Donore Harriers Running Club

Donore Harriers is a highly successful athletic club located on the banks of the river Liffey in the scenic village of Chapelizod. The club was founded in 1893 and its first headquarters was at 78 South Circular Road – opposite the home of where the National Boxing Stadium now stands.

Following on from those early days, Donore Harriers was based in various pubs’ premises in Dolphin’s Barn and Kilmainham, before a permanent home was found in Hospital Lane, Islandbridge in 1948.

From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, Donore Harriers were widely recognized as the powerhouse of distance running, and club coach Eddie Hogan trained a succession of brilliant athletes who had a lasting impact on Irish athletics. They included Bertie Messitt, Tom O’Riordan, Tommy and Willie Dunne, Jim McNamara, Mick Connolly, Basil Clifford, Eddie Spillane and Mick Neville.

Donore Harriers Running Club

The club has also produced a number of Olympians including Jimmy Reardon, Bertie Messitt, Tom O’Riordan, Willie Dunne, Jim McNamara, Sean Egan and John Menton. Legendary 400m runner Jimmy Reardon was also the first Irish athlete to be offered a US athletic scholarship and it was he who started a great Irish tradition at Villanova University in the US.

Donore Harriers has nurtured many talented athletes over the years.  John Travers is an elite middle distance runner from Dublin, Ireland. He joined Donore Harriers when he was 17-years-old. Travers has represented Ireland at the 2010 World Junior Championships, the 2010 World Cross Country Championships and the 2013 European Indoor Championships among others. His success along with the long list of past runners, has highlighted the strengths of the Club and attracted other potential athletes to join.

Today membership stands at 300, with ages ranging from 8 to 90 years. Anyone who is interested in joining the club can in contact with them via their website Donore Harriers.com, through Twitter and Facebook or pop into the establishment in Chapelizod.