Tír Chonaill AC star Fintan Dewhirst excited about ‘next chapter’ 

On the eve of jetting off to Peru for the World Athletics U-20 Championships, life is about to get a whole lot faster for Glenties athlete Fintan Dewhirst. 

The Tír Chonaill AC man was scheduled to pick up his Leaving Cert results last Friday but at the same time they dropped, he was already on his way to South America. 

Speaking to DonegalLive prior to that departure, he expressed his hope that a place at University of Limerick would be achieved. 

Dewhirst will be in action tomorrow morning (Wednesday) in the heats of the 400m Hurdles and his strong form this season means he’s also in line to potentially feature on relay teams.

 It’s a massive few weeks for him and he admits he’s excited about the opportunity to maximise both his academic and athletic potential in the next number of years. 

“I’m hoping to go to UL, that’s the hope anyway,” he said. “The reason for that is Thomas Barr, the best hurdler in Ireland, is involved down there. Another Tír Chonaill AC athlete Kelly McGory, just back from the Olympics, is also part of UL. 

“So I’d love to get down there and get stuck into some real high-performance training and that kind of environment.  

“I come from not having a group so there would be a bit of a change that way. It would be exciting and really beneficial to be part of a fast group. That would definitely push you on. 

“And you want to see how hard you can push yourself. It’s the next chapter really and the levels will hopefully move up. 

“I remember in Transition Year, I experienced a real improvement, a huge jump. And that was simply down to there being less academic pressure. It’s exciting and it’s the next chapter of my life really. 

“I can’t wait for college now. I’ll be hitting the books, of course, but it’s that extra time and proximity to top-level training and facilities that’s the most exciting thing”. 

Dewhirst played most sports growing up but with his granddad and his mother both involved in athletics, he was always destined to eventually side with that. 

“I played GAA for Naomh Conaill and that was my first ever sport. Let’s just say I wasn’t great! I played a little soccer and while I was quick I still wasn’t that good. 

“I played rugby for Donegal Town and that was the best fit in terms of team sport. I really enjoyed that.

“But my granddad, JP Ward, was part of the Paralympian committee with Eamon Harvey at one stage. My mum sort of carried on grandad’s legacy you could say, with Tír Chonaill AC. 

“So I was straight into athletics from very early on. And there’s a gravel track in Glenties so many mornings and evenings were spent there - right up until I was 16. So it’s only the last two years that I’ve got onto a real track”.

Dewhirst recently picked up gold in the U-20 Men's 400m Hurdles at the National U-20 & U-23 Track and Field Championships in Tullamore. In the process, he also broke a long-standing championship record.

In 1997, David Keoghan of Dublin City Harriers set the record with a time of 53.39 seconds. This record stood for 27 years until Dewhirst ran an impressive 51.54 seconds to set the new bar. 

“That was a championship record - I think there was something like two seconds taken off it. I wasn’t expecting much that day. 

“I still haven’t got confirmation from Athletics Ireland that I’ve officially broken the record.  I think my time was 51.54. Still, I can do better. I should really be hitting the 50-second mark”.

Dewhirst’s younger brother Ethan is also making a name for himself on the track, qualifying for the 400m hurdles semi-finals at the European Under-18 Athletics Championships in Slovakia back in July. 

Fintan explained: “Ethan is taller and is two years younger than me. He has higher hips so he’s more of a natural-born hurdler. He’s making his mark and improving all the time. 

“He’s really good and the exciting thing is that there is so much potential there to get even better”.