Short History of Club
Glenmore Athletic Club is based in Bush Post Primary School in the heart of the Cooley Peninsula , overlooking Carlingford Lough and the Mountains of Mourne.
The club was founded in 1969 by five local men who saw a gaping need for recreational activities for the children of the community. As these founding members
had a passion for athletics themselves since childhood, they were determined to develop that love for athletics in an area which was predominantly football oriented.
Over the early years the level of success achieved by such a small club provided the drive needed to seek out proper facilities from the fields and mountain land we were using, for the training of our athletes.
In the late 80′s the breakthrough came.
In partnership with Bush Post Primary School, the plan for a running track on the grounds of the school became a reality. This as you can imagine was a huge undertaking for a rural community like ours, but steeped in teamwork, sheer determination and a passion for athletics a floodlit cinder track was opened in 1992 by Northern Ireland’s own Mary Peters.
In 2003 we were host to the Thai and Greek athletes for the Special Olympics. This was one of the most memorable weeks for the entire community and we were honoured to have them use our track.
In April 2007 and April 2008 we had 50 young athletes and mentors from Vale Royal AC in Cheshire, England pay us a visit. This group was led by Shaun McGrath and Andy Carter who was one of the finalists in the 800m in the Munich Olympics.
Our young athletes have also been involved in exchange programmes with athletic clubs in Newry and in East Belfast through our involvement with New Border Generation in Carlingford.
So, today, we can be proud of our highly admired 6 lane synthetic running track which is was officially opened on Fri 27th June 2008.The event was well attended by Athletics’ club members, general public, local and national politicians, clergy and even a famous Athlete or two (see pictures). This is also further enhanced by the new Sports & Leisure Facility in Bush Post Primary School .
As can be imagined, the fund raising has been a very long and arduous journey but has been well worth it. We are indebted to the National Lottery, Peace 11, Clár and of course the valued partnership with Bush School .
We are blessed to be part of a community which is proud of its people, proud of its location.
This is a community where anything is possible.
