Mikey Kent

The Rome Diamond League on Thursday will kickstart the weekend, which also sees the European Off-Road Running titles decided in Slovenia.

Irish athletes will compete in continental tour meetings in Norway, Belgium, the USA and Germany, while the Irish Milers Club meeting in Irishtown and the Munster Senior Championships at MTU are the major domestic meetings of the weekend.

The week has already started well, with Anna Gavigan breaking the Irish U23 Discus record in Italy on Tuesday and Cathal Doyle bettering the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham in Finland on Wednesday.

And the pace continues to quicken with plenty of Irish interest across Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Rome Diamond League

Sarah Healy has not run a 5000m since her covid-era 16:28.79 at the City of Lisburn Inter Club Invitational in Belfast in 2000.

Despite having the slowest personal best in the field, and not having raced since finishing tenth in the World 1500m final in Tokyo last September, Healy will step up to the Diamond League start line in Rome – the site of her maiden Diamond League win over 1500m last year -  on Thursday, with much expectation.

Healy opened her 2025 season with 8:27.02 over 3000m in Rabat, becoming the second fastest Irish woman ever over the distance. It’ll be interesting to see how she fares with an additional five laps to run.

Mark English has been at both ends of Diamond League fields already this year, winning in Shanghai, before finishing 11th in Rabat. While not a Diamond event, his opposition in the 800m on Thursday looks formidable, and he’ll be looking to build on his opening run of the season.

Among those in English’s way are two athletes with 1:41 PBs (Bryce Hoppel and Gabriel Tual) and World 1500m champion Isaac Nader.

The Stockholm Diamond League draws the weekend to a close on Sunday, but at the time of writing there are no Irish athletes on the startlist.

European Off-Road Running Championships

The best of Europe’s Trail and Mountain runners head to Slovenia for the continental deciders on Friday (Mountain uphill), Saturday (Trail) and Sunday (Mountain up and down). Full Irish teams have been selected across all senior and U20 events.

Among those looking to make an impact are Zak Hanna, who has been in flying World Cup form already this season. He races the approximately 8.9 kilometre uphill race, which includes 1280 m of vertical ascent, on Friday. He’ll be looking to improve on his 34th place from this event two years ago.

Another with considerable experience at this level is Sarah McCormack, who’ll also compete in the Uphill race on Friday. She was 8th in this race in Annecy in 2024 and 13th in the Up and Down race in 2022.

McCormack was a non-scoring member of the winning Irish Women’s team at the 2012 European Cross Country Championships and led Ireland to team bronze in the 2013 World Mountain Running Championships.

Continental Tour meetings

James Dunne, Charlie O'Donovan, Maddie Mooney and Roisin Flanagan are all due to compete at the Hoka Festival of Miles (Continental Tour Challenger) in St Louis, Missouri on Thursday evening, while Sophie O’Sullivan, Laura Nicholson and Cillian Gleeson are on the startlist for the 1500m Elite Jessheim (Continental Tour Bronze) in Norway on Friday.

O’Sullivan secured the European standard when she made the semi-finals of the World Championships last September, while Nicholason’s 4:07.52 from February is still the national lead for the distance.

Flanagan recently opened her 2026 account with a 15:41.88 national lead over 5000m. Her best for the mile dates back to January 2024 when she ran 4:40.12 indoors at altitude. O’Donovan has had two wins from two over the mile in 2026, most notably taking the Penn Relays title in April.

Last month Mooney ran 4:12.94 for 1500m, very close to her 2024 PB. Dunne continues to build after an injury sustained last summer, not long after he ran his 3:35.17 1500m PB. Gleeson ran 13:54.27 for 5000m in April, inside the standard for the World U20 Championships. The 3:45.50 1500m standard may well be on his mind when he toes the line on Friday.

Eric Favors (shot put) and Niamh Fogarty (Discus) are among the entries for the Sparkassen Werfertag (Continental Tour Bronze) in Gelenau, Germany on Sunday.

Favors has all but secured qualification by quota for the European Championships, but he will now look to throw consistently over 20 metres as he builds towards Birmingham. The 20.80 Auto Q would ensure his spot, and would do wonders for his confidence.

Fogarty will be targeting the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham of 57.80 and restating herself as Ireland’s top female discus thrower in response to Anna Gavigan’s recent good form.

There is a big Irish entry for the Putbos Memorial Leon Buyle Flanders Cup (Cat E meeting) in Oordegem on Saturday.

Arlene Crossan has recently set personal bests over 400m and 400m hurdles, and will look to continue her progress over the latter. Fellow relay teammate Rachel McCann will race over 400m, while Cliodhna Manning is entered for all three sprint events and Katie Bergin is due to race the 100m.

Adam Murphy and Marcus Lawler are both entered for the 100m and 200m, while Ciarán Carthy, Aaron Keane and Cillin Greene are all due to race the 400m.

Saragh Buggy is entered for both the long and triple jump, and could be joined in the former by Ruby Millet.

Diarmuid Fagan, who recently made big strides over 5000m, is due to race his first track 10,000m in Germany on Saturday.

On the Roads

Fionnuala McCormack will make a rare competitive appearance on Saturday as she takes part in the New York Mini 10km, a prestigious women’s only event in Central Park. McCormack finished 19th (32:49) in the 2025 edition, her only race prior to finishing ninth in the World Championship marathon.

Her last race was also in New York, when she ran 2:27:00 – the exact qualification time for this summer’s European Championships – when she finished 10th in the New York Marathon.

Irish action

The startlist for the Irish Milers Club Dublin meeting in Irishtown includes some tasty matchups in both the men’s and women’s 800m and 1500m, with 400m and men’s 5000m races also taking place.

World Relays 4x100m representative Sarah Leahy is due to open her individual outdoor season at the Munster Senior, Master and U20 Championships. Una Brice (senior) and Meabh corkery (U20) are both entered in the pole vault. In-form Sophie Meredith will look to continue her progress in the long jump while Michael Healy is among the discus entries

Mid-week looks just as busy as the preceding days. Israel Olatunde, Ciara Neville, Precious Akpe-Moses and Sophie Becker are among the entries for Stratford Speed meeting on Tuesday.

Nicola Tuthill is due to compete at the Motonet GP Lahti in Finland on Wednesday, while attention at home will be on the UCD Meeting, where Bori Akinola, Jack Raftery, Sean Doggett, Sam Healy, Mikey Kent and Saragh Buggy are among the entries.

The NCAA Div I Nationals will get underway in Eugene where Lauren Roy (200m), Maeve O'Neill (800m) and Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump) will be looking for individual honours, while Sean Aigboboh and Lucy-May Sleeman are part of their respective university 4x100m relay squads.

The Diamond League will be making its way to Oslo. It, along with a number of other continental tour meetings are yet to publish startlists. Be sure to check out TrackAthletes.ie for updates.

Diamond League and Continental Tour meetings, NCAA regional qualifiers, All-Ireland schools championships, and the National Half Marathon Championships are just some of the places to spot Irish athletes this weekend.

Mark English will look to continue his winning ways as Andrew Coscoran opens his outdoor season at the Rabat Diamond League. Cathal Doyle, making his return after injury, and Nick Griggs, will race at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Bydgoszcz.

Sophie O’Sullivan, Darragh McElhinney, Jodie McCann, Laura Nicholson and John Kelly are on the startlist for the Trond Mohn Games in Bergin. Lauren Callaghan takes her fine recent form to Cyprus, and Emma Moore is due to compete in Forbach, France.

Alex O'Neill, Danielle Donegan, Andrew Thompson and Eric Favors are among those on Continental Tour Challenger startlists.

NCAA Division I athletes will continue their endeavour of making it to Eugene for the national finals, while several Irish athletes will look for fast times at the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Birmingham.

Future stars will be on display at the All-Ireland Schools Championships in Tullamore and the National Half Marathon titles will be decided in Cork

Diamond League

The Rabat Diamond League, live on Virgin Media Three from 7-9pm on Sunday, will round out the weekend’s action. Among the entries are Mark English, who two weeks ago became the first Irish man ever to win a Diamond discipline at a Diamond League meeting.

Among English’s opposition in the Moroccan capital will be 1.41 men Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Gabriel Tual, as well as four other athletes with personal bests faster than his. A second win would be a massive ask, but a solid pace could drag English into new territory time wise.

Coscoran has not raced since the World Indoors in March, where he focused on the 3000m. Here he’ll face seven sub-3:30 men, over 1500m, including the World Champion Isaac Nader, a somewhat surprise winner of a race in which Coscoran finished 12th.

The Star of the Sea A.C. athlete twice broke the national indoor record earlier this year. Could 2026 be the year he finally breaks the 3:30 mark outdoors?

Continental Tour Gold

Cathal Doyle will make his much-anticipated return to competition over 1500m at the Irena Szewińska Memorial, a Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Bydgoszcz on Friday, having struggled with injury over the winter months.

Among his opposition will be Nick Griggs, who suffered a somewhat unexpected defeat over the mile at the British Milers Club meeting in Belfast last weekend.

Continental Tour Silver

Irish interest at the Trond Mohn Games in Bergen includes Sophie O’Sullivan, Darragh McElhinney, Jodie McCann, Laura Nicholson and John Kelly.

McElhinney, who already has the Birmingham standard over 5000m and Sophie O’Sullivan, who has secured the 1500m standard, will be chasing some speed as they step down to 1500m and 800m respectively.

Unlike O’Sullivan, Jodie McCann and Laura Nicholson are still chasing the Athletics Ireland B standard, and valuable ranking points, in the 1500m. Both raced in Germany on Sunday, but a slow, tactical race meant they were unable to capitalise on the opportunity to race at this level.

John Kelly, former Irish shot put record holder, is looking to get back to the sort of form that took him beyond 20 metres in 2022. His best so far this season was the 18.19 he threw to win silver at the National Indoor Championships in March.

Continental Tour Bronze

Emma Moore made big strides during the indoor season, smashing her previous best over 800m. With European Championship qualification in mind, Forbach appears to be the first outdoor stop on the Road to Birmingham. Moore will be looking to improve her PB  to at least 2:00.95, the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham, in the coming weeks.

While still early days, Lauren Callaghan is just a couple of spots outside the long jump quota for Birmingham. She opened her outdoor campaign with a fine 6.42 in Loughborough a fortnight ago, and will look to collect some of the valuable placing points on offer in Cyprus on Friday. She is also chasing the Athletics Ireland B standard of 6.55 metres.

Continental Tour Challenger

Some of the races at Saturday’s British Milers Club Grand Prix at the University of Birmingham hold Continental Tour Challenger (category D status), while others have gathered strong fields chasing fast times.

The women’s 5000m is particularly strong from an Irish perspective with Emily Haggard-Kearney, one of the silver-medal winning Irish team from last weekend’s European 10,000m Cup, is on the startlist alongside Danielle Donegan, Ella Fennelly, who last weekend ran 15:50.65, and others.

Callum Morgan, Louis O’Loughlin and Philip Marron are due to contest the men’s 1500m; Eimear Maher, Zoe Toland and Niamh Carr are in the women’s 1500m, and Finley Daly and Abbie Sheridan will contest their respective steeplechases.

Alex O'Neill (800m) and Donegan (5000m) are both entered for the Puma Notro Lange Laufnacht, though the latter is also entered for the BMC meeting mentioned above.

O’Neill got her outdoor campaign underway in Germany on Sunday, and will be looking to continue her push towards European Championship qualification.

Eric Favors, sitting comfortably in a Birmingham quota spot, is among the shot put entries for the Music City Track Carnival in Cleveland, TN.

Andrew Thompson will continue his quest for the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games consideration standard at the Triveneto Meeting Internazionale in Trieste on Saturday. Thompson did better the required 1:46.70 mark late last summer, but not in a race listed on the World Athletics calendar.

Aaron Keane is entered for the 200m at the Meeting National de Seine et Marne in France on Friday. The Tullamore Harrier has a best of 21.45 for the distance from last August.

Domestic action

The National Half Marathon Championships take place as part of the Cork Marathon on Sunday, where John Travers, Ryan Creech and Hannah Steed are among the leading entrants.

Before that, some of the future stars of Irish athletics will compete for All-Ireland schools titles in Tullamore. Among the names to look out for in the senior events there are national indoor pole vault champions Mikey Kent (who will also contest the Long Jump) and Meabh Corkery, and throwers Theo Hanlon (Shot Put) and Thomas Williams (Hammer).

Erin Friel, who recently made her senior debut at the world relays, will contest the 400m. National U20 400m hurdles record holder Ellis McHugh is due to compete in both the 400m hurdles, and the sprint hurdles where she will face national lead Orlaith Mannion. European Cross Country medallist Emma Hickey will race the 3000m, while Tara O’Connor is one of the names to look out for in the High Jump.

NCAA Division I Regional Qualifiers

More than two dozen Irish athletes will be competing in the Regional rounds of the NCAA Div I Championships this week. Action in Lexington, KY (East) and Fayetteville, AR (West) got underway on Thursday, with Sean Aigboboh, who has qualified for the next round of the 200m, the best of the Irish performances so far.

Aigboboh, along with Lauren Roy (100m, 200m), Lucy-May Sleeman (100m), Maeve O’Neill (800m), Oisin Spillane (3000m Steeplechase), Siún Quinn (High Jump) and Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump), are just some of the athletes to watch out for as they endeavour to qualify for the national finals in Eugene, OR next month.

Performances this weekend are likely to have a big impact on the Road to Birmingham rankings. Check out TrackAthletes.ie for all the relevant updates over the coming days.

A strong Irish contingent will take on the European 10,000m Cup in Italy this weekend, dozens will flock to Brussels for the two-day IFAM Continental Tour Bronze meeting, others will take part in continental tour meetings in the USA, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

There is a strong entry for the Leinster Senior, Masters and U20 Championships, as well as the British Milers Club Meeting in Belfast. Dundrum South Dublin will compete in both the men’s and the women’s competitions at the European Champion Clubs Cup in Spain.

And there is Irish interest on the final day of the NAIA Championships in the US, at the World Race Walking Tour Gold meeting in Spain and at least three meetings across the spring bank holiday weekend in England.

European 10,000m Cup

The 2025 edition of this annual continental event was a memorable one as Efrem Gidey cruised to the men’s title, and in doing so won Ireland’s first European 10,000m Cup medal.

Efrem won’t be back to defend his title, but a number of individuals within the squad will be chasing qualification for this summer’s European Championships in Birmingham, as well as having team aspirations.

The women’s team looks particularly strong, with Niamh Allen and Fiona Everard looking to convert the form they’ve shown on the roads and the cross country already this year, to the 25-lap track event. Emily Haggard-Kearney and Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill add further firepower. Patricia Jackman and Faye Dervan complete the team.

Allen finished 21st at the World Cross Country in January, and has been setting course records on the roads of Cork, and beyond, in recent weeks. This will be her first 10,000m race on the track, but fine runs over 3000m and 5000m last summer suggest that her talents aren’t confined to the roads and the country.

Everard was the first woman home at the 10km de Saint Medard en Jalles in France at the end of March. Her winning time there was 31:58, faster than the Auto Q for Birmingham, but while times for road races can count, for women they must be set in women’s only races.

Haggard-Kearney, with an official best of 32:51 on the roads (she ran 32:01 at the Trafford 10km, an event not listed on the World Athletics Calendar, earlier this year), and Nic Dhomhnaill, who ran 32:24 at the Valencia 10km in January, also have the potential to set new marks on the track, and contend for a spot in Birmingham.

Callum Morgan, already an established underage international, will be racing his first 10,000m, after breaking the Northern Irish 10km record with 28:08 in Valencia. Morgan has already secured the Northern Ireland 5000m consideration standard for the Commonwealth Games, but his presence at this event suggests that he also has at least one eye on Birmingham too.

Oisín Ó Gailín made his Irish senior debut at this event last year, where he finished 7th in the B Final (29:02.05). Michael Murphy and Jamie Battle, both making their Irish senior debuts, complete the team

Any athlete who doesn’t hit the qualification standard (auto Q), could still make the Birmingham team by ranking. To do so, they would need to hit the Athletics Ireland B standard (28:30 for men; 32:55 for women) and have a ranking, based on their best two performances, at least one of which needs to be run on the track, during the qualification window.

European U23 champion Anika Thompson is currently the only Irish woman on the road to Birmingham list for 10,000m. She is ranked 43rd, with 27 spots available, but has secured the B standard. The battle for places on the men’s side is likely to be fierce. Gidey already has the Auto standard, as does Jack O’Leary. Four others have achieved the B standard.

IFAM: Brussels Bonanza

There are just over 100 Irish athletes on the entry list for the 2-day IFAM meeting in Brussels (Continental Tour Bronze). Among them are Sharlene Mawdsley, entered for both the 200m and 400m, Sophie Becker (400m), Irish U23 steeplechase record holder Ava O’Connor, Luke McCann continuing his injury return over 800m, and Arlene Crossan, who will look to bring her recent relay form to the 400m Hurdles.

IFAM is often a breakthrough meeting for many athletes, and among the emerging athlete names to look out for are Craig Duffy, who was in flying form at the IUAA Championships last month, Erin Friel (200m, 400m), Niall Murphy (5000m) and Abbie Sheridan (3000m steeplechase).

Other European meetings

If the number of Irish competitors in Brussels looks a little lower than last year, that may well be because a number of athletes are competing elsewhere over the weekend, including at other Continental Tour meetings.

Biggest of these is the Internationales Pfingstsportfest Rehlingen, a Continental Tour Silver meeting in Germany on Sunday. Jodie McCann, Eimear Maher and Laura Nicholson are all in the 1500m field, and they will be looking for a fast time and big ranking points towards European Championship qualification.

With PBs in the 4:07-4:08 range, all three are within touch of the Athletics Ireland B standard of 4:07.00 for Birmingham, the minimum required for selection. Nicholson is currently within quota on ranking, but lots will change over the coming weeks.

Alex O’Neill, another with Birmingham aspirations is on the 800m startlist and Mark Smyth has been added to the 100m field.

Andrew Egan (200m) and Conor Cusack (Javelin) are among the entries of the Pfingstmeeting (CT Challenger) in Switzerland on Saturday. Irish Half Marathon record holder Fearghal Curtin is entered for the Spåret 5000m (CT Challenger) in Sweden on Saturday. His best for the distance is 13:34.44 from 2023. Niamh Fogarty, Irish Discus record holder, will compete at the Sæby Wind Challenge (Cat F) in Denmark.

Oisin Lane and Aisling Lane are both on the 10km startlists for the Gran Premio Internacional de Marche Cantones de A Coruña in Spain on Saturday.

Ireland will be represented by DSD in both the men’s and women’s section of the European Champion Clubs Cup in Castellón, Spain. Among the star performers named in their team are Mollie O’Reilly (100m), Ciarán Carthy (400m), Amy O’Donoghue (800m), Paul O’Donnell (3000m), Megan Ryan (5000m), and Kate Doherty (400m Hurdles).

Closer to home

Nick Griggs (Mile) is the star name on the Belfast BMC startlist. It was at this event last year Griggs made his return from injury, running 3:55.97 in wet conditions. His best for the distance is 3:52.42 from Morton Games last July.

There are plenty of other names to look out for, including Ava O’Connor and Zoe Toland in the women’s mile, and Pia Langton and Emma Moore, who’ll be looking to continue their strong starts to 2026 in the women’s 800m.

Oisín Lynch, Callum Hurley and Robert Hewison are among a particularly strong men’s 800m lineup, while Louis O’Loughlin, Amy Greene and Roise Roberts are expected to race over 3000m.

There is lots of talent to watch out for at the Leinster Senior Championships in Carlow (SETU), particularly in the men’s sprints, men’s walk, and the field events.

Max O’Reilly, Adam Murphy, Mark Smyth and Marcus Lawler could face off over 200m, though Symth, as mentioned above, is now on the Rehlingen startlist. O’Reilly and sprint hurdler Adam Nolan are also entered in the shorter sprint.

Matthew Callinan Keenan (Pole Vault), Sam Healy (Long Jump), Saragh Buggy (Long Jump and Triple Jump), Sophie Meredith (Long Jump) and Eoin Sheridan (Discus Throw) are among those to watch out for in the field.

Matthew Glennon, Joe Mooney and David Kenny are all entered in the 5000m walk while Cliodhna Manning is down for the 100m and 200m.

Across the Atlantic

Irish 100m record-holder Israel Olatunde is on the startlist for both the 100m and 200m at the PURE Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, FL (Cat F), where Shane Howard is due to contest the Long Jump. Eric Favors will compete at the Throws U Series #3 event in Fleetwood.

Maddie Mooney (800m), James Dunne and Ronan McMahon-Staggs (both 1500m) and Roisin Flanagan (5000m) are on the startlist for the LA Track Festival, while Rory Devaney (Hammer) and Kate Joyce (Javelin) will compete at the Tucson Elite Throws (CT Silver) meeting on Saturday. Both meetings hold Continental Tour silver status.

There will also be Irish interest on the final day of the NAIA Championship on Friday. After cruising through Thursday’s heats, Nathan Cremin will race in the 800m final. Heather Murphy, who won the 10,000m title on Thursday is also entered for Friday’s 5000m final, though weather delays earlier in the week means she has had a day less than scheduled to recover.

Elsewhere, Charlie O’Donovan, fresh off his Penn Relays win, is the fastest entry for the mile at the Down the Stretch Track Fest (Cat F).

Looking ahead to midweek, 23 Irish athletes in individual events, plus two others named on relay squads, are declared for the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Division I Championships, which will start on Wednesday in Lexington, KY (East Regionals) and Fayetteville, AR (West Regionals). The top 12 athletes in each region will qualify for the National finals in Eugene in early June.

And in the UK

Mikey Kent (Long Jump) and Theo Hanlon (Shot Put), who both broke Leinster Schools championship records during the week, are entered for the BIGish Jumps and throws Fest in Bedford on Monday, along with Daena Kealy who made an impressive return to high jump action last Sunday and Cian Crampton (Discus), who missed the spring with a foot injury.

The popular Stratford Speed meetings in London have a reputation for producing fast times, and among the Irish athletes looking to impress at the first of this year’s series are Bori Akinola (100m, 200m), Paul Costelloe (100m, 200m), Michael Farrelly (100m), Ciara Neville (100m), Aisling Kelly (100m, 200m), Katie Bergin (100m), Sophie Becker (200m) and Hugo Magee (200m, 400m).

A small number of Irish athletes are also entered for the Comeback 5000m in London on Saturday.

Diamond in the rough

Finally, the second round of the 2026 Diamond League will take place in Xiamen, China, on Saturday. There are no Irish competitors, but plenty to interest athletics fans. The event will be shown live on Virgin Media Two from 12:00-14:00.