Excitement is building ahead of the 123.ie All-Ireland Schools Track and Field Championships which take place in Tullamore on Friday (May 29th) and Saturday (May 30th).
The championships will receive a World Athletics Heritage Plaque, which will be unveiled in a presentation on Friday at 7pm, coinciding with the 110th staging of the prestigious event.
The All-Ireland Schools Track and Field Championships began in 1916 and is the world’s second-longest running school’s championships, after Jamaica.
More information HERE.
Over one thousand athletes from nearly 400 schools, representing every county in Ireland, are expected to descend upon the Midlands venue for an action-packed two days of athletics.
Friday’s opening evening session will be live streamed on the Athletics Ireland YouTube channel from 5:30pm, while Saturday’s action will also be streamed. Both days will be available to watch HERE.
- Timetable is HERE
- Spectator tickets are HERE
- Schools roll of honour is HERE
- Entries and live results are HERE
Track Action
Action on the track gets underway at 6:00pm on Friday evening with the walks leading out a bumper evening session.
There looks set to be an exciting battle for gold in the Senior Boys 3000m event between Matthew Newell (Colaiste Bhaile Chlair) and John Glennon (St. Finian’s Mullingar). Both athletes have been in personal best form this year and represented Ireland at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Brasilia in April, with Newell finish 21st and Glennon finishing 25th.
Robin Óg Murphy (Mercy College Ballymahon) is back to defend her title in the Senior Girls 3000m Walk but won’t have it all her own way as Savanagh O’Callaghan (High Cross College) aims to end her schools career on a high.
Pearl Sands (St Joseph’s Castlebar) will bid to go back-to-back in the Intermediate Girls 2000m event, while Daniel Glennon (St. Finian’s Mullingar) could prove tough to stop in the Intermediate Boys race.
Friday’s track action concludes with the steeplechase events and the Senior Boys 5000m. The Intermediate Girls 1500m Steeplechase has the potential to be a cracking race with Lucie Cawley (Mercy College Sligo), Ally Duffy (Moate Community School) and Abby Smith (Colaiste Dun an Ri Kingscourt) set to be in the shake-up for medals.
All three athletes have ran under the qualifying standard for the 2000m Steeplechase (6:55.00), with Cawley and Duffy trading the Irish U18 record for the event in recent weeks. Cawley obliterated the championship record last year by some eight seconds, clocking 5:01.84 on her way to victory.
Diarmuid Moloney (Nenagh CBS) is amongst the favourites for the Senior Boys 5000m. He set a championship record of 14:45.70 at the recent Munster Schools. Ulster schools champion Odhran McBrearty (St. Columbas Stranorlar) won silver in the Intermediate Boys 3000m last year and will hope to go one step further over twelve and half laps on Friday.
Saturday morning’s track action begins with the Intermediate and Senior Girls 3000m titles on the line. Last year’s intermediate race was one of the races of the championships as European U20 Cross Country medallist Emma Hickey (St. Mary’s New Ross) just pipped Freya Renton (Sacred Heart Westport); both athletes smashing the championship record in the process.
Renton returns to the intermediate event this year and will have Hickey’s championship record of 9:28.14 firmly within her sights. Her twin sister Holly (Sacred Heart Westport) will also hope to make the podium.
Hickey steps up to the Senior Girls race this year and depending on how the race pans out there is a chance that Sarah Healy’s championship record of 9:24.5 from 2019 could be under threat.
Ellis McHugh (Waterpark College) appears to be the athlete to beat in the Senior Girls 400m Hurdles. The Waterford athlete, who last year won a European Youth Olympic medal in the event, has already achieved two qualifying standards for the World Athletics U20 Championships.
Elle-Kate McRae (Scoil Mhuire Cork) only ran her first race in the event at the Munster Schools and is a credible challenger having broken 60 seconds at the May Open, while Aisling Shevlin (Scoil Mhuire Trim), who is last year’s intermediate champion in the 300m Hurdles, will also be in the mix. McRae and Shevlin have achieved standards for the event at the European Athletics U18 Championships.
Des O’Neill (St. Fintan’s Sutton) broke the championship record at the Leinster Schools by clocking 54.03 seconds and aims for another gold on Saturday in the Senior Boys 400m Hurdles. Daniel Downey (St. Marys CBS Portlaoise), who was second at the Leinster Schools, has achieved two standards for the European Athletics U18 Championships.
Leading the charge in the Intermediate Boys 400m Hurdles is expected to be Arron Whelan. Whelan, like Downey, has ran two standards for European U18’s in recent weeks.
The title of Ireland’s fastest schoolboy and schoolgirl will be down for decision shortly afterwards. European Youth Olympic Festival 100m bronze medallist Ben Sykes (Grosvenor GS Belfast) stormed to intermediate gold last year in a championship record and he will hope that the step up to the Senior Boys race will prove successful. Ronan Ryan (St Josephs College Borrisoleigh) will also have his eyes set on a coveted medal.
The Senior Girls 100m looks on paper to be a battle between Orlaith Mannion (Seamount College Kinvara) and Tiffany Nwaedozie (Ashton Cork). Mannion ran a PB last weekend of 12.01 in Brussels, while Nwaedozie recently clocked a 12.05 PB in Cork.
Both Intermediate Girls and Boys 100m are also stacked with quality. Destiny Lawal (Castletroy College) will look to continue her schools fine record at this championship in the girl’s event and upgrade her silver medal from last year. Theo de Bonis (Castleknock College) has the fastest personal best in the boy’s race.
Over 200m, Shane McDonald (Presentation College Bray) and Ronan Ryan (St Josephs College Borrisoleigh) are amongst the top entries in the Senior Boys race. The aforementioned Tiffany Nwaedozie (Ashton Cork) could make it a sprint double in the Senior Girls race. The Cork sprinter has achieved the qualifying standard for the European Athletics U18 Championships on two occasions.
The 800m races will split the 100m and 200m finals. Faye Mannion (Coláiste Muire Ennis) won the Intermediate Girls race last year in a championship record and will look to take Senior Girls gold this year. She is one of six athletes who have ran at least one standard for the European Athletics U18 Championships in the event.
The other five athletes race in the intermediate girl’s race; Freya Bateman (Mount Mercy Cork), Isabelle Gaffney (St Augustine’s College Dungarvan), Aisling Kelly (Coláiste Muire Ennis), Tara-Rose Smith (Sutton Park School) and Madison Welby (Friends School Lisburn). The battle for medals will be wide-open.
In the Senior Boys race the likes of Luke Merrigan (Glanmire CC), Odhran O’Sullivan (Bruce College Cork) and Isaac Vickers (St Brendan’s Killarney) should contend. Vickers is last year’s intermediate champion, while O’Sullivan won senior bronze in 2025.
The short hurdles finals get underway at 1:15pm. Cameron McCracken (Royal Belfast Academy Institute) and Orlaith Mannion (Seamount College Kinvara) will be the favourites for the Senior Boys and Girls finals. Mannion ran a personal best and standard for the World Athletics U20 Championships of 13.68 seconds last weekend in Brussels. Abigail Farrell (Kings Hospital) will hope to get close to Mannion and end her schools’ career on a high.
The one-lap wonders take to the track at 2:10pm with exciting senior 400m finals down for decision. Erin Friel (Loreto Letterkenny) is the star name in the girl’s race, having recently represented Ireland at senior level for the first time at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana. Sofia Granjo (Presentation College Carlow) has had an excellent 2026 so far and could be one of the chief threats to Friel. The senior boys race looks wide open.
The 1500m finals follow on track. Lorcan Forde-Dunne (St. Marys Drogheda) will be one of the lead contenders in the Senior Boys race, while Darragh Whelan (Castletroy College) leads the Intermediate Boys entries. Eimear Cooney (Sacred Heart Drogheda) will fancy her chances of claiming the Senior Girls title.
Relay fever sets in from 3:50pm with teams from some 80 schools entered. There is sure to be no lack of thrills and spills as the 4x100m races get things up and running. The final track action of the day will be the 4×300 and 4x400m senior races.
Field finals
Several minor and junior field events take place on Friday evening before the older age groups kick off on Saturday morning.
The Senior Girls High Jump will be one of the first competitions underway at 10:00am. Tara O’Connor (St. Vincent’s Dundalk), has a personal best of 1.81m and is one athlete to watch.
Michael Kent (Good Counsel College New Ross) is set to compete in the Senior Boy’s Pole Vault, and he will look to improve his 4.55m championship record set last year. National senior indoor champion Meabh Corkery (St. Mary’s Midleton) looks the favourite to win the Senior Girls title.
In the Hammer Throw, 2024 European U18 gold medallist Thomas Williams (Colaiste Dun an Ri Kingscourt) and Caoimhe Gallen (Columbas Stranorlar) will look to win back-to-back senior titles.
Gallen is also amongst the leading entries in the Senior Girls Shot Put. The Intermediate Girls contest will be hotly anticipated as Tara Laverty (Castleblayney College) and multi-eventer Emer Purtill (Mungret CC Limerick) go for glory.
European U20 finalist Theo Hanlon (Kildare Town CS) will prove tough to beat in the Senior Boys Shot Put. He is in a rich vein of form breaking his personal best and setting a new championship record of 18.27m at the Leinster Schools recently, which smashed a 36-year-old record.
Kevin O’Shea (Mercy Mounthawk Tralee) is the favourite in the Intermediate Boys Javelin. He has achieved one standard for the European Athletics U18 Championships, throwing 64.91m last weekend.
The Senior Boys Long Jump competition looks exciting with the likes of JP Archbold (Patrician S.S. Newbridge), Michael Kent (Good Counsel College New Ross) and Ryan Onoh (Ashton Cork) hoping to make the podium.
Darragh Fahy (St Brigid’s Loughrea) won national senior gold outdoors last year in the Triple Jump and he is the standout athlete in the Senior Boys competition.
In the Senior Discus Throw competitions Daragh Corcoran (Tullow CS) and Chloe Ryan (Presentation College Carlow) will bid to defend the titles they won last year.
- Live results are HERE.
- Please note only 5mm pyramid spikes are permitted on the Mondo surface. Under no circumstances are needle spikes of any length allowed. High Jump competitors only may use 7mm.
- All throwing implements must be submitted for check in by 2pm on Saturday.
- No dogs will be allowed on site at the track in Tullamore.
