Dunboyne cyclist records a great double at weekend cycling festival

Mark Dowling from the DID club in Dunboyne made it a memorable double when he claimed both the Brendan Carroll and the Joey Whyte Memorial Cups last weekend. Dowling, who is the son of legendary boxer Mick Dowling, got a hectic weekend of racing organised by the Stamullen M Donnelly club off to a flying start when he took victory in the Brendan Carroll Memorial 50km race at Piltown on Friday evening. Sunday's races in Stamullen turned out to be the 'mother of all successes' when the Stamullen GP races were held and here just over 280 cyclists from all provinces turned up to compete in the races, which ranged from u-12 to senior A1 riders. Also included in the busy schedule was the women's race. The senior A1-A2 race for the Joey Whyte Memorial Cup was contested over 72 miles and once again Dowling took the spoils arriving into the village to cross the line with arms aloft to the sound of a very enthusiastic crowd who crammed the village to see who would lift the magnificent trophy. Dowling proved to be a very popular cyclist and his efforts were very well received. He won in a time of two hours, 50 minutes and 12 seconds from his teammate Fiachra O Mhuire. The outstanding performance in this race had to be that of David Whearty (Stamullen M Donnelly) who is only in his second year of racing. He put in a strong display to finish in fifth place. By securing this position, he was the first S2 rider to do so and subsequently received the Patrick Kennedy Cup, which was very generously sponsored by Austin Walsh from Quay Cycles in Drogheda. Javan Nulty, another local who competes with the DID Dunboyne club finished third in the A2 race while Colm Laverty (Stamullen M Donnelly) was eighth. There was great excitement in the A4 when Stamullen M Donnelly rider, David Dargle sprinted very strongly up the hill to the finish line to claim the Safelink Shield. Navan Road Club's Pat Doocey finished fourth while another Meath man, Gerard Dunne (Clonard) secured fifth position. Other Navan cyclists who featured were Simon O'Dea in the A3 and Niall Doggett in the A4 event. The senior A3 race was held over four laps of the same course and was won in great style by Naul man, Danny Bruton (DID Dunboyne). Cian Delaney (Stamullen M Donnelly) finished fifth and Dundalk man Sean Loughran (Cuchulainn CC) was seventh. Drogheda Wheelers cyclist Ciaran Campbell came home in eight place. By winning this event Bruton who is a junior rider received the Pat Howard Memorial Cup. He was also presented with the Jimmy Gough Memorial Cup, his reward for finishing the first u-18 junior cyclist. Second in the junior race was Aidan Wall (Navan) with fourth place going to Paul Dargle and fifth to Ciaran O'Connell both members of the promoting club. The first lady home was Sara Ortze from the Black Rose CC in Galway. In the u-12 event there was a thrilling sprint between brother and sister, PJ and Ciara Doogan from the Errigal CC in Donegal with PJ proving strongest. Luke Coll (Stamullen M Donnelly) finished fourth while Liam Hanley (Navan) collected fifth prize and Emmett Gorman (Stamullen) secured seventh place. The All-Ireland champion, Dion McCarthy from Fermoy won the u-14 race. Victory in the u-16 category went to Banbridge rider Matthew Teggart. Navan's Nicky Murtagh and Liam Hanley also showed up well at under-age level. The action started on Friday with the Brendan Carroll Memorial the first event in a series of races organised by the Stamullen club over three days of action. The race attracted a strong entry and the weather conditions on the evening were perfect for racing. At the end of this short fast race it was Dowling who finished ahead of his team-mates Fiachra O Mhuire, Aidan Crowley and Javan Nulty who filled the next three placings. Colm Laverty from the promoting club came home in fifth place. Simon O'Dea (Navan) also featured in the A3 category. In the junior section, Paul Dargle (Stamullen M Donnelly) claimed first prize with teammate Ciaran O'Connell third. Twin brothers David and Gareth Dargle (Stamullen M Donnelly) finished first and second in the A4 category. Afterwards at the prize presentation John Carroll (father of the late Brendan) expressed his delight with how successful the race went off and thanked all who contributed to the success of the event. Then, on Saturday morning the focus switched to Balscadden in North Co Dublin for the annual Pat and Monie Nolan Memorial races and here once again, a terrific entry of riders lined up for this event. The race was held on a very short handicap basis and Ian Richardson (UCD) proved supreme. Locals picking up prizes in this race were Dowling and Craig Sweetman (Stamullen M Donnelly). In the junior section, Paul Dargle (Stamullen M Donnelly) finished third. The local promoting club were absolutely delighted when their rider David Dargle who collected first prize in the senior A4 section. Earlier in the day in the under-age races, Emmett Gorman and Luke Coll who both compete with Stamullen club finished in the prizes. After the race, Donal Nolan who is son of the late Pat and Monie Nolan, thanked all involved in making the race a delightful success.