Gerry O'Connell
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Achievement Record to 2014
7 Irish Senior Powerlifting titles 6 Irish 56lb Over the Bar 7 Irish 56lb Distance Irish Record Over the Bar 16' 2½" Irish Record Dead Lift 320kg 8 NACAI Weight Throwing Titles 1 Irish Junior Powerlifting 6 years on the Irish Powerlifting Team 6th at the European and World Stone Lifting championships Munich 1983 6 Munster Powerlifting titles Duggan Shield Boxing Munster v. Connaught 8 County NACAI championships; 12 Munster NACAI championships in 56 lbs for distance and over the bar 12 Munster BLE titles in 56lbs for distance and over the bar 10 All-Ireland NACAI titles in the same event 13 All-Ireland BLE titles in the same event 5 Irish masters titles 1 Hibernian Throwers European title for 56 lbs over the bar in 2010 |
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Gerry still going strong….50 years on
by Seamus Hayes, Clare Champion, April 2014
Crusheen native and Marian AC member, Gerry O’Connell won his first County title in 1964. Earlier this year, fifty years on, he competed in the Munster masters indoor championships and won with a throw of 7.72 in the weight for distance event.
With hundreds of titles to his credit at sports meetings in every province, its no surprise that he holds no less than 36 Irish titles together with a number of records
In Colm Murphy’s book, “The Irish championships”, the author wrote ‘with the retirement of Tadhg Twomey and Len Braham, it fell to Gerry O’Connell to fill the vacuum left in the 56 lbs events. With his height advantage, added to his great strength, it was not surprising that Gerry would dominate the 56 lbs for distance and the 56 lbs for height in the 1980’s. He won no less that six Irish senior powerlifting championships and set an Irish record for the dead lift at 320kg. He holds one Irish junior powerlifting championship and was six years on the Irish powerlifting team. He also won six Munster powerlifting titles.
Gerry won seven Munster titles at both height and distance in the 56lbs weight.
In the NACAI championships, he won eight titles in al while, with BLE, he won six National championships for 56 lbs for height and seven titles for distance.
Gerry’s personal bests in the 56 lbs came at Knocknagoshel in Kerry in the summer of 1982. He broke the 16 foot mark, which would have been a National record, when he lobbed the weight over the bar at that height and later got the weight over the bar when it was set at 3 inches higher. .
Throwing the weight for distance, he broke the 30 foot mark with a throw of 30’ and 3”.
Neither, however, were accepted as a record as the required steel tape was not present to verify the measurement.
Gerry still competes in the Master’s circuit and is a regular at the National masters as well as other throwing events around the country.
In 1982 Gerry travelled to Munich and competed in the European and world stone lifting championships where he was placed sixth.
Gerry is the holder of the Irish record for 320 kgs dead lift. He was a member of the Irish powerlifting team for six years
Gerry was also an accomplished boxer and he won a Duggan shield, awarded in a Munster v Connacht contest.
He also played hurling for his beloved Crusheen for many years. He is, understandably, very proud of his athletic achievements but high on the list of his most memorable sporting occasions are Clare’s Al-Ireland hurling wins and, especially, Crusheen’s Clare senior hurling championship successes.
“They were great days, after all the years without success to finally get over the line”, he told the Clare Champion this week when recalling his athletic achievements.
He developed an interest in the 56lbs weight after watching his neighbour Jack Harte compete. “I got a 56 lbs from a weighing scale and started”, he recalled this week.
Gerry’s first competition was at Kilmaley sports. “The Kilmaley sports used to be held near Gortanaganniv lake. I won the 56 lbs for distance”, he recalled.
From there on, Gerry competed in sports meetings practically every week. At the time he was also hurling for Crusheen. “I was lucky not to pick up any injuries as one could easily have suffered a broken finger when hurling and it would have caused problems when throwing the weight”.
“There were many days when we hurled and then rushed off to some sports. There were no showers, just a quick wash at a barrel of water.
“There were no supplements then, unlike nowadays. We ate a good healthy dinner, bacon and cabbage, and we trained hard”, Gerry said. “There was no health shop in town then but there are five or six now”
Gerry has many highlights from his career to date and, not surprising, the setting of an Irish record for the 56lbs over the bar, a record that has stood for the past 28 years, tops the list. That record of 16’ 2 ½ “ was set at the National championships in Tullamore. “It was great to set the record at the National championships”, remarked Gerry before expressing surprise that it is still there to this day. “It’s time for someone to break it now”, he quipped.
Up near the top in this list of highlights is his sixth place finish at the World stone lifting championships in Munich. “John Paul Sigmerson from Denmark won that championship and he later became the World’s strongest man”, recalled Gerry
When Gerry took up weightlifting his first weight was the axel from a two horse mowing machine. I used to train at home but later I went to the Garryowen weightlifting club in Limerick where I learned a lot.
Gerry had no notion of retiring from competition just yet. It’s great to be able to take part. Sport is about competing and enjoyment, it’s not all about winning. I have made great friends across the country and its great to return to various venues and meet with them”, he concluded
With hundreds of titles to his credit at sports meetings in every province, its no surprise that he holds no less than 36 Irish titles together with a number of records
In Colm Murphy’s book, “The Irish championships”, the author wrote ‘with the retirement of Tadhg Twomey and Len Braham, it fell to Gerry O’Connell to fill the vacuum left in the 56 lbs events. With his height advantage, added to his great strength, it was not surprising that Gerry would dominate the 56 lbs for distance and the 56 lbs for height in the 1980’s. He won no less that six Irish senior powerlifting championships and set an Irish record for the dead lift at 320kg. He holds one Irish junior powerlifting championship and was six years on the Irish powerlifting team. He also won six Munster powerlifting titles.
Gerry won seven Munster titles at both height and distance in the 56lbs weight.
In the NACAI championships, he won eight titles in al while, with BLE, he won six National championships for 56 lbs for height and seven titles for distance.
Gerry’s personal bests in the 56 lbs came at Knocknagoshel in Kerry in the summer of 1982. He broke the 16 foot mark, which would have been a National record, when he lobbed the weight over the bar at that height and later got the weight over the bar when it was set at 3 inches higher. .
Throwing the weight for distance, he broke the 30 foot mark with a throw of 30’ and 3”.
Neither, however, were accepted as a record as the required steel tape was not present to verify the measurement.
Gerry still competes in the Master’s circuit and is a regular at the National masters as well as other throwing events around the country.
In 1982 Gerry travelled to Munich and competed in the European and world stone lifting championships where he was placed sixth.
Gerry is the holder of the Irish record for 320 kgs dead lift. He was a member of the Irish powerlifting team for six years
Gerry was also an accomplished boxer and he won a Duggan shield, awarded in a Munster v Connacht contest.
He also played hurling for his beloved Crusheen for many years. He is, understandably, very proud of his athletic achievements but high on the list of his most memorable sporting occasions are Clare’s Al-Ireland hurling wins and, especially, Crusheen’s Clare senior hurling championship successes.
“They were great days, after all the years without success to finally get over the line”, he told the Clare Champion this week when recalling his athletic achievements.
He developed an interest in the 56lbs weight after watching his neighbour Jack Harte compete. “I got a 56 lbs from a weighing scale and started”, he recalled this week.
Gerry’s first competition was at Kilmaley sports. “The Kilmaley sports used to be held near Gortanaganniv lake. I won the 56 lbs for distance”, he recalled.
From there on, Gerry competed in sports meetings practically every week. At the time he was also hurling for Crusheen. “I was lucky not to pick up any injuries as one could easily have suffered a broken finger when hurling and it would have caused problems when throwing the weight”.
“There were many days when we hurled and then rushed off to some sports. There were no showers, just a quick wash at a barrel of water.
“There were no supplements then, unlike nowadays. We ate a good healthy dinner, bacon and cabbage, and we trained hard”, Gerry said. “There was no health shop in town then but there are five or six now”
Gerry has many highlights from his career to date and, not surprising, the setting of an Irish record for the 56lbs over the bar, a record that has stood for the past 28 years, tops the list. That record of 16’ 2 ½ “ was set at the National championships in Tullamore. “It was great to set the record at the National championships”, remarked Gerry before expressing surprise that it is still there to this day. “It’s time for someone to break it now”, he quipped.
Up near the top in this list of highlights is his sixth place finish at the World stone lifting championships in Munich. “John Paul Sigmerson from Denmark won that championship and he later became the World’s strongest man”, recalled Gerry
When Gerry took up weightlifting his first weight was the axel from a two horse mowing machine. I used to train at home but later I went to the Garryowen weightlifting club in Limerick where I learned a lot.
Gerry had no notion of retiring from competition just yet. It’s great to be able to take part. Sport is about competing and enjoyment, it’s not all about winning. I have made great friends across the country and its great to return to various venues and meet with them”, he concluded
