History
The Motor Cycle Union of Ireland came into being as the result of a meeting held on March 7, 1902, in the Metropole Hotel, Dublin.
The meeting, called by well-known Dublin publisher, James C. Percy, discussed the possibility of setting up a club for the growing number of motorcyclists in the city. Mr. Percy, as well as being an avid cyclist and motorcyclist, was the publisher of three weekly magazines – “Irish Cyclist”, “Irish Wheelman” and “Irish Motor News”. At the initial gathering, it was decided to go ahead and form a new club with the title “Dublin Motor Cycle Club”.
However, a second meeting, held two weeks later on March 21, 1902, decided that the title “Dublin Motor Cycle Club” was too parochial, and that the body should be an all Ireland one, catering for motorcyclists all over the country. After some discussion, the title was changed to “Motor Cycle Union of Ireland” – and so it has remained to this day.
The first President of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland was John Boyd Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic tyre, and the very first event organised by the newly formed Union was a social run from Dublin’s Phoenix Park to Bray, Co. Wicklow, on Saturday, April 26, 1902.
In the early years, sand racing, hill climbs and reliability trials became the mainstay of the competitive side of the sport of motorcycling. However, there was heavy emphasis on the social side of things, with dinners, lectures and gatherings being regular happenings.
The first motorcycle race held in Ireland was on a dirt track at Ashtown, Co. Dublin, on October 15, 1902. R.W. Stevens, the well known Dublin motorcycle agent, won the main event. While the Dublin Centre of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland was developing rapidly, with an ever increasing membership, there was clearly a need for the establishment of a Centre in Ireland’s second largest city, Belfast.
Representatives from Dublin travelled to Belfast to set the wheels in motion, and the Ulster Centre of the M.C.U.I. came into being at a meeting held in Belfast on January 9, 1903. The Southern/Dublin Centre and Ulster Centre worked well together and met occasionally in Dundalk to sort out any problems that arose in the administration of the sport.
The Motor Cycle Union of Ireland joined the fledgling world governing body, the Federation Internationale des Clubs Motocyclistes (now F.I.M.), in 1906, but withdrew the following year as the annual conference in Dundalk saw no good reason for continuing to be a member of the body. 20 years would pass before the MCUI rejoined.
When the Isle of Man TT races commenced in 1907, Ireland had no representative in the event. That was rectified the following year when Dublin’s Charlie Franklin made his Island debut, thus becoming the first Irish TT rider. Annual Inter-Centre Conferences became a regular feature of Motor Cycle Union of Ireland business from 1912 onwards, and over the years that followed, the sport of motorcycling developed spectacularly in Ireland.
Though World War One halted activities for several years, the 1920s brought new developments on all fronts. In 1921, the Patland Cup Trial was added to the calendar by the newly formed Leinster Motor Club. Today, 82 years later the Patland is still the Southern Centre’s premier trial.
Today, the Motorcycle Union of Ireland (MCUI) is the governing body for motorcycle sport across the Island of Ireland, overseeing road racing, motocross, trials, and short circuit events.
It manages rider licensing, event organization, safety standards, and sport regulation.
The MCUI advocates for funding, ensures the sport’s sustainability, and promotes inclusivity, uniting the motorcycle racing community with a shared passion for the sport.
