ATHLETICS Irish team assemble ahead of European Cross Country Championships

Members of Ireland's cross country team and management were in Santry today for the Irish team press conference ahead of Sunday's SPAR European Cross Country Championships.

Irish team manager Anne Keenan-Buckley was joined by team members including Inter County Cross Country champion Andrew Ledwith as the countdown to Europe's showpiece cross country event continued. This is the first year that Ireland has hosted a major European athletics event having already hosted the world equivalent in 1979 (Limerick) and 2002 (Leopardstown).

Ireland will have a nearly full strength team for Sunday that will include Mary Cullen, Martin Fagan, Alistair Cragg and Michael Clohisey. Many eyes will be on Cullen who took bronze at the European Indoor championships in March and finished fourth at last year's European Cross Country. Fagan is one of Ireland's top hopes in the men's senior race along with 2005 Indoor champion Alistair Cragg. Fagan fell in last year's race in Brussels while leading and many people will hope he can realise his potential on Sunday.

Anne Keenan-Buckley, Irish team manager, is looking forward to the event after all the build up. "We had a training day in Santry last weekend and the team morale is very good. We had Eamonn (Coghlan) in to give the team a good motivational talk which was great. It always helps to pull from the experience of people who have been at the top. We have had a really good build up and I think everyone just wants to get out there now. For the athletes the hard work is done now and it is a case of having an easy week and staying focused on Sunday," Keenan-Buckley said.

While Mark Christie had to pull out and David McCarthy was unavailable for selection the Irish manager still feels this is a particularly strong Irish squad. "The team we have is a very strong one. It was unfortunate that David (McCarthy) and Mark (Christie) were unavailable but we still have good experienced runners taking their place in the squad. With this strength we have to very confident going into the event across all sections."

With the event being on home soil Keenan-Buckley is confident that the home crowd may have a medal or two to cheer on Sunday. "We are definitely confident of securing a medal ahead of Sunday. You have to be when you look at the calibre of athletes we have in the teams. The women's senior team is particularly strong, they have experience and are in good form. It is a case now of keeping our fingers crossed and hoping no last minutes illnesses or injuries hit the athletes and if they don't I would see us taking at least one medal if not more on Sunday," she finished by saying.

Liam Hennessy, Event Director and President of Athletics Ireland, is hoping all the hard work comes to fruition on Sunday. "For Ireland to be given the honour of hosting the SPAR European Cross Country Championships is huge for the sport in Ireland. We have been working on this event for over three years and there is a huge team that have helped pull this together and provide an event that the country can be proud of. Ireland has a famous heritage in cross country running and on Sunday we aim to show everyone across Europe what a great event this can be," Hennessy said.

Willie O'Byrne, Managing Director SPAR Ireland commented, "SPAR has a rich association with Irish and European athletics being a long time supporter of athletes, athletics championships and race series across the continent. It's a great honour for us at SPAR to fulfill the role of title sponsor in what is a truly historic occasion as Ireland plays host to the European Cross Country Championship for the first time. SPAR extends a warm Irish welcome to all participating countries and we wish Team Ireland great success on Sunday."

The SPAR European Cross Country Championships will take place in Ireland for the first time on the 13th December in Santry Park, Dublin. For more information and regular updates on the event and to sign up to the mailing list for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships then log on to www.Dublin2009.ie.

Athletics Ireland is supported nationally in running this event by the Irish Sports Council, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, RTة, Failte Ireland, SPAR and Clonliffe Harriers. Tickets for the event can be purchased from www.dublin2009.ie