St Kieran’s GAA Club members have been working hard on one of the club’s main fundraisers for 2015. Since its launch, at An Riocht Athletic Club in Castleisland in February, the annual leisure cycle tour of the parishes has been attracting attention.
‘The Tour’ will take in a route which will guide the cyclists through all the seven parishes involved with the St Kieran’s club and the cycle will be held on Sunday, May 24th.
The event will start at 10am sharp from Castleisland Desmonds GAA Club and registration will begin at 8am and participants are advised to come early.
Unique Cycling Strip
“This year many of the cyclists will be sporting the unique St. Kieran’s Cycling Strip. The strip was sponsored and launched at S.Divane & Sons Castleisland on Saturday morning. Divanes have been main Volkswagen dealer for Kerry since 1954. We are delighted to have Divanes associated with the club and we appreciate the support they provide for us in our bid to promote cycling as a healthy pastime,” said club ‘spokesman’ Dan Neligan.
Refreshments will be available at the start and finish of the event at Desmond’s GAA Club grounds. There will also be a food/drink stop at Currow Chuch and at Dillane’s Shop in Fealesbridge.
Safety a Priority
The cycle will be stewarded by club members in conjunction the Abbeyfeale Search and Rescue Group (ASR). This group’s contribution was a feature of last year’s event where the safety of the participants was made a priority.
A closed circuit communications system will be in place on the day and will be supervised by ASR personnel. This will monitor and coordinate all stewarding and the event will have Garda backup at key locations.
The Tour will be accompanied by a trained paramedic motorcyclist and a fully equipped Civil Defence ambulance and two trained personnel on the day
The club would like to thank: Kerry County Council; An Garda Siochana; Civil Defence and Abbeyfeale Search and Rescue Group for their help and support.
The seven ‘St. Kieran’s parishes are: Castleisland; Ballymacelligott; Currow; Scartaglin; Cordal; Brosna and Knocknagoshel. There will be both a ‘Short Route’ of 45k long for leisure/novice cyclists and a more challenging ‘Long Route’of 80kms for experienced cyclists.
The Long and Short of It
‘The Short Route’ will start at Desmond’s GAA Club rounds, travel through Castleisland town to Ballycarthy Cross, left onto the old Farranfore road and onto the N22, left in Farranfore Village for Currow, right at Currow Church and a food stop. Then, left at Dromulton Cross, straight on at ‘Davy Roche’s Cross’ and, left at Breahig Cross on the Cordal Road. Then right at the traffic lights in Castleisland and finish at Desmond’s Pitch. Click on Route Map Link
“The Long Route” will travel through Castleisland town onto Ballycarthy cross, left onto the old Farranfore Road and onto the N22, left in Farranfore Village for Currow, right at Currow Church (Food Stop) left at Dromulton Cross, straight on at ‘Davy Roche’s Cross’ left at Breahig Cross on Cordal Road, right at ‘Hickey’s Grotto’ on Cordal Road, right at Kearney’s Cross onto the Brosna Road, left at Brosna Village Cross, left at ‘Patsy’s Cross’ right at Feale’s Bridge, left at Kilconlea Cross onto N21, left at Dooneen Roundabout and finish at Desmond’s pitch.
The long and the short of it is that cyclists will be expected at Desmonds GAA Club at 8am for the sign on. All details are available on St Kieran’s Club web site: stkieransgaa.ie
