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New Irish sprint champ Sarah Leahy still buzzing after spectacular win at nationals

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4 months ago

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Sarah Leahy celebrates after winning gold at the National Indoor Championships in Dublin. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.

by Adam Moynihan

Star Killarney athlete Sarah Leahy says she's still “buzzing” this week following her spectacular victory in the 60m sprint at the National Indoor Championships in Dublin on Sunday.

Leahy regained the title she last won in 2023 by fending off Ciara Neville (Emerald AC) and Sive O’Toole (St Laurence O’Toole AC), crossing the line in a time of 7.39 seconds.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” the 25-year-old told the Killarney Advertiser. “I’m back to work now so reality kicks in pretty quickly! But I achieved one of my main goals for the winter. The main thing on Sunday was to get the title. I didn’t get my PB yet (her current PB in the 60m is 7.30 seconds) but I’ll try again on Saturday at the Leinster Indoors.”

Preparation is key and the Killarney Valley woman felt things couldn’t have gone any better in that regard.

“The winter training was tough but it was the best I’ve done over the past three years. The gym is going great, although I don’t think my strength really showed the last day. I think there’s definitely more there and I should be running quicker. I was really focussed on my mindset leading up to the competition because we all do the training; it’s the mental part of it that makes or breaks you. I made myself really confident and that definitely helped me over the line.

“[At the start line] I was concentrating on myself, telling myself to not let the race get away from me, and not to panic if the people next to me get out quicker or if I can feel them on my shoulder. Just keep the focus, because I’ve definitely lost that focus before. In a few All-Ireland finals I was winning up to the last four or five metres and then I lost.

“On Sunday I just had that extra experience and I had that belief in the work that I’d done. I didn’t let the external environment pull me down.”

Leahy looked to be in a strong position from start to finish but it was a competitive race and the commentator on the Athletics Ireland stream initially felt she might have been pipped by Neville at the post. The Killarney native knew she had done enough, however.

“It’s always a bit of a blur but I do remember thinking if there’s any photos of me mid-race my face will look a little bit worried! There was a delay at the start so I felt a little bit fatigued halfway through – not as energetic as I was hoping for. But I got that out of my head and said, ‘we’re here to win the race by any means necessary’.

“There were girls beside me but when we got to the line, I didn’t dip. I knew I had it. It was very close and usually from my perspective it’s very hard to tell. One of the things I’ve been training for is not to dip. I’m not the best at it and I know I’ll run quicker if I run through the line. So when we got to the line, I was pretty confident. I knew I had won.”

Sarah had support on the day from her boyfriend Daniel, close friends, and parents Marie and Mike, both of whom were brought into the post-race interview. They were the only non-athletes interviewed on the day.

Speaking to host Mick Bowler and holding back the tears, Mike said: “It’s fantastic. Nerve-racking, absolutely nerve-racking, but it was fantastic. We’re very proud of her.”

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Kerry’s All-Ireland heroes launch new football camp for girls

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3 weeks ago

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31 May 2025

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Legendary Kerry ladies’ player Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh will be inspiring the next generation of superstars at the new Laochra football camp, which takes place in Killarney in August.

Aimed at girls aged 12 to 16, the camp is being run by three leaders who were central to Kerry’s magnificent All-Ireland triumph in 2024: Darragh Long (joint manager), Declan Quill (joint manager) and Anna Maria O’Donoghue (selector).

Camp ambassador Louise will be on hand to offer guidance in a coaching capacity, as will some members of the current Kerry team.

“We want you to train with your heroes so you can be the next hero,” explains Darragh Long.

“We feel very strongly about ladies’ football. It has been brilliant to myself and Declan over the last five or six years, and it has been brilliant to Anna Maria and Louise over their full careers, so we just see it as an opportunity to give something back to a sport that gave an awful lot to us.

“We’re aiming at an age group of 12 to 16, girls who will hopefully be starting on their intercounty journey. We will be able to give them a skillset they will be able to use as their steps to success. To try and be the next Louise or the next Síofra O’Shea.

“We have three workshops planned. One with Eric McDonnell, who was our strength and conditioning coach when we won the All-Ireland. One with Michelle O’Connor, an All-Ireland winning performance coach. And one with Claire O’Sullivan, our nutritionist when we won the All-Ireland.

“It’s all about giving the girls the skills and the bits and pieces they’ll need if they want to make it to the top. We really think we can give them a good grounding. We’ll also be providing a huge amount of coaching throughout the week.”

Many teenage girls give up on sport around the ages of 15 or 16. Long and his fellow camp founders are hopeful that attending Laochra might encourage girls to stick with it that bit longer.

“We would see it as a huge success if 10, 15, or 20 of the girls who come to the camp continue to play football after the camp because they got a bit of a buzz or a bit of energy from us during the week.”

The Laochra camp will run from August 12-15 at Dr Crokes GAA grounds in Killarney. You can register here.

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St Paul’s sign 6ft American guard Burnham

Published

3 weeks ago

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30 May 2025

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Having really found their feet in the Women’s Super League in the second half of the season, culminating in a drive to the final, Utility Trust St Paul’s have signalled their intent to push on for the 2025/26 season by announcing the signing of American guard Maisie Burnham.

Burnham (24) comes to Killarney following an honour-laden time in the Liberty High School where she also excelled at volleyball. She went to the Eastern Washington University where she led the team in scoring in the 2020/21 season with over 14 points per game – the highest PPG ever for an EWU freshman.

She moved onto the University of Portland where she really found her feet with the team and as her time progressed with the Pilots her stats went north, peaking in the 2024/2025 season when she averaged 16.3 points per game.

Maisie, a guard and standing at 6ft, is a native of Spangle City in Washington and the club will welcome her to the Kingdom in plenty of time ahead of the new season.

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