Niamh Carr

The IUAA University Cross champions will be decided in Dundalk this Saturday, while Irish athletes will look to build on 2025 success at the European Championships in Belgrade in December.

Between the two, many county, provincial and national champions will be decided, in what promises to be another furious nine weeks of mud, sweat and tears.

Intervarsity Cross Country Championships, Dundalk, 10 Oct 2026

Now taking place in October, the IUAA Intervarsity Cross Country Championships has become the cross-country season curtain raiser, with students, just a few weeks into the first term, proudly lining out for their colleges.

Entries last year were affected by a clash with an Athletics Ireland endurance camp in Font Romeu, and it's likely that some eligible athletes will again be missing the 2026 for altitude training in the French Pyrenees. That said, universities from across the island will bring colour and enthusiasm to Dundalk, and up-and-coming athletes will seize the opportunity to shine.

Placing five in the top ten, University of Limerick were clear winners of the men’s team title in 2025. They were led home by Cian O’Boyle, who won individual bronze behind the University of Galway pair of Oisin Murray and Oisin Davis.

Lucy Holmes, who later went on to win the National indoor 1500m title, took the women’s individual title ahead of her MTU teammate Ciara O’Neill, with DCU’s Aimee Wallace winning bronze ahead of Neasa Ni Ainifein (University of Galway). For the second year running, DCU took the team title, again with a winning margin of just two points ahead of UCC. Galway took bronze.

The women's race on Saturday, which is due to start at 1pm, will be followed shortly after by the men at 1.35pm. The newly added mixed relay will start at 2.20pm.

Autumn Cross Country and National Cross Country Relays, Dublin, 18 Oct 2026

While many of the big names often skip this one, among the current entries for the senior races at the Autumn International Cross Country - which have not closed at the time of writing – are Niamh Allen, who finished 21st at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January, and fellow senior internationals Paul O’Donnell, Trish Jackman and Abbie Sheridan.

European Cross Country bronze medallist Emma Hickey is among the U20 entries, while Roise Roberts, will gauge her fitness ahead of the defence of her National U23 Cross Country title in November. Niamh O’Mahony, Jane Buckley and Cara Laverty will all be looking to transition into senior competition here after spending recent years within the NCAA system.

Athletes from Loughborough make up the international challenge this year, with the event no longer on the World Cross Country Tour calendar. Among them are India Barwell who finished second here last year before making the British U23 team for both the European Cross Country Championships and the World University Cross Country Championships.

There are currently just three teams entered for the National Senior Cross Country relay, which opens the programme. Among the athletes listed for the Rathfarnham team is the 2022 National 1500m champion Carla Sweeny, who continues her return to competition after childbirth.

Dublin City Harriers (Niamh Carr, Pierre Murchan, Lucy Holmes and Philip Marron) took the title last year ahead of Ennis Track and Nenagh Olympic.

Competitive trials for the Masters’ Cross Country International and the National Juvenile relays will add to the atmosphere of the event in Abbotstown, which always looks splendid at this time of year.

The NCAA season, various

The US collegiate season is already underway, but the climax of the season very much coincides with the main events on Irish soil. The final big meetings of the regular (pre-championship) season take place over the next two weekends.

Both the Nuttycombe Invitational at Madison, Wisconsin on Friday 9 October and the Pre-Nationals Invitational at Terre Haute, Indiana on 16 October are set to include strong Irish contingents.

The majority of the NCAA Division I Conference Championships take place on 30th and 31st October, with the nine NCAA Division I Regional Qualifiers on 13th November deciding the teams and individuals who will make it to the ‘big dance’ a week later.

Eight Irish athletes competed in the NCAA Division I Nationals last year, with Abdel Ladjel 9th in the men’s race and his University of Oregon teammate Anika Thompson 68th in the women’s race. Neither are eligible to compete this year. NCAA Division II Nationals will take place on 4th December.

Irish National Cross Country Championships, Abbotstown, 22 Nov 2026

After a four-year absence, the National Cross Country Championships – and annual battle for the much-coveted European Cross Country team spots – returns to the Sport Ireland Campus in Abbotstown.

The first three in the U20 and Senior races will gain automatic selection for Belgrade, while the top two in the U23 categories will also be rewarded with Euro Cross selection. At least four athletes, and possibly up to six, will be selected in each age group. A mixed relay team may also be selected.

But there are also national titles on the line. In Derry last year, Brian Fay became the tenth different winner of the Senior Men’s title in as many editions, narrowly defeating Nick Griggs, who three weeks later won the European U23 title, and the 2023 champion Cormac Dalton.

Indeed, such was the standard of last year’s race, Jack O’Leary, who went on to finish fifth in the European decider, could only manage fourth place against his countrymen. Neither Griggs nor O’Leary have won a senior cross country title, so there’s a chance that the streak of different winners could stretch to 11.

The Irish senior men went on to win gold at the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa last December, and Fay finished an incredible 16th at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, underlining the current quality of Irish men's distance running.

Fiona Everard added the 2025 title to the one she won in 2023, and will likely face stiff competition from the 2024 and 2025 runner-up Niamh Allen if she is to add a third. These two have been the dominant forces in female distance running in Ireland over the past 12 months, both finishing top 25 at the World Cross Country Championships in January and making up two-thirds of the team that won silver at the European 10,000m Cup.

Defending U20 champions Noah Harris, 10th at Euro Cross and 38th in Tallahassee, and Emma Hickey, bronze medallist in Lagoa, are both young enough to defend their titles, though success at NCAA level may make a title defence impossible for Harris.

Róise Roberts is also young enough to defend her national U23 titles, and the entire men's U23 podium from 2025 - Griggs, Jonas Stafford and Niall Murphy - could again be fighting for places on the team which will defend the European team title.

Club champions will also be decided, with the top teams likely earning the right to represent Ireland at the European Clubs Cross Country early next year.

Other domestic championships, various

Many county and provincial championships will take place between the Autumn Cross Country and the National Cross Country Championships. Athletes with eligibility will also have the opportunity to race Novice and Intermediate championships, the latter of which will be held alongside the National Masters Championships in Abbotstown in February.

European Cross Country Championships, Belgrade (Serbia), 13th Dec 2026

Several pieces of history were made by Irish athletes at the 2025 European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa last December. Griggs finally won a European cross country title, taking the men’s U23 title at his leisure, and became the first Irish male individual European Cross Country winner in the process. Sixteen-year-old Hickey won a surprise bronze in the Women’s U20 race, and in so doing became Ireland’s first medallist in this race.

And after fourth-place finishes in Dublin in 2021 and Brussels in 2023, the current generation of Senior men finally picked up a team medal, winning a brilliant silver behind Spain. O’Leary had the race of his life to finish fifth, while Fay and Dalton, who were both also on the 2021 and 2023 teams, battled it out for 10th place and the honour of becoming the first Irish man to finish top 10 in this race on more than one occasion.

To add the cherry on top of an already historic day for Irish cross country running, Griggs led the U23 men to the team title, and fourth place on the medals table. The 2026 squad have a tough act to follow in Belgrade.

Ireland have now won at least one medal at each edition of the championship since Lisbon in 2019, and Griggs, young enough to defend his title, may be among the contenders to add further silverware. The Tyrone athlete now has eight medals (four individual and four team) from this event. Hickey has three more years in the U20 age category, and will be looking to add further success in the coming years.

The team will be announced after the final selections are made on 25 November.

  
World Cross Country Tour and other competitions abroad

World Cross Country Tour events take place across Europe - with a few races also in Africa - right throughout the season. While most of the events fall too close to National and European Championships for Irish athletes, Dalton, Griggs, Callum Morgan, Danielle Donegan and Mary Mulhare are among the Irish who used World Tour events to sharpen up for Irish Championships and Euro Cross last season.

A small number of Irish athletes have eligibility to compete in English (and other home nation) championships and the British University (BUCS) Championships, thereby extending their cross country seasons well into the spring.

English National is always worth a watch, especially the start of the Senior Men’s race, which sometimes includes as many as 2000 starters, and the British University championships does its best to replicate the colour and team rivalry of the US equivalent, albeit usually on a muddier course!

There’s plenty to look forward to over the next few months. Expect mud, sweat, tears, and a few surprises.

After an exciting evening in Bishopstown mid-week, the continental tour rolls into Santry on Friday, where the Morton Games will kick-start another exciting weekend of athletics.

Abroad, middle distance athletes will be racing at the Watford BMC, many of the sprinters and hurdlers are heading to the Stratford Speed meeting in London, while a mix of sprinters and jumpers will be chasing personal bests in Kortrijk, Belgium. Athletes will also be competing in Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Germany and the United States.

Junior athletes have until Sunday night to achieve standards for the World U20 Championships, while this weekend marks the two-weeks-to-go point on the Road to Birmingham. By the end of the weekend, there will be just 4 weeks to go until the biggest event of the year.

Morton Games

The second of Ireland’s two Continental Tour Bronze meetings, the Morton Games, will feature many of the athletes we saw in Cork on Wednesday, including a similarly world-class women’s hammer field, some additional overseas star quality and a few Irish athletes we’ve not seen a huge amount of this season.

Fans will have a sneak preview of some of the national title battles that will be fought out on this track in two weeks’ time, as well as witness some evolving twists and turns on the road to Birmingham.

For a detailed breakdown of the international and domestic athletes to look out for, check out the news features on the Morton Games website. Here we’ll take a look at a few interesting events from an Irish perspective.

Women's 1500m

The unfolding storyline of the women’s 1500m - and the cacophony of potential outcomes in terms of Birmingham qualification - is particularly intriguing. Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan boxed off the automatic qualification standard at the World Championship last September, and are highly likely to be on the European Championships team.

While Ciara Mageean almost certainly won’t use her wildcard spot as defending champion, Irish athletes have known that there was another spot up for grabs, irrespective of Mageean’s availability, and three athletes in particular have been invested in chasing that final spot.

Both Eimear Maher and Jodie McCann achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard in the past week. Laura Nicholson, however, is the only one of the three currently within quota on ranking points. Both criteria need to be met to make the team.

Nicholson will be hoping to better the 4:07.00 mark on Friday, and both her and Maher will be looking to increase their ranking points in Santry. McCann, whose points from Wednesday won't be added until next week, is racing in Portugal on Saturday (see below).

A fast race at Nationals has the potential to elevate all three within quota come close of qualification, but the side quest of securing a national title is more likely to lead to a cagey contest. And the dream outcome for any of the contenders would be hitting the 4:03.50 automatic standard in the coming weeks.

Men's 5000m

Darragh McElhinney, Nick Griggs (both with the automatic standard) and Brian Fay (currently sitting in a quota spot) are likely to make the 5000m in Birmingham, and they will be among those racing that distance on Friday. Griggs wasn’t far off Fay’s National record of 13:01.40 last summer, and in the right conditions on the right day, all three have the potential to break 13 minutes.

Also racing over 12.5 laps are Jack O’Leary, who has the 10,000m standard for Birmingham, Cormac Dalton who ran a solid 3000m in Cork on Wednesday on return from injury, Callum Morgan, who’ll be racing this distance at the Commonwealth Games at the end of the month, and Shay McEvoy, who actually has the Athletics Ireland B standard for the 10,000m, but is too far down the rankings for that to be a realistic dream.

The national title decided at this distance last year was one for the ages. A slightly different cast, at the same venue, could well lead to similar showstopping performances. And that’s before we consider the more-than-cameo appearances of the overseas actors. While nobody knows what drama might unfold, this likely to be one not to miss.

Men's 400m

With the mixed 4x400m team now unlikely to qualify to defend their title in Birmingham, male 400m athletes will be hoping that they hold on to their top-16 position in the men’s 4x400m relay, for most, their only likely route to the European Championships.

Three of the athletes who would be hoping to make the cut for any team selected are racing on Friday, and will be looking to impress in the one-lap event. Jack Raftery, who has the Athletics Ireland B standard and is currently just outside quota, does still have a shot at making the individual event. This will be his first race since mid-May.

Sean Doggett has run personal bests both indoors and outdoors this year, and won the Irish U23 200m title on Sunday. He’ll be hoping to continue his progress on Friday as he looks to make his second European Championship team, following his debut in Rome as a 17-year-old.

Andrew Egan ran 45.86 last season, and is slowly building towards that level this season. Could he spring an upset on the reigning national and national indoor champions, and which, of any of them, will be the first Irish athlete to run sub 46 this season.

Other events

Bori Akinola and Sean Aigboboh will go head-to-head again over 100m, Nicola Tuthill will have another shot at upsetting the Olympic and World Champion and breaking the 19-year-old national hammer record, and Alex O’Neill will have another shot at the Athletics Ireland B standard she missed by 0.01 seconds last week.

There were no Irish winners in the international events in Cork. The Morton crowd will be hoping for a few podium-topping performances, not least in the men's mile which will close the programme. Cathal Doyle will be looking for his second Morton Mile title, and the fourth Irish win in five years. Hitting the 1500m point in 3:33.50 or faster – the automatic standard for Birmingham – would be the cherry on top.

Other Continental Tour meetings

Colin Doyle (100m), Paul Costelloe (100m, 200m) and Rhianna McCarthy (100m, 200m) are entered for the Fast Arms, Fast Legs Continental Tour Challenger meeting in Wetzlar, Germany on Friday.

A healthy consignment of middle distance runners are heading to Watford for the British Milers Club (BMC) Grand Prix, a Continental Tour Challenger meeting, on Saturday. Among them are Finley Daly (3000m steeplechase) who is chasing the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham; and Neasa Ni Ainifein, Niamh Carr, Zoe Toland (1500m) and Ella Fennelly (3000m) who have been in personal best-smashing form recently.

Noah Harris, who just missed the World U20 qualification time in Cork on Wednesday, is also on the startlist for the 3000m. Pia Langton, who got her second World U20 qualifier in Cork on Wednesday, and Colin P Smith, who has got a lane at the Morton Games, are also on the startlist at the time of writing, but presumably won’t be racing.

The entries for the bronze level Moore-Guldensporenmeeting in Kortrijk include high jumpers Sommer Lecky and Daena Kealy; Lauren Callaghan who has been edging ever closer to the Athletics Ireland B standard for the long jump (6.55); Adam Nolan (110m hurdles), and sprinters Katie Bergin (100m, 200m), Molly Daly (400m), and Benjamin Richardson (100m, 200m).

McCann has run personal bests in her last two 1500m races, and bettered the Athletics Ireland B standard for Birmingham in her most recent outing on Wednesday. She will race again at the Meeting of Braga in Portugal (Continental Tour Bronze) on Saturday, as she continues to boost her Road to Birmingham ranking.

Elizabeth Ndudi (Long Jump) is also competing. Like McCann, she has the Athletics Ireland B standard, but needs a serious boost of ranking points if she is to make it to Birmingham.

Eilish Flanagan on the 5000m startlist for the Sound Running Sunset Tour in Los Angeles. This would be the Tokyo Olympian's first track race since 2024.

Sunday’s big meeting from an Irish perspective is Stratford Speed where a huge contingent of sprinters and hurdlers are entered. The women’s 400m Hurdles list, alone, contains the names of half a dozen Irish athletes.

Ciara Neville, Precious Akpe-Moses, Molly Scott, Sarah Leahy and Mollie O’Reilly are among the leading names in the women’s 100m, while Max O’Reilly, Colin Doyle and Michael Farrelly are entered in the men’s 100m.

Adam Murphy and Commonwealth Games-bound Anna McCauley look set to get a runout over 200m; Hugo Magee, Joe Doody, Darragh Murphy, Aaron Keane and Michelle Duggan are entered in the 400m, while Victoria Amiadamen and Cara Murphy are among those going in the 400m Hurdles.

After a mid-week win over 1500m in Joensuu, Maddie Mooney will again race in Finland, this time over 800m at the Tampere Meeting on Sunday.

Kealy, entered for both Morton on Friday and Kortrijk on Saturday, is also scheduled to compete at the Klaverbad International High Jump Meeting (Continental Tour Challenger) in Zoetermeer, Netherlands on Sunday.

Elsewhere

The Monaco Diamond League also takes place on Friday. There are no Irish athletes on the startlists, but fans can expect to see Faith Kipyegon (3000m), Simon Ehammer (Long Jump), Julien Alfred (200m) among the talent-packed fields. The meeting will be broadcast live on Virgin Media Two from 7-9pm.

Mikey Kent, another athlete chasing World U20 qualification, is entered in the long jump at two category F meetings in the Netherlands over the weekend. He has already surpassed the 7.60m standard once, and needs another jump in that range to book his ticket to Eugene.

The two-day Eugene Diamond League is the marquee event for international stars this weekend, but Irish age group athletes will be battling for national under-20 and under-23 titles in Tullamore on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, the quest for Birmingham qualification continues for Cathal Doyle, Finley Daly, Cillian Kirwan, Alex O’Neill, Eimear Maher, and others at various continental tour meetings around Europe.

Diamond League

The Prefontaine Classic/Eugene Diamond League is spread over two days, with all the Diamond Events taking place on Saturday. Among the star-stuffed fields are Sarah Healy (Mile) and Rhasidat Adeleke (400m).

After skipping the indoor season, Healy started her outdoor campaign with 5000m at the Rome Diamond League in early June and finished 11th in the 1500m (4:01.50) in Paris last Sunday. She has achieved the Birmingham standard for both distances, though will likely only contest the 1500m there, and will be looking for a confidence-boosting result in ‘Tracktown’.

The Dublin woman’s Mile personal best is the 4:16.26 she ran at the London Diamond League last July. That time places her 2nd on the Irish all-time list, behind Ciara Mageean’s 4:14.58 national record. Her opposition on Saturday includes World Record Holder Faith Kipyegon, Jessica Hull, Georgia Hunter-Bell, and Nikki Hiltz.

Adeleke will be racing in the 400m on Friday night (early Saturday morning Irish time). Though not a Diamond event, the startlist includes eight athletes who have broken 50 seconds for the distance. 2026 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion Dejanea Oakley, with a best of 48.79 from earlier this year, is the fastest in the field.

Adeleke is likely to need the 51.20 European Championship standard in this or one of her upcoming races to secure her spot in Birmingham, and five good results between now and the beginning of September (or a Diamond League final win) to make it to the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

Maddie Mooney, who ran a personal best of 4:11.32 in Portland two weeks ago, is tasked with pacing a high-quality women's 1500m on Saturday, ahead of some races in Europe over the coming weeks, 

The Diamond events will be shown live on Virgin Media Two from 9-11pm on Saturday. The women’s Mile is the penultimate event on the programme. The women’s 400m is at 4:37am on Saturday morning.

Continental Tour meetings

Doyle edged closer to Birmingham qualification when he ran 3:33.79 in the 1500m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb last Friday. He is now within quota for Birmingham, and just 0.29 off the qualification standard which would all but guarantee his place at the European Championships.

Bettering the 3:30.50 qualification mark will be one of his targets when he lines up at Meeting Stanislas Nancy (Continental Tour Silver) in Tomblaine, France, on Friday, ahead of races over 800m in Cork and the Mile in Santry next week.

The list of entries for Meeting National Est Lyonnais on Saturday includes four Irish athletes with at least one eye on Birmingham qualification.

Kirwan (800m) achieved the Athletics Ireland B standard in Vienna two weeks ago, but in what is a very competitive event, he may need to run the automatic qualification standard (1:44.80) to secure his spot in Birmingham (27 of the 32 spots available on the Road to Birmingham rankings are currently occupied by those qualified by standard or wild card).

Daly just missed the Athletics Ireland B standard in the 3000m Steeplechase at a BMC event in Birmingham at the end of May. In addition to bettering the 8:35.00 needed, he’ll also be looking to add ranking points to elevate himself within quota.

With lifetime bests faster than the Athletics Ireland B standard in their respective events, both Dunne (1500m) and O’Neill (800m) know that they have what it takes to make the team for Birmingham. With just a month of qualification remaining, they’ll be looking to replicate the form they showed in 2025, and pick up adequate ranking points along the way.

Saturday’s Meeting voor Mon in Polsstokgala, Belgium, lists a dozen Irish athletes among their entries, including some who are also entered for meetings elsewhere. We refer here only to athletes who are not listed on entries for other meetings.

Arlene Crossan, who has been in flying form so far this season, is due to race over 400m Hurdles. The Donegal woman ran a personal best of 57.95 in Brussels in May. Louis O’Loughlin, another athlete in personal best form this season and Amy O’Donoghue are all due to race over 1500m.

Maher, with a best of 4:08.67, and Jodie McCann, with a best of 4:08.34, will both have the 4:07.00 Athletics Ireland B-standard for Birmingham in their sights when they race at the X Ordizia Meeting - International Meeting Jose Antonio Peña in Spain on Saturday.

There are numerous Irish athletes on the startlists for The Pursuit 5,000m (Continental Tour Challenger) in Stirling, Scotland, on Saturday. In addition to the 5000m races, where Emily Haggard-Kearney, Faye Dervan and Jamie Battle are entered, the event also includes 800m races. Niamh Carr and Callum Hurley are among the leading Irish entrants at the shorter distance.

National U20 & U23 T&F Championships

Some of Ireland’s top developing talent will be on display at the National U20 and U23 Championships in Tullamore across the weekend. In addition to the national medals on offer, some of the under-20 athletes will be looking to secure their spot at the World Championships in Eugene next month.

Among the athletes who have achieved the required standards for Eugene (two for most events, one for 3000m, 5000m, walks, steeplechase and combined events), are Ethan Dewhirst and Des O’Neill (400m Hurdles), Saoirse Fitzgerald (800m), Gemma Galvin (1500m), Orlaith Manion (100m Hurdles), Ellis McHugh (400m Hurdles), Siún Quinn (High Jump), Cillian Gleeson (5000m), Dearbhla Allen (3000m Steeplechase), Seamus Clarke, Matthew Newell (5000m Walk), Enya Silkenna (Heptathlon) and Eoin O’Callaghan (Decathlon). All are entered, though not all in the event for which they have standards.

Sofia Grango (200m), Molly Daly, Erin Friel (both 400m), Pia Langton (800m and 1500m) and Mikey Kent (Long Jump) are among those looking for a second standard in the coming days.

Among the leading U23 athletes entered are Anna Gavigan (Discus), who isn’t a huge distance from Birmingham qualification, Max O’Reilly, Lucas Fadden, Sean Doggett, Fintan Dewhirst and Joe Doody in the sprints, distance athletes Neasa Ni Ainifein (1500m), Amy Greene and Heather Murphy (5000m), Aisling Lane (3000m Walk), Adam Nolan (110m Hurdles) and Conor Callinan (Pole Vault).

Patricia Jackman, who made her Irish debut at the European 10,000m Cup in May, is the lead entry in the National Senior 10,000m championships, which is being held as part of this event.

See the Athletics Ireland website for a more detailed preview of the event.

Elsewhere

Sommer Lecky (High Jump) and Clodagh Walsh (Pole Vault) are among the Irish entries for the England Athletics Senior and U20 Championships, which will run from Friday to Sunday in Bedford.

Nicola Sheridan (Marathon) and Grace Lynch (Half Marathon) are among the elite entries for the Gold Coast Marathon. The longer distance, which will take place on Sunday, is a World Athletics Gold Label race. The Half Marathon on Saturday, will incorporate the Oceania Half Marathon Championships.