The history of Ireland at the European Indoor Athletics Championships

The European Indoor Championships will take place in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn later this week. Thirteen Irish athletes, who qualified by standard or world ranking, have been selected to compete in individual events. The mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x400m relay teams are also on their way to the Netherlands.

Across the previous 41 editions, Irish athletes have won 25 medals. All 25 have come from the track (400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 60m hurdles).

Noel Carroll (gold, men’s 800m) and Maeve Kyle (bronze in the women’s 400m), won Ireland’s first medals at the inaugural event, then called the European Indoor Games, in 1966. Carroll went on to retain his 800m titles in ’67 and ‘68, and picked up bronze over the same distance the following year. He remains Ireland’s most successful athlete at this level.

The European Indoor Games became the European Indoor Championships in 1970, and continued to be held annually until 1991. It then became a biannual event, to make space for the World Indoor Championships, which were held in addition to the European Championships in 1985, 1987 and 1989.

Following Carroll’s spate of 800m medals, Ireland’s next six medals all came in the 1500m. Frank Murphy (silver, 1970), Eamonn Coghlan (gold, 1979), Ray Flynn (silver, 1980), Marcus O’Sullivan (silver, 1985) and James Nolan (silver, 2000) all made the podium in the men’s event, while Mary Purcell won bronze in the women’s 1500m in 1980.

Mark Carroll (2000) and Alistar Cragg (2005) both picked up men’s 3000m titles, while Karen Shinkins (bronze, 2002), and David Gillick (gold, 2005 and 2007), brought Irish 400m running to the fore.

The Irish women picked up a trio of bronze medals at the 2009 event (Derval O’Rourke, 60m hurdles; Roisin McGettigan, 1500m; Mary Cullen, 3000m). McGettigan had to wait until 2014, long after she’d retired, to receive her medal when Russian athlete Anna Alminova, who was first across the line in Turin, was banned for biological passport irregularities and had all her results back to February 2009 annulled (Alminova also originally finished 5th in the 3000m).

Another trio of bronze medals came in 2013 when O’Rourke again finished third in the sprint hurdles, and Ciarán Ó’Lionáird and Fionnuala McCormack (then Britton) made the podium in their respective 3000m races.

Mark English won 800m silver in 2015 and bronze in 2019, the same year as Ciara Mageean won bronze in the 1500m. Ireland’s best result last time out was 4th in the 3000m for Darragh McElhinney. Phil Healy too finished fourth in the 400m in 2021. It is six years since Ireland’s last medal at this event.

Ireland awaits their first European Indoor field event and relay medals.

Visit the Athletics Ireland statistics page for the full list of medallists at this and other championships. See our European Indoor Athletics Championships page for further details on how to follow the event in Apeldoorn. 

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