The surnames of Lawler and Healy, though not yet in lights, are inscribed above the 100m and 200m national junior records, while Lavin is our fastest ever junior over the hurdles, quicker even than Derval O’Rourke.

Now firmly settled in its new home at the CIT track in Bishopstown, the Cork City Sports International meet captured the partisan crowd’s attention last night as Robert Heffernan clocked a new national record in the 3,000m race walk.

American sprinter Cleo VanBuren is determined to write her name into the history books by becoming the first lady to break 11 seconds on Irish soil.

Derval O'Rourke and Fionnuala Britton will lead a weakened Irish team in the European Team championship next week.

Derval O’Rourke is the standout name of the athletes pre-selected for the European first league team championships at the end of the month.

Over 7,000 people in hi-vis clothing took to the streets of the capital last night.

Donegal's All-Ireland winning centre back Karl Lacey is poised to return to action for Jim McGuinness' side towards the end of the month.

Fionnuala Britton had a fine third place finish over 3,000m in Karlsruhe on Saturday evening, running a personal best of 8:55.22 behind Meseret Defar’s 8:35.28 as a host of Irish athletes competed around the globe.

Dublin’s 2011 All-Ireland winning captain, Bryan Cullen, won’t return to Dublin training until next month after suffering from fatigue.

She may be the fastest woman in Ireland but sprint champion Ailís McSweeney was fashionably late for her wedding yesterday.

Dublin 0-16 Dubs Stars 1-11

1. Ailis McSweeney revealed Derval O’Rourke’s preparations in intimate detail: “She was in her own bed with her coaches in comfortable surroundings until two days ago.”

Cork City Sports chairman Tony O’Connell yesterday described the entry list for next month’s event as “shaping up to be the best” in the event’s history.

Ciara Everard and Laura Crowe combined to produce the most exciting race of the domestic indoor season when they clashed in the 800m at the recent Universities Championships in Nenagh, breaking the U23 record set by Sonia O’Sullivan all of 22 years ago.

DERVAL O’ROURKE will continue her build up to the world championships in Daegu and, ultimately, next year’s Olympic Games when she lines up for the 100m hurdles in Budapest tomorrow.

Two-time European silver medallist Derval O'Rourke achieved the qualifying times for both this year's World Championships and the 2012 Olympics at a meeting in Switzerland yesterday.

Ireland's athletes are 10th of the 12 competing nations after the opening day's events in the European Team Championships 1st League in Izmir, Turkey.

FIONNUALA BRITTON will win the European cross-country championships this year and, if not, she will certainly win them next year, according to her new coach, Chris Jones.

DERVAL O’ROURKE will recover from her fourth place at the European Indoor Championships, according to her coach Sean Cahill.

Ireland's Ailis McSweeney and Darren McBrearty were run out of contention in their respective semi-finals at the European Indoor Championships in Paris.

Ireland's Mary Cullen was a notable absentee from today's 3000 metres heats at the European Indoor Championships in Paris.

SHE did not win a medal this time but Derval O’Rourke had another amazing adventure at the European championships in Paris yesterday when she reported back from injury to claim fourth place in the final of the women’s 60m hurdles.

DERVAL O’ROURKE and Leevale clubmate Ailis McSweeney were two very determined ladies walking out of Santry Stadium on Tuesday night, according to coach Sean Cahill.

DERVAL O’ROURKE will be fighting fit for the first round heats of the 60m hurdles at the European indoor championships in Paris on Friday.

AILIS McSWEENEY (Leevale AC) stormed to a new personal best performance with a sensational 7.32 sec victory in the women’s 60m — just two hundredths of a second off the national record — at the Woodies DIY Irish Indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena yesterday.

Mary Cullen broke away from the field in the final 400 metres to win gold in the 1500 metres final at the Woodie's DIY Irish Indoor Championships in Belfast.

The 2011 Woodie's DIY Irish Indoor Championships got underway at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast today. The highlight was the women's 3,000 metres walk which was won by Laura Reynolds from Mohill AC.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN set the track ablaze in the Odyssey Arena a few years ago when he set a new Irish record for the 5,000m walk at 18mins 51secs and if he can reproduce his training form at the Woodies DIY Irish Indoor Athletics Championships in Belfast tonight, fans can expect fireworks.

DERVAL O’ROURKE bids to claim national titles in the AAA championships in Birmingham on Saturday and the Woodies DIY Irish indoor championships in Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on Sunday.

DERVAL O’ROURKE moved a step closer to her target — the European championships in Paris in a month’s time — when she finished third in the 60m hurdles in 8.03 secs at last night’s international indoor meeting in Lievin.

AVIVA are to sponsor Irish schools athletics for the next three years.

EXPECT to see Derval O’Rourke running a lot more 100m races between now and London 2012 as her coach, Sean Cahill, attempts to improve her overall performance over the 100m hurdles.

DESPITE winning only one medal, Irish team manager Patsy McGonagle was still pleased with the Irish team’s performance at the European championships in Barcelona.

THE fallout from David Gillick’s disappointing performance in the 400m final on Friday night may have cost the Irish men’s 4x400m relay team a place in yesterday’s final and possible qualification for next year’s world championships in Korea.

Derval O’Rourke claimed Ireland’s first medal of the European Championships tonight but there was not quite such good news in the final of the men’s 5,000m, as Alistair Cragg, who had led the race with seven laps to go, dropped out before the finish.

Both of the Ireland women's relay teams just missed out on qualification for their respective finals at the European Championships in Barcelona this morning, but they had the consolation of setting new national records.

The Ireland women's relay team just missed out on a place in the 4x100 metres relay final at the European Championships in Barcelona this morning.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN is a warrior and a fighter and he will win a medal at the Olympic Games in London 2012, according to his coach, Ivonne Cassin.

PAUL HESSION made this evening’s final of the men’s 200m among the fastest losers after a nail-biting wait at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona last night, where Ailis McSweeney failed by a mere 100th of a second to make the final of the women’s 100m.

IRISH team manager Patsy McGonagle believes David Gillick is ready to win his first European outdoor medal in this evening’s 400m final at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.

Luck was not on Ailis McSweeney's side at the European Championships tonight as she missed out on a place in the 100m final by just one hundredth of a second.

DAVID McCARTHY and Ailís McSweeney qualified for the semi-finals of their respective 800m and 100m events on an exciting, and controversial, morning for Irish athletes at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.