Lindsay Watson leads Daire Feeley and Fionn Killeen, one of the breakthrough men, during the final stage in Killorglin at Dornan Rás Mumhan (Photo: Caroline Kerley)
Dornan Rás Mumhan 2026 has come to a close after an action-packed weekend of racing. And it was a weekend with signs of shifting sands in Irish cycling, though not all of that unfolded in the peloton in Kerry.
We have arguably never had the strength in depth Irish cycling enjoys right now; across our male amd female riders and from the junior ranks to the U23s and the pros. But the wealth of talent at the top has emerged in what are troubling times for Irish cycling. So what conclusions can we take away from this weekend?
New group of Irish riders steps up
It’s hard to see the usual suspects – the established senior men in their 20s and into their 30s – doing anything other than continuing to dominate the domestic scene for the remainder of the year. But this was a weekend when a number of young riders put themselves on the map.
The U23 Velo Performance team mates, Josh Callaly (19) and Curtis Neill (20), excelled with their wins on stages 1B and 3. Callaly went long from the breakaway on Friday evening while Neill rode away from all-comers on Kerryman’s Table on Sunday.
They also finished 2nd and 4th overall, with Neill winning the young rider classification. When added to the performances of Jack Conroy already this season, the Velo Performance squad has gained huge momentum.
Crucially, several riders who moved to the team over winter are now riding better than ever, which will make the team even more attractive to promising young cyclists in the years ahead.
This weekend was the first time Callaly and Neill stepped up at this level and landed a big victory. And with the international race experiences open to them this year, and support from their team, that duo and their team mates can really back themselves. They have definitely broken through this weekend.
The same can be said for others. Fionn Killeen (Shay Murphy Leinster Development) was arguably the breakthrough man of the weekend. The 17-year-old was 3rd on the stage 3 Kerryman’s Table finish and 10th on the final stage today, towards 10th overall.
Hugh Óg Mulhearne (Dornan Munster Junior) rode the race at the same level as the top C1s and his 5th overall was a huge result. Both he and Killeen should be snapped up by U23 development teams if they can keep this up.
Similarly, Darragh Byrne (Shay Murphy Leinster Development), first-year U23 Rory Condon (O’Leary Stone Kanturk), and others, were on the attack numerous times through the weekend.
A group of very young riders got better performances out of themselves than very many big names in the field. That’s great to see, though no disrespect is intended to the older riders who perhaps didn’t hit the mark as hoped for this weekend.
Implications of junior performances
Cycling Ireland has already said in recent weeks it plans to select up to two Irish juniors onto the national team to ride Rás Tailteann. They would compete as part of a Team Ireland selection alongside U23 riders, and maybe one experience elite rider.
The move is long overdue and the performances of teenagers like Killeen and Mulhearne this weekend show the best juniors are capable of riding races like Rás Tailteann, and maybe even performing in them. They will certainly learn a lot.
Many of our best young riders – from U16s to juniors and U23s – are increasingly bypassing Irish racing in favour of competing for teams in Europe. Those are fantastic opportunities and the Irish riders would be crazy not to take those offers.
But given the Irish scene is now competing with so many other avenues that are open to very young athletes – even U16s – it is time to respond. Offering more juniors access to the biggest senior races, and allowing U16s ride the Junior Tour of Ireland, and some senior events, has to be the next step.
Getting the balance right
At times in Irish cycling, when stage race promoters seek to strengthen their race they throw the entry open to teams from Great Britain and further afield. Sometimes it works well, though there have been times when some of the visitors have dominated the racing to the extent to undermines Irish interest.
But Dornan Rás Muman seemed to get it right this weekend. Sure, we had an overall winner from Great Britain while the points and climbers classifications were also won by those from abroad.
But Orwell Wheelers won the TTT stage 1A and held the yellow jersey with two Irish riders; Evan Keane and Liam Crowley. Then Callaly and Neill popped up to win stages, while Neill was 2nd overall and the won the best young rider classification.
Those from abroad often bring a new edge to the racing in Ireland, and it draws out our riders. It adds to the development opportunity, especially for juniors and U23s, these races should represent.
It’s about the visiting team pushing our cyclists and making them better riders by forcing them to step up a level. But there is little point in having an Irish race dominated by the visitors. The balance was struck nicely this weekend by the race organisers.
Smaller field
The field in this year’s race was a little smaller than last year. For example, there were 130 finishers on the opening stage this year compared to 157 last year. It didn’t seem to impact the quality of the racing, but that trend would not want to continue for another year or two.
The Gorey Three Day has already been cancelled for lack of numbers for two years now, while the International Tour of the North has not been promoted for several years, and it seems to be gone for good.
It is hard to know what more the race promoters can do to attract more riders, other than put on a great race, which the organising team at Dornan Rás Mumhan did this year, and likewise for the Gorey before it was cancelled.
There seems to be a problem now with getting clubs to enter teams into these Easter stage races. Even those clubs with plenty of riders competing for week to week had no team in this year’s Rás Mumhan. And they clearly didn’t enter the Gorey before it was cancelled as fewer than 40 riders had pre-entered.
Cycling Ireland should examine previous start lists for the Easter stage races and identify the clubs well represented in previous years but absent now. And they should go and speak to them in a bid to identify why they’ve given up on bringing teams away to these events.
Some probably just have fewer riders now and maybe they can’t make up a team. But there seems to be plenty of clubs who do have enough riders but are choosing to opt out. And we must determine why that is.
Dornan’s crucial backing
Dornan – an engineering and construction company – sponsored Rás Mumhan again this year and its support is vital. Not only did it sponsor the race, but it also backed the Munster junior team and is supporting the U23 Velo Performance team.
The importance of its deepening involvement in Irish cycling cannot be underestimated, especially as other stage races – including Rás Tailteann and Rás na mBan – do not have title sponsors at present.
Rás Mumhan has also changed management team in recent years and during the 2020-2021 period there was a plan to move it to Tipperary. Kerry Group also stepped away as a long-term sponsor.
It’s a minor miracle the race has undergone all those changes, and got through the pandemic period, and is still on the road and going strong. Huge credit goes to race director John Breen and all his team.