Hopes rise for return of Kells Road Races
After a three year absence, Kells Road Races is hopeful that motorcycle racing will return to Crossakiel this June with the club saying it fully intends to run the event this year though there is "nothing definite yet".
Kells Road Races will hold its AGM in O'Connors Bar in Kells on Sunday 18th January at 3pm and is looking to recruit new members and supporters and the 2026 commitee will also be elected.
Joint PRO and assistant treasurer, Dave McCabe, says the AGM is a great opportunity for people to come along, have a chat and hear what’s involved and see if it’s for them.
Kells Road Races was established in 1994 and for the first few years their road races were held at Dulane outside Kells. Then racing moved to Crossakiel with the popular event attracting participants from all around the country each June.
The last Kells Road Race took place in 2022 and due to the crippling cost of insurance, no road races took place in the Republic of Ireland in 2023, 2024 or 2025. The cost of the national policy covering the sport saw a five fold increase jumping from €200,000 in 2022 to a quote of a million last year.
Kells Road Races’ annual ride out at Park Ri, Kells, which aims to get as many motorcyclists as possible together in one place for a ride out continued to take place and has been a big fundraiser for local charities. The annual classic run, which took place during the road races weekend also continued.
This year motorcycle clubs are working towards the resumption of activities and Dave says they are hopeful that Kells Road Races will also return.
He says that there is an insurance quote on the table and they fully intend that Kells Road Races will go ahead this year thought nothing is definite yet and it will be a few weeks before a decision is made.
"We’re 50-50," says Dave. "We all want to run it and as long as everything goes in our favour hopefully we will get to but it will be another few weeks before we know for definite."
Their big ride out at Park Ri is definitely going ahead on 19th April, he adds.
"Our AGM is on 18th January. The big thing is to try to get new people involved. Manpower is going to be one of our biggest hurdles to cross. It takes a lot of volunteers to run the event." Speaking about the impact of not being able to have the races, Dave says it has been "tough".
"The appetite has been there. A lot of people have stayed involved. We’ve tried to stay positive. We were always trying to think of new ideas to make it happen and we are working on a few new ideas at the moment too.
"It’s tough to keep spirits high. I don’t think people realise the sheer work and dedication that it takes to run the event. It takes a year of planning. The day after the event, we literally start preparations for the next year. It takes a lot of dedicated people to run it."
Anyone interested in finding out more about getting involved is encouraged to come along to the club's AGM in O'Connor's Bar, Kells, on Sunday 18th January at 3pm.