Sunday was a remarkable, historic day in Irish sporting history as three of our athletes secured medals at the European Indoor Championships.

Gold for Sarah Healy in the 3,000m, a victory that will surely soothe years of disappointment; bronze for Mark English in the 800m, making him the most decorated Irish male athlete of all time; and bronze for Kate O’Connor in the pentathlon, making her a trailblazer in a minority sport.

While these achievements bring huge national pride and a feel-good factor, they also serve to highlight the chronic underfunding of athletics in Ireland at grassroots level.

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This lack of investment hampers potential on the European and global stages and denies young athletes the opportunity to pursue their sporting ambitions fully.

It begs the questions, what could Ireland achieve if this funding were in place? And what difference would it make to the country at a wider level – socially, culturally, economically and to our overall health and wellbeing?

UNAFFORDABLE

At the elite level, underfunding forces some of Ireland's top athletes to juggle full-time jobs with rigorous, gruelling training schedules. Olympian Phil Healy, one of Ireland's top sprinters, balances her athletic career with a role as a full-time software engineer.

Until recently, her teammate Sophie Becker held a full-time position with Pfizer. Kate O’Connor is a full-time master’s student. Paul O'Donovan, an Olympic gold medallist in rowing, returned to work as a surgeon at Cork University Hospital immediately after his Olympic success. Former Irish 60m champion Sarah Leahy works full time with no financial support.

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Closer to home, Knockmore native and Ballina AC athlete Hugh Armstrong made history last year by winning all four events in the Dublin Race Series: the Corkagh Park 5 Mile, Fingal 10k, Frank Duffy 10 Mile and the Dublin Half Marathon. Armstrong does not have a sponsor, and received only limited financial support.

When asked last year if he would like to turn professional, he replied “I’d love to, yeah, if I could afford it.”  Even those who do receive funding will never be rich; the top level of Sport Ireland funding, Podium Funding, is just €40,000, a figure quickly swallowed up by travel and training costs.

Several of our Paralympians were in receipt of no Sports Ireland funding whatsoever. And the story of Para triathlete Cassie Cava is damning; having competed while injured in Paris, she needed surgery upon her return and has spent the six months since in excruciating pain, unable to walk.

As she is not a funded athlete, she has been unable to receive medical support, and with more surgery imminent, she faces an uncertain future, not knowing if she will even be able to walk again. Is this any way to treat our elite athletes?

WOEFUL FACILITIES

These are the bigger-name athletes of which we are aware, but hundreds of others are still slogging away, juggling training with work commitments, highlighting the inadequate financial support for so many of our athletes who are striving for excellence without sufficient financial backing.

And that’s before we talk about facilities, As commentators Derval O’Rourke and Rob Heffernan pointed out after Ireland’s medal success, the lack of top-quality athletics facilities in Ireland is a glaring problem.

Outside of Dublin and some major towns, there are limited high-quality tracks available to athletes, even fewer all-weather facilities, and fewer again publicly owned facilities.

Many clubs rely on schools, parks, or even GAA pitches to train, often dealing with poor lighting, uneven surfaces, and a lack of essential equipment like hurdles.

In rural areas, athletes must either compromise on training quality or undertake exhausting commutes, making progress impossible without significant parental support – something not every young athlete can rely upon, nor every family afford, meaning that we are putting athletics out of reach of those who cannot afford to participate. In doing so, how many potential future Olympians are we losing? 

TOTAL IMBALANCE

The funding discrepancies between athletics and other sports are stark. Millions are invested in GAA, soccer, and rugby facilities, while horse and greyhound racing receive funding multiples higher than athletics.

In 2024, Athletics Ireland received just €4 million in Community Sport Facilities funding. In contrast, the annual State grant to the horseracing and greyhound industries increased in the 2025 budget to €99.1m.

After the Paris Olympics, the Irish government announced €400m in sports capital funding. Yet athletics - one of the most accessible and inclusive sports - remains underfunded.

To really develop Irish athletics to its full potential the government must prioritise regional track development, ensure free or affordable access to facilities, and integrate athletics training into school sports programmes.

Otherwise, Ireland’s sporting future will continue to be shaped by those who can afford to overcome these barriers - not necessarily those with the greatest talent.

O’Rourke made the excellent point that the development of athletics must be strategic, planned and targeted, with a high-performance mindset.

On Instagram, fellow Cork woman and sports journalist Joanne O’Riordan emphasised that facilities planning should be holistic, done hand in hand with health, education, planning and housing, with facilities having multi-sports uses. She also highlighted the dearth of accessibility to facilities for people with disabilities – even those wishing to participate at a recreational level. 

REASSESS

Investing in grassroots athletics extends beyond sport; it has profound public health benefits. Encouraging physical activity from a young age fosters healthier lifestyles, reducing chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

A proactive approach to sports funding could lead to substantial savings for the Irish healthcare system by decreasing the demand for medical interventions.

Moreover, sport instils discipline, teamwork, and resilience among young people, improving social cohesion and mental health outcomes.

The recent successes of Irish athletes on the European and world stages are commendable but also highlight the urgent need to reassess and rebalance funding allocations within Irish sports.

By investing in grassroots athletics and adopting a comprehensive approach to facility development, we can unlock the full potential of our athletes, promote public health, and ensure that young talents have the opportunity to pursue their sporting dreams without undue financial hardship.

Such a commitment would not only enhance our international competitiveness but also enrich the social and economic fabric of Ireland.

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