By Sean Moriarty

Ballydowney resident Dr Tom Daly was elected President of Cycling Ireland on Saturday.

The announcement was made at the federation’s 34th Annual General Meeting which took place at the Four Seasons Hotel and Leisure Club in Monaghan.

Daly held the position of Vice President prior to the AGM and was Secretary of Killarney Cycling Club before joining the Board of Cycling Ireland in March of 2022.

The Ballyfinane native is one of Kerry’s true sporting heroes. He played Minor football for Kerry in the 1970s, he was the first man ever to solo canoe around Ireland in the 1980s and is a former volunteer with Kerry Mountain Rescue.

Although always a cycling fan, the now 67-year-old only took up competitive cycling in his 50s and won several National Masters titles on the roads.

He also wrote ‘The Ras, Ireland’s Unique Bike Race’ the definitive history of the country’s biggest race.

Prior to his time with Killarney Cycling Club he was involved in Kanturk Cycling Club in various roles for many years. He was previously Secretary of Cycling Munster.

“We are one of the biggest and most successful sporting organisations in the country with 26,000 members. We have around 500 clubs. We excel in competition and our members are on the roads and trails all across the country. So, it’s time now we put our shoulders back, lifted our chins and walk out of here determined to be proud again. We can restore the pride that our organisation deserves,” Dr Daly said at his acceptance speech.

Challenging Journey

"It's a challenging journey for all of us. We are on one hand a big and complex voluntary organisation that needs to work for its members and also for the volunteers. We are on the other hand a fair-sized company with a turnover of around €5.2 million and a staff of around 25 - both of which we have ambitions to grow - and that aspect of the organisation needs to be run in a very professional manner. I believe we must continue that progress."

He also paid tribute to his fellow Killarney Cycling Club members who nominated him for the role.

Daly had a career in education and worked for agencies such as the National Centre for Technology in Education and the Special Education Support Service and holds post-graduate degrees from the University of Limerick and University College Cork. On retirement, he moved back to Kerry where he and his wife Ann became active members of the local cycling club.