There was no point in trying to keep up with my first cousins Joan and Phil. They were too fast!

Our man SEÁN HOLLAND explains what it was like growing up as a cousin to two of Ireland’s fastest-ever women

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WHEN you play sport yourself and your first cousins are two of the fastest women ever in Ireland – and certainly the fastest ever in West Cork – you leave yourself open to a bit of a ribbing. 

My direct connection to Joan and Phil Healy is something I’ve always been proud to tell people – my mother Helen is a sister of Joan and Phil’s mom, Phil – but it always comes with a joking comment. 

‘What happened to you?’ or ‘Why can’t you run that fast?’ have been some of the joking remarks thrown my way over the years, as Joan and Phil have been lighting up the tracks from national to world stages whereas I tend to take a little bit longer to move up through the gears …

In my defence, I do like to let my Barryroe GAA teammates know that I have two first-place trophies from the Cork Primary School Sports 19 years ago, which doesn’t draw much of a rebuttal. 

It was at those games in the old Páirc Uí Chaoimh where I got the chance to witness the potential both Joan and Phil had in the early stages of their athletic careers, while at the same time reluctantly acknowledging the lack of potential in my short athletics career. 

Those green and yellow St Mary’s school singlets worn by Joan and Phil glided across the grass and collected their just rewards. It was a sign of things to come. 

Our visits to their home in Knockaneady through the years are ones that stay in the memory. Almost like the movie Interstellar, time seemed to pass at a faster rate to the world around us. Whether it was Joan, Phil or their younger brothers Diarmuid or Padraig, there was never a lack of competitive edge between the Healy and Holland families. 

If the weather was miserable, we were all playing Buzz or Need For Speed on the PlayStation – it really did matter who won. The good weather allowed us countless soccer matches or a game of tip the can. Again, bragging rights mattered. Then if you fancied a bit of hard work, their dad Gerry would be only happy to take you up the yard or move cows into the fields surrounding Ballineen. There was no rest, constantly on the go, almost like the fast-twitch fibres in your body were constantly ready to spring. 

When you did eventually get a chance to let the heartrate slow, you’d make your way to what is now the old sitting room and there, just above the TV, hung the medals and trophies of Joan and Phil’s athletic achievements. It seemed with every visit that the collection grew. It seemed like that because it was the case. 

TOP OF THE CLASS: Phil Healy (right) and former Cork camogie star Orla Cronin during their national school days at St Mary's Central School Enniskeane.

Early on it was Joan stockpiling the medals but then Phil came charging up and it wasn’t long before she became the majority shareholder of the award collection. 

Phil often says if it wasn’t for Joan she might never have got involved in athletics. Joan bore the path and Phil followed. Her path has not been without its challenges, but her ability to overcome obstacles and stay focused on her goals is a testament to her character – and I saw plenty of that in her growing up, she never liked to lose!

Having the ability to call on the advice of your own sister has helped Phil flourish into the superstar she is today. Still to this day, the advice Joan gave me in Pairc Uí Chaoimh is ingrained in my mind as I prepared for my county final run at the Cork Primary School Sports. 

‘Don’t turn your head to see who's next to you. Head down and keep going’ – that was the advice of a 12-year-old to an eight-year-old. 

Imagine the advice Joan has been able to provide Phil with throughout their careers. Combine that with the words of Liz Coomey and Phil’s current coach Shane McCormack and an unwavering determination, she was always going to make it to the very top. And she’s been at the summit for many years. 

Putting on that green singlet at a senior championships in 2014, ten years on Phil is still flying the flag for her family and Ireland on the international stage. She’s had a career unlike any other. Seventeen national titles, national records, a European silver medal, and now she’s about to become a two-time Olympian. 

From watching her on those old wooden benches in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, I always knew she had a bright career ahead of her, but Phil has exceeded even those high expectations. 

Now as she prepares for Paris I’ll be watching on from a more comfortable seat but instead of the grass of Cork it’ll be the purple track of the Stade de France. And I couldn’t be prouder to say that’s my first cousin, that’s Phil Healy, a two-time Olympian, an Irish sporting superstar.