Meets hosted by University College Dublin
| Date | Championship | Venue | Results | Races | Athletes | Note |
|---|
| 11th Apr 2012 | Colours T&F | Irishtown Stadium | View | 16 | 45 | |
| 7th Apr 2010 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 18 | 59 | |
| 18th to 19th Apr 2008 | T&F | Irishtown Stadium & Belfield | View | 63 | 244 | |
| 7th Apr 2001 | Cross Country | Belfield | View | 2 | 94 | |
| 24th to 25th Apr 1998 | T&F | Belfield | View | 56 | 215 | |
| 13th Apr 1996 | Multievents | Belfield | View | 2 | 11 | |
| 17th Jun 1995 | IUAA Representative | Belfield | View | 36 | 170 | UCD AC Jack Sweeney Memorial International Track & Field. IUAA v UCD v Hard-Yale v Dublin BLE Select |
| 8th Apr 1995 | Multievents | Belfield | View | 2 | 15 | |
| 7th May 1994 | Multievents | Belfield | View | 2 | 13 | |
| 4th Dec 1993 | Colours XC | Phoenix Park | View | 2 | 43 | |
| 24th to 25th Apr 1992 | T&F | College Park & Belfield | View | 39 | 150 | The Field events were held at Belfield. The track events were held in College Park. It was the last time the IUAA championships were held on a grass track by special permission of the IUAA to mark the quatercentenary of TCD. |
| 7th Mar 1992 | Cross Country | Belfield | View | 2 | 121 | |
| 27th to 28th Apr 1990 | T&F | Belfield | View | 38 | 82 | |
| 1st Mar 1988 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 2 | 32 | Exact date unknown |
| 4th to 5th May 1984 | T&F | Belfield | View | 35 | 91 | |
| 13th May 1981 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 28 | 46 | In a break with venue rotation the 1981 Colours match was held at Belfield. The men's contest was a runaway win for UCD. Of the eight track events Trinity won only the high hurdles, Stephen Berkeley recording a match record. UCD scored six of its seven wins with maximum points, taking the track events by 59pts to Trinity's 29pts. UCD also added the 4 x 100m relay to its tally. In addition UCD won all seven field events, two with maximum points, by a margin of 49pts to 22pts. UCD's winning margin was the highest recorded in the 21-year history of the contest. Brian Dunne took a double win in the 200m and 400m, both in Colours match records. Tony Dunne also scored a double in the Long and Triple and Brendan Curtin, a double in the Pole Vault and Shot Putt. In reports of the Women's match, the results of four of the track events were not recorded. Honours were even in the field events - UCD 27pts v TCD 28pts - with TCD winning two events with maximum points and UCD taking three events, one of which with maximum points. Three match records were achieved - Fionnuala Kennedy (TCD) in the high jump, Anne Lindsay (UCD) in the Shot Putt and M. McGovern in the Javelin. Anne Lindsay recorded a double win in Shot Putt and Discus. In addition Étain Croasdell (TCD) recorded a match record in the 400m. |
| 14th May 1980 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 28 | 58 | An eventual evening's entertainment was provided for the spectators. Honours were shared in these Colours Matches, UCD winning the men's contest and TCD winning the Women's contest. Seven new meeting's records were established, four in the men's events - Peter Markey (UCD in the 800m and 1,500m, Brian Dunne (UCD) in the 400m, and Frank Sweeney (UCD) in the High Jump - and three in the women's events - Margo Quinn (TCD) in the 200m, Fionnuala Kennedy (TCD) in the High Jump, and Anne Lindsay (UCD) in the Discus. In the Men's contest three UCD athletes achieved double wins - Peter Markey (800m and 1500m), Tom Shaughnessy (Shot Putt and Javelin) and Tony Dunne (Long and Triple Jumps). Three double wins were also scored in the women's contest, two for TCD - Margo Quinn (100m and 200m) and Étain Croasdell (400m and 800m) - and one for UCD - Anne Lindsay (Shot Putt and Discus). After two decades of Colours Matches UCD's men led Trinity by 12 matches to seven matches, with one drawn. However, the honours were even between UCD and TCD in the second decade 1971 - 1980 with five matches each, several of which were decided by the outcomes of the final few events of the meetings. After sixteen women's Colours matches, the tally was TCD 10 v. UCD 6. |
| 4th to 5th May 1979 | T&F | Belfield | View | 34 | 119 | |
| 30th Jun 1978 | IUAA Representative | Belfield | View | 19 | 48 | Final Scores: UCD President's Select: 152, Cornell & Pennsylvania: 149, Irish Universities: 73 |
| 17th May 1978 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 16 | 33 | This was the inaugural Colours Match on the tartan track at Belfield which had been officially opened in June 1977. Trinity were attempting to pull off three wins in a row. That hope was dashed by UCD's domination of the track events which was pivotal to its win. Eight wins in the eight events, four with maximum points, plus the 4 x 100m gave UCD a 64pts advantage against TCD's 31pts. Trinity won five of the seven field events, two with maximum points, to take some solace out of the match with 43pts to UCD's 34pts. Double wins were achieved by Paul Duffy of UCD (100m and 400m) and by John Fortune of UCD (110m and 400m hurdles). |
| 4th Mar 1978 | Cross Country | Belfield | View | 2 | 95 | |
| 10th Dec 1977 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 2 | 14 | |
| 14th Jun 1977 | IUAA Representative | Belfield | View | 26 | 68 | The combined strengths of Irish Universities, Scottish Universities, Birmingham University and a BLE Selection, together with international athletes for an invitational 3000m sponsored by Roadstone, converged on Belfield for the inaugural athletics meeting on the first tartan track in Ireland. The all-weather track cost £160,000. It was formally opened by the Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. He fired a real .38 revolver to start the first event of the evening meeting, the 3000m steeplechase. It was his last shot in the General Election of 1977 which took place the following day, which resulted in a crushing defeat of the FG/Labour coalition. The almost 4,000 spectators were treated to three Irish native records in the 3000m, pole vault and discus and a Northern Ireland native record in the 400m hurdles during this competitive and entertaining fixture. As the evening progressed a cooling wind increased in velocity. Eamonn Coghlan chopped almost six seconds of Jerry Kiernan's month-old 3000m record. The 43-year-old Corkman Len Braham added 2.5 ft to his ten-day-old national figure. Liam Hennessy, an 18-year-old from Tipperary, leapt to the top of Irish Pole-vaulting. |
| 11th May 1976 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 28 | 58 | In the sixteen year history of the Colours Match, the event was watched by the smallest crowd ever in blustery conditions. However, the Match saw the reappearance of the Delaney-sculpted Colours Match Trophy. Trinity's men came to the Colours match with confidence having finished a mere six points behind Queen's University Belfast at the Intervarsities in Limerick. Despite a disqualification in the 200m, Trinity held their own in the eight track disciplines by 44pts to 43pts, each team scoring maximum points in two events. In previous years the field events had been Trinity's Achilles heel, but with coaching from Phil Conway DUHAC took the seven disciplines by 45pts to UCD's 31pts, scoring maximum points in three events versus one event by UCD. Trinity capped their win with a meeting's record in the 4 x 100m relay, an event they had won at the Intervarsities in Limerick. It was Dublin University's largest margin of victory in the series. There was to have been an invitation 3000m steeplechase as an interlude in the programme, but no athletes showed up. There was compensation for UCD in the Women's match with a runaway success over Trinity. UCD won all eleven events, gaining maximum points in five of them. Star of the evening's athletics was Maeve McCormack of UCD who won the 100m, 200, 400m and 800m, setting meeting's records in three, placed 2nd in the high jump and anchored the winning relay quartet. Gerry Finnegan of UCD clipped some six seconds off the previous record for the 5000m. While both the men's and women's 100m were won in fast times, neither was confirmed as a meeting's record because of the windy conditions. |
| 13th Dec 1975 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 2 | 18 | |
| 15th May 1974 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 27 | 53 | The Match in 1974 was marked by the disappearance of the Delaney-sculpted Colours Match Trophy which had been presented to TCD in College Park in May 1973. The suggestion as that it had disappeared as a result of a College prank and then been forgotten about. One craic commented that the match was being held in memory of the trophy! However the absence of the Men's trophy did not dent the rivalry between UCD and TCD. Trinity and UCD had both finished well behind Queen's in the Intervarsities at Belfield. As had happened in past contests, the outcome went right down to the wire! Trinity won the track disciplines by five events to UCD's three and took 51pts v. 37pts for UCD. John Dillon took after double in the 400m and 800m to bring his tally of wins in the Colours series to 15 events. UCD's 'secret' weapon was Brendan Curtin, a decathlete, who won an amazing six events – 110m hurdles, Shot Putt, Discus, Javelin, Long Jump, and Triple Jump. The only field event won by Trinity was the High Jump by Ian Travers with the then 3rd highest jump in Irish athletic history - 1.97 m. With two events remaining to be decided the match was finely balanced with Trinity in the lead by a single point. Trinity won the 4 x 100m relay to increase the lead to 4pts. Only the triple jump remained. Brendan Curtin aided by John Kearney took maximum points, resulting in a match win for UCD by one point. The final tally in the field events was UCD 47 pts v. Trinity 29pts. The TCD Women took a narrow win by 3 pts. The eleven events were split 6 to 5 in Trinity's favour, including the relay, each team taking maximum points in two events each. With only the relay remaining, each team had 55pts. The honours went to Trinity in a closely contested race. |
| 3rd to 4th May 1974 | T&F | Belfield | View | 35 | 147 | |
| 8th Dec 1973 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 2 | 17 | |
| 10th May 1972 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 25 | 51 | The 12th Colours Match took place just four days after Trinity's hosting of the Intervarsities at Santry and in College Park, the first time those championships had been held over two days. The TCD women's team were on a 'high' having won the Intervarsities title. The TCD team won all of their Colours events against UCD, taking maximum points in five out of the eight individual disciplines. The Trinity Patricia's were to the fore, with a double for Moran in the 100m and 200m and a treble of wins for Wilson in the 400m, Long Jump and Javelin. The TCD men could not emulate the performance of their female counterparts. Trinity did win five of the eight track disciplines and matched UCD in score, 44 pts each. There were fine double wins for John Ross for UCD in the 100m and 200m, John Dillon of Trinity in the 400m and 400m hurdles and Colin Cusick of Trinity in the 800m and 1500m. Robert Walker, who had won the 'varsity 10,000m, took the metric 3 miles to repeat his 1971 distance event achievement. His time was a meeting record for the 5,000m and "very much superior to the old record" set by Mick Hoey (UCD) in College Park for 3 miles (4,828m) of 14:29.80. However, Trinity could not match UCD in the field events (UCD 47pts v TCD 30pts), with UCD winning in six of the seven events, three with maximum points. Trinity only won the Discus with maximum points. Brendan Curtin, a first year engineering student, showed the athletic talent and future force he would be for UCD in Colours and Intervarsities in winning the Triple Jump in a meeting record which had stood from 1965 to Sean O'Dwyer (UCD). He had three jumps over 46ft (14.02m), the record coming in his 5th trial. UCD's relay win sealed their victory by 20pts. |
| 11th Dec 1971 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 1 | 20 | |
| 22nd May 1971 | Internationals | Belfield | View | 25 | 47 | Irish Universities v. Scottish Universities v. University of Louvain (Belgium). This athletics match was held to mark the Golden Jubilee of the founding of U.C.D. Athletic Club. Weather conditions described as "atrocious". |
| 20th Feb 1971 | Cross Country | Belfield & NUI Maynooth | View | 2 | 77 | The Belfield - Maynooth debacle. The Women's and Men's events were held the same day, but at different venues. At the last minute the religious authorities at St Patrick's College Maynooth refused permission for the women's race to be held. The UCC Women's team, having travelled to Maynooth, did not make the start of the race at Belfield due to transport difficulties. They asked in vain for the start of the race to be held, but the organisers decided to run the race at the designated time. The tension between religious decorum and sport gave rise to derisory newspaper headlines such as 'Maynooth Goes Stag'. There was much speculation at the time of these championships that the N.I.A.A.A. and the B.A.A.B. had banned Q.U.B. from competing. However Queen's had not sought permission to compete as they were required to do, allegedly because they felt they would be refused permission in light of the then 'frosty' relations between B.L.E. and the N.I.A.A.A. All the University clubs in Ireland had to affiliated to their official National governing bodies. An Irish Universities Championship in which all the Universities were represented was an "international" contest held under the rules of the I.A.A.F. member in whose geographical area the event took place. The clubs from outside that area were required to apply under I.A.A.F. rules to compete in such contests through their own I.A.A.F. member. |
| 13th May 1970 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 26 | 52 | The 10th Colours match saw the track events over metric distances for the first time. Even if the evolution of Irish athletics over the first decade of the Colours matches had stripped away some of the appeal which had surrounded the inaugural match of 1961, the rivalry between the two Colleges was as intense as ever. UCD came to the match having scored an emphatic win in the Intervarsities' Championships. Although event wins were split nine for UCD, including the relay, and seven for Trinity, the difference between the teams was that UCD took maximum points in six individual events and first and third in their other two, while Trinity did not score maximum points in any event. The outstanding performance of the match was John Dillon (TCD) treble win in the 200m, 400m and 400m hurdles, in addition to which he anchored the Trinity 4 x 100m relay. Double wins were scored by Ian Mowat (TCD) in Shot Putt and Discus and by John Dooley (UCD) in the 800m and 1500m, a repeat of his double win in the Intervarsities. After 10 matches, the tally was UCD 7 wins, TCD 2 wins and one match drawn. The Women's match was a tightly contested affair. In six of the nine individual events, the points' split was 6 to 5, with each team scoring maximum points in one event. Barring a disqualification, Trinity had secured a narrow victory before final relay event. Sheena O'Brien scored a double win in Javelin and Discus and a 2nd place in the Shot Putt for UCD. For Trinity Catherine Boyle took a treble win in the 100m, 200m and long jump and a 3rd place in the javelin, while Jane McNicholl scored a 400m and 800m double win and two 2nd places and a 3rd in the throws. Between them Boyle and McNicholl contributed 35 of Trinity's points total. |
| 9th May 1970 | T&F | Belfield | View | 43 | 117 | This was the first IUAA championships at which all track distances were metric. |
| 29th Nov 1969 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 1 | 18 | |
| 15th May 1969 | Colours T&F | John F Kennedy Stadium | View | 25 | 54 | This Colours Match was to have taken place in College Park on Wednesday 14 May had to be postponed because the track was in parts under water due to torrential rain. A new venue was found the following evening at Santry. UCD retained the Dawson Trophy in the Men's match for the 4th successive year. It was "an always interesting match", with a high standard of athletics and some really exciting close finishes in the 100y, 220y, 880 y and the 1 mile. Trinity won six events against UCD's 10 events, taking six of the nine track events. The contest started very positively for Trinity with 18-year-old John Dillon beating the experienced Intervarsities champion Seán Ó Muircheartaigh in the 440y hurdles in a match record time. It was only his second ever race over the distance. He later completed a double win in the 220y, giving notice of his emerging talent as one of Trinity's best ever sprinters and hurdlers. The other meeting record was in the Shot Putt in which Ian Mowat bettered the previous best by over a foot. The 4 x 110y relay provided a thrilling climax to the match with Ben Underwood of Trinity and John McStay of UCD breaking the tape together, the official verdict being a dead heat. The results of the women's match did not appear in the newspapers. However, reports of the match in 1970 accorded a win to Trinity's women in 1969. |
| 1st Mar 1969 | Cross Country | Belfield | View | 2 | 47 | |
| 1st May 1968 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 27 | 52 | It was doom and gloom for TCD's men. "Darkness had descended on Belfield when the concluding event - the high jump, was decided in the eighth annual UCD v Dublin University contest. The result - a first and second for Trinity, only helped to reduce National's [UCD's] margin of victory. It was decisive - 113 to Trinity's 58 - and their easiest win in the series" [Irish Times, 2 May, 1968]. UCD placed 1st and 2nd in five of the eight track events and in four of the seven field events. Trinity scored only two maximum points in High Jump and Javelin. Percy Hecksher set a meeting record in the Pole Vault and Eamonn O'Keeffe, a UCD College Record in the quarter mile. For UCD Joe Cummiskey took sprint double wins in the 100y and 220y, O'Keeffe double wins in the 440y and half mile, and Larry Cheevers double wins in the Shot Putt and Discus. Seán Ó Muircheartaigh scored a treble win in the 120y and 440y hurdles and triple jump. Although the women's contest was more keenly fought affair, UCD's women, like their male counterparts, took the honours. UCD scored 7 wins to Trinity's four and scored maximum points in four events against Trinity's two. |
| 25th Nov 1967 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 1 | 11 | |
| 7th May 1966 | T&F | Belfield | View | 26 | 40 | QUB refused permission by NIAAA to compete in the inaugural women's T&F championships because UCD were affiliated to NACAI |
| 19th Feb 1966 | Cross Country | Belfield | View | 2 | 20 | First female cross country championship |
| 20th May 1964 | Colours T&F | Belfield | View | 16 | 37 | In the first meeting to be held at Belfield, UCD took the 4th Colours Match in commanding style by the most decisive margin of 29 points since the inaugural contest. The evening's conditions were ideal for the match. The superiority of UCD on the track was the key to the team's success with seven out of nine events. After the first seven events UCD were leading by 50 pts to 26 pts and the result of the match was never in doubt. Trinity supplied the individual winner in only the Shot Putt, 440y hurdles, 3 miles and 880y, the latter a dead-heat for first place and only took the first two places in one event, the 3 miles. The half-mile produced the most dramatic finish of the contest, with Tom Power (UCD) making up a 5-yard deficit to catch Anthony Shillington (TCD) in the last few strides for a dead-heat on the line. Two match records were set in Pole Vault and Long Jump. UCD Captain Iggy Ó Muircheartaigh took a unique treble in the 100y, 220y and 440y and anchored the UCD quartet to a win in the 4 x 110y relay. |
| 16th Nov 1963 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 1 | 7 | |
| 17th Feb 1962 | Colours XC | Belfield | View | 1 | 14 | The first ever cross-country race, "Colours Match", between U.C.D. and T.C.D. was held over 6 miles, consisting of four laps of a one and a half mile loop. From the start the Colours Match was a very closely contested race. U.C.D. did finish their six scoring athletes just one place ahead of T.C.D. Under the international rules then in force, U.C.D. should have been declared the winners. It was agreed between the teams that this should not be applied on this occasion and that the event should be declared an 'honourable draw' with the honours shared to mark the importance of the sporting event between the Colleges. One of the U.C.D. "B" team finished 8th, but, as has been agreed beforehand, reserves or "B" team athletes did not count in the "A" race. The race was declared a success and both teams hoped that in the near future all colleges and universities would be able to compete against each other for a full cross-country championship. The other two "A" team athletes for T.C.D. were B. Davies and R. Senior; the reserve is unknown. The other three "A" team athletes for U.C.D. (team + reserve) were M. Cassidy, H. Conway, and M. Finucane. These six athletes finished in positions 14, 16, 18, 19, 26 and 29. The positions of other "B" team athletes, assuming there were 8 or 9 on each team, are unknown. |
| 6th May 1961 | T&F | Belfield | View | 12 | 28 | |
| 15th May 1960 | IUAA Representative | Belfield | View | 14 | 49 | Irish Universities v. N.A.C.A.I. President's Selection. N.A.C.A. President was Chief Superintendent Tom McDonagh. |
| 14th May 1960 | T&F | Belfield | View | 12 | 20 | |
| 17th May 1959 | IUAA Representative | Belfield | View | 14 | 46 | Irish Universities v. N.A.C.A.I. President's Selection. N.A.C.A. President was Chief Superintendent Tom McDonagh |
| 28th Jul 1958 | T&F | Belfield | View | 12 | 19 | Held on a Monday |
| 18th May 1958 | IUAA Representative | Belfield | View | 14 | 57 | Irish Universities v. N.A.C.A.I. President's Selection. The inaugural N.A.C.A. President's Selection versus Irish Universities match. N.A.C.A. President was Chief Superintendent Tom McDonagh. Each team could enter three competitors in each of the thirteen individual events, the first four scoring 5, 3, 2 and 1 points, respectively. The winner of the 4x110 yards relay was awarded 7 points. |
| 18th May 1957 | T&F | Belfield | View | 12 | 28 | |
| 22nd May 1954 | T&F | Belfield | View | 12 | 30 | |
| 15th Jul 1953 | T&F | Belfield | View | 12 | 19 | |
| 26th May 1951 | T&F | Belfield | View | 11 | 26 | TCD competed despite being banned from competing against NACAI athletes |
| 22nd May 1948 | T&F | Belfield | View | 10 | 22 | |
| 27th May 1939 | T&F | Belfield | View | 10 | 33 | While it must be borne in mind that neither QUB nor TCD were competing, UCD gained the most emphatic win ever by any College in the Intervarsities between 1914 - 1939, being denied a maximum of 30 pts by UCG in the Discus by 9 ft 2 in [2.79 m]. |
| 30th May 1936 | T&F | Belfield | View | 16 | 35 | The first Intervarsities to be held at the new sports ground of University College Dublin at Belfield, Stillorgan Road, Dublin. |
| 27th May 1933 | T&F | Terenure | View | 16 | 43 | This was to be the last Intervarsity Championships that QUB would contest until 1967. The 1933 championships were the first intervarsities to be affected by the North/South split in the administration of athletics in Ireland, a schism based essentially on political rather than athletic grounds. The N.A.C.A.I. maintained that it was the internationally recognised athletic body affiliated to the International Amateur Athletic Federation for the governance of athletics on an All-Ireland basis. The A.A.A. had formally set up a Northern Ireland branch on 3 September 1930 and regarded itself as the internationally recognised athletics body for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. On the 11 March 1933 the Central Council of the N.A.C.A.I. passed the following motion: "That all those who have competed or officiated at any sports meeting in Ireland not held under its auspices are suspended from membership of the N.A.C.A." On June 10 at a meeting of the Ulster Council of the N.A.C.A.I., delegates from the Antrim County Board raised the matter of the participation of Queen's University in the Intervarsity Competition at the University College grounds in Dublin. The Athletic Club of QUB had affiliated to the Northern Ireland branch of the A.A.A. After discussion a motion was passed demanding an explanation from the Central Council of the N.A.C.A.I. as to how Queen's University had been given permission to compete in the Intervarsity Sports Meeting. Furthermore, the motion demanded that, if permission had not been granted, all athletes who had competed against QUB be suspended and that, if permission had been granted, those responsible for granting same be suspended. The promoters of the intervarsity meeting contended that because the competition was a school or college sports event and in its nature an annual social gathering of athletic undergraduates of the Universities, it had not been necessary to take any action against QUB in light of its membership of the Northern Association. Furthermore, representatives of the N.A.C.A.I. had been present at the Terenure Park grounds on the morning of the meeting and, when the position of the organisers had been fully explained to them, they had waived the "irrevocable decision" which the organisers had come to, thereby allowing the intervarsities to take place in a non-confrontational manner. Thus, while no suspensions were imposed on the athletes, organisers or officials, the Central Council of the N.A.C.A.I. at its meeting on Saturday 17th June 1933 passed the following resolution to clarify its position vis à vis intervarsity athletics: "That Queen's University, or any Athletic Club attached thereto, be not allowed to take part in any competition, tournament or match under the auspices of the N.A. and C.A. so long as they remain affiliated to an illegal body [N.I.A.A.A.], and that all Universities and University Colleges be notified of this intention. Further that no University or Athletic Club attached to a University in Ireland be allowed to compete against Queen's University so long as they remain affiliated to an illegal body". |
| 1st Jun 1929 | T&F | Terenure | View | 14 | 41 | The meeting attracted a large number of spectators. The weather in the morning was bad, but conditions improved during the afternoon. Despite the unfavourable conditions underfoot and overhead, the championships were highly successful with four new records and one equal record in the 10 events. The participation in the colours of UCC of Dr Pat O'Callaghan, Gold Medalist in the hammer throw at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, added great aura to these championships. O'Callaghan (Shot Putt and Discus), P.C. Moore (440 yards and half-mile) and J.B. Eustace (100 yards and 220 yards) each took well-served doubles. The championships were attended by Mr James O'Neill, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (1 February 1928 - 1 November 1932). Mrs. O'Neill presented the prizes. The Inter-'varsity function attracted over 500 attendees to the Metropole Ballroom for an evening of "revelry and dancing". The music was provided by the Rogers-May Band. |
| 6th Jun 1925 | T&F | Terenure | View | 14 | 41 | |
| 4th Jun 1921 | T&F | Terenure | View | 14 | 39 | The 1921 Championships were to have been held in Cork, hosted by U.C.C. However UCC was unable to host the event due to the prevailing conditions in Cork. The peak of violence during the Irish War of Independence occurred from December 1920 through July 1921, including the Crossbarry Ambush involving the Cork brigade of IRA volunteers on 19 March 1921, 20 km south west of Cork City, the burning of the income tax offices at South Mall and South Terrace in Cork and of the Togher RIC barracks in Cork city on 5 April 1921, and the shootings of several Royal Irish Constabulary members in Cork during this period. University College Dublin stepped into the breach at short notice. The championships took place in 'glorious weather' with 'a record attendance at the beautiful grounds at Terenure Park'. Due to various causes QUB and UCC were not as well represented as they might have been. The championships were described as an 'athletic, financial and social' success. The meeting 'was excellent in every respect, and the arrangements reflected the greatest credit on all concerned with its management'. The outstanding athletic performances were the wins of Denis J. Cussen in the 100 yds and 220 yds, equaling the 'varsity records in both events, and in the long jump, improving the 'varsity record from 6.68 m to 6.96 m. It is noteworthy that Denis J. Cussen won the same three titles at the IAAA championships at Lansdowne Road on 16 May 1921.The medals were presented by Professor Denis J. Coffey, first President of UCD (1908 - 1940). |
| 24th May 1913 | T&F | Ballsbridge | View | 17 | 44 | The Irish Independent and the Irish Times both recorded in their pre-championship reviews of the upcoming 1913 Inter-'Varsity Sports that the three constituent Colleges of the National University of Ireland were to compete against Dublin University and Queen's University of Belfast. However, UCG did not show. The spirit to revive and augment these inter-university championships came at a time of increasing strife between the bodies administering Irish athletics, which the students of the universities wished to circumvent by holding championships under the auspices of their Athletic Unions. The situation was summarised in the Irish Times [26 May, 1913, pg. 3]: "During recent years the lack of interest in Irish athletics has been very strongly marked. In fact, athletics in Ireland were never in such a backward condition as at present, a state of affairs for which the deplorable 'split' between the I.A.A.A. and the G.A.A. is solely responsible. Both organisations have suffered through the short-sighted policy which has been for years adopted by each........ Under these circumstances it must be said that the inception of the Inter-University Sports came at a most opportune time at what may, with accuracy, be described as a most critical point in Irish athletics. And let it be said at once that that notable gathering furnished a striking illustration of what can be achieved when everything else but the best interests of sport is placed in the background." An Editorial [Irish Times, 23 May 1913, pg 4], under the heading Student Intercourse, commented: "Barriers of class and locality will fall before the absorbing interest of sporting rivalry.... There is no reason why social intercourse of this kind should be confined to the sporting events.... We shall welcome any developments which lead to increased intercourse between students of our various Universities." [Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose]. The numbers of spectators were described as of 'eminently satisfactory proportions', the stand being well filled. Each of the participating Colleges was strongly represented. "If weather were specially ordered there could have been nothing more favourable than the first flicker of summer at Ballsbridge." During these championships the Irish National Orchestra provided an excellent programme of musical interludes. The arrangements for the athletics were described as "of a very perfect nature", reflecting the greatest credit on the organising committee. The starter was Mr James T. Magee [Irish British Lion to South Africa 1896], who brought off the meeting to time. The Ladies Cup for the winning team and the medals were presented by Mrs Coffey, wife of Dr Denis Coffey, President of University College Dublin [1910-1940]. |
