At the heart of the community for 50 years
Love to run at any age, at any pace.
Deep roots.
Navan Athletic Club has a long and rich history and its roots stretch back to the 1940s with St. Mary’s Athletic Club.
It was then reformed under the De La Salle Club, where many local organizations found their start.
Navan Athletic Club as it is known today was founded in October 1973 under the chairmanship of John Murtagh, with President Jim Kearney, Secretary Rita Brady and Treasurer Sean Keelan. The original committee consisted of 27 members.
Early years.
The club’s mission was to provide athletic facilities for juvenile, junior and senior athletes. Training was originally run out of the local O’Mahoney’s facilities every Tuesday and Friday night.
The club found many early successes, with athletes competing at county, provincial, and national championships.
A place to call home.
In 1978, Navan Athletic Club together with Parkvilla Football Club purchased a 6 acre site on the Commons Road. This facility still stands as the heart of both clubs today; Claremont Stadium.
A voluntary committee was formed from members of Navan Athletic Club and Parkvilla Football Club, and this structure still manages the stadium.
Onwards and upwards.
In Autumn 2000, a modern day facility was opened at Claremont Stadium including an Olympic standard athletic track and first class soccer pitch. The facilities are still regularly upgraded, including lighting, pitch updates, and track maintenance.
High quality coaching.
Navan AC has been fortunate down through the years to have coaches of great renown; none more so than Dr Zbigniew Orywal.
During his involvement with Navan AC, Dr Orywal was hugely influential in fostering the talents of many local athletes, including two relay teams who held Irish records for 4x100m and 4x400m. These teams were made up of Ciarán Conlon, Liam Byrne, Paul Hetherington, Declan Reilly, Simon Cumbers and Derek Smith.
Honouring legacies.
The club runs two annual races per year, the Simon Cumbers and Paddy Hyland 6k Race and the Rita & Robbie Christmas 5k.
Simon Cumbers was a beloved member of the club for many years and was killed tragically in 2004 while working for the BBC in Saudi Arabia. Paddy Hyland was the national race starter, known across the country for his devotion to athletics.
Rita Brady was the club’s founding secretary who served the club diligently for over 40 years. Robbie Byrne was a local hairdresser and original club member who was the first president of Meath Athletics.
Something blue.
In 2020, the club was proud to unveil the new athletics track. In a bold blue color, this track will allow the club to continue fostering a love of athletics from juveniles to masters.
The new track has allowed the club to level up their training sessions, which take place every weekday and on the weekends. Learn more here.
Ready, steady, gold.
Today the club has over 300 members, and is growing every year. Members participate in events at county, provincial, and national levels.
Next year the club will celebrate its 50th golden anniversary and looks forward to a bright future ahead of it.
