Club celebrates the opening of its new tartan running track
By Brendan Grehan
“IT HAS been a long journey but we have made it,” Marie Collins the Chairperson of Lucan Harriers Athletic Club was speaking after the club’s new €600,000 tartan track was opened by Mayor Vicki Casserly, reports Brendan Grehan.
Mayor Casserly, who is also an active member of Lucan Harriers, was accompanied by her fellow councillors Liona O’Toole, Emer Higgins, Ed O’Brien, and local TD John Curran.
Mayor Vicki Casserly opens Lucan Harriers AC new track
In October 2015, the club received €200,000 in sports capital funding for the track and Marie and her fellow club members raised €400,000 through a variety of funraising activities.
Marie told The Echo: “You name it we did it. We have done all sorts of fundraising with quizzes, bag-packing, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and raffles.
Our most recent event was a quiz with Pat Gibson from ‘Eggheads’ and we had our five-mile race a few weeks ago.”
Work started on the track in January 2018, but stalled in April when the project’s contractor went out of business.
“It was frustrating because the work stalled and we had to get a new contractor who did not start until November. It is great that we now have a track that is IAAF standard,” Marie said.
The next item on the agenda for the club is to build a high-jump pit, long-jump/triple-jump pit and throwing circles.
“We have a running track now. At the moment our field athletes go to other tracks to train, but we are planning to build jumping pits and throwing circles in the track,” Marie said.
Marie said the project would not have been completed without the assistance of South Dublin County Council.
She said: “We could not have done it without the council’s assistance. It has been a long road but we got there.”
Marie also paid special tribute to Mayor Casserly.
“Mayor Casserly is an active member of the club. A few weeks ago she performed the start for our five-mile race and then she ran in it.”
