A candidate in the local elections has said allowing Rás Tailteann to slip off the sporting calendar was something the State could not stand over.
Cllr Seamus
Rogers said for want of a relatively modest sum of money a part of the country’s
sporting history and heritage was being lost.
He believed
the race showcased the best of Ireland’s landscape and was an ideal vehicle to
market the island’s natural beauty to the rest of the world.
“This race
took place over seven decades, through good times and bad,” said the Donegal
local election candidate.
“And it has
passed through nearly every village and town on the island of Ireland,” he
added of the race’s reach over its long history.
And while
there were sporting considerations when considering future financial support,
Cllr Rogers said it made business sense to back the race.
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It had been
held, he said, in May just before the tourism high season and brought with it a
financial boost for those areas it went through.
“It is a
tourist attraction as well as it could be traveling down the Wild Atlantic Way,”
he said of the race’s ability to showcase an area Ireland was trying to market
as an active holiday destination.
“It’s a
joyous carnival of colour, courage and athleticism at the start of summer. It
included among its winners a hermit from the side of a mountain in Kerry.
“And a milk
man from Dundrum who won the Tour de France also won it,” Cllr Rogers said of
Stephen Roche.
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“For the
lack of €350,000, an important part of our sporting and cultural heritage is
gone. Something is wrong with this.”
And he
believed Ireland’s tourism body was the obvious future supported of the
eight-day race.
“I believe Fáilte
Ireland should have stepped in there and said ‘we’ll sponsor you’ when the
sponsorship first came to an end last year.
“Cycling has
made a major comeback (in Ireland) and indeed in Donegal. Our riders always
took part in the Rás and we had international cyclists as well.
“In a time
when we are talking about health, and the threat of obesity, the Rás set a
great example and it even set a great example to the youth.
“There are
quite a number of cyclists on the road and (losing the Rás) is a retrograde
step. It should be revived for next year.”
Rás
Tailteann should be taking place next week but has been cancelled for the first
time ever this year.
The race had
been sponsored by FBD Insurance before An Post took over as backer. However,
the national postal service’s backing ended with the 2017 event.
A number of
secondary sponsors were put in place for last year’s edition, which was run mainly
on cash reserves built up over the years.
However, that money was spent 12 months ago and without a new sponsor coming forward, this year’s race was cancelled, though it is hoped Rás Tailteann will return next year.
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