Amy Greene seals European spot as Caolan McFadden bags latest win

On a day when Amy Greene booked a seat on the plane to Brussels for the European Cross Country, Caolan McFadden won his latest national gold medal.

Finn Valley AC woman Greene will go to the European Cross next month as part of the Ireland U20 team after taking silver in Sunday’s national U20 cross country race.

Greene has been in superb form lately and followed up with a really notable display at Gowran Park on Sunday.

The DCU student, who is coached by Helen McCready, was beaten only by East Down’s Anna Gardiner, who took both the U18 and U20 titles. Greene was firmly ahead of Kirsty Maher and will now head for Laeken Park in Brussels in December. Greene nailed down her spot with a performance of real substance.

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As Europe beckons for Greene, McFadden was toasted yet another national gold.

The Cranford AC man, running out of his age category, won the U18 title, staving off Tallaght’s Cormac Dixon and Finn Diver of Beechmount Harriers.

McFadden was the U16 champion in 2022 and the Creeslough native will still be eligible to go in the U18 race next year. McFadden will now look to add the U17 crown to the ever-growing collection.

Letterkenny AC competed at the European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country in each of the last two years having won the senior women’s team title in 2021 before going second last year.

On Sunday, they were led around by Nakita Burke in 13th and strong finishes by Noelene Scanlon in 24th and Claire McGuigan in 29th were pointers to a team in contention, even in the absence of national marathon champion Ann-Marie McGlynn.

In what might’ve been referred to as real cross country conditions, several leading athletes literally fell foul of the Gowran muck. Natasha Adams of LAC was one such runner, her afternoon ending when a nasty fall forced her out of the race. Dublin City Harriers bagged the senior women’s title with Dundrum South Dublin in second.

Finn Valley AC’s Sean McGinley was the fifth U23 and club-mate Liam McCay - who recently landed a scholarship at Providence College in Rhode Island - was sixth in the U20 race.

Odhran McBrearty of Finn Valley AC ran superbly to land silver in the U16 race. The Drumkeen lad, who has surged through a series of races lately to announce potential with purpose, was second behind Declan O’Connell of Craughwell AC. Daire Matthews from Dunleer was on McBrearty’s shoulder heading for the line, but the Finn Valley man got in ahead.

Selection now for the Celtic International in Glasgow will follow for McBrearty as a just reward. McBrearty led the way for Finn Valley’s team as Paraic McGettigan (47th), Brian Lyons (48th) and Jamie Gallagher (82nd) helped secure fourth - just seven points off medals.

Andrea Reid led home the Finn Valley AC U14s in 11th as they left with team silvers. Reid was followed by Darcie Clarke (18th), Aimee McElchar (32nd) and Niamh McGlinchey (41st), who also scored.

There was agony for Finn Valley’s U12 girls, who were just a point off a medal. So near, so far.

Caoimhe McNeill in 25th was the lead runner, followed by Aoibhinn Greene (26th), Caoimhe McElhinney (50th) and Ciara McCusker (51st).

In the U14 boys race, Rosses AC’s Tristan Greene secured a medal having finished 12th overall, inching away from Lewis Morgan (St Senan’s) and Robert Gleeson (Newbridge) on the line.