Moy Valley AC is Club of the Year at Mayo Sports Stars
Keelan Kilrehill of Moy Valley AC competed at the European Senior Cross Country Championships. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
It’s one thing to compete with the best but to become the best, well, that is quite another. But it’s arguable there is no other athletics club in Connacht, or perhaps even Ireland, currently so prolific as Ballina’s own Moy Valley AC, certainly not in terms of cross-country running at least.
Don’t just take our word for it though; Connacht Athletics has named Moy Valley as ‘Club of the Year’ for two years running, giving credence to the claim that it’s simply one of the strongest – and best at what it does – anywhere on this island.
It’s worth remembering, of course, that Moy Valley AC is also one of the youngest athletics clubs in the country having only formed in 2016, with its meteoric rise owing to a fantastic group of dedicated athletes with equally dedicated coaches and supportive parents.
In those early days of the club, a national medal was probably a lofty aspiration and yet a few short years later, the club now has a number of members representing Ireland at juvenile, under 20, under 23 and senior levels. At the European Cross Country championships in Brussels in December, club and country was represented by Kirsty Maher and Keelan Kilrehill, while last summer the Moy Valley duo of Clodagh Gill and Seamus Clarke also represented Ireland at the European Youth Olympics Festival in Slovenia.
But all that is simply the tip of an iceberg that is loaded with an incredible list of achievements by the club’s athletes throughout 2023, with national cross country medals won from under-11 all the way up to senior.
The U11 Girls national champion is Moy Valley’s Grace Tighe, who also finished third in the U12 Girls.
The U12 Girls national champion is Moy Valley’s Roxane Sands.
The U12 Boys national champion is Moy Valley’s Daniel Gallagher, who also finished third in the U13 Boys with teammate Patrick Ruane finishing just behind as fifth best in the country.
Moy Valley’s U11 Boys team are national champions.
Moy Valley’s U13 Boys team are national champions – for a third year in-a-row.
Moy Valley’s U12 and U14 Boys teams both finished second in Ireland.
Moy Valley’s U18 and U20 Girls teams both finished third in Ireland, with Clodagh Gill (U18) placed ninth in Ireland and Kirsty Maher (U20) placed third.
And Moy Valley’s Keelan Kilrehill was third in the All-Ireland senior men’s cross country before representing Ireland and finishing 17th in Europe.
Numerous medals were also won on the track but it’s the club’s dominance as a powerhouse for cross-country running that truly has placed Ballina and the name of Moy Valley firmly on the map.
A very limited number of tickets (€65pp) remain available for Friday night’s Western People Mayo Sports Stars Awards banquet at Breaffy House Resort, which includes a drinks reception, three-course meal, wine, the awards ceremony and entertainment. Contact Stuart Tynan at 086-1682149 or the Western People’s Ballina office at 096-60999 during office hours.
