BY JOHN WALSHE
NOT only did Bandon AC promote an excellently organised county cross-country at Ratharoon East, but the club also had the distinction of providing the first two finishers in the main event of the day, the novice championship.
The men’s county novice is always a hard race to win but Naoise Ó Flaitheartaigh added his name to a prestigious list of former champions including the likes of Olympians Marcus O’Sullivan and Liam O’Brien when coming home with nine seconds to spare over his clubmate, Gavin Kenny.
An absorbing race saw the two Bandon men soon take control over the demanding course of 6km, comprising six laps with a long climb to be negotiated on each circuit. With around a mile to go, Ó Flaitheartaigh seemed to falter and it looked like Kenny’s race, especially given his faster track times which include an 800m best of 1:57.67.
However, Ó Flaitheartaigh soon recovered and over the closing stages opened a vital gap which at the finish had grown to nine seconds. His time for the 6km was 21:44 with Kenny in 21:53 and third place going to Niall Duncan of Togher in 22:01.
Considering this was his first race since finishing seventh in the Irish Universities 5000m back in April, Ó Flaitheartaigh was elated with his victory.
Caoimhe Flannery (Skibbereen) coming home to win the girls' U17 race at Bandon.
‘I was delighted to win, and it was nice to do it at home, although I didn’t know the course particularly well. I don’t know what happened on that last lap, but I soon recovered and managed to get away,’ he said.
Now teaching at the Gaelscoil in Bandon, the 23-year-old is coached by Clareman Rory Chesser and looks forward now to the Munster senior championships in Tipperary in a month’s time.
Kenny, who will be concentrating on the 1500m indoors, was likewise pleased with his runner-up spot. With Ruairi Harrington 15th and the experienced Kevin Wilmot – back from a long spell out with injury – 17th it meant that Bandon took the bronze medals on 35 points, behind winners Leevale (30) and second-placed Togher (32).
Ó Flaitheartaigh’s novice victory was the first by a member of the Bandon club since Mark Lehane won in 2006. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 1980 when Richard O’Flynn took the honours before embarking on an athletics scholarship to Providence College in the USA.
Earlier, Caoimhe Flannery continued on her winning way when easily taking the U17 race, despite a fall on the last lap on a tricky downhill section.
Ella Collins, who finished second, and Lucy O’Flynn, who was third, in the girls' U19 race.
‘It was a really tough course, with so many hills. I slipped in the mud but I was quickly back up again’, said the Skibbereen athlete who was winning her age-group for the sixth year in a row.
Caoimhe, a niece of Cork football manager John Cleary, was then dashing off to Páirc Uí Chaoimh to see her six first cousins – three Cahalanes and three Maguires – make their contribution to Castlehaven’s victory over St Finbarr’s in the Bon Secours Hospital Premier SFC decider.
Other individual West Cork medal winners in the older age-groups were Finnian Lawton (Durrus) who was second U17, Ferdia Dennis-McAleavy (Skibbereen) second in the boys’ U19 while in the girls’ U19 Ella Collins and Lucy O’Flynn – both Bandon – finished second and third.
