Deep pride in the lifetime achievements of Paraic Sweeney
Achill endurance athlete Paraic Sweeney continues to raise the bar.
Like a good wine, he gets better with age. At 75, he enjoyed the finest year of his sporting career in 2026, winning European Masters gold, silver and bronze medals, claiming further national titles and setting a new Irish over-75 half-marathon record.
Born in 1950, Paraic has been a passionate Mayo supporter for decades and finally experienced the joy of seeing his county win Sam. Away from the terraces, he has built an impressive sporting record of his own.
Paraic has run in 20 of the 21 Achill Half Marathons, missing only in 2023 through injury. Having won the over-65 category in 2024 and 2025, he took the over-70 title in 2026.
Paraic joined Mayo AC in 2022 and began training seriously for national and international competition. In his first national race, he won the over-70 title at the National Half Marathon in Rathcoole. Later that year, he claimed national gold in the over-70 category at the Dublin City Marathon.
After injury interrupted his 2023 season, he returned to win national over-70 half-marathon gold in 2024 and added two more national titles in 2025, taking gold in the over-70 10k and National Half Marathon.
His 2026 achievements have been exceptional. At the European Masters Non-Stadia Championships in Poland, he was part of teams that won gold in the 5k road race and 6k cross-country, also claiming individual cross-country bronze.
At the European Masters Outdoor Championships, he won over-75 10,000m gold in 44:22 and half-marathon silver in 1:39:55, just two seconds behind the winner. The latter set a new Irish over-75 record, improving the previous mark by two minutes and 42 seconds.
He added national half-marathon gold in Cork, his fourth title, and made his indoor track debut with silver in the 3,000m and bronze in the 200m.
Paraic’s dedication, consistency and competitive spirit continue to inspire. His success at national and European level at 75 is a source of immense pride for Achill and Mayo.
