Steve Lawless (born 1937 or 1938) from

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, was an Irish

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

and later cycling administrator, holding office at club and national level in Irish cycling over more than 15 years, including spells as co-director of the

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland (Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. Th ...

stage race and as national president, and helping to drive the unification of the sport on the island of Ireland.

Cycling career

Lawless began cycling with the

Dublin Wheelers Dublin Wheelers is a cycling club operating from the northside of Dublin, Ireland 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, County ...

cycling club in the 1950s, participating in road races and time trials.

National roles

Having held various club offices, he was nominated by the Dublin Wheelers and elected as General Secretary of the internationally recognised cycling federation, the CRÉ, in 1960, at the young age of 22. He stepped down from two posts, General Secretary and International Secretary, in 1968, but continued as a member of the executive. The Dublin Wheelers were very active in national cycling governance in the 1960s and 1970s, with, in 1972, for example, Liam King as general secretary and Joe Doyle as treasurer, in addition to

Donal O'Connell Donal O'Connell (192826 January 2016), Dublin, Ireland, was an Irish road racing cyclist, and later cycling sport administrator. He set several national records and qualified for the Olympic Games, and served as a race official and administrat ...

as road racing secretary, Paddy McInerney time trial secretary, and Lawless organiser of the Tour of Ireland, while

Willie Marks William Marks, born 1919 or 1920 in Dublin, Ireland, was an Irish road racing cyclist, and later cycling administrator, and one of the longest-participating club members in Irish cycling, joining the Dublin Wheelers Dublin Wheelers is a cy ...

also competed for a national committee general position. Along with

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 P.R.O. for several years, all of these served many years in national sport organisation. Having been elected afresh as General Secretary in 1973, after two years Lawless ran for the post of national cycling president in 1975. As president in 1978, he played a leading role in the final negotiations which led to the form of the provisional national unity body, the Tripartite Committee. After the successful formation of the permanent unified national federation, then the Federation of Irish Cyclists (FIC), Lawless took an eight-year break from national administration, returning in 1988 as Chairman of a newly-formed Mid-Eastern Regional Committee.

Later club career

He was chairman of the Dublin Wheelers as late as 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Steve Year of birth unknown Irish male cyclists Dublin Wheelers cyclists Irish cycling administrators