Dublin Wheelers is a cycling club operating from the northside of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

since 1933. As of 2022, it is based in Santry.

History

The club was established in 1933 by a group of six friends on a weekend away cycling in

Rostrevor Rostrevor () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nearby. ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. The club founders were Eric Mason, David Perkins, Jim Doogue, Joe Walsh, Tommy and Leo McManmon. At peak a couple of hundred riders would depart from outside the offices of the Irish Press in Dublin. A touring section later developed, and the club ran well-attended time trials. The club was one of only 2-3 Irish cycling clubs to have a fixed base, in its case a converted bus on a site in Ashtown, near the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

Notable members

The most notable past member of the club is the great

Shay Elliott Seamus "Shay" Elliott (4 June 1934 – 4 May 1971) was an Irish road bicycle racer, Ireland's first major international rider, with a record comparable only to Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. He was the first Irish person to ride the Tour de F ...

who won the

Irish National Cycling Championships The Irish National Cycling Championships are annual cycling races to decide the Irish cycling champion for several disciplines, across several categories of rider. The men's road championship is usually held on a Sunday at end of June; the wome ...

in 1952 and 1954. He was the first Irish person to embark on a professional career, in 1956, and won stages in the three big tours of France, Italy and Spain. In 1962 he finished 2nd in the World Championship Road Race in Salo and in 1963 he was the first Irish man to wear the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France. To great excitement at the time he heroically held on to the Jersey for three days. In recognition of his great achievements he was awarded honorary life membership of Dublin Wheelers.Shay Elliott-Cycle of Betrayal
- 2009 Documentary - Zampano Productions Another member was Christy Kimmage, who rode in the World Championships, and three of whose family, including

Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for ''The ...

were also active in Irish cycling, while another member, Willie Marks, was active from 1936 to 2014 (aged 95). Members of the club also played a strong role in the national cycling bodies, CRE and later the Irish Cycling Federation, which after later mergers now operates as

Cycling Ireland Cycling Ireland ( ga, Rothaíocht Éireann) or CI is the operating name of the national governing body of the sport of cycling in the island of Ireland. Formally the body is a charitable company limited by guarantee, the Irish Cycling Federat ...

, notably Steve Lawless as general secretary and later president, Donal O'Connell as a race planner and selector, Joe Doyle as national treasurer for more than a decade, and

Ian Gallahar Ian Gallahar was an Irish road racing cyclist, and later race organiser, and national and international commissaire, involved in the organisation of the sport in Ireland and internationally for more than 30 years. Cycling career Gallahar cycl ...

as PR Officer, all also serving as race officials. Donal O’Connell and Paddy McInerney co-founded the veterans association, which O’Connell led for many years. Others organised national races.

Today

Dublin Wheelers is active in Irish club bicycle racing, and has redeveloped a touring section. The club welcomes new members and the rise in cycling's popularity saw it grow from under 50 to around 90 between 2007 and 2012, and further since.

Honours

References

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External links

Dublin Wheelers Cycling Club website
Dublin Wheelers Cycling clubs Cycling teams established in 1933 1933 establishments in Ireland