Dooney Family Become The 13th Father & Son To Be Capped For Ireland At Senior Level Since 1876

Following on from Tuesday's announcement that Conor Dooney (Raheny Shamrock AC) will now represent Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships in Bulgaria, the Dooney family have made a bit of history of their own. Conor's father Roy Dooney was capped 19 times for Ireland at senior level. Together they become the 13th father and son to be capped for Ireland at senior level since 1876. Making it a real family affair younger brother Kevin will also be in the team representing Ireland in the U23 race in Bulgaria.

Previous Father and Son Caps

The previous time this happened was earlier in the year with Eamonn and John Coghlan when John gained his first cap at the Penn Relays in April. They join current father & son combinations of Tim & Timmy Crowe, Brendan & Shane Quinn, Paul & Colin Quirke.

Sara Treacy is the daughter of Siobhan Lonergan who was capped four times for Ireland at senior level. Linked to this is the mother & son combination of Patricia Amond & Marcus Lawler and the father, mother and daughter combination of Brian McManus, Mary McManus (nee McKenna) and their daughter Catherine who won her first cap at the European Team Championships in June 2014. In addition to this the father & daughter combination of Mark & Katie Kirk who became the first father & daughter to win Irish senior titles since the championships began in 1873.