I don’t even know if I ever liked the Gorey but, by Golly, I’ll miss it
~ Andy Lakes
Recently, I was hurling my flabby body around the dancefloor at a 50th birthday party in St. Mark’s GAA Club in Tallaght. As I flopped down to gorge on some recovery onion rings, cocktail sausages and goujons, some memories flooded back to me. It was in this building, back on Easter Monday 1998 where club hero Greg McCambridge let out a triumphant roar when the race director announced,
‘Overall winners of the team prize, St. Tiernan’s CC’
What a day. A successful Gorey 3 Day. My first.
It was sad to hear that this year’s edition of the race was cancelled due to lack of numbers. Back in the day, this was possibly the most popular race on the calendar for Easter weekend. There were the Tour of the North and the Tour of Munster, both tougher races but the Gorey was no pushover. It had its own magic. With no First Category riders, it was theoretically less difficult. But with less big climbs it was always incredibly fast.
With scenes on Stage 1 like something out of the chariot race in Ben Hur, you’d see riders crash on straight roads or ploughing into ditches. I saw one guy smash into the Race Director’s motorbike. I’m convinced I even heard explosions through the mayhem as the wheat (competent riders) was separated from the chaff (me).
During the 1996 edition, I remember sitting at home watching updates on Aertel (remember that?) to see club legend Brian Lennon was 2nd Overall going into the last day. I noted that he was only 2 minutes down. Hopping on my bike, I pedalled furiously over to Manor Kilbride to watch the finale. Upon arriving, I was informed that I had misread the results and he was only 2 seconds down. They had a race radio at the finish and we could hear the stage unfold. Yellow jersey punctured. Yellow jersey back in the bunch. One rider off the front. In the distance we could make out the lone rider. Tiernan’s jersey! They couldn’t make out his face but I recognised that rolling head motion.
‘It’s Ruairi Mitchell!’ I squealed like a giddy schoolgirl. Sure enough, it was and he held the bunch at bay for an incredible solo victory. Brian held on to secure an amazing 2nd overall in what was his only edition to ride as a senior. He couldn’t ride it again because he was upgraded to a first category rider for the rest of his life. Imagine being too good to be allowed in a race? Ruairi had some major successes after this before taking a break to follow his career, and more importantly, his heart. He returned again in 2004 to find himself in the TT stage chasing a first year junior by the name of Dan Martin.
Everyone who rode this race has their own individual and shared stories. Mark Dunne was 6th in the TT in 2009, only 10 seconds behind the winner who averaged over 56kmh. I can still see the pride and joy on his parents’ faces at the prizegiving in St. Marks that Easter Monday as he took a fine 13th Overall. That year Mark went on to become Leinster Cat B 25 mile TT Champion. Brian Hayden has been integral to the organisational and support side. It’s difficult to see where the race ends and he begins.
Some other club rider names that you might not know in that 1998 Gorey team; Shane Stokes, top cycling journalist, endured a 10 mile solo chase back into the bunch after a puncture. Mark Keegan got into the winning break on the final stage which finished beside the Square in Tallaght. Can you imagine a race hurtling down the Embankment nowadays? The aforementioned Greg went on to represent Leinster in the Dunboyne 3 Day, where he locked horns again with Gorey winner and soon to be Junior World Champion, Mark Scanlon.
As for me, do you know how I got on in that 1998 Team Winning race? I got dropped about 20 miles into the first stage. Not realising that you have to train for racing, I just turned up. And paid for it. Trundling into Gorey, I wanted to go home but am forever grateful to the team for convincing me to stay. They supported my fragile ego as much as I cheered for their success from the team car alongside Andy Mahon. They even kindly gave me a share of their prizemoney, which I wisely invested and which is now the source of my immense wealth.
I don’t even know if I ever liked the Gorey but, by Golly, I’ll miss it.
Gorey lineup in the early 2000’s (L to R Cian Crowley, Brian Hayden, Mark Hughes, Dylan Rafter, Andy Lakes, Eamon Peregrine, Enda Smyth, Michael Moore, Joe Lakes)
