Tuam Athletic Club

Martin Egan, a native of Shanaglish near Gort, was one of the finest athletes County Galway ever produced and won over 50 National titles during the 30′s and 40′s. He was also selected to represent Ireland at the 1948 London Olympics but unfortunately he did not make it to the games. He died in 2006 and on Sunday the first ever running of the Martin Egan Memorial 10k took place in Gort and the runners passed Martin’s home en route.

Tuam AC was represented by our own running legend Tommy Joe Whyte who once again won his category in a superb 38 minutes and he is in great form for the big race of next weekend which is the Craughwell 10 mile race. Tommy Joe will have plenty of team mates in Craughwell as Tuam are sending a big contingent and we wish them all well.

The 2.20 at Boyle on Sunday was the athletics equivalent of the Aintree Grand National. The best runners in the country were at the start line, the distance was 4.5 miles, the course was tough and the going was very heavy. This was no horse race, this was the All Ireland Masters Cross Country championships and Tuam AC was very well represented.

Roger Rushe was once again Captain of the Tuam team and just as Ireland kicked off in the rugby without their captain Brian O’Driscoll and unfortunately lost, Tuam AC didn’t suffer the same fate as our captain won his category in style and was once again crowned All Ireland Champion. After the race one of the many supporters approached Roger and thanked him for being such an inspiration, it was a well deserved tribute as many of the runners struggled through the mud in running spikes, Roger powered his way around the course in his bare feet.

Roger was not alone representing Tuam AC as Martin Hynes also ran a great race and we were all sure he would win a much coveted All Ireland medal but he had to suffer the agony of finishing in 4th place in his category. Martin was philosophical about his race as he knew that the best of the best would be in Boyle on Sunday and he was very happy with his own performance. Tommy Joe Whyte also ran a great race in his own category and proved he is a real cross country specialist.

After the Masters race was over it was time for the Intermediate race and this was a real hot affair with a very strong field in attendance. 20 year old Jamye Rossiter DCU eventually won the race after a titanic battle with Michael Shannon of Kilnaboy AC but the real star of the race as far as we were concerned was Enda Mannion of Tuam AC who ran an absolute stormer of a race. Enda just kept getting stronger as the race went on and he eventually finished as the second Galway runner home on a very strong Galway County team. It was a great performance in very tough conditions as the Intermediates had to run 10,000 metres and the mud was knee deep in parts.

The ladies intermediate race was won by Laura Shaughnessy of Loughrea AC. Laura has been a great friend and supporter of Tuam AC for many years and we were all delighted to see her win the All Ireland title on Sunday and she has a great future ahead of her in Athletics.