Cuchulainn Claim Cycling Ireland Club of the Year

Cuchulainn Cycling club was one of 10 nominees for the prestigious national competition of Club of the Year 2017 run by Cycling Ireland. Club Members and the Club officers Sé Weston, Pat O’Shaughnessy, Karl Dolan and Philip Kerley attended the annual awards ceremony in the Crow nPlaza, Dublin on last Saturday night in the hope of winning for the third time in a decade.

The award, based upon the votes of cyclists within Cycling Ireland, is the highest accolade a club can achieve in Ireland. Before the event, club chairman Sé Weston had nervous expectation saying“Cuchulainn Cycling club with 400 members from all over Louth, caters for cyclists of all ages and abilities. This year our members and volunteers organised and ran children’s and adults beginners classes for road and mountain bikers, weekly training and leisure spins on and off road, one of the best sportive’s in the country, The Tour of Louth, and The Lap of Louth, a fundraiser for SOSAD. These non competitive and training events were complemented by our competitive leagues, on and off road, for those who like greater cycling challenges.

Many of our cyclists entered and were successful in all Ireland competitive events with Jimmy Flynn winning a national title and Ann Duffy (Newry), Alan Bingham (Hilltown), Liam Dolan (Dundalk) and David Holland (Blackrock) making their mark with podium and gold medal finishes in national races. The club also had a Rás team that featured prominently in stages of this international Irish race.

“We should have a great chance of winning. Cuchulainn is a well run club that is dependent onvolunteers to project manage, coordinate and marshal all it’s events. We have become an integralpart of the community in Louth and provide sporting opportunities for all cyclists.”

After much anticipation in the room the award for club of the year was presented to Cuchulainn to applause and cheers within the hall. A delighted Pat O’Shaughnessy, Club Vice Chairman said,“This is a great reward for the efforts of all club members and in particular those who took part in new initiatives in 2017 which included, children’s safe-cycling programs, a new cyclocross league and mountain bike training for beginners. The club is on the up.”

Club Secretary Karl Dolan was ecstatic with the evenings drama as he also accepted The Bike Shop of the year award as co-proprietor of the The Bike Station, the newest bike shop in Louth and sponsor of the club's hugely successful Summer Cycling League. On the club he said “ Our overall objective is to introduce everyone to cycling as a sport for life. In the long run Cuchulainn CC wants to provide some form of permanent safe venue for cycle sport”. Speaking about The Bike Station with his business partner Ray Fedigan, they agreed that it was their personal service, well trained staff and professional approach that gave them an edge.“We believe in giving our cyclist customers, the time, information and support to help them choose the bike and kit that is right for them.”

The night could not have gone better for Louth and Dundalk with Eve McCrystal, no stranger tocycling podiums also receiving the prestigious award for best female cyclist 2017. Philip Kerleythe clubs CPO said “Cuchulainn is very proud of Eve, a former member, who continues to have avery successful international career. She is an inspiration to all with her dedication andcommitment.”

Cuchulainn CC hopes to use this award to attract more people to cycling and to develop is

strategy to provide a permanent safe venue for cyclists of all disciplines to enjoy.