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History
In 2002 Crusaders A.C. celebrated its 60th anniversary Since the Club was founded by G.V. Ryan in Monkstown Park in 1942, Crusaders A.C. has been producing some of the country’s top athletes and has been to the forefront of many developments in the sport. Crusaders A.C was the first Club to attempt to introduce women’s athletics in the 50’s and 60’s and risk the wrath of an Archbishop. Later Club members did much to bring about the foundation of B.L.E. at the end of the sixties and Paddy McGovern subsequently went on to again lead the merger talks between B.L.E. and N.A.C.A.I. which resulted in the formation of the A.A.I. Most recently the club has been one of the first to embrace the related disciplines of Mountain and Hill running under the watchful eye of Lindie Naughton. Crusaders Athletic Club also has a track record that’s hard to beat. The Club tradition can boast not one but two members who have won Olympic medals. Jack Gregory won a silver for Great Britain in the 1948 London Games, while Ron Delany gained the ultimate prize in 1956 when he won the 1500m title in the final of the Melbourne Olympics. The first Irish woman to reach an Olympic final was our own Caroline O’Shea, while the most successful athlete at the National Championships is, and is likely to remain for many years, Michelle Carroll. The Club itself hosted many famous meetings and foreign teams in the early days including Racing Club and a German Selection in 1951. We shall return to some of these highlights later but this success begs the question: what made it all possible? Here the answer is clear – an athlete centered approach. In 1952 Dr John Fleetwood the Club's medical officer reported that he had carried out pre-season medicals for 44 athletes and given chest x-rays to 33 of these at the Neptune rowing Club- all free of charge!

Athletes were often assisted by the Club when competing abroad. Not only did they receive help in a tangible form but they were often able to call on the help of a very experienced group of coaches, organisers and administrators. Louis Vandendries, Brendan Hennessey and Captain Theo Ryan all left their mark on the Club. Louis, the first Adidas agent in Ireland arrived here from Belgium in the early forties and went on to manage two Olympic teams as well as two European Championship teams. Nancy Magaharan provided leadership for the Junior and Ladies Sections while on the side of officialdom Al Guy now serves on the IAAF Technical Committee. While there simply isn’t sufficient space to list all the high points of the last 60 years here are just some of the ways in which Club members contributed to Irish athletics over the last 60 years...

Distance
It’s only fitting to start with the Club’s Olympic 1500m Champion Ron Delany. Ron’s win in Melbourne in 1956 was one of the defining moments of Irish Sport, however this achievement should not overshadow Ron’s other great successes. An Indoor World Record Holder in the Mile, the man from Sandymount was one of the greatest U.S. Collegiate athletes winning two NCAA titles in the 880 yds and mile, both in the space of 45 minutes! He also enjoyed a run of 41 consecutive wins.

Derek McLeane in Edinburgh Other Crusaders however played their part in the Irish history of the 800m. Derek McCleane produced his personal best in that event in the Tokyo Olympic Semi-final running 1.48.4 and he also finished 5th in the European Championships.

Caroline O’Shea was the first Irishwoman to make an Olympic final in Los Angeles in the same event, while Jim O’Neill most recently won the World Veterans title. Mary Purcell ran the 800m in the Munich Olympics and then the 1500m in Montreal setting an Irish record of 4.08.63; however the high point of her career must have been her 6th place in the World Cross Country in Limerick (the club was also represented by Eddie Hanratty in Limerick that year). This was the crowning achievement of the women's cross country tradition which had started when Peggy Mullins won the first B.L.E. Cross Country title in 1967.

Going up in distance to the marathon Mary Purcell won both the National Marathon and the Dublin Marathon. John Bolger's Men's Club Record of 2 hours 17 is daunting but this strong tradition has been kept up by Joan Flanagan who finished third in the Belfast Marathon in more recent times. Winning however isn’t everything and some members have shown us what being a Crusader is really all about by their sheer enthusiasm and love of the sport. This is particularly true of our current Marathon Runners Sean Kearns (who continues to be an inspiration having run 61 Marathons!) Eva Mulleady and Con O’Rahilly for whom a 16 mile run is still a matter of mere routine.

Sprints
We again start with an Olympic Medallist (albeit for the British team) namely Jack Gregory. Jack was an English Rugby International and also represented GB in the 100m and 200m and 4x100m Relay in the London Olympics. It was in the 4x100m that Jack won the silver medal. Two other Crusaders athletes represented Ireland in the 4x400 in the Olympics that year – Cormac O’Cleirigh and Reggie Myles. Relay events were to feature prominently for the Club as in the early 1960’s the 4x400 team consistently ranked in the top 25 in the world due to the efforts of athletes like Jimmy Linnane and Larry Ryder backing up Derek McCleane and Ron Delany.

Michelle Carroll Michelle Carroll - 32 National Senior Titles Maeve Kyle was one of the first Irishwomen to blaze a trail in athletics, competing in 2 Olympics, and on this the Fortieth Anniversary of the Ladies section we must also acknowledge Maeve’s pivotal role in the setup of the Ladies Section. Although an accomplished jumper, Willie Lemon split a field of 100yrd sprinters that included an American Champion and a World Record Holder, but perhaps the most enduring achievement of our sprinters has been the 32 National Senior Titles won by Michelle Carroll (nee Walsh) a feat unlikely to be bettered.

Jumps
Fionnbar Callanan led the way in the early days in the high jump and was then followed by Chris Farrell and Kevin Byrne in the pole vault. Traditionally our jumpers were also successful multi-eventers such as Brendan Curtain of Superstars fame. Louis Jordan became the first Irishman to break 6000 points in the Decathlon while Carlos O’Connell went on to set the current National Record and represent Ireland in the Seoul Olympics. Carlos however secured his place in athletic history in the Long Jump when breaking the oldest National Record of all: Peter O’Connor’s 93 year old National Senior Long Jump Record. Recently, Stephen Fleming formerly a 400m runner has broken the Club Record in the triple jump and also shown outstanding promise in the long jump.

Throws
Crusaders A.C. has done much for Irish Throwing, coaches Dan Kennedy and Philip Conway produced a generation of Irish Throwers but this tradition started in 1948 when Dan Coyle represented Ireland in the Hammer. Colin Ball continued the tradition when he represented Ireland in the European Juniors and subsequently Conor McCullough went on to represent Ireland in two Olympics in the same event. In the shot putt it seems that for nearly 35 years the Men's National Record has been held by one of the Crusaders triumvirate of throwers Philip Conway, Eugene Diveney and Paul Quirke. Both Philip and his protégé Paul represented Ireland in the Olympics. Phil, a Boston University Graduate, is widely recognised as "Mr. Throwing" having also broken the Irish Discus record 9 times in one season. Phil also coached Marita Walton, National Women's Shot Putt record holder and the first Irish woman to go on scholarship to the states. Marita herself was following in the footsteps of Gay Hogan who had competed in the Commonwealth Games in the Discus event.

Present
The success of the last six decades has continued to the present as can be seen from Peter Coghlan’s recent achievements. Club Captain Eugene O’Neill has represented Ireland in the Europa Cup in the Steeplechase and is the National Title winner in that event while former 400m runner Steve Fleming enjoyed great success last season breaking the Club Triple Jump Record and gaining his first International Honours. Ruairi O’Briain has shown great promise in the Pole Vault (threatening Frank Evers National Junior marks). Carine Soulabail (Hurdles) and Karen Conway (Hammer) have given us cause to hope for further success in the Ladies once again. The Men’s Team were the 2001 National Track and Field Champions having won that honour in three out of five years.

Ian McDonald On the Juvenile scene Ian McDonald has started surpassing Peter Coghlan’s school marks in the hurdles while other youngsters such as Frank Moore and Conor Farrell have shown great promise in the Sprints. Philippa Conway also looks to be following in her father's and sisters' footsteps in the throws ensuring that the Club has a bright future to look forward to.

On the 19th of April 2002, Minister of State Eoin Ryan T.D. turned the first sod for the development of a public track and pavilion, which will provide a facility for Crusaders A.C. into the future. This was the site of Ron Delany's 880 yards Irish Record in 1952! In May the Men's Team returned to Lisbon to compete successfully in the European Clubs – this was the Club's third time in five years participating in that event. So the story of Crusaders A.C. continues….