Cycling Club
Clann Eireann Cycling News
Date: 11 Mar 2010 / Viewed: 11 times
No less than nine Clann Eireann cyclists competed in two road races in Newry at the weekend. The main event, the Haldane Memorial was over 60 miles and Clannsmen Mickey Murray, John Heverin, Barry and Martin McConville went in that with Conor Grimes. The flat course did not particularly suit any of them, and none made it into the top ten finishers.
In the support race over 40 miles, the Clann had Ryan Beagan and Jerome Donnelly both making their racing debut. They were joined by Warren McNeill and Mickey McConville , and according to coach Mickey Murray Senior they all achieved their objectives.
The first local race of the year will be at Bartins Bay on the last Sunday of March, and it is for that race that the Clanns cyclists really have set their objectives.
This coming weekend the road races are at Carryduff on Saturday for the John Moore Memorial organised by the Castlereagh club, and on Sunday, it is Coalisland for the Logan Cup races. Clann Eireann riders will take part in both.
Maurice Bann-Lavery
PRO. Clann Eireann Cycling Club 
Ciara gives the Clann its first win of 2010
Date: 1 Mar 2010 / Viewed: 70 times
Ciara Mulhoulland, Clann Eireann cycling club's rising star, gave the Lurgan club it's first win of the new 2010 season on Sunday at the Phoenix Grand Prix races near Nutts Corner.
At just 15 years of age, Ciara had to get special permission to race with the senior ladies. The 25 mile race at Nutts Corner was contested by thirty ladies from clubs across the province, and despite being the youngest entrant, Ciara was started with the faster scratch group. Taking things steady in what was just her second encounter with the senior ladies, Ciara bided her time till the last mile, when she opened a 50 metre gap on the remains of the field, and held it to the line.
In the mens “B” race at Nutts Corner, Kenny McConaghy gave a sterling account of himself, riding consistently near the front of the bunch in his fifty mile event, and gained experience and confidence for the future, even if he missed out on the top placings.
The previous day, four other Clann's cyclists competed in the Banbridge Club's Annaclone road races. Michael McConville faced the starter in the support event at Annaclone for what was his first attempt at fully open racing, but unfortunately found the wet and slippery roads not suited to his ability.
Michael finished in the lower end of the sixty strong field. However, his brothers, Martin and Barry, together with superfit Conor Grimes took on the top roadmen in the “A” class race, and all three were involved in attacks that might have succeeded. They all should feel well enough satisfied with their performances, in the knowledge that there is further improvement not far away and they have the ability to get good results in the very near future.
Next weekend's road racing is due to take place at Hilltown, and Clann Eireann cyclists have plans to be represented at all levels.
Maurice Bann-Lavery
PRO. Clann Eireann Cycling Club
Medals for the Clann
Date: 18 Jan 2010 / Viewed: 81 times
Cycling Ulster, the governing body for the sport in this province are uncarachteristically just now getting down to giving out medals to last years championship winners. It is only a few weeks till the start of the 2010 season, and all the 2009 winners of various Ulster and N.Ireland championships have been invited to an Antrim venue next Friday. (22 Jan.2010 )
Clann Eireann cyclists should be there in force. All the road race and time trial medals will be presented, as well as some for track events, and the lengthy list shows that as many as eighteen medals will come to the very successful Lurgan club. Declan Mulhoulland, the youngest has medals to collect from Under 12 championships on road, track and time trials. His sister Ciara won the under 14 road race title. Up the ladder, Thomas Martin won the senior road title in fine style, and the senior team has medals to get for the Ulster 10 mile time trial championship and the N.I. 25 mile championship. One proud medal winner will be Warren McNeill, who gets a solitary team medal for his performance in the N.I. “25”, but without him, the Clann would have missed that team award altogether. The other medal winners from the Clann are Michael Murray and John Heverin, the latter being the most prolific, taking top three places in every championship from 25 miles upwards, as well as being on both winning teams. Few if any of the forty other cycling clubs in Ulster will be able to match that kind of result.
If 2009 was a good year for Clann Eireann cyclists, the same group are certainly not sitting back on their laurels this week. Now that the ice and snow that plagued the start of 2010 have gone, the seniors have been getting the miles in over the past weekend, and training plans are being firmed up so that as many as possible will be ready for the road race season which starts at the end of next month. Training runs leave the clubrooms on Saturdays at 9 am, and Church Place at 9.30 on Sundays.
Maurice Bann-Lavery
PRO. Clann Eireann Cycling Club
Second again for big John
Date: 20 Oct 2009 / Viewed: 114 times
John Heverin, the Clann’s time trial specialist, has been awarded second place overall in the season long Ulster time trial league. With twenty odd events in a series running from April till September, and contested by well in excess of a hundred cyclists, it is an excellent achievement. The league results were announced at the Cycling Ulster annual meeting last Saturday. Another Clann’s cyclist, Thomas Martin was seventh overall in the series.
For John it has been a year of successes mixed with times when things just did not go quite right. He made a late assault on the Ulster league, climbing the classification quickly, but not enough to catch the eventual overall winner, John Madden from Coleraine. Heverin also just missed winning two championship gold medals, coming second in both the Ulster 25 and 50 mile events, and was third in the 100 mile trial after mechanical problems. His big target for the year, the Irish time trial championship also became a non event for him when he suffered an off the bike injury just a week before the Irish title race.
Despite the setbacks, big John did win several non title races, and is rated as one of the best time trial exponents in the country. He is actually one of only three Irish riders ever to have bettered 50 minutes in a 25 mile time trial.
John has ambitions of bettering his existing successes, and is aiming to get right to the pinnale of his cycling ability during the 2010 season.
Maurice Bann-Lavery
PRO. Clann Eireann Cycling Club
Grimes Winner of Time Trial League
Date: 22 Sep 2009 / Viewed: 122 times
The season long Interclub League, involving Orchard Wheelers, Apollo and Clann Eireann has just ended, with Clanns cyclist Conor Grimes coming out as overall winner in the Time Trial section.
For Conor it has been a hard slog since the start of the league last April, and his title was in doubt right till the final race. True grit made the difference. Conor did not win any individual event outright, but consistently raced away, recording mostly 23 minute times, and getting again, regularly into the top four placings in a sufficient number of events. Other Clann Eireann cyclists featuring in the top ten overall , were fifth, Kenny McConaghy, and nineth, Mickey McConville. In the Road Race League it was Orchard Wheeler Robert Anderson who emerged as winner. Clanns cyclists in the top ten of that series were Thomas Martin in seventh spot, and sharing the eight spot were the other McConville brothers, Barry and Martin.
The award ceremony takes place this Friday evening in the Embankment, Derrymacash, where the various other category prizes will be announced.
The local competitive season has virtually finished for those who do road racing, and next weekend it will be back to the popular Saturday club spins leaving the Lake Street clubrooms at 9 AM. As last year, prospective new members will be welcome to have a go, with steady speeds assured over a couple of hours. The traditional Sunday runs that leave Church Place at 9.30 AM will next Sunday be possibly cut a little shorter than usual, since the World Road Championship takes place in Italy. With three Irish professionals on the start list, the armchair in front of the TV instead of a bike saddle will be the likely place to find Lurgans cyclists.
Maurice Bann-Lavery. PRO Clann Eireann Cycling Club
E mail….mbl @clanncc.net
