Norman McEachern won five Irish 880 yards titles between 1921 and 1928 and competed in the men’s 800 metres at both the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games, reaching the semi-final on each occasion.

Born in Edinburgh, his family moved to Dublin when he was an infant, and he joined Clonliffe Harriers at the age of fifteen after meeting the club’s well-known trainer and captain Tommy Burton, who encouraged him to move from sprinting to distance running.

He also won the Irish 440 yards title in 1921 and the 800 metres at the 1924 Tailteann Games in 1:56.8 at Croke Park. At Paris in 1924, he qualified from his heat before finishing fifth in his semi-final.

At Amsterdam in 1928, he again reached the semi-final, competing there less than two weeks before representing the British Empire in a 4 x 880 yards relay against the USA at Stamford Bridge, London.

After his athletics career, McEachern became managing director of Goulding Fertilisers in Wicklow town, retiring in 1965, and served as captain, president and secretary of Wicklow Golf Club, president of Wicklow Tennis Club, and president of the Wicklow and District Chamber of Commerce in 1964/65.

He passed away on March 19th 1986 in Wicklow, aged 86.