Plenty of races arrive with a loud launch, a medal reveal and promises of becoming an annual tradition. A fair number quietly disappear before anyone has learned the course.
Hollymount has no such problem.
The Hollymount International Road Race returns to County Mayo on Sunday, November 15th for its 61st running. The event began in 1966 and has become one of the longest standing fixtures on the Irish road calendar, bringing generations of runners through the same small village every November.
The adult race is a permitted 10K over three laps, with a junior 3K starting earlier in the morning. Entries remain open at the time of writing, with the adult race costing €20 and the junior event priced at €5.
There are prettier races, flatter races and races with considerably more noise around them. Few can match Hollymount for history.
Sixty One Years On The Same Roads
The first Hollymount race was held in 1966, with brothers Sean and Tom Reilly involved in organising the event from the beginning.
It has since carried on through enormous changes in Irish athletics. Shoes, training methods and race technology have all moved forward. The basic Hollymount arrangement remains reassuringly familiar: runners gather in the village, race around the local roads and return to the community centre for refreshments and the prizegiving.
The list of people connected with the race reads like a walk through Irish distance running history. Past winners and participants include PJ Leddy, Tom Flanagan, Mick Molloy, Mick Hayden, Noel Berkeley and Catherina McKiernan.
McKiernan won the women’s 6K at the 50th anniversary event in 2015. Olympian Noel Berkeley, himself a four time winner at Hollymount during the 1990s, was also among the competitors that day.
The race has never relied solely on famous names. Its real strength is the number of people who return year after year. At the 60th edition in 2025, Ronnie Naylor completed the event more than half a century after first running in Hollymount. Mary Naylor returned 46 years after her own first appearance.
That is how a race lasts six decades. It becomes part of the year rather than another date placed on a calendar.
Three Laps And Nowhere To Hide
The adult 10K uses a three lap course through Hollymount and the surrounding roads.
Looped courses divide opinion. Some runners dislike seeing the same climb or corner more than once. Others enjoy knowing exactly what is waiting and using each circuit to measure effort. Hollymount gives participants three chances to get the pacing right and two chances to regret getting it wrong.
The route is undulating rather than brutally hilly, with approximately 51 metres of climbing across the full distance. Low stone walls line parts of the course, while narrow sections and the long acre split runners into defined lanes before they return towards the village.
The finish comes at the top of the street. That final rise will feel rather more significant on the third visit than it did during the opening lap.
There is still room for quick running. Cathal Kennedy won the 2025 race in 31:54, more than two minutes clear of the field, despite it being his first competitive 10K. Martina O’Connor led the women home in 40:15.
Those times underline the balance of the course. It is demanding enough to reward strength and good judgement, but fast runners can still move properly once they settle into the rhythm of the laps.
A Race Built For Spectators
The three lap format gives Hollymount something many rural road races lack: repeated contact between runners and spectators.
Supporters do not see the field vanish for 40 minutes before reappearing near the finish. They can watch the race develop on each circuit, see gaps open and close, and work out who has started with more enthusiasm than sense.
That should also help runners through the difficult middle section. Passing the village three times means regular noise and familiar faces, rather than a long isolated stretch with only a stone wall and your own breathing for company.
The compact route also makes the junior and adult races feel connected. The junior 3K begins at 10.45am, giving younger athletes their own race before the adult 10K starts at 11.30am.
For clubs travelling together, it creates a full morning of racing rather than one event followed by a quick departure.
A Competitive Club Race At A Fair Price
The event carries Athletics Ireland permit certificate 26/584 and uses a measured road course.
Adult entry costs €20, while the junior 3K costs €5. Both tickets remain selectable through the live Eventmaster page. Online sales are scheduled to stay open until 10am on race morning, unless the organiser closes entry earlier.
That is good value for an established race with official permitting, proper competition and more than sixty years of history behind it.
Registration, number collection, refreshments and the prizegiving will all take place at Hollymount Community Centre. The arrangement should keep the practical side straightforward, particularly if the November weather decides to remind everyone that they are in the west of Ireland.
Recent Fields Are Growing Again
The 2025 event attracted 146 finishers, its strongest turnout in six years.
That number will not trouble the organisers of a major city race, but Hollymount’s appeal lies elsewhere. A field of that size is large enough to produce genuine racing throughout the pack while remaining small enough for the event to retain its village character.
The race also continues to draw runners from outside Mayo. A group from the Liverpool area has made the journey for decades, maintaining the international element in the event’s name through commitment rather than branding.
One of the finest pieces of Hollymount history arrived in 2024. Michael Flanagan won the race 57 years after his father, Tom Flanagan, took victory in 1967. Tom was present to watch his son cross the line.
Moments like that cannot be manufactured by a new event. They require years, families and enough stubborn organisers to keep putting the race on.
Who Should Enter?
Hollymount is an obvious choice for club runners who prefer traditional road racing to a mass participation production.
The course offers a useful late season 10K test, particularly for athletes carrying fitness out of the autumn road and cross country calendar. The repeated laps allow experienced runners to race tactically, while first time visitors will understand the course fully after one circuit.
It should also appeal to anyone who values the history of the sport. Running Hollymount means joining an event that began before the first Dublin Marathon, before carbon plates and long before anybody photographed their breakfast for Strava.
The junior race makes it a strong club and family option, while the entry prices keep the morning accessible.
Race Essentials
- Event: Hollymount International Road Race
- Date: Sunday, November 15th, 2026
- Location: Hollymount, County Mayo
- Race Headquarters: Hollymount Community Centre
- Junior Distance: 3K
- Junior Start Time: 10.45am
- Junior Entry: €5
- Adult Distance: 10K
- Adult Start Time: 11.30am
- Adult Entry: €20
- Course: Three lap measured road course
- Profile: Undulating with approximately 51 metres of climbing
- Permit: Athletics Ireland certificate 26/584
- Entry Status: Open at the time of writing
- Online Entry Closes: 10am on race morning, unless closed earlier
- Enter: Eventmaster
Image: Hollymount International Road Race
