A SHORT HISTORY OF OUR CLUB
There is some evidence of there being a cycling club in Killarney in the late 1800s but we have no information about it – please let us know you have any knowledge of this.
There was an active Killarney Athletic and Cycling Club at least after the WWII years but this was primarily an athletics club. While some grass-track cycling events were promoted as part of athletic meetings, there was no dedicated cycling club in the area until the 1980s.
Gene Mangan (Killorglin and Rás winner 1955) and Pat Moriarty (Cleeney, Killarney) grass-track racing in Fitzgerald Stadium, 1953.
FOUNDATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The club as we currently know it was founded in 1982 when two fourteen-year-olds – John Crowley and Niall O’Sullivan – wanted to get involved in cycling and the club was started by their fathers, Tadhg Crowley and John A. O’Sullivan.
Both parents were keen sportspeople and had been very instrumental in bringing the Rás Tailteann to Killarney on a number of occasions. The atmosphere of those Rás events was the main inspiration to the young John and Niall. The initial development of the club was much helped by the support and advice given by Kerry cycling stars of the day such as Gene Mangan, Pat Healy and John Mangan.
The launch of Killarney Cycling Club in 1982; John Crowley and Niall O’Sullivan
Senior riders soon became active in the club and it is thought that Seán Curtis, Mat Slattery, and Paul Curtis may have been the first club members to do the Rás Tailteann in 1985.
The young riders also continued to develop and, five years after its foundation, the club was able to field a team in the Junior Tour of Ireland in 1987, consisting of Ger Neeson, Gordon Tangney, Derek Healy, Denis Cronin, and John Blackwell.
Many top-class riders emerged during the 1990s. Denis O’Shea was ‘leader on the road’ for a while in the 1998 Rás and finished tenth overall. The following year, O’Shea, along with John Blackwell and John McCarthy, were members of the Kerry team that helped their team-mate, Andy Roche, to win. Even though primarily riding for Roche, Blackwell got third in a stage to Killorglin and O’Shea finished ninth overall. These were the two best Rás results from Killarney riders.
The numbers involved in leisure cycling were relatively small initially but, in 2010, Simon Evans set up a mentoring programme for the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle, and numbers in this section of the club began to increase. This initiative was continued by Brendan Cassidy and, also helped by the introduction of the ‘Bike to Work Scheme’ in 2009 and the boom in cycling following the economic crash in 2008, numbers further increased.
The club was one of the first in the country to promote competitive mountain-biking – we were one of the first clubs to host a National Points League race in the early 1990s and continued to so for 10 consecutive years. We have enjoyed considerable success in this discipline at Youth, Junior and U23 levels with Jason Murphy, for example, having raced with Irish teams in European and World Championships at Youth and Junior levels. Similarly, Matt Slattery represented Ireland at European and World Championships at Junior and U23 levels.
A Youth Academy was set up in 2011 to bring an integrated approach to Youth development involving riders, coaches, and parents. From a base of just seven riders then, progress was rapid to point of winning national titles.
Click here … for an account of how the club’s kit has evolved since the early 1980s.
RECENT YEARS
Going into the 2020s, the club is one of the largest and most diverse in Ireland.
It has Senior racers competing up to national level in almost all categories.
The leisure section is very large and well structured with organized rides for every ability, led by trained Ride Leaders. A Mentoring Programme continues to help adult riders who need support to get back into road cycling and to join in the regular club rides.
The Youth Academy continues to prosper with the close involvement of parents, with riders reaching national-team level.
The off-road section of the club developed greatly and received a big boost from the development of the dedicated race-specific venue at Shronaboy Farm on the outskirts of the town – an initiative led by Denis O’Shea and Jason Murphy. Leisure off-road activities have been run in recent years.
The club also developed and supports Cycling Without Age in Killarney – a scheme that gets older and immobile people back out on bikes (trishaws).
John Crowley still competing and winning in 2019, with son Eoghan at Munster Cyclocross Championships
CHECK OUT THE LINKS BELOW FROM LOCAL MEDIA TO SEE MORE RECENT HEADLINES THAT OUR CLUB HAS BEEN MAKING:
- Killarney Cyclists Prominant in TransAtlantic Way Ultra (Tom Daly wins short-course event – July 2021)
- Youth has its fling on racecourse track (bike racing in Killarney Racecourse for the first time – July 2021)
- Club Seals Deal with Local Businesses (Announcement of three-year sponsorship deal for 2021-23 – Dec. 2020)
- Kissane Gets Upper Hand (Conor Kissane wins Kerry County Champinship – Sept. 2020)
- Munster TT title for Stefan Caulfield-Dreier (Stefan Caulfield-Dreier wins Munster Junior TT Championship – Sept. 2020)
- Pedal Power to open up new delights (launch of the club’s Cycling Without Age initiative – March 2020)
- Champion John earns his stripes (the club presents a County Champion’s kit to John Brosnan – March 2021)
- Pedal power puts Killarney on the podium (Killarney Youth riders dominate MTB blitz – Feb. 2020)
- Killarney cyclists pedal their way to glory (U-16 team wins third consecutive National Championship – August 2019)
- Conor Kissane wins the Lacey Cup (Killarney take the first big road-race of the year – March 2019)
- Patrick achieves one of his major goals (Patrick Galvin is selected for the Irish U-16 team – June 2019)
- Conor pedals his way on to Ireland team (Conor Kissane makes Irish Senior national team – April 2019)
- Patricia’s pedal power takes some beating (Leisure rider, Patricia Leane, receives special Leisure award for 2018 year – Feb. 2019)
- Killarney cyclists claim top team prize (Club wins the National Cyclocross Championship senior team prize – January 2019)
- Richard leads big Killarney challenge (Richard Maes, Munster Cyclocross and National Mountain Bike Cross-Country title holder – January 2019)
- Killarney shows its pedal power (Cyclocross report – November 2018)
- Busy and successful week for club (General racing news – May 2018)
- Killarney Cycling Club makes the Rás Tailteann Podium (Best county rider Maes on what the harder UCI Rás is like for Irish amateurs – May 2017)
- Jack gives it a lash in Italy (Junior MTB rider, Jack Murphy, represents Ireland at the European Championships – July 2017)
- Terrific treble for master Tom (Tom Daly wins three Masters National track titles)
- Killarney cyclist the best in Munster (Matt Slattery wins Munster Cyclocross title – January 2016)