HISTORY3

Like Thelma, Mary won her first championship medal at a very young age. She had just turned sixteen when she finished third in the NI Pentathlon at Ballymena in July 1955. She was to win her last title, again in the Pentathlon 17 years later and finished her competitive career in style in the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch in 1974.

On two occasions during this time namely in 1963 and 1964 Mary won five local titles a feat only once achieved by any other athlete – namely Thelma Hopkins.

Mary’s contribution to the sport is perhaps unique. Champions in the past have often given back much to the sport but few have presented the sport with an athletics track. For the past 30 years thousands of athletes, young and old have enjoyed the facilities outside that bear her name even though they might not know who she is.

The third member of the big three never won an Olympic or Commonwealth Medal yet it could be argued that her contribution to Northern Ireland Womens Athletics is without equal. Certainly her life span as an athlete has never been surpassed either local or perhaps on World terms.

MAEVE KYLE

Maeve’s thirty three local titles spanned a period from 1955 until 1975 a fact made all the more remarkable that her first title was won at the already ripe age of 26. In 1971 she won the 200 metres hurdles at the age of 43 on the same day that her daughter Shauna won her first Senior title in the 100 hurdles.

Born in Kilkenny in 1928 Maeve was educated at Kilkenny College and Dublin University where she excelled in a variety of sports like tennis, hockey, swimming, sailing and cricket!

It was in hockey that she first made her mark on the international scene. She gained an unsurpassed 58 caps for her country as well as numerous representitive honours with Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Her individual talent was recognised in 1953 and 1959 when she was named in the World All Star team.

Maeve’s competitive record speaks for itself. As well as 33 Northern Ireland titles she won six Southern Ireland championships , two at All Ireland level and one of her most pleasing performances the English WAAA’s 440 yards title won from the outside lane at the White City in 1961. Few athletes can have begun their international career at the Olympic Games but such was the scarcity of opportunities for women in Ireland at the time that it took a lot of persuasion for the powers that be to send Maeve to Melbourne in 1956 to compete in the 100 and 200 metres. Further Olympics were to follow in Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964 where she made the semi-final stages at both 400 and 800 metres. Add to this the Commonwealth Games 440 yards final in Cardiff in 1958 and the 400 metres in Edinburgh 12 years later as well as a bronze medal in the 400 metres European Indoors in Dortmund in 1966 and you have a record that takes some emulating.For most women that in itself would have been a prodigious record for Maeve however it was just a small part of a career which found time to be a housewife, mother, administrator, politician, coach, international athlete and laterly a devoted grandmother. The athletics career stemmed from a meeting in 1953 with Sean Kyle the man who was to become her husband and coach. Between they were to revolutionise women’s athletics in Ireland.

The contribution of Maeve and of course Sean has been immense and is I believe unique. Maeve herself is unique – some would say thankfully. She is forthright, opinionated, aggressive, domineering and fiercely protective. Indeed she possesses most of the qualities that men fear and dislike in a woman. She is however also very generous, loyal and full of what Peter Pozzoli called “effervescent enthusiasm”. He also I might add called her his “ Kilkenny Pin-Up”. Few people in the the sport, myself included , have not incurred the wrath of Maeve at one time or another. Yet those who know anything of the history of our sport must in all truth admit that without her and Sean women’s athletics in this country would not have developed in to its present state.

For the first quarter of its existence as a separate wing of athletics the Kyles virtually kept things afloat on their own. Of the female athletes who represented Northern Ireland from 1950-1976 over half attributed their success to the husband and wife team from Ballymena. Maeve was not everyones cup of tea but even in this she was making a positive contribution as in their efforts to get one over on Maeve several of those she crossed spawned clubs which might not have existed without that impetus.