2022 Celtic International Belfast

It was another call of international duty for Cathal O’Rielly (KCH) at the weekend, when he donned the Irish jersey for the second time in a month. The European silver medallist u20 team member competed in the Junior Men’s 8,000m race at the Celtic International in Belfast. Set in the Billy Neal centre of excellence at Dundonald, the tough, challenging course has been the scene for international cross country running for several years now.  The race was won by Sam Mills of England with Ireland’s Dean Casey in 2^nd place and fellow country man Scott Fagan in 3^rd. Team Ireland won the Celtic Event by a large margin. Cathal finished in 23^rd place – staying ahead of the final scorers for Scotland and Wales.

It has been a long but successful cross country season for Cathal as he started his challenge for making the Irish team with his first race back in October at the Autumn Open in Dublin. Winning the Leinster Novice at Mountain View a week later demonstrated his form, while the national championships in Dublin in November, sealed his selection for both the European Cross Country and the Celtic International.

Meanwhile Eoin Everard (KCH) who finished 11^th in the National Seniors in December was selected for the senior event. With some of those finishing ahead of Eoin not available for the event or part of the u23 team, Eoin was only too delighted to put on the green Irish jersey for yet another time. The senior race was award silver status as part of the World Cross Country Tour race series and thus attracted athletes from other countries across the world. The overall race was won by Zak Mohammad of England with Italys Illias Ouani 2^nd and Scotlands Stuart McCallum in 3^rd place. First of the Irish home was Ryan Creech in 6^th place, leading team Ireland to 2^nd place in the Celtic International team event. Eoin finished in 11^th place, just one place behind his Irish team mate Emmet Jennings. Eoin will now switch seasons as he plans to race over the shorter track races in the coming months.