Thursday, 21 April 2022 | 8.4°C Dublin

T he volunteer-built track in Ratoath has been as the centre of sport’s second coming, with Olympic competition also focusing minds and opening pathways for competitive racing

Alex and Lennon Neville from Ratoath BMX

BACK in the 80s, BMX bikes were almost as prevalent in Irish teen culture as permed hair, shiny tracksuits and baggy jeans.

M ovies like ET, The Goonies and BMX Bandits all featured the bikes as objects of freedom and desire for young teenagers, spawning a handful of homemade Irish dirt tracks built on waste ground in towns from Balbriggan to Bangor.

TV offerings like the motorbike trials show Kickstart and the notoriety of professional stunt riders like Evel Knievel encouraged kids all over the country to make their own ramps and other obstacles from materials left lying around on the unfinished building sites.

While mobile phones, social media and video games have proved a greater distraction for teenagers ever since, the inclusion of BMX in the Olympics for the first time in 2008 sparked a renewed interest in the sport here.

Ratoath BMX club was formed when a group of local enthusiasts including former racer Shay McNally got together and raised funds to build the first track in Ireland in over 30 years.

Situated on the Fairyhouse road, Ratoath BMX track was built by volunteers with funds raised by ticket sales and other events before opening at the end of November 2011.

“I would have raced BMX back in the 80s,” says McNally. “It sort of died off after that but when it was included in the Olympics in Beijing, I noticed that suddenly there was a surge of BMX bikes around the place but there was no track for anyone to use.

“I got in touch with Regina Doherty and a couple of local councillors about setting up a track and we got a bit of land that was about to go to NAMA. We started fund raising, went door to door selling tickets and stuff to raise money. Finances meant we had to stop every few months and raise more money before we’d get going again so it took us a year to build it.”

McNally and others believed that if they built it, they would come. And they came in their droves. One year later Ratoath BMX was the largest cycling club in the country with over 600 members. 

“There was huge interest, from people who had ridden BMX in the 80s to young kids who had only seen a track before on TV. We were the only track in the country for about five years, so we had people coming from all over Ireland to ride it.”

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As well as the main track, Ratoath has two smaller pump tracks where younger kids and newcomers can have a bit of fun while improving their bike handling from volunteer coaches.

The club is even equipped for those who don’t yet have a BMX but would like to try the sport out.

“If you don’t have a BMX, we have five or six new club bikes and a few second-hand ones in different sizes. We also have full-face helmets here in the club, so all you need is long sleeves, long bottoms and a pair of gloves. We charge a fiver to rent the bike, which goes towards the maintenance of the track. Coaching is a fiver too, even for club members, so for a tenner you can arrive without a bike and have a go.

“Coaches will be there to check out their proficiency and then we can start kids or adults on the pump track and then maybe progress them to the final straight of the big track depending how capable they are. They can try it out a few times and if they like it they can join the club and get a Cycling Ireland licence, which is around €15 for the year and covers insurance.

“It took a while to get the whole coaching set-up up and running but it’s well structured now. We could have maybe 40 kids on a Friday night from 7.0pm.”

It was at one of these beginner coaching sessions that brothers Lennon (13) and Alex (11) Neville from Stamullen began their foray into BMX at the tender age of six.

“We bumped into a neighbour showing his daughter how to balance her BMX against a wall one day, to get her used to the starting gate,” says their father Keith. “He told us about Ratoath track so we brought Lennon over to try it out at six years of age. When Alex turned six we brought him too and they’ve both been there ever since.

“The skills they get from riding BMX is unbelievable and it can be a big stepping stone to other stuff. You have the likes of Chris Hoy, Mark Cavendish and Robbie McEwan and others who came from a BMX background and went on to win Olympic medals on the velodrome and green jerseys at the Tour de France.”

Lennon won the U-14 All Ireland title in Lucan last year and the brothers have raced all over the country, and even in the UK, since taking up the sport. But it’s not all about competition either.

“I like the competitive stuff but I like just having the craic on the track as well,” says 13-year-old Lennon. “I like going to different places to race and I’ve made friends from all over Ireland from BMX.

“There are lots of people in my age category so you make loads of new friends,” says younger brother Alex (11). “The coaching is good fun and I like racing too.”

“It’s a brilliant family sport,” says Neville senior. “We’ve travelled the length and breadth of Ireland to race and meet up with other families who are doing the same. Every once in a while we will have a ‘BMX Jam’ where there’s no racing at all, just a fun day out for families with a barbecue, music and a laid-back relaxed atmosphere.”

With more tracks being built in Courtown, Lucan, Cork, Lisburn and Ballinrobe since, and others in the pipeline, the sport has flourished here. Quality coaching has opened a clear pathway to possible Olympic competition for those who take it up.

“We have a world number four, a European number two and a European number three in the club,” says McNally. “The kids are getting much better and they’re getting to semi-finals and finals in the UK on a regular basis now so the standard is good. We also have a youth development squad and a national development squad under the umbrella of Cycling Ireland, and they have access to high-performance coaching so the pathway to the top of the sport is there.”

Despite their success, all of Ratoath’s hard work could be pulled out from under them as the land the track is built on is now owned by a property developer.

“We’re working with the landowner at the moment but we only have a one-year licence,” says McNally.

Although the volunteer-built track has been copied by various authorities around the country and provides a viable off-street amenity and source of exercise and social inclusion for the youth of the area, there doesn’t seem to be any inclination towards making it a permanent facility in Meath according to McNally.

“The club has had great support from our local councillors, but when it comes to planning or development we’ve had absolutely no backing from Meath County Council,” says McNally.

“We’ve gone to them numerous times but, for whatever reason, they don’t have any interest in investing in youth in the area and making the track permanent. They only seem to be interested in GAA. In Fingal, it’s the opposite, they are apparently looking to build three more tracks but can’t get clubs to run them.”

The first two rounds of the 2022 National BMX Series will be held in Ratoath on Saturday and Sunday with races kicking off at 1.0pm.

With around 120 riders due to race, from under six to masters over 40, it should be a great free event for spectators to go and watch.

BMX is back. And it’s as much fun as ever.

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