Heroes and Friends

Mick Dowling came from a family of 16 and is a native of Castlecomer in Kilkenny. From an early age' Mick needed to be resilient and he showed that by winning eight national boxing titles in the bantamweight division- as well as competing in two Olympic Games. Mick tells his story to Frank Greally in this episode of Heroes & Friends Podcasts.

Olympic 1500 metres champion Ronnie Delany has long been a Hero and a Friend to Frank Greally. Ronnie, whom won his Olympic Gold Medal in Melbourne on December 1st, 1956, is our latest guest on the Heroes & Friends Podcast Series.

Brother Colm O'Connell is often referred to as The Godfather Of Kenyan Running. Now in his 70s, Brother Colm has during his time as a teacher at St Patrick's High School in high-altitude Iten, coached to success some of the best of Kenyan running talent, including Olympic Champions- Peter Rono, 1500m, Mathew Birir, 3,000m steeplechase and David Rushida, 800 meters. A native of Caherduggan, near Mallow, Bro Colm has spent most of his life in Kenya. Heroes and Friends Podcast caught up with Bro Colm earlier this year when he was on a short visit home. The Podcast was recorded in a difficult environment- so apologies for some background interference. We hope the content will compensate for any unavoidable background noise.Edited by Nick Moloney

Irish mile and 1500 meters record holder Ray Flynn spoke with Frank Greally at the Millrose Games in New York in early February. Ray is Meet Director for the Millrose Games. Ray and Frank ran together at East Tennessee State University. Edited by Nick Moloney

Richard Mulligan has a rare and wonderful story to tell in this the first 2020 podcast episode of Heroes and Friends.A former cross-country, track and road National Champion who won an athletic scholarship to Providence College in the USA, Richard is now a country music chart-topper with his own album, titled I Never Met You dedicated to the father he never met.Richard's extraordinary story begins with his birth at Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea, a place to where his mother was forcibly taken from her home in Connemara. It would be only many years later that he would eventually meet his birth mother – and his description of how that came about is a heartwarming one of love and forgiveness.Tune in and listen to Richard Mulligan's uplifting story of resilience, sport, music and family, as well as a final and powerful message on the theme of forgiveness. It's well worth a listen. Podcast Interview by Frank Greally. Recorded and Produced by Nick Moloney.

Dick Hooper won the inaugural Dublin Marathon back in 1980 and claimed the men's title on two other occasions. A three times Olympian, Dick has fond memories of the Dublin Marathon and he shares them here with Frank Greally on this Podcast Episode of Heroes and Friends recorded and produced by Nick Moloney.

A little bit of time has elapsed since we visited Gary O'Hanlon at home to record this episode of Heroes and Friends. At the time, Gary had not been able to train for over three months due to injury and he had little hope of making the start line for the KBC Dublin Marathon. However, resilience should perhaps be Gary's middle name, as he has bounced back from that injury and is determined to be on the start line in Dublin on Marathon Sunday. He also called it right when he predicted that the two hour marathon barrier would be broken by Eliud Kipchoge......

Emily Dowling won the women's race in the 1981 Dublin Marathon. Emily started her long and illustrious running career at age 16. Within a year, she had already earned her first international singlet -the first of many.In the second in the series of his Heroes and Friends Podcasts, Frank Greally chats with Emily about her running and coaching career,the joy of winning the Dublin Marathon and the disappointment of missing out on Olympic Marathon selection by just one place. Emily also talks about her battle through serious illness and how she continues to share the Joy of Living with the runners she coaches at Sportsworld Running Club

Welcome to the first in a new series of Podcasts featuring Frank Greally in conversation with a selection of his Heroes & Friends.First up is David - inspirational leader of Team Carrie - also known as Turtles and Hares - the Marathon Training Group based in Dunleer in Louth.A former international athlete, David Carrie has for the past 10 years led Team Carrie Training Groups to take part in the Dublin Marathon. Over the decade, all of the runners he has trained have successfully completed the marathon distance- a remarkable record- with no drop- outs. Tune in and listen as Frank and David share a fireside chat.Produced and edited by Nick Moloney.Song written and sung by Mal Reilly who ran the Dublin Marathon with TeaFrankm Carrie in 2015 and sadly passed in February, 2018

Hi, Frank Greally here. Welcome to my new podcast, Heroes and Friends. This is my new series where I interview people who at one stage may have been my hero and have since become my friend. I really hope you enjoy the interviews I have lined up with some of the greatest sporting and culture figures out there. Subscribe for new podcasts each week.