We are an athletics club based in Rathfarnham catering for athletes of all ages and abilities.
ABOUT US
We are an athletics club based in Main Street, Rathfarnham Village, catering for athletes of all ages and abilities, and our athletes take part in a wide variety of events including cross country, track, road and mountain running.
We currently have around 420 active members, including seniors, masters and juveniles. If you are interested in joining our club, get in touch with us.
LATEST NEWS
Club Membership for 8 to 12 year old children, primary school age, is now full as of September 2025. We have a large number of children in these age groups and can only train a certain amount safely. If you wish to add your child to a waiting list then please do get in touch but the waiting list is already quite long.
Booking now open for the Rathfarnham WSAF AC Annual Awards and Dinner on Friday Jan 31st via Eventbrite: There is a limited number of tickets so don't delay in booking, it's always great fun!
Try out some training sessions before paying your Annual Membership (Seniors / Masters €120) Tuesdays: 6:30pm at the clubhouse in Loreto Park Thursdays: 6:30 at the Clubhouse in Rathfarnham Village
LATEST REPORTS
It was a big weekend of racing for the club! On Saturday our U14 Girls at the National Juvenile Indoors in Abbotstown finished in 7th place in 1:54 in the 4x200m Relay. At the national 10 k championships in the Phoenix Park on Sunday Kevin Donagher ran a brilliant 32:27 and won National Silver M40. Gerry Boyle won gold in M60 Category, Tom Cuddy won M60 Silver, Vanessa Sallier – F55 National Silver and Laura Ryan – F35 National Silver. Our F50 Team won Bronze for Claire Shiels, Donna Mahon & Vanessa Sallier. We had huge runs too from Dermot Shiels, Nunzio Perrone, Esther Lawlor and Aisling O’Connor. At the BHAA 6k in St. Anne’s Park, Raheny on Saturday we had a double win for Rathfarnham WSAF. Edel McCreery won the ladies race and Patrick Mac Gabhann won the men’s race. Paul Fleming was 3rd overall. There were category wins for Donal Murphy, Sean McCreery and Paul Fleming. Well done to all.
Well done to all our athletes who took part in the national masters cross country championships in Abbotstown on Sunday 15th February 2026. The highlights from the M65+ race include a brilliant national silver medal for the M65+ team (Gerry Boyle, Martin Kelly and Brendan Hogan), Sheelagh Jones (Bronze F65) and Sean McCreery (Bronze, M60). Also in the M65+ race Donal Murphy was 23rd., Eoin Murray 34th and John McHugh 37th. In the M35+ race Matthew Keane was 8th., Sean McCreery 78th and also scored on the Dublin Gold medal winning team and Jonathan Hughes was 92nd. Well done to all.
Well done to all our Club athletes who ran in the Dublin Masters Cross Country in St Anne's Park, Raheny on Sunday 04th January and on winning the Pat Hooper Cup for the first time from Host Club Raheny Shamrocks. Also well done to Edel McCreery who won the first race of the day and led from early on in the the womens Intermediate race. In Baltic conditions, our crew stormed Raheny and brought home many category titles which gave us sufficient points to win the trophy . Medal Mayhem in the cold was the order of the day and the results were: Intermediate Women: Edel McCreery braved the frost and brought home gold! M50+ Men: Paul Fleming grabbed individual gold, with team silver thanks to Paul, Sean McCreery (First M60), Dermot Shiels and Edwin Keville (Silver M60), Paul Gilligan and Pearse Coyle. Ice in the veins, medals on the chest. M65+ Men: Team Gold for Tom Cuddy, Gerry Boyle, Martin Kelly, Brendan Hogan, Sean Doyle, Donal Murphy, Eoin Murray and Terry Clarke. Tom also picked up individual silver. F50+ Women: A brilliant 4th place and crucial points for the Pat Hooper trophy Donna Mahon, Vanessa Sallier, Sheelagh Jones, Catherine Kelly and Miriam McCormack – heroes in hats and gloves. F35+ Women: Louise Gaffney led the charge with individual 3rd and team silver! Backing her up were Catriona Dowling, Gráinne Black, Laura Ryan, Claire Shiels, Lorraine Nolan, Amy Cooke, Esther Lawlor, Lian Brady, Louise Cassidy and Keren Ziv. M35+ Men: Matt Kane continued his red‑hot form (the only warm thing in the park today) with silver, and Dave Power finished a brilliant 4th. Their efforts sealed team silver and locked down the Pat Hooper Cup. Also flying the flag were Patrick Marjolet, Ciaran Aylward, John McCauley, Greg Byrne, Richie Doran, Ross Griffin, Denis Everett and Sean McCarron. The Pat Hooper Cup came to Rathfarnham with 45 points. Raheny Shamrocks were second with 39 points and Sportsworld RC were third with 32 points. The full results are on the Myrunresults website at https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_inter__masters_xc_champs_2026/6053/results.
At the Dublin City Marathon on Sunday 26th October, we had 21 finishers from the Club who were led home by Dave Power and Matthew Keane. Their times were Dave Power (2.30), Matthew Keane (2.30), Arthur Callan (2.44.32), Liam Dunne (2.45), Gal Hernandez (2.55), Tom Cuddy (3.00, 2nd M65), Michael Murphy (3.04), Gerry Boyle (3.06, 3rd M65), Declan Quinn (3.07), Martin Kelly (3.07, 4th M65), Denis Daly (3.10), Rodney Doyle (3.12), Gavin Murphy (3.14), Jos Lalor (3.13), Dermot Shiels (3.16), Eilis Connery (3.19), Lorraine Nolan (3.27), Maria Brennan (3.44), Nunzio Perrone (3.45) and Michael Maloney (4.05). Well done to all. Many thanks to all the volunteers from the Club who helped out at the stewarding in Rathgar. At the Leinster Novice Cross Country in Kilkenny on Saturday 25th October Edel McCreery was second home in the Women’s Novice Cross Country race in 15.11. Well done to Edel.
What a great day the McCreery family had in the Phoenix Park on 12 th October when Edel won the women’s Dublin Novice Cross Country title over the 4,000m course, in style over the last lap to claim the 2025 Dublin Novice cross country title. In the Men’s race over 6,000m Ryan O'Neill came second to claim the silver medal as he picked up several runners over the last lap. Both Edel and Ryan have come up through our juvenile ranks, and it’s amazing to see them shine at senior level. Massive congrats to them and their coaches — your hard work is paying off! Other Club finishers in the women’s race were Grainne Black, Sophie McGrath, Laura Mills, Amy Cooke, Sarah- Anne Murphy, Clare Shiels and Catherine Kelly. The women’s team finished 4 th out of 10. In the men’s race other Club finishers were Jared Murray, Kieran Alyward, Richie Doran, Sean McCreery and Richard Deeney. The men’s team finished 7 th out of 13 teams. Full results are on the Myrunresults website at https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_novice_xc_/5909/results . Well done to all. There was also a huge turnout of all our juvenile athletes at the Dublin Even Age Cross Country Championships in the Phoenix Park. We’re so proud of every single runner. The full results will be shared as soon as they come in. A special congratulations to all those who’ve qualified for the National Even Age Cross Country Championships in Derry on Sunday, November 23 rd . Pictures by Shane O'Neill, Lindie Naughton and PJ Claffey. Many thanks to all.
The 28th edition of the Rathfarnham 5k delivered excitement, elite performances, and a flurry of club medals on a day that also hosted the Dublin 5k Championships. Efrem Gidey smashed the course record in a jaw-dropping 13:49 (2:46/km)! Club Highlights include Ryan O’Neill led the club home in 14:47 (15th overall) and won MJ Gold. Patrick MacGabhann ran a superb 15:02. Other results were Daire Sullivan – 15:15, Jared Murray – 15:26, Paul Fleming – 4th scorer for our Dublin team bronze, also won M50 Gold (28 years running this race!), Liam Dunne – 16:11 in a stacked M40 field. Junior Stars were Aidan O’Connor – 16:43, Soren Doyle – 17:23, Cohen Doyle – 17:46, Alexander Dunne Martin – 19:0, Lily Lawlor – 21:25 and Kate Connolly – 21:35. Masters results were Patrick Marjolet – M45 Gold (16:27), Marc Fitzachary – M45 Bronze (16:45), Clare Shiels – F45 Silver (20:10) and Louise Gaffney – F35 Gold (17:27). Other senior results were Edel McCreery – FS Gold (17:40 PB!), Dave Reidy – 17:27, Micheal Murphy – 17:31, Ross Griffin – 17:46. Team Silver in the Dublin Senior Champs for Louise, Edel, Aisling & Clare! Veteran Victories were Edwin Keville – M60 Gold (18:13), Colm Murray – M55 Silver, Gerry Boyle – M65 Gold (18:25) and Sheelagh Jones – F65 Gold. Other Notable Times were Ronan Byrne – 18:36, Aisling O’Connor – 18:46, Grainne Black – 20:13 (PB!), Amy Cooke – 20:21, Luke Howard – 20:25, Vanessa Sallier – 21:11, David Quigley – 21-16, Sophie McGrath – 21:23, Laura Mills – 21:42, Sarah Ann Murphy – 23:24. From first-timers to seasoned veterans, every runner brought their best—proof that when we show up for each other, we go further, faster, and stronger. Many thanks to all who helped on the day to make the Rathfarnham 5k the best 5k in the country.
We had six members running in the Ratoath Half Marathon on Saturday 13th September, which finished on Fairyhouse Racecourse. We had a number of pbs to boot as well. Dave Power got that elusive sub 73 with a time of 1:12:54 which is a personal best. Dave was 7th overall and 3rd M40. Micheal Murphy also ran a lifetime best of 1:22:12. Martin Kitson was home just behind Micheal in 1:22:25, another lifetime best. Gavin Murphy knocks minutes off every race he does and once again ran a personal best of 1:25:23. Ronan Byrne is starting to get his fitness back, so he’ll be glad to knock out a 1:27:51. Finally, Esther Lawlor ran 1:36:36, best HM time in a while, so all in all a great day for all of our athletes. Well done to you all.
The Dublin 5-mile championships, hosted by Lucan Harriers took place on Sunday 7th September, with Rathfarnham WSAF taking home a number of medals. Patrick MacGabhann finished fourth overall in a time of 25:08. Aisling O’Connor picked up a senior bronze medal in 31:31. Clare Shiels collected a silver in the F45 category. Paul Fleming won gold in the M50 category. Sean Doyle strolled home to win M65 category. Lian Brady, Clare Shiels and Aisling O’Connor took the bronze in the F Open team event. Club times for the 5 mile race were: Patrick 25:08, Paul 28:14, Aisling 31:31, Clare 34.40, Sean 34:44 and Lian 37:48. Great medal haul - well done to you all.
DSD Masters Track and Field - Saturday 30th August. We had a great group of masters athletes take to the track and field in blustery conditions. Vanessa Sallier kicked us off in great style with a superb win in the One Mile walk. She also won the three-legged race with Clare Shiels. Our brilliant juvenile coach Orla Murray carried the club on her shoulders in the field events, throwing 7.15 metres in the shot put and jumping 2.75 metres in the long jump. We then jumped to the middle distance runs where Caitriona Dowling had her best run of the year running 2:25 in the 800m. Louise Gaffney was up next in a really competitive 1500m where the wind had really picked up and still ran 5 mins on the nose. Dave Reidy ran the 1500 guest race in 4:56 as well. Then to the relay: 4x400 where Clare took the team off on the first leg, passing over to John McCauley who handed over to Gráinne Black. Pearse Coyle took anchor leg and got the team a third-place finish in 4:48. Great running overall. National Half Marathon, Tullamore: Saturday 30th August - We had the Half marathon National Championships today down in Tullamore with a sensational performance by Matt Kane to finish third overall (1:10:48) and a national bronze medal to boot. Colm Murray was next up finishing 9th in a competitive M55 field with a time of 1:24:51. A superb 1-2 Gold, Silver finish in the National M65 for the evergreen Tom Cuddy and Gerry Boyle (1:26:57, 1:27:03 respectively). Martin Kelly finished fifth in the same age category with a time of 1:34. Serious time considering Martin has had some real injuries this year. Donal Murphy also had a great run and finished 7th in same age category with 1:36:07. 4th overall in the M50 Team category which is amazing considering 3 of our athletes are in the M65 category and our only M55 is 59.9999 I’ve been told. Catherine Kelly who won the F60 in 1:55:21. Greenway Half Marathon, Waterford, Saturday 30th August. Dave Power finished 8th overall (1:15:56). Denis Daly also ran with a super fourth place finish in the M50 age category in a time of 1:28:24. The weather down south wasn’t any better than Tullamore. Oylegate Half Marathon Wexford, Sunday 31 st August - Well done to Ross Griffin who was our soul occupant of the undulating Oylegate Half Marathon. Ross finished 16th overall in a time of 1:25:33 in windy conditions. Paul Fleming finished second in the BHAA Abbotstown 5k last Wednesday 27th August.
