• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Irish America

Irish America

Irish America

  • HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
    • ABOUT US
    • IRISH AMERICA TEAM
  • IN THIS ISSUE
  • HALL OF FAME
  • THE LISTS
    • BUSINESS 100
    • HALL OF FAME
    • HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 50
    • WALL STREET 50
  • LIBRARY
  • TRAVEL
  • EVENTS

Olympians

A Coach, a Friend, a Mentor, and a
Chariots of Fire Moment

By Joe Quinlan
IA Newsletter, August 3, 2024

July 31, 2024 by 10 Comments

Coach Tom Donnelly is surrounded by Haverford alums and former team members at a 2020 event celebrating Donnelly's 45th season. Photo by Holden Blanco '17, Haverford College.

The 21st century Paris Olympics are in full swing … exactly 100 years since the 1924 Olympics, made famous by the Oscar-winning “Chariots of Fire” movie (cue the theme music and the iconic beach running scene). Some 50 years ago, I had a brief intersection with those same Olympics, but youthful arrogance on my part limited the impact. In September 1975, I had a chance encounter … [Read more...] about

A Coach, a Friend, a Mentor, and a
Chariots of Fire Moment

Primary Sidebar

Featured Video

Featured Podcast

News from the Irish Post

  • Irish academic awarded €6m for pioneering multiple sclerosis study

    AN Irish academic has been awarded a significant sum of research funding to support a pioneering ...

  • Taoiseach: ‘Every death by suicide is a tragedy’

    THE Irish Government has pledged to reduce suicide rates across the country over the next ten yea...

  • Information board unveiled in Welsh town once known as ‘Little Ireland’

    AN INFORMATION board honouring the Irish connections of an historic Welsh town has been unveiled ...

  • Galway cheese named ‘best in UK and Ireland’

    A GOAT’S cheese made in county Galway has been named the best in the UK and Ireland. Killeen Farm...

May 30, 1971

Murphy wearing the U.S. Army khaki "Class A" uniform with full-size medals, 1948.
Murphy wearing the U.S. Army khaki “Class A” uniform with full-size medals, 1948.

Audie Murphy, the most decorated combat soldier of World War II, died tragically on this day in a plane crash. He was 46. Audie, one of 9 children, was born on June 20, 1924, near the town of Kingston, Texas. “We were share-crop farmers,” he wrote. “And to say that the family was poor would be an understatement. Poverty dogged our every step.” When he was 18, Audie enlisted in the army. The slight, freckle-faced kid was turned down by the Marines and the paratroopers before the infantry took him. He went on to earn 21 medals for bravery and the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Footer

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Newsletter

Additional

  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2026 · IrishAmerica Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in