Louth NACA Athletics reunion set for Dunleer

Louth has been a hotbed for success on the athletics field recently.

Be it Kate O’Connor’s heroics at in the heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games or of course the emergence of Israel Olatunde as Ireland’s fastest man following his fantastic time clocked at the European Championships.

Not to mention the many other up and coming runners and field athletes who have been bringing provincial and All-Ireland medals back to their clubs across the Wee County.

These days all the clubs come under the jurisdiction of Athletics Ireland, the governing body for the sport here. However, this wasn’t always the case, with many clubs in the past coming under the leadership of the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACA).

The NACA was a federation of sports clubs across the whole island that practiced either athletics, cycling or both.

It was formed in 1922 and while losing a grip on cycling, it remained a part of athletics up until merging with Bord Lúthchleas na hÉireann (BLE) in 2000 to form Athletics Ireland.

It was set up to represent all 32 counties, but a split emerged following a dispute over Northern Ireland, with their British counterparts claiming ownership over athletics in the six counties.

Following pressure from the IAAF, which runs athletics worldwide, the NACA were requested to give up its status as an all-island body.

The board voted narrowly to reject this request, which led to them being suspended later that month.
It saw Irish athletes missing out on the Olympics in 1936.

Hoping to regain international status, some clubs splintered off to found the Irish Amateur Athletic Union (IAAU), with anyone wanting to compete at major competitions needing to be affiliated to a club under their watch.

Thus, the spilt in Irish athletics was born.

Looking to reflect on some great times down through the years, a reunion of Louth members has been organised for next month.

The Wee County had a great relationship with the NACA, with clubs such as Dunleer, Redeemer, St Fursey's, Dowdallshill, Mount Pleasant, Glenmore, St Peters, Dunleer, Knockbridge and Louth all enjoying success down through the years.

On February 4th at the Grove Hotel in Dunleer, members will get a chance to reminisce days of old and maybe catch up with some people they haven’t seen in quite some time.

One person already confirmed to be attending is Rose Lamb (formally O'Donnell).

At a recent national reunion event in Armagh, she was the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award for her many years of service.

The event gets underway at 6PM.

Anyone attending is asked to pay a small fee to help contribute towards the food that will be served on the night.