My Cycling & Coaching Journey
A Lifetime on Two Wheels
My cycling journey began in the 1970s, when I was gifted my first drop bar bike, a yellow Triumph Sportsman bike at age 12. Cycling legend and founder of Sorrento Cycling Club, Mick Byrne stopped me on the road one day and encouraged me to join. The club’s Sunday tours and Mick’s coaching sparked my passion for cycling, which quickly surpassed my interest in any other sport. By 1977, I had won my first National Championship and began studying Physical Education at Thomond College in Limerick, where I immersed myself in sports science.
Racing with Legends and Building Future Champions
Throughout my youth, I raced nationally and was lucky enough (maybe unlucky) to race alongside future World, Tour de France and Giro d’Italia champion Stephen Roche. I continued to develop both as an athlete and coach, learning about training methods and eventually working with the Irish Cycling Federation. In the 1980s, I co-designed coaching courses for underage cyclists and travelled to East Germany for a UCI coaching course, gaining insights into elite training techniques.
Balancing Passion and Profession: A Life Dedicated to Cycling Excellence
After college, I had to work hard to balance teaching, extra-curricular sports, coaching and racing and training. Any training I did had to be time efficient and relevant. My sports science and coaching knowledge helped me greatly to 7 Irish National Track Championships between 1977 and 1989 and 2 veterans/masters titles in 2007 and 2008. My work in coaching was also rewarded, earning the 2007 Coach of the Year award from Cycling Ireland. In 2010, I shifted to a full-time cycling career, guiding European tours and offering coaching, bike fitting, and custom bike building services. My coaching work expanded, focusing on cyclists over 40 and those training for specific events.
Passing the Torch: Coaching the Next Generation and Lifelong Dedication to Cycling
A major highlight was coaching my son, Fintan, who became the Irish Junior Road Race Champion in 2013 and won multiple National Track Championships and a National Criterium Championship. He went on to represent Ireland at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Throughout my career, cycling has remained a core part of my life—through racing, touring, coaching, and fostering a deeper understanding of the sport’s science. It’s been a journey of growth, learning, and connection that continues today.