Castlegar Athletics Club

World u20 Irish team selection for Matthew Newell 🇳🇬🇮🇪🇳🇬🇮🇪🇳🇬🇮🇪

Congratulations to our club member, racewalker Matthew Newell on booking his place on the flight to Oregon for the U20 World championships, which will take place at the famous Hayward Field from the 5th to the 9th of August.
Matthew has developed his racewalking skills over the last few years with Tuam AC and recently joined our club at the beginning of this year.

Matthew secured his place on the team alongside his good friend Seamus Clarke, son of Irish Olympian Deirdre Gallagher after they both broke the Irish record this year and also securing a top two finish at the recent national championships.
Matthew was first to break the Irish record at the Connacht championships. Both Seamus and Matthew once again dipped under the recent record set my Matthew at the National championships with Seamus taking the record from Matthew.

What an opportunity this is for Matthew, and we are so proud of him and wish him the very best of luck. 🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪☘️☘️

🇳🇬National Outdoor Championships Day 3 🇳🇬

Another fantastic day for Castlegar AC at the 123.ie National Outdoor Championships in Tullamore, with three athletes proudly representing the club in extremely hot conditions.
First up was Ciara Murphy in the U14 200m, competing in her first National Outdoor Championships over the distance. Ciara crossed the line in 28.16 seconds, finishing 15th in Ireland. While Ciara was understandably disappointed with her performance, her coaches couldn't be prouder of the hard work, commitment and determination she has shown throughout the season. Reaching the national stage is a fantastic achievement, and there is no doubt she has a very bright future ahead.

Next was Siún Ní Chonaill in the U16 1500m. Siún produced another outstanding performance, running a massive personal best of 4:46.77 to finish 7th in Ireland. This time last year Siún didn't make it to nationals. Her hard work and consistency this season continue to pay off, and this was another excellent result. To break things down, her run today is a whopping 18 seconds faster since this time last year. Her time is also a new club record. A brilliant improvement which she should be very proud of.

Rounding off the day was Orla Casey in the U18 1500m. Orla showed great determination, battling right to the finish line to record 4:58.71, earning 13th place in Ireland after a strong and courageous race. There were two heats for this age group. This didn't help as the pace went out very fast as the medals were decided on the three fastest times from the two heats, but Orla held her own and should be proud of how she ran.

A huge congratulations to all three athletes and their coaches. Competing at a National Championships is a tremendous achievement, and everyone at Castlegar AC is incredibly proud of your performances. Enjoy a well-earned rest ladies.

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Huge congratulations to Killian O'Brien on a fantastic run in yesterday's Clontarf Half Marathon! 👏🏃‍♂️
Finishing in 1:47:40 (5:06/km pace), it's not a bad way at all to kick-start the season again. Wishing you plenty more strong performances in the months ahead. 🇳🇬🇳🇬

🥈 National U20 Championships – Tullamore 🥈

A fantastic performance from Matthew Newell, who claimed silver in the U20 5000m Race Walk at the National U20 Championships in Tullamore!

Matthew produced another outstanding display, setting a new personal best of 20:08, taking 13 seconds off the PB he had set just three weeks ago. An incredible achievement and a testament to all the hard work he's been putting in.
The race was won by Seamus Clarke, who broke Matthew's previous championship record in the process, making for a high-quality and competitive race.

Everyone at Castlegar AC is incredibly proud of everything Matthew has accomplished so far this year. We can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store.

Congratulations, Matthew👏💚🤍

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Castlegar A.C. was represented by Adrian Grogan at the 2026 Caltra 10km, producing an outstanding run to finish 3rd overall in a superb time of 37:14. Adrian was among the early leaders from the gun and maintained a strong pace throughout the 10km course to secure a podium finish against a quality field.
The performance is another excellent result for Castlegar A.C. and highlights the club's continued strength in road racing. Congratulations to Adrian on a fantastic achievement and for proudly representing the club.

*U13 Boys 600m*

Ciaran Casey had a smashing run in the 600m. His 11th place finish overall with a new personal best for the distance of 1.44.11 was a determined run from Ciaran and one that he should be extremely proud of. This was Ciarans first time to reach an individual track final. He is one of the most hardworking and dedicated athletes we have in the club, and we were all delighted to see him run so well on Sunday.
He is a delight to coach and always shows up to training with a smile on his face.
Ciaran is a strong cross country runner and is very good over the longer distance, and we have no doubt that we will see him shine when the next season comes along.
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*U18 Girls 3000m*

On Saturday, Orla Casey continued her fantastic journey in athletics when she competed in the 3000m where she placed a brilliant 9th place overall. It wasn't Orlas brilliant 9th place that stood out for the coaches, it was the way she powered through the middle half of the race and stormed home over the last 100m. This indicates that she had plenty more left in the tank. As her confidence is growing with every race, we look forward to seeing her continue to progress further over the next few years as she is only quite new to the sport.
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*U17 Girls 3000m walk* 🥇

When it comes to a "never give up" mindset, Cliodhna Ni Chonaill certainly has the gumption to do so. Cliodhnas last two races didn't go to plan due to technical reasons, and she was determined not to let this happen a third time last Sunday. The way she conducted herself over the last few weeks due to her disappointment is a testament to her and will certainly stand to her in the future in whatever she does in life.
Cliodhnas main aim was not to get disqualified due to technicality, and she certainly achieved her aim as she crossed the line in first place and claimed her second All Ireland title this year. Cliodhna is a very talented athlete in this discipline, and we look forward to seeing what she can achieve over the next few years, as she has certainly proved she has the gumption to reach great heights.
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*Girls U15 800m*

Maisy Bo Joyce has come a long way since this time last year.
In 2025, she was 7th overall in Connacht and didn't make it to the nationals. This year, she is stronger and is starting to develop as an athlete and, as a result, qualified for nationals.
She should be very proud of what she has achieved in the last year.
Maisy Bo was hoping to run 2.22 for the 800m, a time that the coaches know she is capable of running as she ran 2.25 indoors.
Unfortunately, it was just one of those days. Maisy didn't put a foot wrong and should be very proud of how she raced. The energy just wasn't there in the last lap for some reason.
We look forward to seeing Maisy develop over the next few months. Patience is a virtue in this sport, and we know Maisy has the potential to run faster.
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*Boys U15 2000m Walk* 🥈

Grofu Newell won the clubs first medal of the weekend when he won the silver medal in the Boys 2000m walk. Grofu is a talented athlete and we have no doubt he is capable of making an Irish team in this discipline if he decides to give it a shot. He took the pace out from the gun and dug deep throughout until the lactic hit with 400m to go. He should be very proud of himself as we certainly are. To break it down for everyone. His average pace for the 2000m walk was 4.56 km pace. A pace which many people would be delighted to run at.
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