THE 2026 European Championships will take on a cherished role in the annals of Irish athletics after an memorable week in Birmingham.
Mark English grabbed the headlines in Donegal and nationally as he become the first Irish man to win an individual European medal as he claimed 800 metres glory.
Kate O’Connor landed a famous victory in the Heptathlon while there was silver for Rhasidat Adeleke in the 200 metres and Andrew Coscoran took a bronze in the 1500 metres race.
The Irish fans made themselves at home in Birmingham and there were brilliant scenes throughout the week.
Teresa McDaid was present in her role as Team Ireland Manager and the Letterkenny AC stalwart was still on a high this week as she reflected on a superb championship.
“It’s just an exciting time to be involved when athletics is clearly on the rise.
“People are enjoying the live sport element to it and people that never followed athletics before are following it now. That’s all down to the success of the Ireland team.
“To have four individual medals is just fantastic and brings such positivity.
“But there was real improvement across the board from Rome in terms of top-ten finishes and top-16 finishes, and the number of finalists we had.
“There’s real progress there and there’s another group coming that will help to keep that conveyor-belt coming if you like.
“We had a very successful year last year and then you’re losing one or two of your stars, if you like, but then other people pop up and deliver.
“We have walkers that did well, marathon walkers, throwers, jumpers, sprinters, middle-distance runners. The whole expanse of athletics is so wide and we’re covering a lot of areas.
“I think it comes across as well how much fun our athletes are having and they are all very well turned out young people.”
McDaid coached Mark English when he was coming up through the ranks and she has always known the talent was there.
He had won five European medals prior to last week so that championship pedigree has been prevalent for many years.
However, his stock has risen even further in recent years as he has lowered his PB and delivered strong performances on a regular basis.
He has managed his body well and skipped the national championships in July to make sure he was ready for Birmingham.
That approach paid off as he set a championship record in his semi-final and then produced a polished performance in the final to race clear and take the European crown he craved.
“I think in the last year or year and-a-half, Mark has nearly gone back to basics in training and making sure he gets his fundamentals right.
“I can speak with authority on what Mark English is like and the ability that he has and where he has come from.
“Mark was running very fast from a very young age.
“There was a period in between where he was still winning medals but not quite hitting his best.
“Mark has always had the ability to switch on and switch off. He can focus when he needs to focus.
“We would have expected him to make a final in the indoors and it was just unfortunate that he didn’t.
“I saw him at Christmas-time and he had just come off altitude training and I thought he was looking lean. He went out and ran the Boxing Day 5k in Finn Valley in 15 minutes and I was thinking ‘that’s decent for an 800 metres runner at this time of the year’.
“The thing about Mark is he remains motivated and he’s still enjoying it.
“Mark always enjoyed the tactical side of 800 metre running and I have always said he could run sideways and still go forward in terms of getting himself in the right position.
“His attitude coming into the competition was professional and focused.
“His heat was textbook, his semi was textbook and again in the final, he kept on it and stayed smart.
“Sometimes it’s very easy to think that you are there before you are but he looked left and right before he celebrated.
“I don’t think anyone could have taken that title from him.”
The Championship title was evidently a big prize for English but McDaid believes he will be hungry for more success as he embraces his mid-thirties.
“Clearly he’s in the shape of his life and he’s running times that are up there globally. He’s healthy and while he’s still enjoying it, he’s in a good place.
“He may or may not race again but he will definitely be in Budapest at that World Ultimate Challenge which is very new.
“Mark would say himself that his motivation is about what he can do and how long he can do it for.
“It’s just unreal to have a young man that we all know locally standing on the podium listening to the national anthem and it brings up the hairs on the back of your neck.
“I think Mark will sit down with Justin Rinaldi his coach and look at the future and see where they go.”
English is a qualified doctor and he is a great example to young athletes of how you can balance study with sporting excellence.
His exploits have captured the imagination of the Irish public and McDaid is predicting a knock-on impact for the local athletic clubs.
“When Mark came out of the mixed zone and into the public, there were so many people there to see him
“We actually had to put in a strategy to help escort our athletics back into the team area to allow them to have the full advantage of cover and that’s something we have never had to do before because there were so many people around.
“There were so many children in Birmingham from Ireland which is mad, and Mark was surrounded within seconds when he came out.
“There were a couple of kids from my own club around and just the excitement they had was great.
“I love it when we dial into who these athletes are and Mark English came from Letterkenny and went to school and training, same with Kate O’Connor and Andrew Coscoran.
“They are ordinary people and greatness can come from quite normal upbringings. If you create the right environment around kids they will respond and it’s amazing what they can do. I can imagine that most clubs in the country will have a rise in their intake in membership in September.”