It was right around this time of year when I’d start making the trip to the Mardyke at University College Cork (UCC) every Wednesday afternoon. It took a bit of effort to get there from Cobh, and I did it by myself, because even at age 15 or 16 I knew how important it was to have a track session at least once a week.
We’d a half-day from school every Wednesday, so I’d get the train from Cobh to Cork, then walk along the river towards the Mardyke. There was a bus too, although I’d usually walk it, stop off for a coffee and maybe drop into Eason’s to buy Athletics Weekly.
It felt like a bit of adventure, but those track sessions were a big part of my training because they gave you that real-time feedback. I also did a lot of my training around a field in Cobh, but that didn’t give the same detail and feedback you get at the track.
My coach Seán Kennedy would meet me at the Mardyke, and I’d already be warmed-up and ready to go and then he would give me a lift home afterwards. This would never have worked if Seán had to drive me there too, but at least there was a track in the vicinity and, better still, it was always accessible.
I also had one of my breakthrough runs at the Mardyke, age 17, winning the 3,000 metres at the 1987 Cork City Sports, in a national junior record of 9:01.52 that still stands. So it was a huge honour when the Mardyke track was named in my honour, in 2013, the last time the track was resurfaced.
The track has certainly been kept busy since, and over that amount of time there’s going to be a lot of wear and tear. Especially when it gets as much use as the Mardyke does. Still, the first I heard of its rapid deterioration and subsequently abrupt closure was on Monday afternoon.
In a way, part of the problem is that UCC have been so good at facilitating so many athletes, but it doesn’t look like there was any planning with the Cork Athletics board
Suddenly Cork is left without a single running track to serve the entire county, given the fact the only other track at the Munster Technological University (MTU) at Bishopstown, formerly Cork IT, is undergoing resurfacing work, and is already about a year behind schedule. They’re going to be right up against the wire to have it ready for this year’s Cork City Sports, which is crazy.
I’ve been in touch with UCC, and they certainly did not take this decision lightly. But they clearly saw there were issues with the track, looked to see was there a temporary solution, and realised then after the examination that it just wasn’t feasible, and it wasn’t safe in its present state of disrepair.
In a way, part of the problem is that UCC have been so good at facilitating so many athletes, but it doesn’t look like there was any planning with the Cork Athletics board, some connection between the two, to realise this track is starting to fall apart here, what are we going to do for our athletes?
The Mardyke infield area is now astro-turf pitches, which is one of the reasons the Cork City Sports first moved out to Bishopstown, but the Mardyke is still a huge part of the juvenile championships in Cork, which makes this even more alarming, because those events have been left in the lurch now, wondering what they’re going to do.
Another part of the problem is maybe people didn’t realise the importance of this track, or even appreciate it, until suddenly it’s not available any more. Because it has been a hugely valuable resource to Cork athletics over the years. Leevale AC athletes, Cork Athletics AC, which is Rob Heffernan’s club, and most Cork clubs and international athletes, home for the summer at some point in the season, all come up to use the Mardyke for training.
Athletics is also growing in Cork with around 8,600 registered athletes in 58 clubs. The numbers are increasing all the time, so why was there no foresight to have a purpose-built running track for the county rather than assume UCC and MTU will always be there?
Cork people have always been proud of their athletics, that we have the best athletes and the coaches, but that lack of planning is only going to hurt the athletes now. Even when MTU opens this summer, it’s going to be swamped, and I’m not sure how they’ll manage the demand.
For now, it means athletes and coaches and parents are looking at other tracks in Kerry, Limerick or Tipperary. But if you lack the ease of access, or something central is taken away, the people who don’t have the ability to drive miles, or the passion, they’ll go and find another sport, one that’s a bit more convenient.
There’s a bigger question here, too, as to why Athletics Ireland no longer has ownership of a national stadium, given the Morton Stadium in Santry is now run by Dublin City University
It’s not just once a week, twice a week, then the racing. And it’s not ideal or even practical to be driving two hours to and from training, no athlete wants or needs to be doing that.
It all looks like an action replay of what happened to the Belfield track at UCD, back in 2011, similarly let slip into disrepair until it had to be shut down too. It took almost 11 years and an anonymous donation of €3 million before the new track on the opposite side of the campus was eventually up and running.
I know Bandon AC have plans for a track in place, but that’s only starting, and the east Cork clubs are only launching their idea and still don’t even have a definite site.
[ Sonia O’Sullivan: Dealing with the pressures and expectation of an Olympic yearOpens in new window ]
Again, it’s a huge honour to have your name on any track, but that’s the only thing I really gave the track that gave me so much. I was never involved in any planning or decisions, because it’s privately owned. I don’t care if a sponsor comes in to fix the track, puts their name on it. I’d support whatever it takes to get this track opened fully again, have the facility there.
While the only real solution is long-term, as in the complete resurfacing of the track, there is some hope now for something short-term, that in some way can facilitate the Cork athletes for the rest of this year, especially for the technical events, so we don’t lose a full year of their development.
There’s a bigger question here, too, as to why Athletics Ireland no longer has ownership of a national stadium, given the Morton Stadium in Santry is now run by Dublin City University. .
As for the Mardyke, my hope is a plan can be put in place to piece it back together, one that will recognise not just its history but its value and ensure there’s a long-term future there for all athletes in Cork.
