The Irish medal prospects at next month’s European Cross-Country Championships in Portugal have been significantly boosted by the availability of Cian McPhillips for the mixed 4 x 1,500 metres relay race.
McPhillips is no stranger to cross-country, going back to his schoolboy days in Longford, although this will be a first senior appearance following his series of breakthrough runs over 800m this summer. That culminated in his close fourth-place finish at the World Championships in Tokyo where the 23-year-old again lowered the Irish record to 1:42.15, the fastest time by a European this year.
The fast, mostly flat gravel course in Lagoa, the popular coastal tourist spot in the west of the Algarve, will certainly be suited to McPhillips. The December 14th event will also feature Irish medal prospects in Nick Griggs in the under-23 race plus a strong senior men’s team, although Fionnuala McCormack wasn’t available for selection for the senior women’s race.
The top-three finishers in each of the senior, under-23 and under-20 races in last Sunday’s National Cross-Country in Derry were all guaranteed a spot for Lagoa, with a 34-strong team in all. Athletics Ireland also decided on the mixed 4 x 1,500m relay team after the availability of two women’s 1,500m specialists, Laura Nicholson and Eimear Maher.
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Added to the European Cross-Country in 2017, Ireland came agonisingly close to a mixed relay medal in 2021, when the championships were staged in Abbotstown in Dublin, after the quartet of Ciara Mageean, Luke McCann, Siofra Cléirigh Büttner and Andrew Coscoran run out of bronze medals in the last few strides.
Irish 1,500m record holder Coscoran will complete the mixed quartet in Lagoa. Nicholson qualified for the women’s 1,500m at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, and Maher won the bronze medal in the 1,500m at the European Under-23 Championships in July.
Only three seconds separated the top-three senior men last Sunday, with Brian Fay kicking past Griggs and Cormac Dalton in the last 100 metres. Griggs doesn’t turn 21 until December 18th, and will again focus on the under-23 race in Lagoa, having finished a close runner-up last year. The Tyrone athlete has also won silver and bronze in the under-20 race in 2022 and 2023, also leading the team to under-20 gold in 2023.
Abdel Laadjel is not however available for the under-23 race, the 22-year-old Dubliner finishing a terrific ninth in the NCAA Championships in Missouri last Saturday, but he’s already turning his attention to the indoor season.
In the absence of McCormack, Fiona Everard will lead the senior women’s team after the Cork athlete won her second senior title on Sunday. Runner-up Niamh Allen was also selected automatically, as was Danielle Donegan in third.
The Irish senior men haven’t won a team medal in the European Cross-Country in 25 years, coming close with a fourth-place finish in Brussels two years ago. Joining Fay and Dalton will be Jack O’Leary, Darragh McElhinney and Efrem Gidey.
The women’s under-23 team sees Anika Thompson and Ava O’Connor return from America following a busy NCAA season. Joining them will be national champion Roise Roberts, Amy Greene and Kirsty Maher.
Both Noah Harris and Cormac Dixon were part of the Irish under-20 team at these championships last year and will return for Lagoa. Caolan McFadden, Tom Breslin and Finn Diver will all make their Irish debuts at this level of competition.
Irish team selections for European Cross-Country, Lagoa, Portugal, December 14th
Men
Senior: Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC), Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers), Jack O’Leary (Mullingar Harriers), Darragh McElhinney (Bantry AC), Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers).
Under-23: Nick Griggs (Candour Track Club), Jonas Stafford (UCD AC), Niall Murphy (Ennis Track AC), Callum Morgan (Candour Track Club), Lughaidh Mallon (UCD AC).
Under-20: Noah Harris (Parnell AC), Caolan McFadden (Cranford AC), Tom Breslin (Clonliffe Harriers), Finn Diver (Beechmount Harriers), Cormac Dixon (Tallaght AC).
Women
Senior: Fiona Everard (Bandon AC), Niamh Allen (Leevale AC), Danielle Donegan (Tullamore Harriers), Mary Mulhare (Portlaoise AC), Emily Haggard-Kearney (North Belfast Harriers).
Under-23: Roise Roberts (Candour Track AC), Amy Greene (Finn Valley AC), Anika Thompson (Leevale AC), Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers), Kirsty Maher (Moy Valley AC).
Under-20: Emma Hickey (United Striders), Lucy Foster (Willowfield Harriers), Eimear Cooney (Ace AC), Abby Smith (Shercock AC), Anna Gardiner (East Down AC).
Mixed Relay: Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC), Laura Nicholson (Bandon AC), Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC), Cian McPhillips (UCD AC).
