Bridging Ireland’s talent gap
“The schools championships are the highlight of many athletes careers,” said Br Dooley of the action-packed schedule of 107 events starting with the junior girls and boys hammer at 9am today and culminating with the senior boys 4x100m relay at 6pm in Tullamore tomorrow.
“It’s so well organised and the structure is so clear from your local regions to the provincials to the All-Irelands,” continued Br Dooley of the appeal of the Aviva- sponsored championships.
“The beauty is that the whole island is involved. Every second level school in the island can be involved in the championships.”
Br Dooley won the national senior 1500m title in 1972 and then got involved in schools athletics in the 60s, starting with primary schools and the Laoghaire Sports in Dublin.
His first All-Ireland schools’ champion was eventual Irish mile record holder Ray Flynn in 1974 when he helped draw up schedules for a talented Longford athlete.
But it wasn’t until he finished his term as principal in Colaiste Éanna Ballyroan in 1986, where Pádraig Harrington and Paul McGinley were students, that he would have a profound impact on schools athletics.
Dooley went on a sabbatical to study a masters at St John’s University in New York and this would lead him to play a pivotal role in exporting Irish talent across the Atlantic to better themselves athletically and academically.
“The head coach was Duffy Mahony,” said the Nenagh native. “I had met him the previous summer. When I got there, he invited me to be a part of the coaching staff and I travelled everywhere with the team. I got an insight into the American scholarship system and I realised how unprepared they (Irish students) were going over.”
Dooley then returned to Ireland in 1988 and took up residence in the famous North Monastery, in Cork where he set up a dynasty of distance running.
“The Mon” would produce multiple champions and scholarship athletes utilising the Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) course to great effect.
Eddie O’Carroll was the first student to avail of a scholarship to Kentucky with Irish distance running legend Mark Carroll being the most high profile and successful export to Providence College.
“At the time in Cork, there was a great partnership with North Mon and Leevale, with Der Donovan and Donie Walsh,” said Br Dooley of the era that included 10 senior boys All Schools cross-country team golds.
“Instead of transition year in school, there was the PLC after completing the Leaving Certificate, and I used this to get them up to scratch, academically and athletically.”
The All-Ireland Schools acts as a veritable shop window for athletes looking to pursue the American dream, with some of the leading coaches attending the championships to scout talent and offer opportunities.
Marcus O’Sullivan, head coach at Villanova, is a regular but won’t be in attendance this year due to a clash with the NCAA regional championships. But speaking from his Philadelphia base, he explained that athletic prowess isn’t the sole issue which scouts are looking for. “As much as talent is a prerequisite, you have to be academically predisposed,” said the three-time world indoor champion. “Beyond those two things, you’re looking for an athlete with an adaptive capacity and an adventurous spirit. It’s not for everybody but we provide them with a skill set and the ability to deal with pressure if they want to succeed at the highest level.”
Two athletes looking to take on this adventure will be Aaron Hanlon (St Mary’s, Drogheda) who competes in the senior boys 5,000m today and is set for Providence College while Kyle Larkin (Ardscoil Rís, Limerick), who runs the senior boys 2,000m steeplechase, has committed to Wichita State.
Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Coláiste Iosagain), one of the most decorated schools athletes in history, is set to toe the line in the senior girls 1500m and is still contemplating a scholarship offer to Villanova University — there will be no indecision when she hits the front from the start and attacks the 4:19.0 record set by Ciara Mageean in 2010.
The championships will showcase more than just middle distance talent, with the sprints featuring the likes of Gina Akpe Moses (St Vincent’s Dundalk) and Megan Marrs (Strathearn School, Belfast) in the intermediate girls 100m and Zak Irwin (Sligo Grammar), Kieran Elliot (Grange PP) and Keith Doherty (Drimnagh Castle) in the senior boys 100m.
All eyes will be on Harry Purcell (Castleknock College), coached by Eamonn Coghlan and John Shields, as he looks for an unprecedented triple in the senior boys 800m, 400m and 4x100m relay.
Making the All-Ireland Schools, or indeed winning gold, may be as good as it gets for many of these athletes, and it’s guaranteed to be a day to remember.
Harry Purcell will play a key role throughout the day for his school Castleknock College, as he eyes an unusual treble of 800m, 400m and 4x100m relay.
He won all three in the Leinster finals and if he repeats the feat, he will certainly scoop the Lar Byrne award for athlete of the meet
Belvedere College have been a dominant force in the team competition, spearheaded by the now retired Phil Conway.
The PE department is now headed by Colin McCarthy. They are eyeing up a 16th straight College of Science trophy for best senior school but will face stiff competition from Castleknock College.
Connacht v Leinster for sprints glory
It looks set to be a straight shoot-out between Leinster and Connacht for the title of fastest schoolboy in Ireland. Training partners Zak Irwin (Sligo Grammar) and Kieran Elliot (Grange Post Primary) face Drimnagh’s Keith Doherty in the senior boys 100m showpiece.
Loreto Kilkenny will be to the fore throughout the day with sprint stars Sarah Kate Leacy and Cliodhna Manning going head to head in the senior girls 100m and 200m. They will combine in the 4x100m relay.
With six cross-country titles in the bag, Cleirigh Buttner is the most decorated athlete in schools history. She will look to bow out of her glittering schools career adding the senior girls 1500m title.
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