Philip Conway, the former Olympic Games shot putter, was among those honoured this weekend in the annual Irish Schools Athletics Foundation awards scheme, run in conjunction with Nestle. Conway, a multiple national champion who competed in the 1972 Games at Munich, was nominated for his outstanding service to Irish athletics and, in particular, his input at schools level.
P J Leddy, another established international competitor in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was given an award in recognition of his remarkable contribution to the development of the sport in Connacht.
Another man honoured from west of the Shannon was Liam Moggan. In this instance, however, much of his coaching and organisational work was carried out in Dublin and, at one point, he acted as trainer to the Dublin hurling team.
A fourth recipient, Robert Stevenson, was born in Glasgow but has been living in Ireland since the 1940s. He has been one of the prime personalities in the administration of schools athletics in Ulster for more than 40 years.
Announcing the awards, Michael Hunt, the president of the Irish Schools Athletics Association, paid tribute to the continuing assistance of Nestle. They have been been involved in schools athletics for 37 years, making it the longest unbroken sponsorship in Irish sport.
