Woman who died running Cork City Marathon event named locally
She was a graduate of University College Cork. She was also a former student of St Angela's College on Patrick's Hill in the city.
Ms Cassidy was a keen swimmer who participated in numerous competitions over the years both in Ireland and overseas. She joined Dolphin Swimming Club in Mayfield on the northside of Cork city at the age of nine. She competed with distinction on behalf of her club, Munster and Ireland. She also broke a large number of club records for Dolphin where she was a former 'Swimmer of the Year' and team captain.
Emergency services attended the scene and Ms Cassidy was taken to Cork University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Christine O'Donoghue, from Blarney, Co Cork, was waiting for her daughter Shannon (26) to finish the half marathon, when she realised an emergency was taking place.
'The finish line is near Penneys,' Ms O'Donoghue said. 'My daughter's friend was tracking her on an app and we knew she was near the finish. But the next thing all we could hear was one of the medical team shouting 'AED, AED [Automated External Defibrillator].' They needed a defibrillator.
'The medical team dealt with it amazingly. I could see them all running but not in a panicked way. And the ambulance came within less than five minutes.
'A steward guided the runners to the other side of the road. We were in shock. My daughter then finished the race 10 minutes later. I started bawling when I saw her coming.
'But then I thought another mother was probably standing, waiting for her daughter to reach the finish line.'
Ms O'Donoghue said it was heartbreaking that an event where 'such humanity' had been on show, with runners and the crowd supporting each other, that a tragedy would then unfold.
Cork city Green Party councillor Oliver Moran, a participant in the half marathon, said: 'It's tragic news to hear after an event that was so heartwarming in other respects. The day was beautiful and the residents and volunteers who came out to support the participants were wonderful.
'Hearing the news emerge after the race finish, when we should all be cheering together, was so saddening. I'm sure the thoughts of everyone who took part alongside the woman are with her friends and family now.
'Just yesterday, I attended a launch of new equipment for the St John's Ambulance with two councillor colleagues, who were also running in the marathon. It was a reminder then about the role those services play in an event like this and I understand the young woman was treated at the finish line by emergency services.'
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Irish Examiner
17-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Cashel's King Cormacs new princes aiming to help Tipperary reclaim All-Ireland hurling throne
Seán and Catherine O'Donoghue missed Oisín's goal last Sunday week. There they were in Croke Park alright, sitting in the Hogan Stand, but the folks in front of them were on their feet by the time they rose to theirs and their 19-year-old son had struck that audacious shot. Then a voice said O'Donoghue was the man who put the ball in the Kilkenny net, then another and his parents turned to each other and embraced. Teenagers scoring senior majors in Croke Park has become a lesser-spotted thing. Shane O'Donnell's hat-trick in 2013 would come to mind but the gap between under-age and senior had supposedly become a gulf. Darragh McCarthy, Sam O'Farrell and O'Donoghue have debunked that theory. And Oisín, scoring his third championship goal and second in as many games, is U20 again next year. 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Bench bullets: Does Cork's second wave pack a bigger punch than Tipp's?
Patrick Horgan wasn't shy in telling us last spring that Cork have two for every position. The same player wasn't behind the door earlier this year when declaring that the current panel is the strongest across his 18 seasons in red. His fellow inside assassin, Alan Connolly, announced on the eve of Munster Championship that the internal training games are the best he's seen across his six seasons in red. Cork have depth and Cork have options. You didn't need to be going through the turnstiles at Páirc Uí Chaoimh or enduring the Buttevant tailbacks en route to the Gaelic Grounds to be aware of such. And yet when the numbers are collated and tallied, bench contributions from the blue corner are equal to what the much-vaunted red reserves have chipped in with on the run to Croker. In the interest of fairness, we've discounted Tipperary's preliminary quarter-final pumping of Laois seeing as the latter are not a Liam MacCarthy outfit. That leaves six games on either side to study and draw summations. The Cork total comes to 0-21, Tipperary level on 3-12. The three goals from the Premier bench are the exclusive property of All-Ireland U20 winner Oisín O'Donoghue. Not part of the matchday 26 for either of their opening two games in Munster, his debut arrived 47 minutes into the potentially season-ending fixture away to Clare. It was he who won the 70th minute free that enabled the visitors go three in front. It was fellow replacement Seán Kenneally who subsequently landed the insurance white flag. O'Donoghue wasn't 30 seconds on the field at Thurles a week later when he stroked in the match-clinching goal. Across 88 minutes and seven touches, this kid of Cashel King Cormacs has contributed 3-1, won a converted free, assisted a white flag and forced the turnover for another. Their other chief calling card off the bench has a couple of years on O'Donoghue. The hurling intelligence of Noel McGrath is sent into action in the third quarter to see and exploit what tiring minds cannot. Introduced seven minutes into the second half on the opening Munster Sunday, his first possession of 13 saw him angle over a near-impossible point from close to the Ryan Stand sideline. From there, he assisted a Séamus Kennedy point, had a secondary assist for a Darragh McCarthy point, and issued the first pass in a glittering sequence for the second goal of brother John. 'Noel is going a long, long time so he knows when it's time to play for a free (as he did late on against Kilkenny) or when it's time to puck a ball into the corner and slow it down. He just brings a monumental amount,' notes Irish Examiner columnist Seánie McGrath. 'Seeing their underage players playing well, Sam O'Farrell, Darragh McCarthy and, of course, O'Donoghue, there's something that can do to a camp and it can add an energy to the crowd as well that the players feed off, so that's why I'd be very, very wary.' Cork bench contributions are more balanced. Nine different scorers. Obvious observations are the re-emergence of Conor Lehane and Tommy O'Connell's late-season lift up the pecking order. The other observation is that no Cork sub wasted the 20 additional minutes afforded to them in the Munster final. O'Connell had an assist, a point, and a free won; Robbie O'Flynn and Brian Roche both assisted a white flag; Lehane was fouled for a converted free, won a puckout, and twice found the target; Shane Kingston thrice found the target. Seánie McGrath felt the timing of Cork substitutions was off in last year's final defeat to Clare. The onus is on the sideline to avoid such a repeat. 'Twelve months on, does Pat need to be a bit sharper, not early substitutions or anything like that, but if they're flagging after 50-odd minutes, maybe some of the sharpshooters on the line need to come in a little bit earlier. 'Tommy O'Connell hasn't got much game-time this year, but he nearly propelled Cork to victory when he came on in last year's final, so while we know we have sharpshooters in reserve that can get deciding scores, they also have fellas like Tommy and Damien Cahalane, that if we are struggling in defence, who have shown they can do it on the big stage.'
RTÉ News
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Kevin Cassidy: Meath must throw off shackles to upset Donegal
Meath have been the surprise packet of an enthralling football championship so far this season. But if they're to continue their steep upward trajectory and finish the season as more than just a feel-good story, they need to attack Sunday's semi-final meeting with Donegal as if they've nothing to lose. That's according to former Donegal star Kevin Cassidy who has warned the Royal County that, if they don't throw the shackles off and go after the ball against Jim McGuinness' experienced side, they might spend much of a stifling warm afternoon chasing after it. Donegal, on the other hand, must beware the team who are already playing with house money. "Meath are dangerous because they've nothing to lose," Cassidy told RTÉ Sport's Damian Lawlor this week. "They're gonna come in and throw the shackles off. That works both ways. Donegal are so good. Once they're in possession, it's so hard to get it back off them. "Meath are really strong around that middle sector. Although it was funny, I was chatting to Trevor Giles and I was saying Meath are a big physical side, and he says, 'you think that, but our men aren't that really big. It's just that they're so aggressive in terms of how they attack the ball and how they attack the breaks'. "For me, to have a chance, they have to get on top of midfield and get a hold of the ball without Donegal getting it. That takes repetition, repetition. Once Donegal have the ball, you very rarely get it back off them. It ends up in a score or a win." Donegal came into this campaign bolstered by the return of Michael Murphy from retirement. Even the most optimistic Donegal fan, however, could not have foreseen the three-time All Star looking as influential as ever at 35 years of age. Murphy is one of the main reasons the Ulster champions are looking a good bet to snatch a first All-Ireland title since 2012. "I've been impressed by him. He started the league very well, so he obviously had a lot of work done pre-season," Cassidy said of his former team-mate. "Donegal were in good shape in terms of where other teams were at." A one-point win after extra time in an epic provincial final with Armagh was followed by a slight lull in the Tír Chonaill men's performances. An opening loss in Tyrone in the round-robin stage was followed by a win away to Cavan before they ended their group stage with a one-point home victory over Mayo. Not exactly All-Ireland-winning form, according to Cassidy. But the former county half-back also feels any Donegal dip in form will have been seized upon by McGuinness for motivational purposes as he prepares to pit his wits against Robbie Brennan's midas touch on the opposite sideline. "Jim puts a lot emphasis on the Ulster championship, so that was the first goal, to get there," Cassidy explained. "It was tough for the players, it was taxing on the players. But they got their just rewards by winning Ulster after that. "It's only natural that there would be a small drop off. We're seeing that in the defeat to Tyrone. I didn't think the first half against Cavan was good. First half wasn't great against Monaghan. So there's a lot of stuff to work on. "If I was Jim, I'd be happy with that, because if they were trailblazing through everybody, somebody's going to catch them somewhere. "He's got leverage there to bring the players back down to earth. And that's what he'd probably done in the last two weeks."
