Valerie O'Mahony-Collins – A Champion on all Surfaces

VALERIE O’MAHONY-COLLINS – A CHAMPION ON ALL SURFACES

Article by John Walshe

(A shortened version of this article appeared in the Echo, on 19/09/2024)

valerie o mahony medals 2024

It is rarely nowadays for an athlete to be proficient on all surfaces, such as track road and cross-country. One runner who certainly bucked this trend was Valerie O’Mahony-Collins from the Togher club. Undoubtedly one of the most under-rated of Cork athletes, her feats from all of three decades ago would certainly put her on a par with many of today’s elite

On a recent Saturday morning, sitting in the autumn sunshine overlooking Cork Harbour not far from her Blackrock home, this most unassuming of athletes looked back on one such performance, her victory in the Evening Echo Mini-Marathon of September 1987

“I think I won it around three times in all, but it nearly killed me every time,” she recalls. “I used to do this race on the back of doing the half-mile and mile all summer, so I only had about three weeks training in my legs. But as Mossie [Cotter] my coach used to say ‘it will be a good start for you, knock off all the cobwebs’”

The heading on the following day’s Echo read ‘Valiant Valerie’ and in his report the late Brendan Mooney described how Mary Sweeney had led all the way until the final 400 metres before Collins, who had been suffering from a knee injury, sprinted clear for victory. Her time was 28:40 for the five-mile course which finished on Academy Street

top 5 cork womens mini marathon 1987 First 5 - Cork Wimens Mini-Marathon 1987

Mary Sweeney – a member of Youghal at the time – recorded 28:52 with Eileen Prunty (East Cork) third in 29:30, Carmel Lyons (Leevale) fourth in 30:15 and Rose Crockett (St Finbarr’s) fifth in 30:22

Like the runner-up that day, Collins had come through the ranks in juvenile competitions, having won her first national cross-country title in the U13 age-group. It all started at the age of 10 when she joined the local club after the family had moved from Ballyphehane to Togher

“Ted Murray, one of the founders of the club, was my first coach before Mossie Cotter came along. We used to train three days a week in a field in Togher and we did all of the events. Mossie then coached me all the way up to senior level.”

Her versatility can be seen from the winning performances at the 1978 national juvenile championships. There she won the U17 800m in 2:15.5, the 1500m in 4:54.1 and the long jump with 5.52m

“When I moved up to senior level, I dropped the long jump and kept with the 800m and 1500m. I had no girls to train with then, so I ran with all the boys. Owen Fitzgerald would have been the main one, if I was the only one going to a national championship, Owen would always travel up with me in Mossie’s car.”

sonia o sullivan valerie o mahony banteer open sports 1987 Valerie O'Mahony tracks Sonia O'Sullivan, Banteer Open Sports 1987

The big break-though for O’Mahony-Collins over the longer distances came at the BLE National Inter-Counties Cross-Country Championshp, at Kilbarry, Waterford, in December 1985. There she bided her time in the senior race before taking the lead on the last lap to claim victory ahead of Ann Keenan from Laois.

Further success followed at the start of 1986 with victory in the prestigious Fermoy International Cross-Country. Again coming from a seemingly hopeless position inside the last 250 metres, she defeated Ingrid Delagrange from Belgium by one second.

Another Inter-County cross-country title came later that year and this led on to some impressive track performances where her elegant and efficient running style was seen at its best

In 1988 she recorded an 800m time of 2:05.46 which today would still rank amongst the best of the Irish women. But what was undoubtedly her greatest track triumph came on Cork territory when she won the BLE National 1500m gold at the CIT (now MTU) track in July of 1989

The winning time that day was 4:24.20 with Patricia Griffin from Ballinamore second in 4:25.37 and a young Cavan girl – Catherina McKiernan, who would go on to greater things - third in 4:25.56

“That was my last race on the track, and I have a lovely picture of the three of us on the rostrum that day,” recalls O’Mahony-Collins. Although she would win her fifth Cork cross-country title later that year, her competitive running career had effectively come to an end at the relatively young age of 29

It’s a career that also included two World C-C appearances, a trip to Japan as part of the Irish team for the Ekiden road relay and even a spot on an Irish 4 x 400m B team. “I suppose I felt you had to put so much effort into it, I was married and worked shift work so it was always difficult to get training time,” she says of her retirement while at the top

Now running for fitness and enjoyment, Valerie casually mentions that she had done 8km that morning “in around 40 minutes. It was grand, I was comfortable doing it. I don’t really train as such; I just do three runs a week depending on my humour.”

Such a level of fitness would no doubt see her more than competitive in the F60 category, but she has no thoughts on joining the master ranks, although she adds “you can never say never.” The friendships made and maintained mean more nowadays such as the regular runs with Owen Fitzgerald, Shane Hennessy and even Marcus O’Sullivan when he is home on holiday

The respect she has for her former competitors also shine through. “Marion Lyons would be someone I’d be racing against and I remember running a cross-country race down in Mahon before any of the houses were built there, when the conditions were one of the worst I experienced. And I remember Marion saying ‘the wetter the better, the muckier the better’. But then if you beat Marion she would be the first to say ‘you were very good, you keep that up now’. She was fierce encouraging

“The friends I made are friends for life. Mary Sweeney is another I have great respect for, she’s something else. One year in the Mini-Marathon when I was coming in around ninth I saw Mary just ahead and we ran in together, and she kept saying ‘go on, go past me.’”

During her senior career, Valerie didn’t have any other girls in the club to run with. But she always remained loyal to Togher AC – a loyalty that was reciprocated last New Year’s Day when she was awarded the honour of acting as official starter for the club’s annual 5km race

Married to Ger Collins, a member of Leevale up to the age of 13 and a former soccer player, they have a family of three, Eoghan, Grace and Cormac. Given Valerie’s many achievements, you would expect that an array of medals, trophies and memorabilia marking such an outstanding running career would adorn their home

Instead, a single case containing just two juvenile medals hang on the wall. And it tells of a remarkable and unique coincidence that goes back over five decades.

When Valerie and Ger were going through their various awards, they realised that both had a bronze medal, in the same U11 400m event, from the same BLOE national championships, held at Claremorris in 1972

That was obviously a long time before they even knew each other – but it surely is an amazing and lovely quirk of fate. And even then, Valerie’s potential was clear to see - her time that day of 68.5 was less than a second slower than Ger’s 67.6!

Other Guest Articles by John Walshe

Liam O’Brien's Memorable Year of 1984

Richard O'Flynn - Bandon AC and Providence College

100 Years of the Cork County Cross-Country Championship

Brid Murphy - The Inspirational Story of a Three-Time National Champion

Eight Decades on - Famous Cross-Country Victory Finally Honoured

On The Road From Cork To Cobh - Fifty Years Ago

FORTY YEARS AGO - WHEN ‘CMON AGHADA’ WAS HEARD ON HEARTBREAK HILL

Donie Walsh - Train to Race Don't Get Caught Up with Your Time

A Brilliant Performance Sees East Cork AC Take National Silver

BANDON CONNECTION TO WORLD CHAMPION

A GLIMPSE AT A SIXTIES SPORTS

CORK CITY SPORTS – A BRIEF HISTORY