IRELAND'S European Cup challenge was damaged significantly yesterday, with the loss of Niall Bruton, the talented Clonliffe runner, for the big weekend programme at Santry Stadium.

Bruton lost his fight for fitness after a brave attempt to recover from a hamstring problem sustained during the eastern regional championships last weekend.

It means a first chance in the 1,500 metres for Andrew Walker, one of a set of talented twins from Newbridge, who provided evidence of his improvement by shaving three seconds off his previous best figures for the distance with a winning time of three minutes 44.1 seconds in midweek.

Earlier there was speculation that the vacancy would go to Walker's UCD clubmate, James Nolan, who was squeezed out of the team at 800 metres, but it soon emerged that he was not available to run the longer distance.

Walker, a fine prospect, is likely to run well, but Bruton's withdrawal weakens the squad, already depleted by the absence of the two Cork men, Mark Carroll and John Murray.

Two years ago, Bruton was one of those responsible for Ireland's promotion to the First Division of the European Cup and his value to the team was again illustrated in Lisbon 12 months ago when, together with Murray, he produced the team's only individual successes.

On that occasion, the Irish finished fifth but with Sweden and Finland, both coming down from the Super League this year, the challenge awaiting the home team is, if anything, even more demanding now.

The inclusion of the two Scandanavian teams is likely to heighten the competitive element in the middle distance events, traditionally the most productive for Ireland. To that extent, the loss of Bruton and Carroll will be particularly expensive.

And with Portugal, Austria, Holland, Belgium and Switzerland completing the eight team group, the Irish may do well to replicate last year's fifth placing in the Portuguese capital.

Sadly, the Irish women's team is still fated to trade in the Second Division and to that extent, there will be no immediate local interest in the women's section of the Santry programme.

Yet, with Portugal's Olympic champion, Fernanda Ribeiro in action in the 5,000 metres and Lyudmila Engquist (Sweden) and Slovenia's Brigita Bukovec meeting in a repeat of their dramatic finish to the Olympic 100 metres hurdles final, this is, unquestionably, the classiest meeting to be staged in Dublin for years.

If the middle order on the track looks uncommonly weak in Ireland's men's team, there may be some compensation in the improved sprinting performances of the Ryans, Neil and Gary, and Tom McGuirk's growing reputation as an international competitor.

McGuirk is scheduled to run in three events, the 400 metres flat and hurdles as well as the 4 x 400 metres relay - the most revealing of them may well be the hurdles in which six athletes, including the Irishman, have all been below 50 seconds. Some dramatic hurdling is guaranteed.

David Matthews may be primed for a big run in the 800 metres and there will be high hopes also, for Mullingar's Cormac Finnerty in the 3,000 metres race.

Finnerty, an athlete who generally thrives on the big challenge was originally nominated for the 5,000 metres. That task now transfers to Clonliffe's Noel Cullen.

Sean Lonergan, recuperating from injury, is replaced in the triple jump by Norman Stevenson of Wexford but the switch is not significant.

There will be genuine disappointment, however, if Nick Sweeney, Roman Linscheid and the team captain, Terry McHugh fail to score well in the throwing events, although Sweeney may be restricted by injury.

The women's programme is on paper the best presented in this country Fernanda Ribeiro, who produced that astonishing finish to deprive Wang Junxia of the Olympic 10,000 metres championship in Atlanta, will give value for money in the 5,000 metres today.

Anne Marie Sandel, a former European champion, will represent Finland in the 3,000 metres. But the Finns will not, it seems, have the assistance of their Olympic javelin champion, Heli Rantanen.

The race which will captivate the crowd is the women's 100 metres hurdles where Lyudmila Engquist and Brigita Bulovec renew their Atlanta rivalry. On that occasion the Russian athlete, now a naturalised Swede, recovered to catch Bulovec on the line.