Naomh Mhuire AC the first winners of new Marian Feehan Trophy
Offaly Athletics Awards
The Offaly Athletics Awards Ceremony took place on Saturday last in the Tullamore Court Hotel. It was a night of celebration in a year marked by strong performances, teamwork, and community spirit.
Master of Ceremonies Brendan Carroll guided the evening to perfection in his brilliantly composed and controlled manner. Brendan introduced newly elected Offaly Athletics Chairman Neil Davidson, who formally opened proceedings.
Neil welcomed distinguished guests including Athletics Ireland President Bríd Golden, Athletics Leinster Chairperson Catriona Duffy, Offaly Athletics Honorary Presidents Lucy Smith and John Cronin, Offaly County Council Cathaoirleach John Leahy, and special guest David Gillick.
In his address, Neil congratulated his predecessor Darren Butler on the growth and development of Offaly Athletics during Darren's term of 11 years at the helm including the establishment of eight new clubs, bringing the county's total to ten.
Neil thanked all involved in organising the many events throughout the year, praising the commitment of many volunteers who dedicate huge time and effort to provide wonderful competitions within the county. He acknowledged the support of Offaly Civil Defence at the many competitions held during the year and thanked Ger Rogers and the newspapers for media coverage. Neil also thanked Dermot Egan of Healthy Offaly for securing sponsorship of the 2025 5K race series.
Guest presenter David Gillick awarded medals and trophies across a broad portfolio of competitions: the Offaly Novice, Intermediate, and Masters Cross Country Championships; Offaly Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships; Offaly Road Championships (10K, 4 Mile, 10 Mile, and Half Marathon); the Healthy Offaly 5K Series; and the Offaly Endurance Race Series. These competitions offered competitive opportunities, also helping to reinforce inter-club camaraderie.
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Marian Feehan Award. This is the first year that Offaly Athletics has introduced this award, which has been most kindly presented by Jude Feehan in honour of his late wife, Marion, whom all involved in Offaly Athletics remember so fondly.
Marian dedicated 45 years of service to Ferbane AC and Offaly Athletics until her untimely passing in 2021. The award itself was designed and created by Celtic Roots Studios, inspired by Marion’s lifelong ethos of nurturing young athletes and encouraging active participation. It celebrates the three cornerstones of Offaly Athletics: seniors, juveniles, and volunteers.
Offaly Athletics will be forever thankful to Jude and his two sons Max and Deema for this award and in turn the athletes in Offaly will try to fulfil Marian’s legacy.
It is presented to the club with the highest participation across the 5K Series, the Endurance Series, and the Cross Country Championships, measured relative to club membership.
Athletics Ireland President Bríd Golden presented the award and delivered an engaging address reflecting on her personal ties to Offaly and Tullamore. She highlighted the county’s strong and very impressive participation rate - approximately one in every forty residents is a club member and encouraged clubs to continue building on this momentum. Brid congratulated everyone present at the awards, to the many other members and stalwarts involved in athletics and competition in Offaly.
Brid closed the ceremony to a very loud applause to the announcement of the deserving and popular winner of the Marian Feehan Trophy - Naomh Mhuire AC. All medal winners were congratulated, with thanks expressed to the Offaly Athletics Awards Committee – Brendan Donagher, Tracey Burns, Pauline Colgan, Adrian Delaney and Mary Daly.
The next fixture on the Offaly Athletics calendar is the Offaly Senior Cross Country Championships in the Faithful Fields in Kilcormac on Sunday, November 30.