Cummin Clancy was one of the leading discus throwers in these islands in the late 1940s, winning the AAA discus title in 1948 just weeks before the London Olympic Games, and went on to receive an athletics scholarship to Villanova University in the United States following those Games - one of the first Irish athletes to benefit from this route to international competition. From a farming family in Oughterard, County Galway, Clancy was introduced to the discus through a family connection with Ned Tobin, a Garda and national discus champion who trained at the Clancy farm with his brother. Clancy began returning throws to Tobin and quickly surpassed his mentor's distances. Tobin encouraged him to join An Garda Siochana. He joined Donore Harriers where veteran coach Tom Maguire refined his technique, while spending winter months playing rugby for St Mary's College and winning Connacht inter-provincial honours for three successive seasons. He won the AAUE national discus titles in 1947 (43.20m) and 1948 (40.54m) and the AAA championship in 1948 (42.22m). In London he competed in the discus but did not advance to the final throws. He was part of the AAUE contingent admitted through IOC intervention.
Athletics
