I can vividly recall the important moments in the history of Irish sports. I was part of the crowd on the pavement outside Boston College, primarily comprising students and a few slightly tipsy individuals, all eagerly waiting for athlete John Treacy to launch his winning strike.
The event took place on Patriots’ Day in 1991, typically the third Monday of April, and we had journeyed by train from Providence that very morning. Treacy had reliably informed us that this location was the optimal viewing point for the unfolding of the Boston Marathon. Particularly, around the 21-mile mark, just after the infamous Heartbreak Hill, a quad of undulating hills which rise from Newton.
At that time, Treacy was performing at his best, and even though he’d secured an Olympic Marathon silver medal from Los Angeles in 1984, the Boston Marathon held a special place in his heart, a race he left no stone unturned to clinch. His first race post the Olympics was the 1987 marathon where he faced a crippling hamstring issue on Heartbreak Hill and had to withdraw.
Nonetheless, he returned in 1988, despite a short notice, to outperform everyone but the African pair of Ibrahim Hussein and Juma Ikangaa, securing the third position in 2:09:15. He replicated the feat in 1989, giving everything his best shot.
It was thus, in 1991, during his fourth run, his victory hopes were dashed, literally before our very eyes. Once in proximity to the leading group, he abruptly sat down on the kerb outside Boston College, clutching his right hamstring with one hand whilst concealing his face with the other.
Treacy was acutely aware of the honour and prestige linked to victory in Boston, particularly for an Irish contender. This annual Marathon, held since 1897, is the world’s oldest, and the olive wreath placed on the head of the winner is a direct connection to the initial Olympic Marathon of 1896, that stirred the first race the subsequent year.
Neil Cusack, the last Irish champion of the Boston Marathon, who secured his victory in 1974, has been honoured with the role of official race starter in the event’s upcoming iteration. Taking place on Monday, this year’s race marks the 50th anniversary of Cusack’s legendary win, hosting a regulated number of 30,000 runners.
A remembered figure among Boston’s myriad of memorable tales, Cusack, hailing from Limerick, was a 22-year-old East Tennessee State University student during his victory. He was a standout part of the Irish Brigade, a team that enjoyed dominance in American university distance running.
In November 1972, merely a couple of years before his marathon victory, Cusack clinched the NCAA cross country title in Houston, Texas. His win significantly helped his team, the East Tennessee, which included fellow Irish runners Eddie and PJ Leddy, Ray McBride, Kevin Breen, and Frank Greally, secure a second-place finish.
This victory partially defined Cusack. His intense training regime rendered him formidable, and his preference for arduous runs exemplified his commitment. His thin build, accentuated by thick hair and a neat beard, seemed naturally designed for marathon runs.
During his final academic year at East Tennessee, Cusack decided to take on Boston to assist his selection for the European Championships in Rome held that June. Despite his relative youth, he was not a first-time marathon runner. As a 19-year-old, he ventured to Atlanta to participate in the Peach Tree Marathon, hitting the course “for the fun of it”. His completion time of 2:16 made him the world record-holder for teenagers running marathons.
With his college covering his ticket to Boston, Cusack prepared to make history. There were neither appearance fees nor monetary rewards presented at the time, and aside from himself, none had set high hopes on his performance. As a token of good luck, he sewed a green shamrock to his St Bernard-brand vest the night before the race.
Unbelievably, he found himself leading after only six miles and by the midway point had built a solid one-minute lead. Even the notorious Heartbreak Hill did not falter his stride. He completed the race at a comfortable 2:13.39, ranking this the second-fastest time of the 78th Boston Marathon. Cusack’s finish, flanked by Boston Police motorcycles, remains a timeless image in the marathon’s storied history.
At the tender age of 22, the young man swiftly gained the status of a local icon, which he indeed deserved. His legendary status was affirmed when the renowned American reporter, Walter Cronkite, enquired live on the CBS Evening News about his plans for celebrating his triumph. His response? “By savouring pints of porter”. Hence, the New York Daily News were handed their ideal headline for the succeeding day, “Boston champ Irishman trains on beer.”
News of this unique celebration spread quickly and before his departure from Boston, Cusack recollected being gifted with $10 and $20 notes by the robust Irish community there, urging him to further indulge in his beer celebrations.
Cusack’s accomplishments in long-distance running didn’t stop there. He was a two-time Olympic candidate and ran in the World Cross Country on 13 occasions. In 1981, he emerged as the second winner of the Dublin Marathon. He graced the Boston Marathon with his return a few more times, his most recent being a 20th finish in 1986, clocking 2:21:24, while Rob de Castella reigned victorious in 2:07.51. Nonetheless, his triumph in 1974 is his most revered achievement, although the monetary rewards of today’s participants eluded him. The top spot in the upcoming male and female race awards €150,000 each from the total Boston pot of $1.2 million.
His legend is further amplified as the Boston marathon race programme still accredits him as the “one and the only Irish champ in the race’s history.” While these accolades are well-earned and deserved, there are two other Irish runners who have tasted victory in Boston.
Firstly, John Lordan, who was born in Bandon in 1884 and later moved to Boston, residing in Cambridge, won the Boston Marathon in 1903. His hometown has honored this achievement with a dedicated monument.
Additionally, Boston’s first champion, John McDermott, is of Irish parentage as were the parents of both, John Caffrey, the winner in 1900 and 1901, and Thomas Morrissey, the 1908 champion.
Finally, Jimmy Duffy, who was born in Sligo in 1890 raised in Scotland and then moved to Canada, had claimed victory in the Boston Marathon in 1914. Duffy had briefly turned professional, tragically losing his first race to Canada’s Édouard Fabre.
At the dawn of the First World War, he answered the call to arms and enlisted in Canada’s military force. Initially, he served in the 91st Argyll Regiment before switching allegiances to the 16th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
On April 23rd, 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, he bravely faced the onslaught of the German forces and it proved to be his last stand. His life was tragically cut short, merely eight days shy of his quarter-century birthday and a mere four days post Fabre’s victorious run in the 1915 Boston Marathon.
This narrative is the stark reality of his tale.