McNally Swords CC

McNally Swords CC

Launch 27th March 2002
Address by Sean Lally, Chairperson

I wish to thank Johnny O’Sullivan, our esteemed President, for opening this evening’s proceedings in his usual inimitable style.
It is my great pleasure as Chairperson of McNally Swords Cycling Club to add to his words of welcome and to say how happy I am to see so many of our members, their families and friends with us on this happy occasion.
I wish to welcome in particular our Public Representatives, …………… and also…………
We are here tonight for two reasons mainly a) to launch our programme for 2002 and b) to pay tribute and thanks to McNally Joinery for their very generous sponsorship yet again this year.
This year has seen in a lot of changes. You have a new Chairperson and new Committee. I take this opportunity to thank our outgoing Chairperson, Terry Quinlan, for his outstanding contribution to the club in recent years. I am not Terry Quinlan! But I bring, I hope, the same passion and commitment as Terry, and I am confident that with your co-operation I can also help this club at this time. However, I cannot do it on my own, so I would ask you please to continue to help me as you have helped the previous Chairperson’s of this great club, Terry, Paddy Griffin and Johnny O’Sullivan.
2002 is going to be another great year for our club and we have a great programme laid on for the year:

Racing:

Vets:

Our club has a tremendous commitment to the Vets, and an ever-increasing number of our members are becoming involved and being very successful in the Vets – both in the racing and in the touring. I wish to pay tribute here tonight to everybody who has worked and continues to work to ensure that the warm relationship between the IVCA and McNally Swords CC gets even better each year.

Under Age:

I am very pleased to announce here tonight that we are very committed to developing our under-age cyclists. These are the real future of our club, and I and my Committee intend investing both time and resources into this, the most important group in our club.
We are continuing to have discussions with Fingal County Council in relation to the development of a mini cycle-track in the Swords area for our young cyclists where they can learn the skills of cycling in safety and in appropriate surroundings.
We are continuing to liase with Councillor Michael Kennedy and Michael Lynch of the Parks Department in this regard, and both of these people are giving us very positive in this regard.

Club League:

Our Club League is growing from success to success each year. This year it will commence on April 24^th, and we are looking forward again this year to a very large number of participants. Please remember that the League caters for all abilities, and I would hope that this year that we will get more of our tourers to join the League.

Touring:

Ken Brennan has very kindly this year taken charge of touring in our Club. The following events are ones he wishes to bring to our attention at this stage:

*** 21^st April. The Clash Cycle, 120 miles, commencing from Tallaght.

*** 18^th May. McNally Swords CC Annual Tour, 60 miles, commencing 10.00 a.m. from Fingallian’s

*** 26^th May. Tour of South Armagh, commencing 10.00 a.m. from Newry.

Web-Site:

I take this opportunity this evening to thank in a very special way Hugh Byrne, who keeps us all informed about what is happening in our Club and in the world of cycling, at home and abroad, through our excellent web-site, which he continues to develop to such a high standard, that it is the envy of many other sporting groups in Ireland.

All Ireland Cycling Championships

I am very proud to be able to announce to you here this evening that McNally Swords CC, together with Stamullen Club, will be hosting the All Ireland Cycling Championships next July. This is a huge opportunity and challenge for our great club. Let us thank in a very special way Richie McNamara and Reggie Kearns for the outstanding work they have done to date in the planning of these championships, and let us also pledge to them our wholehearted support to ensure the success of these Championships. We will need the assistance of everybody in the club for these Championships next July, and I know, as in the past, our members will yet again show what a great team they are when it comes to helping their own club.

Sponsors:

On your behalf I wish to pay particular tribute to our Sponsors here this evening, Joe and Breda McNally. Their interest in cycling and their wonderful generosity has made our Club the premier cycling club in Ireland. Swords Cycling Club could not have achieved what it has in recent years, were it not for the generous sponsorship of Joe and Breda McNally. This year their generosity is particularly appreciated as they have supplied our Club with its new colours. They are truly outstanding – stylish, colourful. bright, of superb quality – reflecting yet again the perfection with which the craftwork of McNally Joinery is so deservedly famous. Joe and Breda, we thank you for your generosity, and also for the many and long hours that went into the planning and preparation of these lovely garments for us, which we will wear with pride, and hopefully also with distinction. They are by any standards of great value, considering the unique high quality garments that they are.
I am asking our Club members to wear them on all club outings – races, the league and the Saturday morning spins. This is the least we might do to acknowledge the sponsorship of McNally Joinery, to project our club with pride, and to develop the spirit of comradery and team-spirit for which this club is so famous.

Gratitude: