A brief history….
Ardee & District Athletic Club was founded in 1992. The club has been in existence in 3 separate eras:
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Ferdia A.C (‘50s and ‘60s)
The first athletic club in Ardee was established in the mid ‘50s and it was called Ferdia A.C., and their club base and training grounds were in the De La Salle Brothers’ land on the Drogheda Road beside the Monastery National School for Boys. The driving force of the club at that time was Sean Colgan RIP and the outstanding athlete of the time was Sean Callan, who won Louth, Leinster & All-Ireland Cross Country titles. Ferdia A.C ceased to exist in the early ‘60s.
Ferdia A.C winning the Quinn Cup in Mountpleasant in 1957. Back Row – Seamie McGuinness RIP, Hughie Phillips RIP, Alfie Matthews RIP, Sean Colgan RIP, Paddy Reilly RIP, Jim McGahon RIP, Mickey Reilly RIP. Front Row – Michael Johnson, Christy Cunningham, Sean Callan, Mal Brennan, Francie Taaffe RIP.
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Ardee De La Salle A.C (1971-1986)
Athletics was revived in the town in 1971 when the De La Salle Brothers helped to reform the club with the assistance of Sean Colgan RIP, Ned Cluskey RIP, Kevin Caraher RIP, Patsy “Blondie” Callan RIP, Seamie Weldon RIP, Noel Curran, Francie Gillespie RIP, Jimmy Bradley RIP and Jim Clark. Again, their club base and training returned to the same field, which became fondly known as ‘The School Field’ or the ‘The Boys’ School Field’ because it was beside Monastery National School for Boys and it was then gifted to the Catholic Parish of Ardee before the De La Salle Brothers left the town in 1975. The best known athletes of this era having plenty of success in Cross Country and Road Races were Stanley Woods and Tom Sharkey.
Stan Woods representing Ireland at a marathon in Glasgow Scotland in 1985. What a finish time – 2:22:10.
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Ferdia A.C / Ardee & District A.C (1992-Present)
The club was reformed again in 1992 returning to the same field, thanks to the Parish of Ardee with its original name of Ferdia A.C, then changing to Ardee & District AC in 2000. This 3rd era of athletics in Ardee and our continued success to this day is born from the love of athletics and the dedication of our founders from the 1950s, 1970s and 1990s, remembering in particular, Sean Colgan RIP and the support of the De La Salle Brothers. Our wee club has grown gradually since the early ’90s with much of its success owing to the kids of our community showing tremendous commitment and respect for our club, not to mention the many ex-juvenile athletes returning as parents themselves, not only introducing their children to the love of athletics but giving back their time, knowledge and skills to our club as coaches and volunteers and with them bringing a new wave of enthusiasts who’ve embraced the wonderfully diverse world of athletics. We are and continue to be deeply grateful for their support and the support of the wider community of Ardee.
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The Seamie Weldon Memorial 5K & 10K
Bringing us into the 21st Century was a man who truly embodied the spirit of our club and carried on the love of athletics which had begun with our founders, Seamie Weldon RIP. Seamie was a man who dedicated his life to athletics. He ran for the club, coached in the club, and was until his death in 2014 a member of our club’s committee holding many positions over the years. Loosing Seamie was a particularly sad day for our club as we lost our mentor and friend but the legacy that Seamie has left behind still continues today as we too strive to bring the joy and fun of athletics to the children and youth of the immediate and wider communities of Ardee. In Seamie’s memory and since 2015, we hold the hugely successful ‘Seamie Weldon Memorial 5K race (fondly referred to as Seamie’s 5K), adding a 10K race in 2022, on the first Saturday every September. And thanks to the Weldon Family the Seamie Weldon Memorial Cup is awarded to the 1st male team of 4 in our 5K.
Two years later we sadly lost another great clubman, our Life President, Jimmy Bradley RIP. Jimmy was one of those wonderful men who helped reform our club in 1971 along with the De La Salle Brothers and through his work on the Parish always took extra special care and maintenance of the parish field, our training grounds; and whilst working beside us in the Monastery School for Boys he was never far away when we needed him. Jimmy remained a loyal and massive supporter of our club until his death in 2016. And thanks to the Bradley Family the Jimmy Bradley Memorial Cup is awarded to the 1st female team of 4 in Seamie’s 5K.
In December 2023 we also said goodbye to another great supporter of our club, Paddy Callan RIP. Paddy, to put it simply, was a ‘Man of Ardee’. He lived, worked and supported voluntarily in every way he could for the benefit of the town, clubs and people of Ardee, especially the youth of Ardee and served on many organizations in our community, Ardee Credit Union, Ardee Tidy Towns, Ardee Parish Council, Ardee St. Mary’s GFC and Louth Leader to name but a few. He was also a very successful businessman working and creating employment in Ardee and working along side Paddy for many of those years was Seamie Weldon RIP. Paddy was also the brother of Sean Callan, club starlet of the 50s & 60s who won Louth, Leinster & All-Ireland Cross Country titles when the club was known as Ferdia A.C. Following the death of Seamie Weldon in 2014 Paddy was the first to support and sponsor our memorial 5K in memory of his dear friend and colleague and to this day his family and business continues to support Seamie’s 5K & 10K. In 2024, thanks to the Callan family, the PJ Callan Club Award was introduced awarding a prize to the 1st Male & Female in both the 5K & 10K for Ardee & District AC club members.
“Mol an oige agus tiochfaidh siad” – (praise the young and they will flourish).