Declan breaks Dublin City Marathon record for County Roscommon

The County Roscommon record for the Irish Life Dublin City Marathon was broken last weekend by Declan Ryan who crossed the line with a finishing time of two hours 45 minutes.

Declan, originally from the Racecourse Road, Roscommon and now living in Knockcroghery, broke the county’s previous record by three minutes.

Remarkably, two of Declan’s siblings also recorded impressive times at the marathon, with his brother Paddy finishing in two hours 40 minutes, and his sister Anna finishing in  two hours 55 minutes. While Paddy finished with a slightly faster time than Declan, Declan broke the County Roscommon record as his brother is a member of a Donegal club.

It has been a quick learning curve for Declan and Anna, who only joined the Roscommon Harriers club in 2022 following their brother Paddy’s footsteps. He is a member of Milford AC, Letterkenny.

“We got into running in the last four years, myself and my sister joined in with the Roscommon Harriers, and we just got straight into it,” explained Declan.

“For the first couple of months it was tough going, but the times started coming down and then we said we’d put up the mileage, from half marathons to marathons and we just kept at it.” Both Declan and Anna have made huge progress since joining the Roscommon Harriers.

“Running with the Harriers is great, we meet on a Tuesday and Thursday at seven in the evening and then for a long run on a Sunday where we meet at Hannon’s Hotel. It’s a great club,”  said  Declan.

Before breaking County Roscommon's record at the Dublin City Marathon last weekend, Declan had represented Team Ireland at the European Prison Service Games, coming third in the cross-country competition.

He extended credit to the club’s director of coaching Frank Murphy and his brother Paddy for their coaching advice, and he also thanked his wife Jenny for her patience during training.