Paddy Larkin who died on Saturday October 14th was one of the longest serving athletics administrators in Ireland. He was seventy second year and had been ill for some time. A sprinter in his youth Paddy was elected secretary/treasurer of Tullamore Harriers A C at it’s inaugural meeting on November 10th 1953 and continued to serve as secretary of the club up to the time of his death. In 1958 the club which began with a membership of eight purchased it’s own premises at Offaly St. inTullamore. The premises were refurbished by the voluntary labour of the members, hot and cold showers were installed and provision was made for what was a then considered a revolutionary concept in Ireland, namely a weight training room. June 1962 saw the purchase of nine acres of land at the site of what is now the prestigious Tullamore Athletics Stadium. Permission was received from Tullamore UDC to have a suitable entrance erected at the site. In 1967 an application to develop the property in order to provide a track, pavilion, childrens’ playground and carpark was turned down in respect of the pavilion. After numerous appeals over the next few years the necessary permission for the pavilion was eventually forthcoming and the income gained from social functions at this facility when built provided the necessary finance to put in place the magnificent facilities which we so much take for granted today. In 1958 Paddy and his Committee inaugurated the Quinnlan Cup which was a six mile Open Cross Country team and individual race. This competition,held over the years either just before Christmas or in January, rapidly became a prestigious national competition and because of the autumn 1967 “foot and mouth “ scare the 1968 version was run as a roadrace. It continued in that format until discontinued a few years ago. In additional to this valuable infrastructural work Paddy contributed to the general running of the Athletics Association of the day at county, provincial and national level. He was a great friend of the Irish Schools Athletics Association with the Harriers club providing a very accessible central venue for the National Schools Championships as well as for the SIAB Schools Internationals. He travelled abroad regularly to support Irish teams in major International competitions. Paddy’s legacy is a well organised athletic club with an athletics stadium and ancillary facilities of which any professional sports club would be proud. During the 1970s and 1980s while this magnificent facility was being put in place Paddy had the support of an active and well focussed committee many of whom, like himself, have given long years of service to our sport. They will miss him but not as much as will his beloved wife Kathleen and his four children Michael, Adrian, Paula and Denise along with his extended family. To all we offer our heartfelt sympathy on their great loss. May he rest in peace.
