Olympians night a reunion for Tommy

Tommy Dunne and his daughter Frances Mooney.

Last Sunday's Olympians event in Kilcullen was a very special occasion for a local resident, Tommy Dunne, who had his own running scrapbook autographed by Olympic gold medallist Ronnie Delaney, writes Brian Byrne.

It was also something of a reunion for the two men, as Tommy used to run with Ronnie Delaney when they were both members of the Donore Harriers club.

Tommy has been living in Kilcullen for eight years, in Brigid's Avenue with his daughter Frances Mooney. Now 84, he was born and raised in the Liberties in Dublin.

His scrapbook features a large newspaper photograph of the day Delaney won the gold at Melbourne in 1956. There's also among the many clippings about Tommy himself a report of him winning a race in Dublin, headlined 'The Mighty Atom'.

"That was my nickname in those days," he smiled. "I ran seriously from 1952 until around 1963. Then I gave it up for a while, but I came back to it in 1970 and ran for many years more."

(Source: Kilcullen Diary.)

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