St Abban’s win the right to host the 2026 Laois Senior Cross Country
The successful Laois Senior Men's winning team
THE Laois Senior Cross Country took place on Sunday last in a new location, Mac’s Valley Spink. After winning last year’s ladies’ event, Ballyroan/Abbeyleix and District hosted the event on a very testing cross country course.
St Abban’s had a great showing at the event with the ladies’ team winning silver medals and the men claiming another Laois Senior Cross Country title. There were great numbers on show from the club competing and those supporting also.
The ladies event got proceedings underway. They had two and a half laps of the course where muck, hills and tight bends were very much the order of the day. Mary Mulhare was straight to the front of the race and dominated all the way to the finish line.
The McDonald sisters Kate and Breda completed the podium and Niamh finished in fourth, almost definitely securing the team title for Ballyroan/Abbeyleix.
The first St Abban’s athlete across the line was Lucy Deegan who made the event part of her trip home for Christmas. Siobhan Burke and Claire Phelan came in next with Audrey Byrne completing the team. Nikki Philips also ran strongly throughout the race backing the ladies’ team up.
When the scores were added together, Ballyroan/Abbeyleix came out on top with St Abbans in second place and St Michael’s completed the podium in third.
The men’s race saw athletes complete almost five laps, to reach the 10km distance, a tall order given the conditions. With a selection of athletes coming from different events over the winter it was hard to establish a clear favourite before the race. Some athletes had strong cross country runs, while others showed impressively on the roads.
However, once the race got underway, Colin Maher put his stamp on the race and ensured a fast pace throughout. He was joined by the Ballyroan pair of Jack McMahon and Eoghan Whelan as well as Brian Kelly and David Mulhare. As the race progressed Colin pulled away from the rest of the field and took another Laois senior title. Jack finished second with Eoghan Whelan completing the podium.
The first St Abban’s athlete home was Stephen Hunter who was right in the fight for the podium until the final field. He led a very strong St Abban’s team with Brian Kelly next home in fifth followed by Colin Coyne in sixth. David McEvoy has a strong run for ninth place with Billy Ramsbottom also having a great race to finish just behind in 10th place. Dermot Ayers completed the St Abban’s team in what was a very impressive victory for the club with six athletes inside the top 12.
Also in action for the club were Thomas Fitzgerald, Stephen Lawler, Chris Fraser, Liam Byrne and James Nolan. These athletes all had fine runs and were right in medal contention until the final lap.
A successful Laois senior means that St Abban’s will host the event in 2026. It also marks the end of the cross country for 2025 in what was a brilliant season for the club, winning county, provincial and national titles along the way. A huge well done to everyone involved and we look forward to the indoor season in 2026.
St Abban’s annual St Stephen’s Day Road Race will take on Friday 26 December with the ladies’ race beginning at 11am. This will be followed by the men’s race at 11.30am. Registration will take place at Behan’s Lounge Tolerton from 10am with everybody welcome on the day.
