During a year when Cliff Richard topped the charts with 'Living Doll', Burnley won footballs pretigious Divison 1 and Spains Frederico Bahamontes won the Tour de France, our very own Cormac MacLynn won a stage in the Ras Tailteannin. I once asked a very well known and much respected cyclist to give an account of how one of his team mates had one a particular race, he replied, " I couldn't tell you how he won the race but I could tell you exactly how I did". So there was no better man to ask than Cormac himself.  Below is Cormacs' very own account of how he won that stage on the 8th August 1959. Tha attached photographs paint a thousand words and a real sense of jubulation oozes from them, certainly pictures and memories to be very proud of.


A  Memorable day at the Ras Tailteannin 1959.

It was August 8th 1959.  The day did not start out particularly well as myself and the team were “in recovery” after an evening socialising with the journalists covering the race, Tom Cryon and Con Kenealy, ( hoping, of course, for a mention in their reports!.)

 

   Despite feeling very delicate at the Start next morning,( due to my over indulgence) ,we left Fermoy, and I settled myself in the comfort of the middle of the bunch, as we headed for Michellstown.   As the morning went on, and we neared Caher , I began to feel better and started to take on food and drink, and towards Tipperary I found myself starting to take a bit of interest in the proceeding and moved up towards the front.

 

At that point in the race, the leaders, Don Ahern and Eamon Ryan, were 40 secs. ahead of some other good riders, Victor Atkinson, John Egan, James Roches, Cahal O’Donahue , Eamonn Reilly and Mike Woods.

 

As we pulled them back a group of riders, including my team-mate Jim McConway, were at hand, and I called on him to join me as I made a break,  Jim, however ,was tiring ,having tried hard all day, and declined.  Eventually eleven riders, working together, managed to reach the leaders, and we were then a bunch of nineteen, just as we reached Carrick-on-Suir, and  we stayed together for the next sixteen miles.

 

As I saw the bridge into Waterford approaching in the distance I decided to make a bid for the front and moved to the inside for the first corner, taking a chance that I could be boxed in, but, with elbows akimbo, I managed  to retain my place, and we went into the second  bend down to seven riders only, lead by Mick Murphy.  The six of us clung to his back wheel, streaming and weaving  like the tail of a kite, and at the last 880 - 440 - 220,   I MADE IT THROUGH AND WON THE STAGE!

 

 

 

Result: Cormac Mac Lynn(Antrim),

           Mick Murphy (Kerry )

           Tom Wheelan(Tipperary)

           Ronnie Williams(Dublin)

           Pat O’Callaghan (Waterford)

           Paddy Flanagan ,(Kildare)

          Christy Dunne (Exiles)

           

My reward was a huge and beautifully cut Waterford vase, which has graced our living room, (and has been filled regularly with very expensive flowers by my wife, who loves it,)  and it serves as a lovely reminder to me of what was, without doubt, one of the best days in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

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