Glen River parkrun, Cork city

Ongoing injuries have forced me to really cut down on my running but on a recent trip to Cork city for  a family wedding I could not resist checking out a local parkrun.  Cork has a very well established running scene with lots of clubs as evidenced at the 'Running in Cork' blog. It is the home of many great athletes, perhaps most notably Sonia O'Sullivan who in the 1990s won a string of medals at Olympics, Worlds, and European Champs in the 3000m, 5000m and 10000m as well as winning world cross country champs on two occasions.

There are a number of parkruns in the Cork area but the most central is at Glen River park, about a mile north of the city centre. That's a mile of mostly steep ascent, so if your warm up routine involves running to the start line you might want to bear that in mind. 

I accessed the park via the Glen Resource and Sports Centre (where there is car parking) though the way is not obvious - basically go down stairs at side of building and make your way around the all weather football pitches to a gate on to the park. Go down the hill to your left and you will find the parkrun start and finish point.

The park includes a section of the Glen River, more of a stream really (at least on my visit during a very hot summer) and the parkrun course runs mostly along its banks in the river valley - three times in fact along each side of the river within the park. However as an extra twist on two of the three laps there is also a fairly steep hill - straight up and straight back down again.

The course is mostly tarmac/gravel paths, with plenty of shade. 

Glen River parkrun started in 2018 and has an average attendance of around 80. Like most parkruns it is friendly and welcoming - well apart from that hill maybe. More details at Glen River parkrun page

(Looking through previous results I can see that Sonia O'Sullivan has actually run a few times at Glen River parkrun)

 

Ireland 1 Italy 0... 1994

Ireland 1 Italy 0... no not last night, in June 1994 I was in Paros, Greece watching the same result in a bar - celebrations all round after Ray Houghton's 11th minute goal. With no England, Scotland, Wales or NI in the World Cup, Jack Charlton's Ireland were the team of choice even for many Brits. I went so far as to have a Jack Charlton 'Tiocfaidh ar la' t-shirt from my then local, the George Canning in Brixton (now Hootananny) - probably a little over enthusiastic! I might add that while my mum was born a Kelly, my Irish ancestors on her side of the family left County Cork for the Forest of Dean in the 19th century so I could not really claim to be entitled to support the team, but as a third claim for me after England or Scotland (who I could represent in sports if I was any good) I felt it was OK.

Loughinisland Massacre 1994

On what was a night of joyous celebrations for Ireland supporters around the world there was also an infamous massacre. At the Heights Bar in Loughinisland, County Down, people were watching the match on TV when Ulster Volunteer Force gunmen walked in and opened fire with assault rifles, killing six people. The dead were Adrian Rogan (34), Malcolm Jenkinson (52), Barney Greene (87), Daniel McCreanor (59), Patrick O'Hare (35) and Eamon Byrne (39) - pictured below. A report published by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland earlier this month concluded that there had been collusion between police officers and the killers.  

There were many terrible killings on all sides during that period, but the slaughter of people just enjoying a football match in a bar has not been forgotten. When Ireland played Italy at Euro 2012, 18 years to the day since the massacre, Ireland players wore black armbands. And on the night of this week's Ireland v Italy match, relatives gathered once again in the Heights Bar.