th July 2006 The All-Ireland Juvenile Championships for the u14-u19 age groups were held in wet and windy weather in Tullamore recently with Bandon Athletic Cub having a number of athletes in action. All of these athletes had qualified for the All-Irelands by finishing in the top 4 in their events in the Munster Championships so to be even taking part in the National Championships was a great achievement. Among the results were Tracey Bradfield who won Silver in the Discus and Bronze in the Shot Putt In the U14 girls age group. In the U15 Girls Joan Healy won Gold in the 100m sprint and Silver in the 200m. Serena Cross was 6th in the U16 Girl's High Jump. Sarah Bradfield won Gold in the U18 Girl's Discus and in the Girls U19 age group Rachel Roche won Silver in the Shot and Discus and Bronze in the Javelin and she also finished 5th in the Long Jump. In the Boys events Sipke O'Shaughnessy won Gold in the U14 Hurdles, he was also 6th in the Long Jump and 7th in the 200m. Patrick McSweeney was 5th in the U14 Shot Putt. Also in the U14 age group Mark Sugrue was 7th in the Discus, 7th in the High Jump and 9th in the Shot Putt. Conor Pullin won a Gold medal in the U15 Discus. Ronan Duggan was 8th in the U18 Boy's 1500m and 9th in the 800m while Billy Henchy was 6th in the Boys U19 200m. Well done to all who competed and congratulations to the medal winners. (Full Results)

It was great to see a Bandon athlete compete in this event. Ronan Duggan took part in the Junior Men's 1,500m and ran a good race although finishing outside the medal positions. Well done Ronan.

Munster Juvenile U14-U19 Track & Field Championships, Castleisland 24th/25th/26th June

In the Girls U14 Tracey Bradfield won the Discus, she was 2nd in the Shot and also finished 6th in the Long Jump. In the Girls U15 Joan Healy had a double winning the 100m and 200m sprints. Kelly Tobin finished 5th in the Discus and 6th in the Javelin in the Girls U15. Serena Cross was 3rd in the U16 High Jump. In the U17's Lynda O'Donovan was 4th in the Long Jump and 5th in the High Jump. Sarah Bradfield won the U18 Discus, she was 2nd in the Javelin and 3rd in the Shot Putt. In the U19's Rachel Roche was 1st in the Discus, 2nd in the Shot, Javelin and Hammer and was 3rd in the Long Jump. In the Boys U14 the club had a number of competitors in action, Sipke O'Shaughnessy had a fantastic championships as he was 1st in the 200m, Hurdles and Long Jump. He also qualified for the final of the 80m but picked up an injury in that race and finished back in 8th place. Mark Sugrue was 1st in the Discus, 3rd in the High Jump, 4th in the Shot and 6th in the Javelin. Patrick McSweeney was 3rd in the Shot and 6th in the Discus. Mark O'Sullivan was 6th in the Javelin and 7th in the Discus. In the Boys U15 Conor Pullin was 3rd in both the Discus and in the Javelin, he was also 5th in the Triple Jump and 7th in the Shot. Ivan O'Brien was 6th in the U15 Discus and David Reynolds was 8th in the U16 High Jump. Anthony Hennessy was 4th in the U17 300m Hurdles. In the Boys U18 Chris Spearman was 3rd in the 400m and 4th in the 200m. Ronan Duggan was 3rd in the U18 800m. Roger Grey was 5th in the U18 400m. Bill Henchy won the U19 200m. In the relays the Girls U15 team (Lorraine O'Brien, Joan Healy, Elizabeth Prout, Tracey Bradfield were 3rd, the Boys U14 team (Mark O'Sullivan, Patrick McSweeney, Mighty Okafor, Great Okafor, Sipke O'Shaughnessy) were 3rd and the Boys U18 (Chris Nash, Chris Spearman, Roger Grey, Shane Conway) were also 3rd. All the individual's who finished in the top 4 in their events have qualified for the All-Ireland Championships in Tullamore on the 8th/9th July. Wishing everyone the best of luck.

Ronan Duggan was the sole participant from Bandon A.C on the Munster teamat the Tailteann Games and although recovering from a illness he ran a good race in the 1,500m steeplechase to finish in 5th place.

A large number of club members were involved in the Community Games County Athletics Finals on the 17th in the CIT track with a number of them qualifying for the National Finals in Mosney. Well done to everyone and best of luck to those travelling to Mosney.

The Cork Primary Schools Sports were held in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on the 21st June with a large number of Bandon A.C member's representing their schools. Toni Chatterton won the long jump and Elizabeth Prout was 2nd while Carla Nicholson and Claire Sexton qualified for the County Final in the sprints while a number of other athletes won medals or trophies in their sprints and relays. Well done to everyone who competed on the day.

Carmel Crowley was 3rd in the 1,500m. In the field events Rachel Roche won the Javelin while Sarah Bradfield was 2nd in the Shot and Discus.

Sinead Mulcahy was 2ndin the U11 sprint. Laura McSweeney was 1st in the U12 sprint and in the Ball throw and then competed in the U14 Shot where she also was 1st. Robert O'Sullivan was 2nd in the U12 Ball Throw. Mark O'Sullivan won the U14 600m and was 3rd in the 100m. Patrick McSweeney won the U14 Shot, was 2nd in the 600m and 4th in the 100m.

It was disappointing to see only 2 athletes from Bandon at the 1st leg of the Summer League in Skibbereen. However those that did turn up had a good night, Patrick McSweeney won the 100m, the 600m and Shot Putt. Laura McSweeney was 3rd in the 100m, 3rd in the Long Jump and 1st in the Shot Putt. Both also won medals as part of relay teams.

Bandon finished the second day with the same number of individual medals as it won on the first day. Great Okafor won Bandon's sole sprint medal over the weekend as he won Gold in the Boys U13 sprint, once again Bandon had more success in the field events, Laura McSweeney won Silver in the the U12 Ball Throw and Toni Chatterton won Silver in the U13 Long Jump. Other good field results included Robert O'Sullivan who was 7th in the Boys U12 shot, Lynn Bradfield who finished 6th in the U13 javelin. While on the track Ronan Sheehan was 4th in the U13 sprint while Mighty Okafor was 8th in the same race. Promise Okafor qualified for the U11 sprint final but finished outside the medals while sprint semi-Finalists included Fintan O'Shaughnessy. Aisling Everard qualified for the final of the Girls U11 600m race. In the relays Bandon had two team amongst the medals, the Boys U13 were worthy winners in their final while the Boys U12 were 3rd in the final. The Boys U11 and U9 teams also qualified for the final's but finished outside the medals. (Full Results)

With a large number contesting most events the standard was high on the first day of the Munster's and medals were hard won. Bandon did have some success in the field events, Laura McSweeney won the U12 Shot, Lynn Bradfield was 2nd in the U13 Shot and Promise Okafor was 3rd in the U11 Long Jump. Other good field results included Fintan O'Shaughnessy who was 4th in the U11 Long Jump only missing out on the medals by 1cm, Great Okafor was 5th in the U13 Long Jump, Laura McSweeney was 6th in the U12 High Jump, Gerry Crowley was 7th in the U12 Long Jump and Mighty Okafor was 8th in the U13 Javelin. On the track the only finalists were Great Okafor who was 4th in the U13 Hurdles and Carla Nicholson who finished 6th in the Girls U11 sprint. Sprint semi-Finalists included Sinead Caulfield, Toni Chatterton and Clare Sexton. In the relays Bandon had no team amongst the medals, the closest being the Boys U12 who were 6th in their final while the Girls U10 'B' team were 7th in their final.

In the Junior Girls events Joan Healy was 2nd in the 200m and 3rd in the 100m while Tracey Bradfield was 3rd in both the Shot Putt and in the Discus. In the Intermediate Girls Sarah Bradfield was 2nd in the Discus and 6th in the Shot Putt. In the Senior Girls Rachel Roche was 2nd in the Discus and 4th in the Javelin. In the Intermediate Boys Ronan Duggan was 4th in the Steeple Chase. In the Senior Boys Billy Henchy was 6th in the 200m. Well done to all.

Munster Masters, Juvenile Combined Events, Castleisland, 28th May

The Munster Masters Track & Field Championships were held recently in Castleisland. There were a number of Bandon A.C members taking part and they returned back home with a fine haul of medals, Liz Coomey picked up an injury doing the long jump but it didn't stop her talking 4 Gold medals (100m, Long Jump, High Jump and the Hammer), Anne Kelly-McCarthy won 3 Gold medals (100m, Long Jump, and 200m), Carmel Crowley had a couple of great wins in the 1,500m and in the 3,000m while Geraldine Lovell won Bronze in the 100m. The women's 4*100m meter relay team of Liz, Anne, Geraldine and Carmel combined well to take the Gold in that race. In the men's events Tom Laffan won the 400m and Tom also had a couple of great races in the 800m and in the 1,500m being narrowly beaten into second place in both events. Pat Mulcahy won Silver in the 100m, with his club mate Gerry Healy winning Bronze in the same race. Patrick McSweeney won Silver in the Javelin and Bronze in the Shot Putt and in the 56Lb for Distance. John O'Donovan finished 4th in the Shot Putt and in the 56Lb for Distance, narrowly outside the medals in both competitions. The men's relay the team of Pat Mulcahy, Tom Laffan, John O'Donovan and Gerry Healy won a close finish to win the Gold. Overall a very successful outing for the club with a total of 18 individual medals and 2 relays gold's, this put the club in 4th place in the Best Masters Club for these Championships which was a great achievement.

Also being held in Castleisland on the same day was the Munster Juvenile Combined events, Bandon A.C had 2 athletes in action. In the Boys U14 Pentathlon Sipke O'Shaughnessy got off to a great start winning the Hurdles and the Long Jump, solid performances in the shot and the high jump put him well ahead going into the final event, the 800m and a good run here saw him finish second in that event and he won the Gold medal overall. In the same competition Patrick McSweeney won the shot and was joint first in the High Jump to leave him just 10points outside the medal positions heading into the 800m but despite a gusty performance he finished 4th in that event and 4th overall. (Results)

Juvenile County 'B' Championships, CIT 27th May

The County 'B' was run on a pairs basis with a large number of Bandon athletes winning medals. (Results)

A number of Bandon A.C members were in action for their schools, among the medal winners were Rachel Roche, Joan Healy, Sarah Bradfield, Tracey Bradfield, Bill Henchy, Lynda O'Donovan and Ronan Duggan. All medal winners have qualified for the All Ireland Schools Championships on the 3rd June, so wishing them all the best of luck. (Full results)

In the second day of the Cork County Juvenile Track and Field Championships on May 14th Bandon Athletic Club once again had a large number of athletes in action with some very impressive performances. Among the medal winners on the day were; Grainne Lucey (U9 2nd 200m), Sinead Caulfield (U10 3rd 60m), Carla Nicholson (U11 2nd Long Jump), Fiona Duggan (U11 2nd Shot), Kerin Chatterton (u11 3rd Shot), Laura McSweeney (U12 2nd Discus and 3rd Ball Throw), Lynn Bradfield (U13 1st Shot Putt), Toni Chatterton (U13 2nd Long Jump), Kelly Tobin (U15 1st Discus and 3rd Shot), Lorraine O’Brien (U15 1st 200m), Lynda O’Donovan (u17 3rd Long Jump, 3rd 800m), Mary Kenneally (U17 1st Walk), Grace Lynch (U17 3rd 200m), Sarah Bradfield (U18 1st Javelin), Rachel Roche (U19 1st Discus). Medal winners amongst the boys included; Matthew Draper (u9 2nd 200m), Fintan Shaughnessy (U11 2nd High Jump and 3rd Long Jump), Robert O Sullivan (U12 1st Shot and in the Ball Throw), Ciaran Everard (U13 3rd 700m). In the Boys U14 there was some excellent performances from Sipke O’Shaughnessy as he won 3 Gold medals, taking 1st in the Long Jump, 100m and 200m, also in the boys u14 age group Patrick McSweeney was 1st in the Shot, Mark Sugrue was 2nd in both the Discus and in the Shot and Tadhg O'Donovan was 3rd in the Discus. David Reynolds was 3rd in the U15 High Jump, Ivan O'Brien was 2nd in the U16 Discus, Shane Conway was 2nd in the U17 200m, Alan Coleman was 3rd in the U17 3,000m. In the Boys U18 800m Ronan Duggan was 2nd with Roger Grey 3rd. In the relays the Girls U11 were 2nd, Girls U15 3rd, Girls U17 2nd, Boys U13 2nd, Boys U15 2nd, Boys U17 1st, Boys U18 4x400m 1st, Boys U19 4x100m 1st and the Boys U19 4x400m were also 1st. As well as the above medal winning performances there were a number of other athletes who finished just outside the medals so well done to all who competed for the club in these County Championships. (Results)

Irish Sugar, 10 mile Road Race Mallow, Sunday 7th May
Joe O'Sullivan was 5th overall and Matthew Geden was 58th.

The first day of the Cork County Juvenile Track and Field Championships were held recently in the CIT Track in Cork with a large number of Bandon A.C. members competing. Among the medal winners on the day included Sinead Caulfield (u10 300m 3rd and Long 2n Jump), Rachel Desmond (U11 1st Ball Throw), Kerren Chatterton (U11 2nd High Jump), Claire Sexton (U11 3rd High Jump), Laura McSweeney (U12 Shot Putt 1st), Lynn Bradfield (U13 Discus 3rd), Tracey Bradfield (U14 1st Discus and 1st Shot Putt), Ailis Crowley (U15 200m Hurdles 3rd), Joan Healy (U15 100m 1st), Lynda O'Donovan (U17 High Jump 2nd), Valerie Lynch (U17 300m Hurdles 3rd), Sarah Bradfield (U18 1st Discus and 1st Shot Putt), Rachel Roche (U19 1st Shot Putt, 1st Discus). Matthew Draper (U9 60m 3rd), Edward Aherne (U11 Shot Putt 2nd), Promise Okafor (U11 80m 3rd), Gerry Crowley (U12 Long Jump 1st) Robert O'Sullivan (U12 Discus 3rd), Great Okafor (U13 Sprint 1st), Sipke O'Shaughnessy (U14 Hurdles 1st), Mark O'Sullivan (U14 2nd Javelin and 3rd 1,500m), Patrick McSweeney (U14 3rd Hammer and 3rd High Jump), Ivan O'Brien (U16 Javelin 3rd), Alan Woods (U17 Steeple-Chase 1st), Anthony Hennessy (U17 1st 400m Hurdles and 1st Hammer), Shane Conway (U17 1st 100m), Chris Nash (U17 1st 400m and 3rd 100m), Michael Allaway (U18 High Jump 3rd), Chris Spearman (U18 400m 3rd), Ronan Duggan (U18 2nd 1,500m), Billy Henchy (U19 100m 1st).In the relays the Girls U18 2nd, Girls U16 2nd, Girls U12 4th, Girls U10 2nd, Boys U18 2nd, Boys U14 2nd, Boys U12 1st. There was also a large number of athletes who qualifed for track finals and were in contention in the field events but finished just outside the medals. (Results)

In the women's events Liz Coomey won the 100m, the Long Jump, Discus and the Shot Putt. Carmel Crowley had a great race in winning the 1,500m and she was also 3rd in the 400m. In the men's events Pat Mulcahy competing in these championships for the first time had a great night, he won the 100m, the Long Jump and was 3rd in his Shot Putt. Tom Laffan was 2nd in the 1,500m just missing out on the Gold in a very close finish to a great race. Patrick McSweeney was 3rd in the Shot Putt and George Bradfield was 3rd in the Discus. A men's relay team was 4th just missing out on the medals.

Munster Junior Track and Field Championships, CIT Track, May 2nd
In the Junior Men events Ronan Duggan was 4th in the 1,500m while Billy Henchy was 4th in the 100m and 5th in the 200m. Chris Spearman was 5th in the 400m. The relay team were second in the 4*400m.

In the U23 events the 4*100m relay team was 1st.
In Junior Women events Sarah Bradfield won the Discus and was 4th in the Shot Putt, Rachel Roche was 2nd in the Javelin, 5th in the Shot Putt and 6th in the Discus. Serena Cross was 5th and Lynda O'Donovan was 6th in the High Jump. The 4*400m relay team was 3rd. (Full Results)

A number of individual medal winners from Bandon with a number of relay teams also amongst the medals.

The 2nd leg of the West Cork Track and Field Championships was held in CIT Track in Bishopstown on the 23rd of April. A large number of Bandon A.C. members were amongst the medal winners. Full Results here

Cork County Junior Track and Field Championships, CIT Track, April 16th/17th
In the Junior Men events Ronan Duggan won the 1,500m while Billy Henchy was 2nd in the 200m sprint.
In Junior Women events Sarah Bradfield had a double winning the Discus and the Shot Putt, Lynda O'Donovan was 2nd in the High Jump and 3rd in the 400m while Rachel Roche won the Javelin (Details)

A small number of Bandon members made the trip to the CIT track on Easter Sunday for Leevale Open Sports. With athletes from all over Munster the competition was tough in most events but Bandon athletes performed well with a number of successes. Trophy winners on the day included Travis Coomey, Sinead Caulfield, Laura McSweeney, Robert O'Sullivan, Lynn Bradfield, Sipke O'Shaughnessy, Chris Nash, Sarah Bradfield and Liz Coomey while a number of other athletes performed well (Full Results)

There was a large number of individual medal winners with some impressive performance in the juvenile events including the following. Fintan O'Shaughnessy (u11) who won Gold in the 80m and the Long Jump, Lynn Bradfield (u13) who won Gold in the Shot and in the High Jump and Silver in the 80m, Laura McSweeney who was competing up an age group in the u13's won Silver in the Shot and Bronze in the High Jump, Ronan Sheehan (u13) who won Gold in the 80m and 600m, Lorraine O'Brien (u15) who won Gold in the 200m and Silver in the 100m, Padraig Sheehan (u15) who won Gold in the 100m and Silver in the 200m, Sipke O'Shaughnessy who was competing up an age group in the u15's won Silver in the both the 100m and the 200m, Lynda O'Donovan (U17) won Gold in the 100m, 1,500m and Long Jump, Valerie Lynch (U17) won Silver in the Shot and in the Long Jump, Grace Lynch won Bronze in the Shot and in the 100m, Shane Conway (u17) won Gold in the 100m, 1,500m and Silver in the Long Jump, Anthony Hennessy won Silver in the 1,500m and Bronze in both the Shot and Long Jump, Chris Nash (U17) won Silver in both the Shot and the 100m. There was also a number of medals won the in the Senior and Master categories as well as a large number of relay teams being amongst the medals, overall it was a very successful first outing in the track and field season. (Results from 1st leg)

On Sat 1st April Billy Henchy was the sole Bandon A.C member in action and he competed well in the sprint but failed to qualify for the final. On Sun 2nd it was the turn of the relays teams, the Boys U13 relay team (Mighty Okafor, Great Okafor, Ronan Sheehan, Jerry Crowley) and the U14 relay team (Mark O'Sullivan, Sipke O'Shaughnessy, Mighty Okafor, Great Okafor) both competed well but failed to make the finals.

There was plenty of success for Bandon in the All-Ireland Indoor championships, on Saturday Mighty Okafor won his 60m sprint in the U13 age group. while Joan Healy won the U15 sprint. Lynn Bradfield won the U13 shot and Rachel Roche was second in the U19 shot. Tracey Bradfield was 7th in the long jump. On the Sunday Laura McSweeney won the U12 shot with a new championships best of 7.85m, while Patrick McSweeney left it late in the U14 shot. Lying in second place with one throw to go he produced the best throw of the competition to take the Gold. Tracey Bradfield was second in the U14 shot and Toni Chatterton was 9th in the U13 long Jump. Well done to all athletes who competed.

Tom Laffan had a very successful weekend of racing recently. He won the Paddy Desmond Memorial 5K Road Race promoted by Rising Sun A.C. On St. Patrick's Day and then followed that by finishing in 3rd place in the Men's O35 category in the Munster Road Race Championships in Banteer on the 19th March.

There were top 3 finishes for Grainne Lucey and Roisin Coveney in the Girls U10; Seana Coveney and Aisling Everard in the Girls U12; Elizabeth Prout in the Girls U14; Lorraine O'Brien in the Girls U20; Robert O'Sullivan in the Boys U12, Sipke O'Shaughnessy in the Boys U14 and Anthony Hennessy in the U20 race. (Full Results)

Joe O’Sullivan finished an excellent 51st place out of almost 3,000 finishers.

Tom Laffan won the men's over 35 race and helped the Bandon team to 2nd place. Other results included Joe O'Sullivan who was 2nd in the over40 race and Bernard O'Sullivan who was 3rd in the over 35 race.

On the second weekend (u14-u19) medals won included Tracey Bradfield (U14 Silver Long Jump, Silver Shot Putt), Patrick McSweeney (Gold U14 Shot Putt), Joan Healy (Gold U15 60m sprint), Rachel Roche (Silver U19 Shot Putt) and Billy Henchy (U19 Gold 200m, Silver 400m)

On the first weekend (u10-u13) there were medals for Laura McSweeney (Gold U12 Shot), Great Okafor (Gold U13 60m sprint, Silver U13 Hurdles), Lynn Bradfield (Silver U13 Shot), Toni Chatterton (Bronze U13 High Jump) while the boys U13 relay team won Silver (Mighty Okafor, Great Okafor, Ronan Sheehan, Jerry Crowley, sub Ciaran Everard). (Full Results from both weekends) (Some Photos)

Rachel Roche received an award for her performances at Munster Competitions at the recent Munster Star awards which took place on Saturday 11th February 2006 in, Ennis, Co. Clare. Congratulations to Rachel.

Bank of Scotland U13/U15 Indoor Championships, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, 4th Feb 2006

Joan Healy had a very successful trip to Glasgow for the Scottish Indoor Championships, Joan won the 60m and was 2nd in the 200m. Phil Healy was 3rd in her heat in the 60m and was 10th overall in the Long Jump. Well done to both girls, these were excellent achievements. (More details)

Catherina McKiernan held a Chi Running training session with some members of the club recently.
This was enjoyed by all who attended. The Chi Running program promotes correct posture and technique with an aim of improving performance and reducing injuries.

Highlights included Sipke O'Shaughnessy who was 3rd in the U13, Lynda O'Donovan who was 10th in the U17 and Ronan Duggan who was 5th in the U17. The first race of the day was the Girls U11 where Seana Coveney was only club member taking part and she ran a great race to finish in 24th place. The next race with Bandon interest was the boys U13, here Sipke O'Shaughnessy ran a great race and finished an excellent 3rd, next home for Bandon was Mark O'Sullivan who finished in 16th, Ciaran Everard was 26th, John Lucey was 85th, Patrick McSweeney 95th with Tadgh O'Donovan 111th. In the Inter-Club competition the team narrowly missed out on the medals, finishing just 3 points away from the bronze medals. In the Inter-County competition Sipke, Mark and Ciaran all won Gold medals as part of the Cork team. In the Girls U15 race Ailis Crowley was the first home for Bandon in 46th place, Kate Harte finished in 71st, Serena Cross 82nd with Joanne O'Regan 86th. In the Inter-Club competition the team was 6th. In the Girls U17 Lynda O'Donovan finished in 10th place to win an individual medal, Mairead Roche was 30th, Valerie Lynch was 38th with Mary Kenneally 46th. In the Inter-Club competition the team was 4th while Lynda and Mairead both won Gold medals as part of the Cork team in the Inter-County competition. In the Boy U17 race Ronan Duggan ran a very brave race as he took to the front of the field and by half way he had a 30m lead. However he was unable to keep up this pace and he lost the lead with about 300m to go, eventually finishing in an excellent 5th place. Also in the U17 race, Shane Conway was 37th with Anthony Hennessey in 54th place. In the Inter-County competitions Ronan won a gold medal as part of the Cork team.

Women's (V1)
60m 1st Liz Coomey 8.87
Long Jump 1st Liz Coomey 4.16m
High Jump 1st Liz Coomey 1.35m
Shot 2nd Liz Coomey 8.81m

Munster Senior Cross Country Championships, Beaufort, Co. Kerry, January 15th
Senior Women: 7th Carmel McCarthy
Inter-County 1st Cork

The race was won by Robert Wade (Waterford A.C.) in a new course record of 24:37 with Alan O'Shea (Bantry A.C.) who won the event in 2004 finishing in 2nd place in a time of 24:51 with Tom Earle (Loyola University, USA) finishing in 3rd with a time of 26:00.

4th was Fergus Meade (East Cork) 26:17 and 5th was Kenny Curran (Ballynonty) 27:02. Carmel McCarthy of Bandon A.C. won the women's section in a time of 29:53, with Catriona Jennings of Rathfarmham-WSAF A.C. in 2nd in a time of 30:01 with Helen Leonard also of Rathfarmham-WSAF A.C. 3rd in a time of 30:23. In the junior section 1st girl home was local athlete Mairead Roche with another local athlete Lynda O'Donovan in 2nd. The first junior boy was local athlete Ronan Duggan with Donal Coakley of U.C.C. in 2nd place. Joe O'Sullivan of Bandon AC won the Men's Over 40 section, Dave O'Callaghan of Eagle A.C. was 2nd and Martin Forgarty also of Eagle A.C. was 3rd.
Men O45: 1 P Withers (Duhallow) 27:57; 2 M Murphy (St Finbarrs) 28:24; 3 P Gunning (Midleton) 29:14.
Men O50: 1 E McEvoy (St Finbarrs) 27:40; 2 T Huff (Ballynonty) 29:38; 3 W O’Riordan (St Brendans) 30:50.
Men O55: 1 P Twomey (Eagle) 30:49; 2 M Dunne (St Finbarrs) 31:16; 3 L O’Leary (St Finbarrs) 32:04.
Men O60: 1 J O’Leary (Leevale) 35:46; 2 G Webb (Rising Sun) 36:02; 3 N O’Leary (Belgooly) 37:35.

Women 040: 1 A McEvoy (St Finbarr's) 33:17
Wheelchair: Jerry Forde (Blarney-Inniscarra) 41:09.

Other club members who completed included Tom Laffan who was 13th, Fergal O'Neill (35th), Liam O'Reilly (61st), Pat Mulcahy (79th) and Bernard O'Sullivan (86th) (Complete Results) (Some photos)

Liz Coomey continued her fine form from 2005 into the 2006 season in Nenagh recently. She won Gold in the 60m, High Jump and the Long Jump and she also won Silver in the 200m.