Message from the Committee.
We were very saddened to hear of the passing of honorary life time member and friend to many at our club, Mick Corcoran (aged 86) earlier this week.
Mick was a fabulous and talented athlete. Through the 1950’s he achieved at a very high level and made significant contributions to Macclesfield Harriers.
We send our condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.
The funeral is at 10.00am on 1st February 2024 at Macclesfield Crematorium.
The family have requested Family flowers only please and any donations to Hollins Park care home, Victoria Road, Macclesfield,
Below is an article from the June 2017 Edition of the Club’s GO! Magazine written by a friend, colleague & fellow athlete David Jackson and also a picture gallery of some of Mick’s races and successes.
MICK CORCORAN – Honorary Member
At this year’s A.G.M. and presentation evening my friend Mick Corcoran was awarded Honorary Life Membership of Macclesfield Harriers. It was given to Mick in recognition of his achievements when representing our club in the 1950s.
In the early 50s Mick and I attended Macclesfield Central School for Boys. Mick was several years older than me and had already carved out a reputation for himself as a runner winning the school’s annual cross country race every year. It was already evident in those early years that Mick had a special talent and could “run the legs off” everyone else in the school. I remember doing some 800 metre sessions on the school field with Mick and being lapped, which was not a pleasant experience from my point of view.
With this ability it was obvious that Mick would have a successful running career, and so it proved. Once he was representing Macclesfield Harriers the results began to flow.
- Cheshire Youths Champion Cross Country 1955 and Senior Champion in 1959.
- East Lancashire Youth Champion 1955, Junior champion 1956-57-58, and became senior champion 1959.
- Best National performance was 3rd in the juniors 1958.
- British Army Steeplechase Champion in 1958.
- Represented England in a combined Services event in 1958 and in an International event in France.
To put these bald facts into some sort of context for you, Mick was competing against athletes who would go on to establish careers at world level. Such as the great Ron Hill who was European Marathon Champion in 1969, Gordon Pirie and Dereck Ibbotson, World Mile record holder 1957. Incidentally Ron Hill had a habit of coming second to Mick in the East Lancs before achieving fame.
It was at the end of the 50s when Mick decided to end his running career which was a blow to the club. I’m sure Mick would have had a great future in the running world. Mick then turned his attention to his other great love, football; he went on to play for Macclesfield Town and Congleton.
Throughout the years since our youth, our paths have continued to cross. We both worked for G.P.O. and then for the greater part of our working life at I.C.I. Pharmaceuticals/Zeneca, Mick went on to become a most respected Senior Shop Steward at the Macclesfield site who was well respected by all his colleagues. Every time we met on Mill Street Mick asked me how my running is going, oh! If only I’d had half his talent.
David Jackson
A Gallery of Mick Corcoran’s achievements
