17/10/2026
Thanks to our visiting family Stewart Ruth and Jacob Cooper from Meadowmill parkrun in Scotland 🏴 for our run report today
-----------
On a crisp, sunny morning, we made the short bus journey from our Dublin hotel to Waterstown Park for our first experience of parkrun in Ireland.
We arrived in plenty of time, shortly before Run Director Darren arrived to finalise preparations for the 556th edition of the event.
Our first impressions were very positive. Waterstown Park is a peaceful setting, with plenty of open green space and the impressive Farmleigh Clock Tower looking down over the park. Before long, 89 runners, joggers and walkers had gathered to enjoy their Saturday morning 5K.
We were among 11 first-timers at Waterstown and gathered for an informative course briefing from Ann, who explained what to expect along the route. Run Director Darren then brought everyone together for the main pre-run briefing, welcoming us as visitors from Scotland and congratulating Robert Francis, who was celebrating his 250th run at Waterstown, contributing to an impressive total of 407 parkruns overall.
We then made our way to the start and were soon underway. The route initially climbs before taking a couple of bends and descending towards a bridge, followed by a particularly pleasant stretch overlooking the picturesque River Liffey. After crossing a second bridge, we faced a steady uphill section before completing the first of two loops. The second loop follows the same route, followed by a steeper but rewarding climb towards the finish.
Overall, it’s a really enjoyable course. By no means an easy 5K, the uphill sections provide a challenge, but there is plenty of flat and downhill running to balance things out. I was pleased, and slightly surprised, to finish just under 24 minutes, around my average parkrun time. There’s always something particularly satisfying about finishing strongly on an uphill stretch! I then helped with barcode scanning.
First finisher Philip Doyle crossed the line in an impressive 19:43, while the first female finisher, Niamh Doran, finished in 24:41. The highest age grade of the morning was 79.85%, achieved by Paul Graham in the VM60–64 category. He completed the course in 20:26, finishing third in the process.
Although the conditions were a little on the cool side, they were otherwise ideal for running. Congratulations to everyone who achieved a new personal best. Seven PBs were recorded: Mphatso Chintedza, John Crowther, Thomas Halton, Jason Flynn, Anthony McLoughlin, Jia Ma and Moses Ndunda.
Orla G., Maebh G. and Olivia Merriman chose Waterstown as the location for their first ever parkrun. Congratulations to them on beginning what I hope is a fun and rewarding parkrun journey.
My son Jacob filmed the event for his YouTube channel, parkruns and ferries, so look out for his video coming soon. My wife, Ruth, took on the role of tailwalker.
Afterwards, I enjoyed an excellent breakfast bap and coffee from The Coach House, which was busy with parkrunners, volunteers and local customers alike.
The event was brilliantly organised and supported by 13 volunteers: Ann GERAGHTY, Arno QUEYRAS, Barry MURPHY, Darren KINSELLA, David KELLY, Grace GORMLEY, Grace JORDAN, Helen DORAN, Kevin KIELY, Louise ROONEY, Ruth COOPER, Stewart COOPER and Tadhg C.. Thank you all for making the event such an enjoyable experience.
There are plenty of parkruns to choose from in the Dublin area, but we had earmarked Waterstown for a visit during our short city break several weeks earlier. It turned out to be an excellent choice.
As well as being a lovely location, Waterstown has a friendly and welcoming team, a relaxed atmosphere and a real sense of community. It is smaller than some of the other nearby events, but that only adds to its charm. There was plenty of conversation and encouragement between participants, many of whom clearly knew each other well. In terms of friendliness and size, it is comparable with our home parkrun of Meadowmill in East Lothian, 10 miles from Edinburgh.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I would highly recommend Waterstown parkrun Dublin to any parkrun tourists visiting Dublin who fancy a short trip out of the city centre. You’ll find a scenic course, a warm welcome and a lovely community atmosphere – a great combination for a Saturday morning parkrun!
