By Christy Parker

Athlete Willie O’Mahony was inducted as the 2007 Usual Place Hall of Fame sports personality at the recent Annual Awards ceremony. The 62-year old grandfather received the accolade for outstanding commitment and contribution to his sport over a career spanning -thus far- almost 40 years. Former Olympic silver medallist and Sports Council of Ireland CEO, John Treacy, presented the Inch native with a Clashmore crystal trophy.

Willie, a salesman at Broderick’s hardware shop on North Main Street, has remained a member of Youghal Athletic Club since joining as a 14 year old. “I remember a bunch of us from Inch called to (the late) Paddy Cooney to join what was then the Youghal Athletic and Cycling Club,” he recalls. Their mission, he says, was inspired by such achievements as those of Youghal’s Paddy Coleman, an Irish champion over a mile and across country.

A lot of track, field and road has bridged the years between that knock on Paddy Cooney’s door and his most recent circuit representing his club in a four-mile Masters (over 60′s) County Road Championship, earlier this month. March also saw him complete a seven-kilometre Munster cross-country Masters race in Tralee and a Ballycotton 10.

Through the years, over all grounds and distances, indoors and outdoors, Willie has raced, triumphed and lost against a vast array of friends, strangers and admirers the length and breath of Ireland. Sprints and seven Irish marathons have been amongst the milestones on the road from Inch to the Hall of Fame.

Off the track, he has been treasure of the East Cork Board since 1970, forming part of an administration that has nursed through athletes-cum-acquaintances like Sonia O’Sullivan, John Treacy and Marcus O’Sullivan. “I’ve filmed a lot of their happy homecomings too,” says Willie, in reference to a secondary passion for video, which he sometimes aligns with athletics.

In 1974, Willie moved to Gortroe where he and Macroom-born wife Breda, -also an athlete- reared two girls and two boys. The children inherited their parents’ affinity for sport (daughter Sharon has represented Ireland in athletics and orienteering) and Willie recalls weekends “when the whole family would head off round to compete in one competition or another somewhere in Ireland.”

Teetotal and a non-smoker, Willie’s early career saw him focus largely on track & field and cross-country. He was part of the Youghal team that won County Junior, Intermediate and Novice in the mid 1960′s. In that same era, when television sets were three to a street, road running became immensely popular in Ireland both amongst runners and spectators. As Youghal Athletic Club treasurer, Willie played a role in inaugurating the annual and legendary New year’s Eve ’round-the-houses’ race, in which the runners set off with the old year and returned with the new one.

Up the road, another race awaited. In 1978 Willie and John Walshe from Ballycotton lined up with 29 others for the first Ballycotton10 road race. This month the two friends were amongst the 2,200 to compete, having not missed a single year in between.

Individual rewards were mostly participatory through Willie’s peak years but he began to pick up a lot of indoor and outdoor Team and Individual County and Munster medals, from ‘over 35′s level upwards. Then in Nenagh in 2007, after “umpteen 2nd and 3rd’s” came that elusive first All Ireland title in the Masters 400 metres. Forty years of training had paid off!

He was quickly back training of course, relishing those long, fulfilling hours along Gortroe’s roads, Redbarn’s strand and Glenbower’s woods. He trains mostly alone nowadays but the yearly schedule remains almost unchanged since 1962. “Winter is cross country, indoors in January, Ballycotton 10 in March, Munster track& field in May and road races through the summer, with the Masters in Tullamore in August,” he reels off enthusiastically. His philosophy remains unchanged too. “It’s all about the joy of competing. If you win that’s brilliant but it’s primarily a fantastic way of life. I’ve been blessed,” he says.

It would probably not be inaccurate to say the 2007 Hall of Fame inductee has, accumulatively, run to the moon and is nearing home on the way back having diverted round Mars for the scenery. But what else would a star do?