'It’s the foundation for me. Without Bandon Athletic Club I wouldn’t be here today'

HOME is where the heart is for Phil Healy. Always has been. Always will be.

So while you can take the woman out of West Cork, you’ll never take West Cork out of this woman who is incredibly proud of her roots.

‘It’s always West Cork, never just Cork!’ the Ballineen woman laughs.

Always quick to highlight her home region and its sporting success, Phil’s contribution to the local sports scene is one of the reasons this is a golden era for West Cork sport.

The latest evidence of her incredible contribution was at the recent West Cork Sports Star Awards monthly presentation when the Bandon AC star picked up her SEVENTH monthly award to go with her TWO overall awards (2018 and 2020) – Phil is the most successful sportswoman in the history of these awards.

‘It’s great to be from West Cork and be part of the sporting circle that we have here – there is so much depth in the talent here. It’s unbelievable that it’s just not performing at West Cork level or county level, it’s international level, it’s on the worldwide stage,’ Phil says.

‘Even look at the Olympics, how many we had from the West Cork region. It was crazy to see! What the lads do, Paul (O’Donovan) and Fintan (McCarthy), is phenomenal. And who doesn’t want to be from West Cork!’

Olympian Phil Healy receives a West Cork Sports Star monthly (June) award from Helen Wycherley (Celtic Ross Hotel). Also included (left to right): Kieran McCarthy (Sports Editor, Southern Star), Ann Downey (General Manager, Celtic Ross Hotel) and John Paul McNamara (C103 Radio). (Photo: Martin Walsh)

Phil’s rise to become a trailblazer in Irish women’s sprinting began in West Cork with her club, Bandon Athletic Club, the playground for this future European medallist and two-time Olympic finalist. 

‘It’s the foundation for me. Without Bandon Athletic Club I wouldn’t be here today,’ Phil states. ‘I went to their recent sports day in memory of Catherine Duggan – and Catherine was my first coach and Catherine was the reason I started off in the sport and stayed in the sport. It’s so important to encourage the kids and make it fun.

‘Just to see what all the club members do as a volunteer, to build the club in West Cork – we had two Olympians in Paris, Nicola (Tuthill) and myself. 

‘Volunteers are the foundation of the sport and without them we wouldn’t be here today, so they deserve the recognition because without them athletes can’t perform – and that’s across all sports.’

Phil Healy in action at the Paris Olympics.

Bandon AC is currently building a game-changing new facility – on an eight-acre site in Clancoolbeg outside Bandon, the club hopes to have its 400m all-weather track up and running in the summer of 2025. This will be a landmark moment for the club and West Cork sport, its value was highlighted by the lack of facilities in the county as shown when the Mardyke track closed in March.

‘I used to be coming back and forth from Waterford to train in the Mardyke all winter, and then when that closed in March I really realised how dependent we are on a track,’ Phil explains.

‘There was no track in Cork and 8000 athletes were catered by the Mardyke track, but now having MTU open is super and it makes it so much easier for clubs in West Cork. It must have been impossible for Cork athletes at that time when there was no track.

‘Personally, if I was living in Cork I would have had to move county but I was very lucky to have my base in Waterford, but now to not only have a track in Cork city but with one coming in West Cork to serve the whole region is absolutely super. 

‘A track is used for more than just athletics; at the Mardyke so many GAA players were there too, so it will be super for West Cork to have a state-of-the-art facility. 

‘It’s great to see so many people supporting it so hopefully we can get the funding to get it over the line.’

• Phil Healy received a West Cork Sports Star monthly award for June in recognition of her European silver medal with the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.