Race report: JJ O’Connor Cup 2026 – Trinity Sports Ground – Saturday 26th Sept 2026
Race sponsor: David Dineen
On Saturday morning 26th September 2026, the JJ O’Connor Cup 4 Mile took place in the Trinity Sports Ground, Santry. Under bright autumnal sunshine and in breezy conditions, 19 athletes competed in this historic race.
JJ O’Connor a Clonliffe Great
This race commemorates, JJ O’Connor, one of Clonliffe Harriers greats from the 1930s and 1940s. In 1935, JJ O’Connor won the National Senior Cross-Country title for Clonliffe, becoming the fifth athlete to do so. He also won the Dublin Cross Country title that year. JJ has the unique distinction of winning the National Cross-Country title with three different clubs, Limerick, Ferran and Clonliffe. In the 1940s the O’Connor Cup was presented to the club, a club cup that is still to this day competed for as part of the Clonliffe Grand Prix Series.
Josh Chalmers and Rachel McFadden with fastest times
The race consisted of a short lap and six laps of the perimeter of Trinity Sports Grounds. From the start both Josh Chalmers and Ray Dunne competed for pole position. Both were neck and neck for the first 4 laps. Going into Lap 5, Josh picked up the pace and held the lead until the finish posting a time of 0:24:38. In second place was Ray Dunne finishing in a time of 0:24:57. Running a fine race and finishing in third place was Rachel McFadden in a time of 0:28:11.
Peter Cahill wins the JJ O’Connor Cup
As this was the first cross country race in the current Grand Prix Series, there was intense competition for the top three podium places. It was a testing course over 6 laps and provided a unique opportunity for runners to test their cross-country fitness.
When the results were collated, the winner of this year’s JJ O’Connor Cup was Peter Cahill. In second place was Ray Dunne with Maura Matthew third. Congratulations to all three.
Peter Cahill 66 Points
Ray Dunne 65 Points
Maura Matthews 64 Points
Many thanks to the staff of Trinity Sports Ground for facilitating the race. A big thank you to our race sponsor David Dineen, those who participated in the race and those who officiated.
Results:
Upcoming races
There are now four remaining races in the 2026 Series.
| 10-Oct | Saturday | Ahern Trophy / Agatha Monks Cup | 10 Miles | TBC |
| 18-Oct | Sunday | Walker Cup | 4 Miles | Morton Track |
| 7-Nov | Saturday | Irwin Cup CC | 6km | Trinity |
| 21-Nov | Saturday | Horan Cup CC | 6 Miles | Trinity |