County Tipperary Athletic News by Niall O Sullivan County Senior PRO

All roads lead to Lisvernane on Sunday next, 22^nd March, for the first of the County Tipperary Road championships for 2026. There the County Novice Road Championships hosted by Mooreabbey Milers AC will be held. Action gets underway at 10am with the County Novice women’s 3k events followed immediately by the men’s 6k event.

Eligibility for these championships are that athletes must be 19 years of age and older as of the 31^st December 2026. Any athlete that has won an individual title at a higher level on the road in any County or any athletes that was placed in the first three placings at County Senior Road Championships in the past are ineligible. Also, any athlete from outside the country of Ireland, who has not competed at senior level for at least one year, is ineligible.

Race Day information

Parking is in the GAA field only E34 DF77.

No parking in and around the village, please follow the instructions of stewards.

Number collection, toilets and refreshments afterwards will be in the community centre which is across from the church, up from the school.

The women’s 3k race begins at 10am at the graveyard around 700m up from the village centre. It’s one loop, finishing in the village centre.

The men’s 6k race begins straight after the women’s race is finished. It starts in the same place and is 2 loops of the women’s course.

For the record Orla Healy of Moyne AC won last year’s race while the men’s winner was Matthew Ryan of Moycarkey Coolcroo AC. The defending women’s club champions are Fethard AC and their winning team last year was Laura Earley, Edel Roche and Paula Hendricksen. The defending men’s club Champions are Clonmel AC and their winning team last year included Christopher Aylward, Patrick Davoren, Nigel O Flaherty and Joey Feery. Both clubs can expect tough competition on their way to retaining these titles in Lisvernane.

These Championships are always very competitive as both races have both quality and quantity. As this is the first event of the County Road Championship season, it is hard to say who will be involved at the business end of both races.  But we can expect clubs like Fethard AC, Clonmel AC, Dundrum AC, Mooreabbey Milers AC, Thurles Crokes AC, Carrick on Suir AC Roadrunners, Moyne AC, Moycarkey Coolcroo AC and Dualla Ballytarsna Boherlahan AC to have a big say in the destination of both the individual and team awards.