Government Services Race Report 2015

Web Master • June 2, 2015

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It felt like Iten had come to Dunboyne on Tuesday evening for the annual running of the Government Services 5 miler. Freddie Sittuk is a familiar face nowadays in the Irish racing scene, with his Raheny colours, but Peter Somba and Lezan Kimutai are only recently establishing themselves and collectively this is likely to have been their first foray into BHAA racing.

The race was won in 23:22 by our aspiring Olympian marathoner, Mick Clohisey, making a welcome return to an environment he used to dominate, but the next 3 spots were occupied by Freddie, Peter and Lezan, with Freddie only ceding victory to Mick in the dying stages of the race, coming home in 23:27. Lezan placed 4 th overall but also had the satisfaction of winning his age category, whilst Peter, who came third, also surprisingly displayed local GAA knowledge during the post-race quiz!

The race attracted large numbers, nearly 500, with a significant local participation encouraged by Dunboyne AC. Conditions were not quite as warm as last year. There was a fresh breeze (carrying the familiar farmyard perfumes (!), particularly in the first mile), but otherwise perfect for the competitors. The course itself is a full 5 mile loop with mainly left handed turns and high hedges, ending on the Dunboyne track. It is mostly flat, but a surprising number of us reported that our 4 th mile was slower than each of the others, so there must have been some undulations in there somewhere…or maybe we just went off too fast!

The ladies race was won by local woman and frequent BHAA participant, Emilia Dan, in 30:43 and 86 th place overall and she had a good winning margin over the next competitor, Catherine Kelly (31:22). Catherine, in turn, was only just in front of Pfizer’s Bronagh Rogers (31:27) who enjoyed a really strong second half to the race. 4 th place went to last week’s beach race winner from Enniskillen, Tara Malone (32:03), currently temporarily working in the Dublin region and who displayed a strong finish on the Dunboyne track. It was good to see Maura Matthews, winner of her age category, enjoy an exceptionally good run in placing 5 th in 32:09 motivated by bragging rights over her sister, AIB’s Dee Ni Chearbhaill (32:56), who also ran well and whose husband Sean Murphy (27:48) of Manufacturing improved his PB for the distance by a considerable margin.

There were other age category victories for the likes of Tom Cuddy, Vincent O’Neill, Terry Mee, Nuala Reilly and Mary Jennings. No BHAA event is complete without a sumptuous feast of cakes and biscuits, which the inhabitants of Dunboyne provided in great quantity (even providing gluten free eats as well).

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DCC 6k Road Race, St. Anne's Park, Raheny

By Gerry Flaherty • April 15, 2026
St. Anne’s Park provided the perfect setting for the BHAA Dublin City Council 6km on a cool, bright, and breezy morning. The race followed a meandering route around the lower end of the park, offering a mostly flat course with a few gentle hills to test participants’ fitness. Over 130 runners took part, with many participating as part of the Lord Mayor’s 5 Alive Challenge. The race was officially started by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Ray McAdam. A big thank you to everyone who supported the event, and well done to all the Dublin City Council volunteers who turned out to help on the day.  The men’s race came down to a thrilling sprint finish, with Patrick Joseph MacGabhann narrowly edging out Sean Doran by just one second, finishing in 19:32. Edel McCreery was the first female home, crossing the line in an impressive 22:42. Gerry Flaherty

Third time lucky for Central Bank Cross-Country Race

By Sinead Lyons • March 15, 2026
At the third attempt, Robbie Beggs and his tenacious crew from Central Bank of Ireland staged their Cross-Country race in Jobstown Park, Tallaght on Saturday 14 th March. A cool breeze from the mountains kept temperatures down, but aside from that, running conditions were almost perfect. The course route was as interesting as the park could be made, with a nice incline included for good measure. The winner was Paul Fleming who lead the race from very early on. The first lady home, in 4 th position overall was Laura McDonnell. There were great performances throughout the field, with all runners across the line within 40 minutes. Well done to everyone. When all participants had crossed the line, it was back to the Tallaght Leisure Centre for refreshments and prizes. The male and female winners were presented with commemorative coins as an extra memento of the race. Well done to all of the stewards and volunteers from BHAA and from Central Bank and fair play to Robbie and the team for not giving up and for keeping this race on the BHAA calendar for another year. Photos and footage from the race and the prize-giving can be found on facebook and on Instagram. 

Teacher’s Cross-Country Race at Clonkeen College

By Diarmuid Doyle • February 23, 2026
The Spring is sprung,  The grass is riz I wonder where the BHAA is... After the disappointment of recent race cancellations, it was great to be back! We were warmly welcomed at Clonkeen College, Deangrange by an enthusiastic and efficient crew of volunteer muinteoiri and School staff. The mild, sunny weather on race-day was a welcome change after the wet conditions of recent weeks. Surprisingly, the underfoot conditions were fairly dry and the flat, zig-zag course, skirting the playing fields was well grassed with little or no mud and just a few thistles here and there. 81 runners toed the line for the 6k combined race. KPMG’s Conor Burke was an impressive winner in the men’s division, while Niall Sherlock in 2 nd place had the honour of being the 1 st teacher. Sheila Nolan was the 1 st woman home with Vanessa Sallier 2 nd . The facilities were excellent - It was great to get a hot shower after racing, and the sun shone throughout the presentation of prizes. Those of us who missed out on glory were consoled with tea coffee biscuits and copious slices of cake and brack. With luck, we’ll have this super venue for “Teacher’s race “ for many future years. Thanks to Darren Egan, Jim Lynch and all who organised, volunteered and supported. Thank you to Harry Teehan for the photos capturing a great race.

BHAA Race of the Year 2025

By Stephen Naughton • January 27, 2026
The Race of the Year 2025 was awarded to BCM Global for their 5k trail race in the Phoenix Park. As a first time race organiser, Sinead Lyons (race director) and her team from BCM Global put in a lot of work into the race and it has been duly rewarded. The trophy was presented to Sinead Lyons (BCM Global) by Stephen Naughton, BHAA Chairman.

2025 Summer League Presentation of Team Prizes

By Stephen Naughton • January 27, 2026
The prizes and trophies for the BHAA Summer League 2026 were presented at the AGM. There were 30 cash prizes totalling over €1600 for the individual winners of the various categories. The team winners in the leagues were presented with their much sought after trophies by BHAA President Jim Kelly - Men’s team winners were ESB (Mick Quirke accepting) and Women’s team winners were Bank of Ireland (Eamon O’Neill on behalf of Women’s team). 

BHAA AGM 2025

By Stephen Naughton • January 27, 2026
The BHAA held its 2025 AGM in Sportsco on Monday 26 January 2026. The date of the AGM was changed from December to January to facilitate easier meeting preparations and allow more time for the annual accounts to be completed. This was agreed through a motion at the 2024 AGM. The BHAA financial accounts for 2025 were presented at the meeting. The accounts were audited by the BHAA auditors and were deemed to be a fair and reasonable representation. The BHAA and Irish Life Dublin City Marathon team continue to work closely on common matters and Jim Aughney from DCM gave a very interesting review of the Dublin City Marathon & Half Marathon as well as the Summer Race Series in 2025 A new committee was elected for 2026, see below; - President; Jim Kelly - Chairperson; Stephen Naughton - Vice-Chairperson; Mary Rigney - Treasurer; Enda Currid - Registrar; Kathleen Horgan - Secretary; Sinead Lyons - Webmaster; Colm Murray - PRO; Charlie Cronin

AIB/NUI & 2 Mile & 4 Mile Cross Country Race

By Jim Kelly • October 30, 2025
Nice setting and weather for Maynooth cross country race

DCC BHAA Race Report 2025 Irishtown 5K

By Jim Kelly • July 23, 2025
Leafy balmy Dublin 4’s Sean Moore Park was the venue for a BHAA race that started in its original form in 2005 at Irishtown Stadium and Ringsend Park. So for twenty years except for the Covid hiatus, Dublin City Council runners continue to deliver two BHAA races annually. The 2025 version had a race course in Sean Moore Park and the Poolbeg peninsula with beautiful views of Dublin bay. Before the race, dark clouds threatened rain. However it t was pleasing to see 167 entrants line up and finish without a drop of rain.

BHAA BCMGlobal 5km Trail Race Report

By Sinead Lyons • July 7, 2025
On a warm Summer’s evening….

That Was The League That Was

By Sinead Lyons • April 26, 2025
From Terra “Feirme” to Terra Firma and everything in between. The Winter League prize presentation will be held at the Irish Life race on 27th May in Dunboyne. It is fitting that the prize-giving for the Winter League 2024-25 takes place in Meath, because that’s where the league began in November on Ledwith Farm in Batterstown. The townies were delighted with their day out down on the farm, complete with a real live bull and all the sights and sounds and smells of agriculture to accompany the race. Revenue pulled a race out of the bag in record time and presented us with a new race in a new venue on 1st December. Santa arrived a little early with plenty spot prizes and treats. BHAA Stalwarts Bank of Ireland were back in Tymon Park for the annual race that wakes us all up after Christmas. A little earlier than usual, the Garda Cross country race took place in Phoenix Park. As ever, a popular race on a tough cross country course. We were disappointed when the Eir race had to be cancelled. Teachers and Central Bank of Ireland hosted their races in two new locations. The Teachers, (back on the BHAA Calendar after a sabbatical) in St. Columba’s College and CBI in Jobstown Park. The Central Bank race has been nomadic for the last few years, but hopefully it has found a new home and will continue to host this very popular race for years to come. In a new venture, BHAA and AIB teamed up with the Women’s Meet & Train League to host the 2 and 4 mile races in Abbottstown in March. An unprecedented statistic from this race, there were more running the 2 mile women’s race than the men’s. Normally a no-no in BHAA races, Athletic club singlets abounded for the 2 mile race! We ended the league with another constant on the BHAA calendar. ALSAA hosted the 2 and 5 mile races on an unseasonably warm day. We thought warm weather training had started early! Kudos to all of the Race Promoters and to the BHAA volunteers who turn up week after week (and in February there were 4 races in as many weeks!); and Kudos to all of the athletes, without whom Business Houses Athletics would not happen. The BHAA committee continues to work away behind the scenes planning and arranging races. If your company would like to participate in our races, or would like to host a race, please email us at info@bhaa.ie. We have the knowledge and will help you, all you need is the enthusiasm.
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