Rás Tailteann’s Meath support
CYCLING
ONE of the newly confirmed sponsors of next month’s prestigious Rás Tailteann has spoken about his east Meath connections which were a factor in his company becoming associated with the iconic race.
The 69th edition of the Rás will take place from Wednesday, May 22-26, with the final stage on the Sunday running from Maynooth to Bective, passing through east Meath along the way.
This year, the event will kick off from Tullamore, Co Offaly, where the first stage finish will be in Kilmallock – the first-ever Rás Tailteann stage to finish in the Co Limerick town.
The 2024 race will also have finishes in Sneem in Co Kerry, Cahir in Co Tipperary and Kildare town, before moving north to finish in Meath – a total distance of 784.8km, with 18 categorised climbs over the five stages.
The first sponsor to be confirmed is Work Permits Ireland, a company that manages employment permit applications for a variety of industries and clients nationally and internationally.
They are the official sponsor of the rider numbers and company director Colm Hilliard has been involved for many years in Gaelic football as a player, coach and administrator with St Colmcille’s in east Meath.
Mr Hilliard said he is “proud to be associated with the Rás, as a good few people from east Meath were involved with this race, particularly the Nulty brothers from Cooperhill and many others.”
However, his “friendship and as a work colleague with Louis White, a native of Platin, Drogheda, and a renowned team manager and a motivator ahead of his time in the Rás, is the main reason for this sponsorship”.
Another factor was to “support the great voluntary efforts over the years of very many people, particularly the likes of Ger Campbell”.
Ger Campbell, the Race Director, expressed his gratitude to Colm and the team at Work Permits Ireland.
He said: “Having Colm and Work Permits Ireland join the race as a commercial partner is very special, and we are sure his generosity will help to keep Louis White’s vision for the sport alive.”