Weeshie's Week

Frank Conway - A glittering career on the running tracks of America and Europe

January 11th, 2011
by Weeshie Fogarty

Maybe it's just myself but I find it quite remarkable that a Kerryman who must be rated as one of the greatest sportsmen this county has ever produced has been for all sense and purposes more or less forgotten about.  Even when awards of any nature were being handed out he was never invited to accept one. However it must be said straight away that he would be the last person in the world to worry about recognition or awards or any events of this nature. Now to emphasis the greatness of the man whome I refer to nine words explains all. He is simply the fastest Kerryman of all time. And that born and bread Kerryman from Dooks just a couple of miles from the village of Glenbeigh is the one and only Frank Conway. Who outside the athletic world in this county can stand up and say, "I know all about that mans career". Very few I bet. So lets rectify this omission and trace briefly the life and times of one of this counties greatest ever athletes. It goes without saying of course that it would need a special supplement with this paper to due full justice to Frank in attempting to recall the achievements of a glittering career.

For starters just take the year 1989 and ponder on what Frank achieved in America. In the entire history of athletics just two Kerrymen have run the mile under four minutes. Jerry Kiernan the great Listowel man and TV analysist was one and Frank Conway the other. Just three years previously Frank had been awarded a full athletic and academic scholarship to Providence College in America under the guidance of Ray Tracy brother of Olympic silver medalist John.  His progress on the track in that short time to 1989 was simply phenomenal. He ran an indoor mile in Harvard in 3:56.6 and improved his world ranking to 5th fastest in the world. He won the Millrose games mile beating Olympic Champion Peter Rono in the process. He won New England titles in 1,500, 3000m, and 800m and captured a number of US Regional titles (East coast). He was ranked in the top two indoor college milers and to cap a sensational year for the man from Dooks he was nominated college athlete of the year.

Frank began his running in the Intermediate school Killorglin where he attended from 1980 -1989, he joined the famous Iveragh Athletic Club in Caherceiveen and had his first big win when he left the field trailing in his wake to capture the Kerry Colleges Cross country Championship. He has high praise for the club and the men who set him on his running career. "Brian McCarthy a teacher in Killorglin, Mike Cahill, Ross Bay (County Councilor) and Lorcan Murphy Caherceiveen were just a few of the people who looked after and encouraged me during my young days" he told me when we met over the Christmas at Ger o Connor's beautiful home in Dooks.  During those youthful school boy days Frank won a host of school competitions in Kerry, Munster and Ireland but one victory remains etched in his memory. He recalled, "I won the All ireland schools 2000 meter steeplechase in record time and believe it or not that record still stands to day, one of the longest standing school records". He was now running in all the big cross country championships and was chosen to represent Ireland on many occasions. He was quickly spotted by the America college scouts and in 1986 he was offered and accepted a scholarship to Providence College in America.

However his first year away from home was to turn out to be one of the most traumatic of his life. He was struck down with a very serious illness as he reflected in our interview. "I was not feeling well for a few weeks but did not take any great notice, then suddenly I deteriorated rapidly, I was rushed to hospital and was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. I lapsed into unconscious, my temperature soared to 106 degrees, I was given the last rights and my families were informed of the grave seriousness of the situation. It was touch and go but thankfully I pulled through and my doctors were convinced that my great physical fitness had helped me greatly". While the illness was hugely draining Frank returned to Ireland for a while and in February of 1987 he won the prestigious Cork City mile and by mid November he had returned to full fitness.  The following year he beat the great Peter Rona over one mile in the famed Madison Square Gardens New York.  Later that year Rono, won the I, 500 meters gold medal in the Seoul Olympics. He was the youngest ever winner in this event at twenty one years and sixty two days. Amazingly this was to be the Kenyan's very last major win on the track.

Then in 1990 Frank suffered a career threatening injury when he ruptured an ankle tendon. He saw ten different specialists but despite the best medical attention the injury failed to heal properly. He continued racing and while not being 100% fit he amazingly continued to break four minutes for the mile. He even helped Eamon Coughlan to set a world record in Madison Square gardens in the summer of 1992. Frank had now graduated, when into banking and despite all his efforts in 1993 he eventually decided to end his pursuit of further international competition.  Frank is now back living in Dublin; he is married to Fiona Redpath whome he first me in The Daniel o Connell Hotel, Caherceiveen. Fiona is the daughter of one of my former Killarney Legion team mates from the late fifties. Jimmy Redpath, a Garda and an outstanding sportsman represented Kerry in football, hurling and basketball. He was later transferred to Kildare and also played championship football with the Lily Whites.

To day Frank Conway is deeply involved with the Kerry Athletic High Performance development squad, eighty five top Kerry athletes including some outstanding middle distance runners who as Frank pointed out, "Are as good as any in the country" and he emphised "this is the first time such an organized effort to assist athletes is in place and I am delighted to have the opportunity to put something back into the sport here in Kerry".  He showed me a brilliant publication he has just completed and supplied to all these budding young Kerry stars. "The Middle Distance High Performance Guide" is the first ever of its kind in this county and Frank emphised strongly that all the people behind this latest initiative such as Jerry Horgan and Shane Delaney are a credit to the county and success will definitely come.

Frank Conway this born and bred Kerryman has had a glittering career on the running tracks of America and Europe. It was an amazing experience to sit and talk with him for hours about his life and times. His career ending ankle injury occurred before he had reached the summit of his powers on the track. He had agonizingly just failed to qualify for the Olympic Games and who is to say but for that injury Dooks and the village of Glenbeigh and the Iveragh Athletic club would be celebrating an Olympic medal winner.  Nevertheless he is still a Kerry legend and will be until the foreseeable future when some whizz kid comes and runs under 3:56.6. Until then he must be remembered as Kerry's fastest man on the track. You can tune in to my Radio Kerry programme Terrace Talk on Monday January 17th to hear this two hour special documentary on the life and times of Kerrys Frank Conway. I guarantee you something special.



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