Navan Road Club greetings to Michael Collins on his 80th

Navan Road Club send their best wishes and greetings to their cycling colleague Michael Collins who celebrated his 80th Birthday recently.

Michael who is affectionately known as Mickser is a member of the Collins family - a family synonymous with the club since it was formed in 1953.

Mickser rode in the Ras Tailteann nine times between 1960 and 1973 with his best finish in ninth place overall in his initial attempt.

In 1964 he was a member of the Meath squad that won team honours for the first time, the overall winner was the great Paddy Flannagan.

On the seventh stage finishing in Navan there was a crash near the finish line and Mickser was helped across the line to take fourth place with the stage win going to Frank Reilly while the overall win that year was Paddy Flanagan (Kildare) who had won the Ras in 1960.

Mickser also captained the Meath team in 1963 with the winner being Polish rider Zbigniew Glowaty who was the first international rider to win the Ras.

In his last Ras in 1973 he had the satisfaction of being on the winning Meath team again.

Mickser had a long and colorful cycling career and was a great character on and off the bike.

MAIN PHOTO

The 1964 Ras seventh stage finished in Navan and Meath cyclist Mickser Collins was helped across the line to take fourth place after crashing heavily at the end of the 206km (129 miles) Castlebar to Navan stage.

SECOND PHOTO

Mickser Collins is on the left in this 1965 photo (enjoying a snack) with other Meath riders after Gabriel (Gay) Howard won the second stage from MOnaghan to Birr - Seamus O'Hanlon was the overall winner that year.

Included in this photo (taken from The Ras by Tom Daly first published in 2003) as follows: from left: Tom Reilly, Mickser Collins, Leo Collins (cap), Gabriel (Gay) Howard, Seamus Kennedy (37) who would win the Ras in 1978, Ben McKenna (1959 winner), The tall man between Mickser and Tom Reilly is Larry Dunne a stage winner in 1960 and the man in front with white cap is fromer Meath rider Jimmy Gough.