Patsy McGonagle pays tribute to mentor Maeve Kyle after death of Irish sporting icon

Patsy McGonagle has paid tribute to his long-time friend and mentor Maeve Kyle following the death of the Irish sporting legend.

An iconic and inspirational figure in Irish sport, Kyle passed away on Wednesday at the age of 96.

A formidable multi-sport athlete who made history as Ireland’s first female track and field Olympian, Kyle competed at three consecutive Olympic Games (Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, and Tokyo 1964) at a time when women had to overcome huge prejudice and when opportunities in international athletics were extremely limited.

When he was appointed as the Ireland team manager for the 2000 Olympic Games, one of McGonagle’s first tasks was recruiting Kyle to his backroom staff.

“Of all of the people in Irish athletics, I would have the most regard for Maeve,” McGonagle told Donegal Live.

“She had competed in three Olympics Games so she had that experience. She was great and she was so, so loyal.”

Back in the 1970s, Kyle had given McGonagle a big break when she recruited him as a coach for a Northern Ireland team heading to the World Cross Country Championships in Limerick. 

“Maeve took the time to introduce me to anyone and everyone,” McGonagle recalled. “She didn’t just leave me to the one side. She encouraged me, she mentored and she supported me.

“I became very close to Maeve and I was always so grateful to the chance she gave me.

“That World Cross in Limerick was very memorable, of course. John Treacy won the senior men’s gold and an Ireland team with Danny McDaid from Donegal were silver medalists.

“Maeve got me involved with teams and she was a real pioneer for women’s athletics in particular.”

Patsy McGonagle with Maeve Kyle in recent years

Born in Kilkenny, she later made Ballymena her home and her sporting career was wide and fast.

A sprinter and middle-distance runner, she represented Ireland in the 100m and 200m sprints in 1956 and 1960, and went on to reach the semi-finals of the 400m at the age of 36 in Tokyo 1964.

Kyle - who also competed in hockey, tennis, swimming, sailing and cricket - won a bronze medal in the 400m at the 1966 European Indoor Championships in Dortmund. 

McGonagle first encountered Kyle at the Top Towns athletics competition in the 1970s where a Finn Valley AC team represented Ballybofey against representatives from places like Derry, Coleraine, Ballymena, Strabane and Magherafelt.

“We found ourselves competing against British soldiers at times and, remember, this was at the height of the Troubles,” McGonagle says. “It was actually a great social learning if you consider the great effort that people like Maeve had to go to organise it. This was a whole different world to now.

“We held it one time in Sean MacCumhaill Park and we used cord to mark out the lanes. It was a serious effort, but it was just what people did at the time.

“Following on from that Maeve took me into her own world and appointed me to teams. It was my first time heading away anywhere with teams. That really opened a door for me.

“She wasn’t afraid of going to war herself either: I remember her going to the door of the Bishop’s Palace and tackling the Archbishop, John Charles McQuaid, who wouldn’t let women take part in nationals which were to be held in Maynooth one year.”

Kyle opened her own door to many Donegal athletes over the years and was twice the special guest for the Donegal Sports Star Awards. 

In his 2019 memoir, Relentless, McGonagle recalled how Kyle’s handy needlework was needed for Sonia O’Sullivan who went on to win 5000m silver in Sydney. 

“Getting proper gear for Sonia became a massive issue,” McGonagle wrote.

“For her 5,000 heat in Sydney, Sonia was wearing this old floppy singlet, cut off at the bottom. 

“Maeve had to do a bit of a job on it.  It was unbelievable to think that Sonia O’Sullivan was away to run in the Olympic Games and only had something to wear because of the sewing skills of Maeve Kyle.”

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Well before that storied summer in 2000, Kyle had long since stitched herself into the tapestry of Ireland’s Olympic Games story.

McGonagle said: “She was a special woman, a remarkable lady; a real one-off who had a real impact in my life and the life of so many others and she will be mentioned in conversation forever.”