Athletics Ireland has named a team of 13 to compete at this year’s European Indoor Championships, which take place this weekend in Birmingham. The team includes 2005 European Indoor Champions David Gillick and Alistair Cragg. Gillick, who took the gold in the 400m in Madrid two years ago, has just recovered from flu which prevented him from taking part in the Irish indoors last weekend. Paul Hession who recently broke the Irish 60m record is also included. Derval O’Rourke is absent from the squad as she opted out to concentrate on the outdoor season. Liam Hennessy, chair of the High Performance Committee, was optimistic at the announcement. He said: “Our record of success at the European Indoor Championships has been significant. One of the great occasions in the recent history of the sport was the glorious Saturday night in Madrid at these championships two years ago when David Gillick and Alistair Cragg won gold medals in the 400 and 3000 metres respectively. "We know that to succeed at this level is a formidable achievement, nevertheless we are delighted to be announcing an impressive team list here today and we look forward with anticipation to some high-level results in Birmingham this weekend." The European Indoor Championships take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Birmingham. 60m Anna Boyle Ballymena & Antrim 3,000m Mary Cullen North Sligo High Jump Deirdre Ryan Dundrum South Dublin 60m Paul Hession Athenry 400m David Gillick Dundrum South Dublin 800m Thomas Chamney Crusaders 800m David McCarthy Le Cheile 1,500m James Nolan UCD 1,500m Liam Reale Limerick 1,500m Gareth Turnbull St. Malachy's 3,000m Alistair Cragg Clonliffe Harriers 3,000m Mark Carroll Leevale 3,000m Mark Christie Mullingar