Tullamore Harriers athlete on Irish team for European Championships

Tullamore Harriers athlete Ally Duffy has been selected on the Irish team for the European Athletics U18 Championships will be held in Rieti, Italy from July 16-19.

Ally will be one of almost 1200 young athletes from all over Europe who will be competing at the championships in what is another major milestone in her athletics journey.

Ally's selection on the Ireland squad for Rieti is also a proud moment for Tullamore Harriers - a club which has produced many top class athletes over the years - and her coach Damian Lawlor.

The Moate Community School student will compete in the 2000m steeplechase, an event where she has an impressive PB of 6:45.00, set in Milan in May.

Last weekend, Ally set a new championship best performance in the event when she won the All-Ireland U17 race on her home club's track after a keenly fought contest. Her time of 6:50.74 was 16 seconds faster than the previous best of 7.06.73 run by Roisin O’Reilly back in 2018.

Rieti is a town which has played host to many significant athletic competitions over the years including the famous Rieti Meeting (an annual athletics event at the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi) in which eight world records have been set, and the 2013 European Athletics U20 Championships.

From Castledaly in Westmeath, Ally was coaxed into running for Moate CS by teacher Emer Gaffey in 2024 and, after enjoying significant success in schools competitions, she decided to join Tullamore Harriers AC.

Since then she has won a haul of medals at provincial and national level and represented Ireland twice already in cross country. Ally, who has been driven on by friendly competition from her brothers Eoin and Josh, along with support from her parents Tanya and Gordon, is eagerly looking forward to the championships.