University College Cork

Donie has been at the core of Irish athletics for most of his life. He earned a scholarship to Villanova University in the USA, and competed in several NCAA championships. He has raced against some of the best athletes in the world, including the legendary American, Steve Prefontaine.

His greatest successes came in the early 1970s, when he won five 10000m National Championships on the track in six years, ran the marathon for Ireland in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, and won numerous other cross country and track & field titles. He was a scoring member of the Irish team that took silver in the World Cross Country Championships in 1979, on the day that John Treacy won the race for the second time.

Donie is also a coach and founding member of Leevale Athletic Club in Cork.