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| NORTHERN IRELAND WOMEN'S ATHLETICS |
| Where does one start when reviewing the history of Northern Ireland’s Womens Athletics. Given the prominence of women in the ancient history and mythology of Ireland I have no doubt that women have been ‘runnin , leping and chuckin’ in some form of competition for centuries. I am going however to limit myself to a somewhat more recent history. Not as recent however as some experts of the past would have us believe. The late Peter Pozzozi, a world renowned athletics statistician, made a special study of Irish Women’s Athletics and in 1977 published a very detailed and heavily illustrated book on the subject which was considered to be the definitive work. Peter, an Italian with strong republican (with a small r) views which often clouded his judgement, was married to an Irish girl and from this stemmed his special interest in the country’s female athletes. In his book “Irish Womens Athletics” he dates the first competition for women in Northern Ireland as the Queen’s University Championships in April 1947. While acknowledging that Maeve Kyle’s mother competed in sprint races in Trinity College Dublin in the 1920’s he states: “ there is no record of any organised women’s athletic activity anywhere in Ireland for the period before the 1939 war……..the domination of man…. was absolute throughout the 32 counties.” While the latter assertion may have been true, and probably still is, the former sadly was not. I say sadly because Peter is no longer with us and he more than anyone would have been delighted to know that the spirit of athletic feminism was not dead – certainly not in the North of Ireland. I had the pleasure of meeting Peter just before his untimely death and while he did have some very strange ideas his heart was certainly in the right place. It was after his death while doing some research into the history of the NI Mens Championships that it became clear that ladies races were a regular feature of athletics meetings throughout Northern Ireland in the early part of the last century. |
| In August 1925 a Miss A. Lavery won the Ladies Race at the Ards Soccer Sports. The following year Annie Robinson won the 100 yards at a meeting in Larne and in August of the same year C. Nicholson representing Elmfield won the 100 yards Championship at Whitehead. The following year she retained her title in Lurgan in a time of 13.9. It is possible that Miss Nicholson was indeed the first Northern Irlaand Women’s Champion. Sprint Championships at 100 and 220 yards continued on a regular basis as an integral part of the NIAAA Championships until 1940. These races during the 1930’s were dominated by the two Sheila’s – Elliott and Lord. Sheila Elliott won her first title in 1928 in the 100 yards at Lurgan. The reason she ran was she had seen the first prize was a tennis racquet and she fancied winning it . To the delight of her uncle Willie she won the race and it was he who encouraged her to continue in the sport. Uncle Willie was Willie Millar, himself a champion athlete and subsequently grandfather of Graham Millar a member of the great Ninth Old Boys team of the sixties and a medallist in the British Decathlon Champinships. Not only did Willie Millar encourage his niece, he made her first pair of running spikes. In 1933 Miss Elliott now representing the Co-op Sports Club based on the Castlereagh Road won the 220 yards in 27.2 beating Sheila Lord, a Methodist College schoolgirl into second place. The following year at Carrickfergus the positons were reversed with Miss Lord timed at 28.2. In 1935 and 1937 Shiela Elliott achieved the sprint double with times of 11.2/28.0 and 11.8/27.6 respectively. In the intervening year it was Miss Lord who won both titles in 11.8/28.4. By 1937 the Northern Ireland Championships previously farmed out around the country had found the first of its regular venues at Dunmore Stadium only recently closed as a dog racing venue. In July 1934 the two Shielas, accompied by Eileen Lord, a younger sister, M. Anderson and J. McRoberts made what was almost certainly the first international trip by a Northern Ireland team. The venue was Stranraer in Scotland and they competed with great success gaining victories in both sprints and high jump. A few weeks earlier Shiela Elliott finished second running off scrartch in the 100 yards at the North Belfast Harriers Sports. The meeting was noteworthy for the fact that Eddie Boyce, a member of the promoting club, won the Triple Jump in a new British Native Record. Of 48’ 5.5 “ (14.54). By this time Shiela Elliott, who had been introduced to the young jumper at a meeting in Larne, had another reason other than Uncle Willie’s encouragement for staying in the sport. Romance was blossoming and eventually Sheila was to become Mrs Shiela Boyce. Eddie Boyce of course went on to represent Britain in the most famous long jump competition of all time – the 1936 Olympics won by Jessie Owens. A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Sheila in her home where she proudly showed me Eddie’s entire Olympic uniform and other memorabilia all in pristine order. Shiela presented a trophy in her husbands memory which now is presented to the winner of the NI Long Jump. The first winner was Mark Forsythe, still the NI Record Holder. |