heres the deal..
I haven't a clue how much it cost, or when it will be open. i don't really know the legalities of why its being held up.
But I do know that Sean, Pj Nolan and Eamon Lawlor were all involved in it at the start..
i know I signed something to do with it when I was Chairman of The Offroad Commission.
But most of all i know that Sean Herlihy quite literally pulled that money out of the air.
It was a sports capital grant..sitting in the dept of Culture and whatever coffers.
It could have been granted to a local Pitch and Putt Club for a new building
or for new sports equipment for anything.
Anything..
but it had no connection with Cycling Ireland or the sports council, it came through a Government dept. End of story, anybody who had a brain could have gotten one every year if they'd asked in the right places.( this statement may be fantasy, but you get the picture)
Sean used his brain and got that grant with help from various individuals.
He worked with so many people I certainly can't remember all of them.
he didn't ride his bike with the lads and have the craic.
He didn't race or win prizes.
He spent all his spare time, plugging away, dealing with the myriad problems that came up.
People put obstacle after obstacle in his way.
hes still working on it and it will get the go ahead.
its just delayed.
The important thing to remember is that, nobody asked him to do this, it wasn't his job, nobody paid him to spend hours and hours to go out and talk to officials and councillors.
Do you see him anywhere saying how great he is, for not only doing this, but for the enormous work nobody sees in his dealings with Coillte and the Dublin Mountain partnership.
No you don't.
He doesn't come on here praising himself about how we now have a relationship with Coillte that was rapidly going the other way.
So thats basically the story.
Thank Jesus it wasn't left up to people like me, or it would be still limping along.
He won't sing his praises or tell everybody how important he is to the mountainbike community, but I sure as hell , will.
Nobody at any time in the history of Irish Mountainbiking has put as much in to what riders really need, which is a place to ride your bike than Sean has.
So , the next time you see somebody having a go at him , remember this and ask them to show what they've actually done for the honest grass roots rider ,
Richie
jezus im still scared from the things i was told the saturday night of the dh champs this year in the lock-in untill three in the morning,,,,[ill never go cycling in three rock again on me own][he is a mans man,he even gives directions to gardai in their own patch in cahir while balancing a super macs and a pint],,,the man is a legend,its a tough job,any job is i suppose in cycling ireland,the bull**** that goes with it,,why wasnt sean nominated for the award that richie and fergal are up for,,both well deserved to,,,
thats my Fault I think..no wait I was supposed to Nominate Fergal, Fergal was supposed to nominate Sean and Sean was to nominate Fergal..so yes its Fergals fault...
to be honest Paul, When I saw the Notice put up, which i might add was sent to every single Club Secretary in Ireland..thats every single one..road, mtb..regardless, I was like most of us, i couldn't be arsed..I personally didn't even read the thing when Ross put it up. But somebody did, some really grateful people obviously, to be honest theres a whole heap of people who weren't nominated, that should have been..
Its entirely our own fault..I mean if I'd taken it seriously I would have nominated The Blast , in fact i should have made a big stink on here about it. But i didn't, apathy prevailed.
I doubt anybody else did either.
But thats human nature, I think that people like Peter Purfield, Victor Edmonds , Eamon Lawlor, Peter Popham , Brian Wolfe and Geoff Seymour should have gotten some sort of recognition over the years for the work they've done for the sport.
Theres a whole heap of riders that you could mention too..but , they get their medals and names in the results and the respect and admiration of their peers so you'll forgive me if I don't include those boys and girls.
But as we are the riders and members of Cycling Ireland, thats our responsibility. we shouldn't forget these guys who've helped shape the sport.
In a few years time I hope we'll be saying the same about people like Joe Ward and Michael Cowan .. I'm sure we will though.
Richie
The main thing is, thers a whole heap of people in the 20 plus years its been going in Ireland that have been ignored for their efforts, lads who've quit because they never got their shot, lads who were brilliant but girls and jobs and drink distracted them. But at the end of the day . none of us here would know each other except for the mountain bike and the people who got us in to it.
The people who waited for you when you were struggling and fixed your flat tyre in 2 mins and gave you pastilles when you were knocking..and made something look easy when you thought you were at your limit.
These are the people who deserve your praise and support.
And they are always the guys who don't jump up and down and shout "look at me"
Two abiding memories of my early EPIC days, Colin playing tailgunner on one of my first big EPIC spins, I was dying and we weren't even half way, I'll never forget the appreciation of having the big man keep an eye on me, and Richie giving me wine gums as I battled back up to Kindlestown after a spin around the Sugerloaf, I was ready collapse, it was pitifull and I swallowed the pack whole. Countless memories of selfless acts, and as Richie says, usually from the ones (usually!) that make the least noise.
What is it about mountainbiking? I have yet to meet anyone that I dislike, or who is an obnoxious twat. It sounds a bit fruity, but it is remarkable sport for bringing out the best in people.
here..
I fell off by bike once..coming off Croaghnamoira at high speed..and a chap who now lives n canada (not Nivek or lovethebunny), tried to give me fruitcake , while I was rolling around on the ground in agony..i wasn't thinking very clearly and told him he was a f&*()g arse** or something like that ..theres no such thing as an obnoxious twat in mountainbiking..theres just differences of opinion..
fook me, i should be on Oprah..
But yeah it does bring out the best in people..
without a doubt..
I don't know what's going on in the world any more
I'm a sucker for heart felt statements about mountainbiking, it's brought me some of my best friends, kept me some of my best friends, saved me from being a fat drug addict and given me much more that I can't write here for fear of being labled a complete sap...
We're all mountainbikers, we all love it... the stars WILL re-allign some day
good man Colin..I started this thread because i felt Sean was getting being treated unfairly.
very few of us know what goes on in the background , the politics, so to speak of Irish Mountainbiking. Which is not a good thing in some ways.
Theres a lot of people who have made a huge impact on the sport. and never recieved a single nod or trophy or their name in lights.
Peter Purfield gets absolutely no credit whatsoever on any of the sites ( correct me if i'm wrong, except for Gordon byrnes on mtbireland )
But none of us would be here today, including myself, i imagine i'd have gone back to climbing or taken up base jumping or pikey wrestling, if it wasn't for Peter..We didn't always get on in the early 90's ..but I went back to MAD in the late 90's with Sean and I can honestly say he is easily the most important mountainbike person ever.
Eamon lawlor and Peter Popham..2 absolute gentlemen, ok Peters still around, involved in Flow...but both were ridden over rough shod..and have never seen their efforts highlighted.
anyway, the thing is, theres a lot of people who have made a difference, everybody who ever built a stretch of trail or showed anybody a new route.
Or made somebody laugh on a spin, or pushed their friend into doing a jump or into racing a race..
these people make the differences..
Richie
You've all missed the point, so Sean got a trail built or something, but what really deserves mention is his neat hairdo and dapper trail dress sense. Whenever I'm following him down a gnarly decent, all I can think of is "Why is his hair not moving?"
heres the deal..
I haven't a clue how much it cost, or when it will be open. i don't really know the legalities of why its being held up.
But I do know that Sean, Pj Nolan and Eamon Lawlor were all involved in it at the start..
i know I signed something to do with it when I was Chairman of The Offroad Commission.
But most of all i know that Sean Herlihy quite literally pulled that money out of the air.
It was a sports capital grant..sitting in the dept of Culture and whatever coffers.
It could have been granted to a local Pitch and Putt Club for a new building
or for new sports equipment for anything.
Anything..
but it had no connection with Cycling Ireland or the sports council, it came through a Government dept. End of story, anybody who had a brain could have gotten one every year if they'd asked in the right places.( this statement may be fantasy, but you get the picture)
Sean used his brain and got that grant with help from various individuals.
He worked with so many people I certainly can't remember all of them.
he didn't ride his bike with the lads and have the craic.
He didn't race or win prizes.
He spent all his spare time, plugging away, dealing with the myriad problems that came up.
People put obstacle after obstacle in his way.
hes still working on it and it will get the go ahead.
its just delayed.
The important thing to remember is that, nobody asked him to do this, it wasn't his job, nobody paid him to spend hours and hours to go out and talk to officials and councillors.
Do you see him anywhere saying how great he is, for not only doing this, but for the enormous work nobody sees in his dealings with Coillte and the Dublin Mountain partnership.
No you don't.
He doesn't come on here praising himself about how we now have a relationship with Coillte that was rapidly going the other way.
So thats basically the story.
Thank Jesus it wasn't left up to people like me, or it would be still limping along.
He won't sing his praises or tell everybody how important he is to the mountainbike community, but I sure as hell , will.
Nobody at any time in the history of Irish Mountainbiking has put as much in to what riders really need, which is a place to ride your bike than Sean has.
So , the next time you see somebody having a go at him , remember this and ask them to show what they've actually done for the honest grass roots rider ,
Richie
jezus im still scared from the things i was told the saturday night of the dh champs this year in the lock-in untill three in the morning,,,,[ill never go cycling in three rock again on me own][he is a mans man,he even gives directions to gardai in their own patch in cahir while balancing a super macs and a pint],,,the man is a legend,its a tough job,any job is i suppose in cycling ireland,the bull**** that goes with it,,why wasnt sean nominated for the award that richie and fergal are up for,,both well deserved to,,,
thats my Fault I think..no wait I was supposed to Nominate Fergal, Fergal was supposed to nominate Sean and Sean was to nominate Fergal..so yes its Fergals fault...
to be honest Paul, When I saw the Notice put up, which i might add was sent to every single Club Secretary in Ireland..thats every single one..road, mtb..regardless, I was like most of us, i couldn't be arsed..I personally didn't even read the thing when Ross put it up. But somebody did, some really grateful people obviously, to be honest theres a whole heap of people who weren't nominated, that should have been..
Its entirely our own fault..I mean if I'd taken it seriously I would have nominated The Blast , in fact i should have made a big stink on here about it. But i didn't, apathy prevailed.
I doubt anybody else did either.
But thats human nature, I think that people like Peter Purfield, Victor Edmonds , Eamon Lawlor, Peter Popham , Brian Wolfe and Geoff Seymour should have gotten some sort of recognition over the years for the work they've done for the sport.
Theres a whole heap of riders that you could mention too..but , they get their medals and names in the results and the respect and admiration of their peers so you'll forgive me if I don't include those boys and girls.
But as we are the riders and members of Cycling Ireland, thats our responsibility. we shouldn't forget these guys who've helped shape the sport.
In a few years time I hope we'll be saying the same about people like Joe Ward and Michael Cowan .. I'm sure we will though.
Richie
The main thing is, thers a whole heap of people in the 20 plus years its been going in Ireland that have been ignored for their efforts, lads who've quit because they never got their shot, lads who were brilliant but girls and jobs and drink distracted them. But at the end of the day . none of us here would know each other except for the mountain bike and the people who got us in to it.
The people who waited for you when you were struggling and fixed your flat tyre in 2 mins and gave you pastilles when you were knocking..and made something look easy when you thought you were at your limit.
These are the people who deserve your praise and support.
And they are always the guys who don't jump up and down and shout "look at me"
Two abiding memories of my early EPIC days, Colin playing tailgunner on one of my first big EPIC spins, I was dying and we weren't even half way, I'll never forget the appreciation of having the big man keep an eye on me, and Richie giving me wine gums as I battled back up to Kindlestown after a spin around the Sugerloaf, I was ready collapse, it was pitifull and I swallowed the pack whole. Countless memories of selfless acts, and as Richie says, usually from the ones (usually!) that make the least noise.
What is it about mountainbiking? I have yet to meet anyone that I dislike, or who is an obnoxious twat. It sounds a bit fruity, but it is remarkable sport for bringing out the best in people.
here..
I fell off by bike once..coming off Croaghnamoira at high speed..and a chap who now lives n canada (not Nivek or lovethebunny), tried to give me fruitcake , while I was rolling around on the ground in agony..i wasn't thinking very clearly and told him he was a f&*()g arse** or something like that ..theres no such thing as an obnoxious twat in mountainbiking..theres just differences of opinion..
fook me, i should be on Oprah..
But yeah it does bring out the best in people..
without a doubt..
I don't know what's going on in the world any more
I'm a sucker for heart felt statements about mountainbiking, it's brought me some of my best friends, kept me some of my best friends, saved me from being a fat drug addict and given me much more that I can't write here for fear of being labled a complete sap...
We're all mountainbikers, we all love it... the stars WILL re-allign some day
good man Colin..I started this thread because i felt Sean was getting being treated unfairly.
very few of us know what goes on in the background , the politics, so to speak of Irish Mountainbiking. Which is not a good thing in some ways.
Theres a lot of people who have made a huge impact on the sport. and never recieved a single nod or trophy or their name in lights.
Peter Purfield gets absolutely no credit whatsoever on any of the sites ( correct me if i'm wrong, except for Gordon byrnes on mtbireland )
But none of us would be here today, including myself, i imagine i'd have gone back to climbing or taken up base jumping or pikey wrestling, if it wasn't for Peter..We didn't always get on in the early 90's ..but I went back to MAD in the late 90's with Sean and I can honestly say he is easily the most important mountainbike person ever.
Eamon lawlor and Peter Popham..2 absolute gentlemen, ok Peters still around, involved in Flow...but both were ridden over rough shod..and have never seen their efforts highlighted.
anyway, the thing is, theres a lot of people who have made a difference, everybody who ever built a stretch of trail or showed anybody a new route.
Or made somebody laugh on a spin, or pushed their friend into doing a jump or into racing a race..
these people make the differences..
Richie
You've all missed the point, so Sean got a trail built or something, but what really deserves mention is his neat hairdo and dapper trail dress sense. Whenever I'm following him down a gnarly decent, all I can think of is "Why is his hair not moving?"