O’Leary Stone Kanturk Cycling Club wins Club of the Year award

IN the Crown Plaza Hotel, Santry last Saturday night, the cycling world gathered to celebrate what has been another exciting, interesting and successful year in cycling.

One of the highlights of this function is the Membership Awards, which is a time when the 29,000 Cycling Ireland members have the opportunity to have their say in where they believe recognition should be awarded across categories like Volunteer of the Year, Club of the Year etc.

The nominees for the 2016 Membership Awards were selected by the various Cycling Ireland Commissions, and the range of nominees across all categories reflects the depth of volunteerism in the sport, without which the progression in cycling in Ireland would not be possible.

The Club was very proud to be one of ten clubs nominated in the Club of the Year Category, and it was with pride that the club Chairman Con McAuliffe, and Secretary Joan Curtin accepted the award on behalf of the club and its members as winners.

The Kanturk Cycling Club was founded by Dan Curtin in 1991 with a focus on the development of youth riders and it quickly became the most successful youth club in Irish cycling, producing numerous national youth champions annually. As part of this strategy Dan Curtin built Ireland’s first 250-meter velodrome in 2012 and the Club is proud of the fact that they are the only Club in the Country to have this facility.

The Club promotes a strong support structure for junior and youth riders in Munster and shows a most outstanding example of commitment to youth development in the history of Irish cycling.

This is not the first time the Club has been honoured at these awards. In 2013 Dan Curtin was awarded the Hall of Fame, Eddie Dunbar Youth Cyclist, and Dan Curtin as Trainer of the Year.