April 15, 1974

On this day in 1974, Neil Cusack of Co. Limerick was the first Irishman to with the Boston Marathon. The first Boston Marathon took place in 1897, and was won by Irish-American athlete John McDermott with a time of 2:55:10. Cusack’s record-setting victory was a significant improvement, with a time of 2:13:39. He went on to compete in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, where he placed 55th, and won the Dublin Marathon in 1981 with a time of 2:13:58.