McGann reflects on a memorable running career

Kiltale man Dessie McGann was a popular recipient of the Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels Hall of Fame accolade at the fourth annual awards banquet at Knightsbrook Hotel on Friday night. Kiltale man Dessie McGann was a popular recipient of the Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels Hall of Fame accolade at the fourth annual awards banquet at Knightsbrook Hotel on Friday night. And even now at 65, and recently retired from his job with Meath Co Council, the Kiltale man has not completely ruled out returning to competitive action. Most days, injury permitting, McGann goes for a run. It is as much a part of his life as breathing or walking. “I wouldn't be able to have my dinner on a Sunday without a run. I wouldn't eat, I just wouldn't feel right,†he says by way of emphasising just how important running is to him. McGann's career as a long distance runner was recalled at the Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels Sportsperson-of-the-Year awards at Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim on Friday night. McGann was the recipient of the Hall of Fame award from Micheal O Muircheartaigh Afterwards as McGann sat down to reflect further on the days when he represented his country at Olympic Games and World Championships, he revealed how he would relax before a big race. Taking an approach that will not be found in any fitness manual, McGann, a non-smoker all his life, would have a drink or two to help him wind down. While he wouldn't go near the stuff during his training programme and in the lead up to big races he always found it worked for him to have a tipple the night before – and leave it at that. “Some athletes would be awake all night thinking about a big race. I'd have a few the night before to relax and I'd sleep fine. It worked for me,†he said. “I remember going down for the national marathon in 1972, it was a trial for the Olympic Games. All the lads were drinking orange juice. Myself and Donie Walsh (a Cork athlete) had a couple of pints each the night before and we got first and second and ran a good time. Some of the lads would have been awake all night.†Having safely secured his place on the Irish team for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, McGann recalled how he found himself in the middle of one of the biggest dramas to unfold in the history of the Games. McGann heard the gunshots when the Palestinian Black September group attacked members of the Israeli team in the Olympic Village. Eleven members of the Israeli squad, one West German police officer and five Black September infiltrators were subsequently killed in the battle that erupted and shocked the watching world. “We were in a big place, like a hotel, and we could hear the helicopter hovering, coming in. It happened in the evening, around seven, very close to where we were. We could hear the shots and the police moved in and told us we had to stay indoors. “The place was cordoned off and the German soldiers moved in, we had never seen the likes of them before of course. It was frightening, we didn't know what was going to happen next.†Six days later McGann ran in the delayed marathon and clocked up a time of 2.28.31.6 to secure 42nd place. The trip home from Munich was special, recalled McGann, with a welcoming party out at the airport to greet the Irish team. They had been away for six weeks and there was understandable concern for their safety. “We were glad to be back, it was a long time away from home.†McGann wore the green singlet of Ireland in four World Cross-country championships, in places such as Italy and Spain. He was there, running in the cold, rain and the mud, when John Treacy won the World Cross-Country in 1978 in Glasgow. Injury ruled McGann out when Treacy repeated the feat in Limerick the following year. The Kiltale man came to know the likes of David Bedford, the colourful English runner who is currently a leading figure in the organisation of the London Olympics. The long distance runners belonged to a close-knit community and there were many others McGann forged a friendship with over the years which included Donegal's marathon man Danny McDaid. A lot has changed in athletics since McGann first set out on his career. He recalled how he ran in the 1972 Olympic marathon without a drink, despite the heat and the exertions. The concept of an athlete keeping hydrated at all times had yet to catch on. Among McGann's achievements was winning five Meath senior titles in the 1960s under the old NACA umbrella. He later spent a few years living in Dublin and while there he joined the Civil Service Harriers club and among his club colleagues was Noel Carroll. One of McGann's claims to fame is that he is the only runner in Ireland who won medals in races organised by the various national organisations that controlled athletes - NACA, BLE and AAI. The only man, he added, who could match that record now is Tom O'Riordan the former Irish Independent journalist. “He would have to come out of retirement to do that,†added McGann. The hardest part of athletics for McGann was to be forced to sit on the sidelines because of injury. If he couldn't get out to run life just didn't seem the same. The Kiltale man had his share of injuries yet he also experienced many good times in his career - happy days when he was one of Ireland's top distance runners.