Athletics coach Eamon Harvey has been honoured in his home county for a lifetime of dedication to sport - from mentoring generations of young athletes to coaching Irish national teams at the Olympics, Paralympics, and World Championships.
Mr Harvey was inducted into the Donegal Sports Star Hall of Fame honouring his contribution to Irish athletics at every level.
The Donegal town native served as a coach at the Olympic and Paralympic games in Atlanta in 1996, a year in which he guided St Johnston athlete Bridie Lynch to Paralympic gold in the discus, the first Irish woman to win a gold medal at the games.
He coached the national team again at the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 with an 18-medal haul across the four games.
Mr Harvey coached Irish teams at eight World Cross Country Championships. He coached at the World Track and Field at Gothenburg 1995, where 5,000 metre runner Sonia O’Sullivan won gold, and again coached Ms O’Sullivan at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Mr Harvey has made a lasting contribution to athletics development in the north west.
He was a founding member of St John Bosco (juvenile) and South Donegal Harriers (senior) athletics clubs, clubs that merged with other local clubs to form Tír Chonaill, AC one of the largest clubs in Ulster.
A stalwart of Tír Chonaill AC, he has coached across all age groups and led the club to represent Ireland in European club competitions.
He coached numerous provincial and national winners, as well as having coached Donegal inter-county teams at senior, U-21 and minor teams.
A former physical education teacher in the Abbey Vocational School, following retirement in 2004, he served as an Athletics Ireland Development Officer in Ulster. He was inducted into the Ulster Athletics Hall of Fame last year.
President of Athletics Ireland, Bríd Golden, who worked with Mr Harvey across three decades, paid tribute to his sporting contribution.
She said she worked closely with Mr Harvey across many roles, including as Provincial Schools Coaching Co-ordinators and together on the Athletics Ireland Board.
"His example very much shaped who I am and how I work as a coach and as a committee and board member," she said.
This year’s Donegal Sports Star Awards in the Mount Errigal Hotel marked the 50th anniversary of the event, established to honour sporting achievement across all disciplines.
