Kildare deliver "Best ever County Indoors"
Boys u13 High Jump (L to R): Jack O'Neill (Crookstown-Millview), Charlie Swan (Naas) and Conor Dogherty (Clane).
Boston, Paris, Lyon, Auckland, Dublin and Athlone. That is where the athletics action focused last weekend. The annual New Balance Indoor meeting in Boston saw Cian McPhillips take the 600m title with Nick Griggs setting an Irish u23 record in the 3000m. Griggs along with Andrew Coscoran (2nd overall) both attained the A standard for the forthcoming World Indoors in Poland.
Mark English finished 3rd over 800m in Lyon, France, with Bori Akinola claiming victory in the 60m at the same venue. Laura Nicholson was victorious over one mile in New Zealand. Then Sarah Lavin rounded off the elite weekend with silver in Paris and a World Indoor qualification standard. While our elite athletes were proving their superstar status on the international stage, closer to home the National Indoor League had two clubs taking part: Naas in the ladies and Newbridge in the men’s.
While Saturday was a mecca of activity in Athlone as the Kildare Indoors took place with large numbers in many of the events. It was declared Kildare AAI secretary Carmel Kelly, “the best ever county indoors”. The county athlete of the year awards were also presented in Athlone. Fifteen athletes were honoured for their outstanding performances during 2025.
The Kildare Indoor Championships was held in Athlone last weekend with an attendance that set records for amongst county events. With over nine heats (close to eighty athletes) in some races, this goes down as a tremendous start of the 2026 year for Kildare athletics.
For many young athletes, this was their first foray into indoor competition. As the rain lashed outside, competing indoors was certainly a welcome reprieve from the recent atrocious weather, with many beginning to understand the purpose of the indoor season in January.
Crookstown-Millview proved to be the most prolific medal winners amassing twenty-three gold, eighteen silver and twenty one bronze medals across a range of events and age groups. Behind them it was Newbridge AC, followed by Naas and then St Coca’s. Although it is worth pointing out that despite their 4th overall place, St Coca’s managed to secure the second highest number of gold medals (sixteen) behind that of Crookstown-Millview.
There were some noteworthy performances throughout the day. Starting with the brilliant Maya Rus (St Coca’s) whose performances rather than medal tally are what makes her so astonishing. Rus devoured the track in the u12 60m. From the gun, she created space between herself and the rest of the field. By 30m (the half way mark) she was already 5m clear of her nearest opponent. Easing across the line, and casting a glance to the side, there was not an athlete within sight of her peripheral vision. Rus has been outstanding in every indoor competition she has competed in these past two months and the trend certainly looks to continue.
The St Coca’s athlete also took gold in the long jump, before joining her St Coca’s teammates to take a third gold as part of the u12 4x200m relay. Triple gold – all in a day’s work. Amelia Brogan was another St Coca’s athlete to stand out. The u11 athlete made light work of the long jump before heading over to the track for her 60m final which she easily won. It was good to see the senior side of the house represented too. Meabh Caffery took the senior 800m title from Eabha Brennan (Newbridge) and Eve Dowling (Newbridge). Caffery will now head to Portugal for a spell of warm weather training before resuming her indoor season as she targets the national u20s. Matthew Ennis as expected took the boys u15 800m title with clubmate Luke McKeon looking impressive in the u17 800m.
The future looks bright for the St Coca’s middle distance squad as Garbhan Prendergast once again ran a superb 600m to clinch the title. Jesse Farrell looks like he may be tuning up for a good season as the u16 athlete took the 200m title. There was an upset in the girls u15 60m as Mia Mujadin over hauled Amber O’Connor (Eire Og) to become the surprise winner.
Crookstown-Millview travelled with 104 athletes and took home over sixty medals. There were ample personal best most notably from Charlie O’Neill in the u16 Long Jump. There was a triple gold for Florence Harte as she took the u16 60m and long jump titles. She then went on to claim gold as part of the u16 4x200m relay team that also included: Niamh O'Shea, Lucy Kealy and Ella Louise Donnelly.
Also drowning in gold was Rachel Beattie who took the u17 Long Jump and 60m titles and was also a recipient of a gold in the 4x200m relay along with her team mates: Georgia Myerscough, Amelia Walsh and Eve Wright. Sadie Byrne had an excellent 600m race u13 as she sped past Jennifer Kearney (Newbridge) and Adele Geoghegan (Suncroft) to cross the line for victory.
There was a personal best for Niamh O’Shea as she took silver behind Florence Harte in the u16 Long Jump, before going on to claim gold in the 200m. Finian Sexton had a great day of competitive action. The talented u17 athlete secured first in the 200m and 60m before helping his team of Matthew Osadolor, Daire Malloy and Charlie O'Neill to bronze medals in the relay.
Newbridge AC had another great day. Fresh from competing at the National League some of their members travelled directly to Athlone to help the club accumulate county points. The mad dash across the country resulted in a fine win for the club in the senior 4x200m relay as the quartet came through in the final leg to take victory over Celbridge and Crookstown-Millview.
There were strong performances in the middle distance events as Charlie McCabe (u14), Conor Farrell (u11), Jayden Murphy (u16), Kate Hargaden (u16) and Hannah Cash (u17) all won their respective races. The u16 girls (Kate Hargaden, Robyn Browne and Robyn Rainbow) taking a clean podium sweep of the medals.
It was similar circumstances in the senior 400m with Eabha Brennan, Eve Dowling and Mia Lennon dominating the race and collecting gold, silver and bronze. Michael Gardiner just edged out Fionn Sheridan (Naas) in the boys u12 Long Jump as the pair had a ding dong battle for the entire competition. James Dooley and Aidan Duigan have a reputation for being excellent shot putt athletes, taking Leinster medals in 2025. Their excellent reputation and form continued into 2026 as they both topped the gold medal tables in the u13 and u14 Shot Putts.
With just a few athletes travelling to Athlone, Eire Og managed to secure two gold, one silver and one bronze medal. Despite the being beaten on the line in the u15 60m Amber O’Connor performed very well in a race where the standard of competition was high. Her long jump gold was remarkable considering she took off on her wrong leg. Despite this hiccup she achieved a new personal best. It was gold for Ava Waugh in the u14 60m as she clinched the title by a narrow margin from Mia Doughty (Naas). Waugh went on to claim bronze in the long jump.
Tir Mona may be just a small club but the fourteen athletes that travelled to Athlone for the county indoors took home nine medals; Three gold, four silver and two bronze. The Markey siblings of Tir Mona made race-walking their own. Senan was a class apart in the boys u17 with Aine taking gold in the girls u15. This was just two of the three gold the club secured. The other one coming from Emma O’Donovan in the girls u12 shot putt. Emma surprised her opponents with a new personal best from her final throw. It was double silver for Lucy Gill as she finished second in both the u16 60m and 200m.
As many of their older athletes were competing in the National League, Naas AC had to rely on the younger athletes to accumulate the club points. What a good job those younger athletes did, finishing runners-up to Crookstown-Millview on the medal table, with a total of thirty eight medals. Overall it was the Naas boys that contributed to the medal haul. A reflection perhaps on the girls being at the National League. The boys did particularly well in the sprints and hurdles. Max Drennan won the boys u14 hurdles from clubmate Felix Blanc Quigley. Just moments before it was another clubmate Cillian McManus who took gold in the u13 hurdles. The mighty trio of Cillian McManus, Senan Smith and Harry Kearney crossed the line for victory in 60m sprint in the boys u13, 14 and 15 respectively. Thus giving Naas the edge when it came to sprinting. With so many top sprinters in their age group, it came as no surprise that Naas won the boys u13 and 14 relays. Charlie Swan and Michael Clear were superb in their high jump competitions, taking decisive victories as they soared to new heights u13 and u17. Adding gold from Harry Kearney and Daniel Sheehan in the u15 and u16 shot putts, it made for a very successful day for the field eventers. While not as prolific medal winners as the boys, there were excellent performances amongst the girls too, none more so than Eibhlin Valentine who had a tremendous race against Sienna Cooke (Crookstown-Millview) over 600m. Both these athletes are excellent middle distance runners, qualifying individually for the Nationals in Derry last November. Neck to neck for most of the race, it was Valentine who pushed hard over the final 60m to take the u12 600m title. Valentine later finished second to Maya Rus in the 60m. Eabha Larkin got her first county gold, woth a brilliant shot putt competition. Larkin managed to out-throw Sorcha Tonra (Clane AC) to take the victory.
Clane AC took home 32 medals, eight of which were gold. O'Jane Bangura was outstanding in the u13 hurdles. Agile and fast she was a pleasure to watch as she gracefully glided over the hurdles. This was not her first race of the day either. Earlier in the programme she took the u13 60m title from her clubmate Amelia Owie. Clane AC had a clean podium sweep as Annie Grey took third. With the three fastest u13 athletes winning the relay event was inevitable as the three girls were joined by Indie Mawer to complete the quartet . Mawer had earlier taken gold in the u13 walk. The exceptional ability of the girls u13 from Clane manifested itself in yet another clean sweep in the Long Jump. Hayley Dunne took gold, Amelia Owie silver and Annie Grey bronze. Hayley Dunne also took gold in the High Jump. Iris McCartan looked fit and relaxed as she cruised to victory in the girls u15 800m. There was yet another clean sweep of the medals by Clane as Gemma Ryan took second and Aobh Corcoran third. Adam Clancy is an emerging talent at long jump. Technically good he leaped his way to the top of the podium.
There is no doubt about the ability of Glen Galloway. The Suncroft athlete (now u13) has been winning all before him for the past two years. Fast and determined he stormed down the track to clinch victory from James Dooley (Newbridge) and Eamonn Nolan (St Coca’s). Galloway’s medal spree did not end with the 600m. He rose to the crowd on yet another occasion as he leaped to a fantastic gold in the Long Jump. There was a double for Ben Fahy in the u11 Long and High Jumps, showing no fear as the bar went higher. Oran Tuite proved to strong for the opposition as he took gold in the u12 shot. The Suncroft boys may have grabbed five gold medals but the girls claimed some of their own too. Adele Geoghegan took the u13 shot putt title from her clubmate Sarah Cousins in second place. Keeping it in the family, Lucy Cousins went one better for the Cousins crew and took the top prize in the girls u16 shot.
Le Cheile athletes came in their numbers with some competing indoors for the first time. Kylie Mhondiwa impressed in the girls u15 hurdles as she cruised to victory over Aoibh Lavin (Tir Mona). Mhondiwa produced a good turn of pace as she moved from the final hurdle to the finish. The talented Le Cheile athlete, demonstrated her versatility with a fine win in the shot putt an hour later. There was a further medal when Mhondiwa was an integral member of the u15 4x200m silver medal winning relay. Eoin Kelly was up against strong opposition in the u15 Long Jump. With Charlie O’Neill (Crookstown-Millview) recording a personal best, Kelly was not too far behind.
Celbridge AC came to the indoors with a new crop of youngsters while some of the older athletes were in the embers of their juvenile career. Elba Bayon kick started the medal process for Celbridge with a win in the u17 walk. Danielle Kelly had a magnificent double in the sprinting events. Kelly followed her 60m win with a tremendous race in the 200m. Eimear McGrath was back in the blocks again as she took the gold in the senior 60m. Lydia Fleischer was back in action again taking the shot and high jump double. The senior men’s 200m was an exciting affair as Celbridge AC took a clean sweep of the podium. It was Sean O’Sullivan who proved to be the man to beat as he out sprinted Jack Gilmartin and Max Hollingworth. With fast sprinters Celbridge looked like they might take the senior relay title too. However the return of two of the Newbridge team members from the National League changed things, relegating Celbridge to the silver medal position. It did however give the audience a very existing few minutes of racing.
As the officials gathered their belongings and the athletes piled out of the stadium – all agreed that this year’s county indoors was the best ever. It was not just the medal tally, or the large numbers that counted, it was the enjoyment, exciting races and happy atmosphere felt by all who attended. Contentment.
The first round of the National Indoor Club league got underway last weekend with clubs from across the country going head to head for the first round, all trying to book a place in the final. Naas AC finished 7th out of 15 ladies clubs while a young Newbridge AC team finished 12th out of 15 clubs in the men’s. Dublin clubs often dominate the club scene it is thus important that smaller clubs make their presence in the league, giving pride to the club and more importantly, a presence at senior level. The latter which seeks to affirm that there is a place and purpose in competitive athletics for all abilities.
Top scorers for Naas were Aoibhinn O’Sullivan in the Pole Vault and Aisling McHugh in the Triple Jump. O’Sullivan finished third in an event that had a large turnout of fifteen starters. The Naas athlete passed on the first four heights and then cleared the fifth and sixth heights on her first attempt – settling for bronze at 2.55m, well ahead of Dublin’s Alison Beck. It was a return to competition for Aisling McHugh after a two year hiatus. The tall Naas AC triple jumper had an excellent first competition jumping 10.79 on her fourth and final attempt to clinch 4th place, marginally off a second or third spot. McHugh then went on to finish 7th in the weight for distance, gaining a further 9 points for the club. After the first round it is Ratoath AC who top the table. Dundrum South Dublin are second and Carlow’s St Laurence O’Toole third.
A young Newbridge AC men’s team contested yet another national indoor league. Good performances from John Paul Archbold stepping down to 200m to finish 8th overall. Their men’s 4x200m relay team of JP Archbold, Kyle Ward-Byrne, Robert Gleeson and Eoin Murphy finished 2nd in their heat and 8th overall. The men’s table is topped by Clonliffe Harriers. Ratoath are second and Dundrum South Dublin third.
The county indoors in Athlone proved to be the perfect opportunity for Kildare Athletics to present the athlete of the year awards. Fifteen athletes were recipients of these awards that honoured their outstanding performances during 2025. Calculated on a points basis, these athletes achieved medals at provincial and national level, with some going on to represent Ireland in their chosen events. The awards are based on their performances in the Kildare county events.
The first awards were for the boys and girls u12, with Sarah Cousins (Suncroft) and James Dooley (Newbridge) the winners. Cousins had victories over hurdles, shot and turbo jav, while Dooley shone at the middle distance and cross-country events.
The talented Georgia Coughlan (Crookstown-Millview) took the girls u13 award. Coughlan’s forte was the long jump and hurdles (medalling at nationals too) while Charlie McCabe (Newbridge) excelled at middle distance and Cross Country.
It was hard to go past Iris McCartan for the girls u14 award. McCartan won the National 800m title and also excelled over cross-country. Harry Kearney (Naas) took the boys award. Kearney gaining his points from sprints and shot putt.
Newbridge took the u15 girls and boys awards. Robin Browne competing over middle distance was the girls winner with another middle distance star Jack Brennan taking the boys. Brennan had a terrific year in 2025 taking the Leinster Cross-country title and medalling both on the track and country.
Newbridge once again took awards u16. The girls was clear cut affair with Hannah Cash, a middle distance star taking the girls award. The boys u16 was declared a joint award as Finian Sexton (Crookstown-Millview) and Alexander Guther (Newbridge) scored 12 points each. The sprinter versus the middle distance runner.
Another double for Newbridge as middle distance athlete Eabha Brennan took the girls award and long jumper JP Archbold the boys. Both athletes represented Ireland at the CSIT Games.
Finally the senior awards went to Michelle Cox (Newbridge) and Daniel McEntegart (Naas).
