Tom O'Riordan
Former Irish Olympic Athlete
Tom O'Riordan, from the little village of Ardfert in North
Kerry, is one of Kerry's, and indeed, Ireland's, greatest athletes.
He achieved the highest honor when he represented Ireland in the
5000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics 1964. He went on to become a
noted sports journalist with the Irish Independent, and here on
Terrace Talk he recalls, in detail, his magnificent career.
I n 1957, Tom O' Riordan was offered an athletic scholarship to
Idaho State University U.S.A. Here, he went on to become a world-class
athlete, winning both the National Inter-Collegiate Cross-Country
Championship and also the 3,000 meter steeplechase title. He dominated
many events in the white-hot competition of America, winning nine
Conference Championships in the mile and two-mile distances.
He returned to Ireland in 1962, following two years under the great
Hungarian coach Michel Igloi. There, he blazed a trail of victories,
winning 12 Irish National Cross-Country Club Championships. He ran
for Ireland on many occasions and just failed to win the British
A.A.A. title as he was just beaten by the great Bruce Tullon.
Tom O'Riordan must rank with the greatest of Irish athletes - Ronnie
Delaney, Eamon Coughlan, John Treacy and others, as one of Ireland's
all-time greats.
Listen to Tom O'Riordan (Full listening
instructions available here)
1. You must have RealPlayer installed on your computer to listen
to the interviews.
2. (Listen Now) : Allows you to hear the interview without saving
it to your computer.
3. (Download) : Allows you to save the interview and listen to it
whenever you want.
Part 1>> Tom tells us how
he feels about getting into the hall of fame in his home town. He
then talks to Weeshie about being "heartbroken" and homesick
when he left for America to concentrate on his career.
(Listen now)____(Download)
Part 2>> Tom talks about
other Irish sports men who influenced him and of biggest achievements.
(Listen now)____(Download)
Part 3>> Tom's teammates
in the Olympics, Tom's career after the Olympics, his best athlete
and sporting moment, Tom's pride in Kerry
(Listen now)____(Download)
Terrace Talk Audio Interviews 
