Joe’s voluntary work honoured

A man who has guided Cork to possessing the highest ranked athletics meeting in Ireland has been named as the May Cork Person of the Month.

Cork Sports Meeting Director Joe Hartnett was named in recognition of his voluntary work with the Cork City Sports International Athletics Committee over the years.

Mr Hartnett’s expertise involves working with sports agents, athletes, and administrators in European and world athletics governing bodies. Through these contacts he was able to successfully steer Cork City Sports to become part of the prestigious World Athletics Continental Tour last year. Thanks to his work, Cork City Sports was the first athletics meeting to achieve this high status in Ireland, both north and south.

Cork is now officially the highest ranked athletics meeting on the island of Ireland and is also ranked in the top 8% of meetings throughout the world.

Mr Hartnett has been praised for his ability to negotiate deals that bring the best athletes to Cork while restricted to a limited budget in a difficult and competitive marketplace. Cork City Sports has been running for 70 years and the next meeting takes place in July 2024. The 2023 meet had to be cancelled due to ongoing resurfacing work on the MTU athletics track.

In his younger years, Mr Hartnett competed in athletics at international level and is still ranked at number 5 on the Irish all-time list for the 3,000 metre steeplechase. He was Irish Universities Champion also in the 3,000 metre and represented Ireland on road and track from 1978 to 1985. He was also a well known teacher at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa and helped transition the school into a College of Further Education (CSN).

Joe Hartnett’s name will now go forward, with the other Persons of Month chosen this year, for possible selection as Cork Person of the Year at an awards function to be held next January.