When Carrigaline’s Joe West made a ‘marathon’ trek to Helsinki Olympics

After Ireland’s incredible success in the 2024 Olympics, a Carrigaline woman recalls a time when her dad was part of the Irish athletics team – at the 1952 Games

ANNE West’s dad Joe represented Ireland at the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952, part of the Irish athletics team that included Adrigole’s George Carpenter, who was fencing for Ireland.

Anne, who now lives in Sydney, Australia, recently reminded people of the feats of her dad, Joe, who represented this country in the marathon at those games. Not only that, Joe played minor hurling with the former Taoiseach Jack Lynch and even won an All-Ireland junior medal with Cork in 1947, while he was on the Cork senior team the following year.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Anne said her dad, who passed away in 2000, was a very modest man and rarely told her or her four sisters much about his sporting prowess and successes.

Born in Carrigaline in 1921, Joe spent most of his life there until he went to work in Coventry, having first moved over there in 1949.

Joe West in his Olympic jacket.

‘He had a natural sporting ability and was quite a good all-round athlete before the Olympics. He loved hurling and football but was also a cross country runner and his gym was the wild fields of Carrigaline!’

Joe was a cross country champion a number of times and Anne recalls all the medals dotted around their home when she was younger which she became accustomed to seeing.

‘While at Coventry, he continued to run, even by himself and then met a few people who were members of Coventry Godiva Harriers. One day they asked him to participate in a race but because he wasn’t a member, he had to start last. However, two weeks later he was told he had the best time of that day and they invited him to join the club.’

Needless to say, word got back to Billy Morton, who was in charge of putting a team together in Ireland for the Helsinki games and Joe was invited to Dublin to run in a marathon to see if he could he qualify for the Olympics.

‘What I love about this story is that dad had to work a 12 -hour shift at work in Coventry that day. After that he got on the night boat to Dublin. He ran and actually won the marathon which was an incredible feat. There was no-one sending a private plane for him back then!’

Having been selected to represent Ireland, Joe then had to make his own way from London to Helsinki.

‘There was no one at the airport to greet him, having arrived late at night. He had to make his own way to the Olympic Village. On arrival he got lost and couldn’t find the Irish camp and ended up knocking on the Dutch team’s door and they looked after him for the night! The following morning he found his fellow Cork teammate, George Carpenter.

‘On the day of the marathon he was doing well but got a stomach cramp. However, he kept going but unfortunately got a second stomach cramp and ended up in 49th place. Race favourite and racing legend Emil Zátopek from Czechoslovakia won that race.’

Anne said she loves the fact that her dad gave it his best, despite getting two stomach cramps.

‘We had his Olympic blazer in the wardrobe for most of my life and it was only in my 20s that I actually tried it on, as people had asked us about it.’

She also recounts, on a different occasion, where one of his shoes spilt in a race, which led to him to lose the race.

‘Dad couldn’t afford to get new running shoes but we had a lovely shoemaker in Carrigaline called Bill Kirwan. He put straps together to keep the shoes intact and dad won the next race with those shoes.’

The memorial to Joe in Carrigaline.

Following the Olympics, Joe eventually moved back home, in 1953, after marrying Margaret Conway and they reared five daughters. He continued to run and was a member of Rising Sun AC.

In 2014, the kind-spirited people of Carrigaline sought to honour Joe with a wonderful memorial on the Pottery Road to remind themselves of one of their own greatest sporting heroes. Local artist Peadar Drinan was commissioned to design the memorial.

‘My dad is even more a hero in my eyes now that I know how tough times were for him and Ireland at the time. It’s a lovely tribute to our dad by the people of Carrigaline.’

While Joe is no longer with them, his Olympic blazer from 72 years is still a treasured and much-loved momento for Anne and her sisters.