THE LATE Charles Haughey famously won the Tour de France for Ireland, with a little help from Stephen Roche, and yesterday it was the turn of the current Taoiseach to give a dig-out to another cycling hero.
Enda Kenny was in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, in full cycling regalia to lead out thousands of participants in this year’s Seán Kelly Tour.
Close to 8,000 cyclists of all shapes and sizes took part in four different routes over the weekend.
Adapting cycling as a metaphor for the route to economic recovery, Mr Kenny said: “I’ve absolute admiration for Seán Kelly and what he did, and the characteristics he displayed of self-belief, of conviction, of courage and of real dedication are what we need as a country as well . . .”
The Seán Kelly Tour, the brainchild of the former world cycling number one and supported by the likes of Waterford County Council and the Waterford Sports Partnership, has ballooned in size since its inception a few years ago.
Yesterday’s event was joined by Olympic silver medallist and double world cross-country champion John Treacy, now chairman of the Irish Sports Council.
