The Irish Schools Track and Field Championships will receive the World Athletics Heritage Plaque in a presentation on Friday which will coincide with the 110th staging of the prestigious event.
The plaque will be unveiled at 7pm at Tullamore Harriers.
The event began in 1916 and is the world’s second-longest running schools championships, after Jamaica.
The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is awarded for “an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics”, and the Irish Schools Championships is the first athletics event of any kind in this country to receive the honour.
The plaque will be unveiled on Friday evening by Galway businessman Michael Burke, a winner of several Connacht schools sprint titles in the 1960s, representing St Joseph’s Garbally. Burke is now the chief patron of the Museum of World Athletics.
Paying a special tribute to the Irish Schools Track and Field Championships, Lord Sebastian Coe, World Athletics President said:
“Congratulations to the Irish Schools’ Championships on the occasion of your 110th anniversary and on receiving a World Athletics Heritage Plaque.
“Dating back to 1916, when the Irish Amateur Athletic Association first promoted national championships for schoolboys, this movement has come a long way since. The organisation developed to provide a national championship structure for schools across Ireland, with provincial competitions allowing young athletes to progress from regional to national and international levels.
“Previous Irish Schools champions include global stars past and present such as Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O’Sullivan, and Rhasidat Adeleke among many others.
“Today, the Irish Schools’ Athletic Association is an entirely volunteer-led organisation, providing aspiring young athletes with a crucial championship platform in cross-country running and track and field athletics, and nurtures generations of future international athletes.
“I am delighted that the plaque is being presented by Michael Burke, himself a winner of several Connacht schools sprint titles in the 1960s, representing St Joseph’s Garbally, and now the chief patron of the Museum of World Athletics.
“I would like to end with a sincere thank you to Michael and to all the various school teachers and officials who have organised schools athletics in Ireland over the past 110 years.”
A full preview of the 2026 Irish Schools Track and Field Championships will follow on www.athleticsireland.ie.
- Irish Schools athletics champions 1916-2025 can be viewed HERE.
