Gallery & Race Report: Hell of The West Turns 40!
Limerick Triathlon Club’s legendary Hell of the West Triathlon had it’s 40th iteration this weekend, and the race first held in 1985 certainly lived up to its reputation.
One of the most iconic races in Ireland, read about the history of the event in Limerick Triathlon Club’s special report at the link below. Since first taking place, the event has become one of the longest-running and most recognisable races on the Irish triathlon calendar.
Organisers Limerick Triathlon Club created an incredible atmosphere for their 40th Annniversary celebrations, and there were a number of participants who took part in that first race in 1985 taking part on Saturday, including Michael and Joan Griffin who were involved in organising the very first event in Kilkee. We had the chance to catch up with Michael and Joan at the event in 2025, watch their interview below.
Weather conditions on the day resulted in a revised swim course, with competitors completing two laps inside the harbour rather than the traditional route outside the bay. The revised course featured an Aussie Exit at the halfway point, with triathletes running onto the beach to begin their second lap.
Full event gallery by Inpho Photography’s Bryan Keane at the end of this article.
daly does the double
This race last year was Galway TC athlete Laura Daly’s first Triathlon National Series win on the standard distance course, and she repeated the win this year. Hell of the West was Daly’s second Triathlon National Series event of the season, having finished second at her home race Tribesman Triathlon last month.
Out of the water behind Piranha TC’s Vanessa Fenton, Daly led from the early stages of the bike onwards. After a slow T1, Fenton put in the fastest bike of the day to try and close the gap, however Laura Daly put in the quickest 10k run of the field to hold on to the title first won last year. Vanessa Fenton finished in second, following up her second place at TriAthy in May. Cork TC’s Ciara Greene in third. Greene overtook Lisa Horgan on the run to secure her third step on the podium, and her first time on a Triathlon National Series podium.
Mongey masters kilkee
Donal Mongey (Naas TC) claimed the open title in a winning time of 2:09:46, using the fastest bike split of the day to build an advantage that proved enough to hold off Tralee TC’s Denis Hegarty. Kilkee was Mongey’s second domestic appearance this season, he was second at Galway TC’s Tribesman Triathlon last month.
Always one to watch on the run, Hegarty put in the fastest run split of the field for a 34:30 10k to secure his podium spot. Currently fourth in the Triathlon National Series standings, Hegarty has already podiumed in Centra Fastnet Schull and Camida Clonmel triathlons this year. A previous Triathlon National Series winner, Cork TC’s Donncha Kiely was third following up his strong results in Schull and at Cobh Jailbreak.
Gallery
Bryan Keane is still the course record holder at Hell of the West, and was on hand for Inpho Photography to capture all the action as it unfolded!
You can download your images below, and don’t forget to tag us when you share to your socials.
