blackrock athletic club
Blackrock,
Blackrock Athletic Club was founded in 1944. From a small beginning during World
War 2 it has developed into the biggest athletic club in the country. The club
evolved from a volunteer military unit and started out with around 20 members,
many of whom first came into contact with athletics through inter-service (army)
competition. Joe Hodgins brought the first national title in 1950 and since then
it has grown from strength. In the initial stages, it catered for men only. The
main reason for the exclusion of women from athletics stemmed from the church’s
opposition to them participating in a sport that demanded physical exertion. It
was to take a further 25 years before there was a change in attitude in this
respect, which allowed for the introduction of athletic competition for women.
The club has benefitted immensely from this development. A few efforts were made
to get juvenile athletics of the ground before the current junior section was
established in 1980. It has continued to grow and expand and today there is a
queue up of young children waiting to get in. A Fit4Life section was introduced
to the club in 2013. This development allows runners and joggers to enjoy all
the benefits of running in a social, safe and organised environment. The club
has come a long way in that it can now cater for everyone, irrespective of their
ability, that wants to run. The club’s training grounds is at the picturesque
Carysfort Park, Blackrock where it has been in situ since 1994.
