Maeve Esther Enid Kyle,
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, née Shankey (born 6 October 1928), is an Irish Olympic athlete and hockey player. She was born in
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the ...
.
She competed in the 100m and 200m in the
Melbourne Olympics and subsequently in the
Rome Olympics and
Tokyo Olympics (where she reached the semi-finals of both the 400m and 800m). She took bronze in the 400m at the 1966
European Indoor Athletics Championships
The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field competition for European athletes that is organised by the European Athletic Association. It was held for the first time in 1970, replacing the European Indoor Games, ...
in
Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is th ...
.
She won four gold medals in the W45 category at the
1977 World Masters Championship in
Gothenburg in the 100m, 400m, high jump, and long jump. She held
World Masters records in the W40 category for the 100m (12.00 secs) and 400m (55.30 secs), in the W45 category for the 100m (12.50 secs), and in the W50 category for the long jump at 5.04m.
In
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
, she gained 58 Irish caps as well as representing three of the four Irish provinces (Leinster, Munster and
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
) at different stages of her career. She was named in the World All Star team in 1953 and 1959.
She was also a competitor in tennis, swimming, sailing and cricket and now works as a coach. She is chair of Coaching NI. In 2006, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) from the
University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster University coat of arms.png
, caption =
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
.
Kyle briefly attended
Kilkenny College
Kilkenny College is an independent Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. The school's students are mainly ...
where her father C.G. Shankey was headmaster, before attending
Alexandra College
Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos.
History
The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...
and finally,
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
. She is the granddaughter of
William Thrift. Kyle was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2006 Coaching Awards in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in recognition of her work with athletes at the Ballymena and Antrim Athletics Club. Earlier in 2006 she was one of 10 players who were initially installed into Irish hockey's Hall of Fame.
She was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
2008 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008.
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...
.
Athletics international competitions
References
External links
Maeve KyleBallymena & Antrim Athletics ClubKyle named OBE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle, Maeve
1928 births
Living people
Irish female field hockey players
Olympic athletes for Ireland
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games competitors for Northern Ireland
Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
Athletes from County Kilkenny
People educated at Kilkenny College
Irish female sprinters
Irish female middle-distance runners
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
People educated at Alexandra College
Irish Anglicans
Ireland international women's field hockey players
Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club players
Instonians field hockey players
Olympic female sprinters
Field hockey players from County Kilkenny