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In 1985 Tommy Dillon a former body builder and two times Mr. Ireland built a shed in the back yard of his home at No. 219 O'Malley Park, Southill. But this was to be no ordinary shed. This was to become a training ground and a home to Powerlifting Champions.

Powerlifting is a specialised and extreme form of weightlifting. There are three aspects to it. The squat lift is designed to test the strength of the legs. The bench press, is a test designed to test the strength of the chest, arms and triceps, while the deadlift is basically a back exercise.

Since its commencement fifteen years ago the Club has maintained an impressive record. They filled the winning Irish A team for the European Cup this year . Members have over the years repeatedly broken records and won trophies all over the world - often against professional opposition.

Numbered among Tommy's 30 strong award winning membership is Ger McNamara, proprietor of General Upholstery Services in Limerick, and World Champion Powerlifter.

Ger who joined the gym at 13 years of age, was "always fascinated with strength". "I was just that bit stronger than normal," he says modestly. "I weighed about 6 stone and I squatted 150 kilos".

Ger now weighs about 10 stone and can squat about 700 lbs. - 5 times his own bodyweight. He has been 18 times Irish Champion, 6 times European Champion, 12 times Celtic Champion and he has won the World Games. He was World Champion in 1987, '92 and last year in Torento Italy. All of Ger's trips to competitions have been self funded as there is no Government aid or subsidy for Powerlifting. This has meant that this year he could not defend his World title - without funding the financial burden was just too much.

The Irish Weightlifting Association gets £5, 500 approximately a year from the Sports Council. But since the Powerlifters split from the Weightlifters nearly four years ago - they have got nothing at all.

Tommy Dillon now aged 58, and still breaking records himself is hopeful that funding for competition and new facilities will come through. In the meantime he and his protégés will continue to train in the shed at the end of the garden.

Featured in RTE's 'Nationwide' programme. If you have any interesting Limerick stories which you think might be of interest to the Nationwide team, you can send them to CVP, Capital Buildings, Catherine Street, Limerick, Ireland or e-mail cvp@eircom.net

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